Birch Hill Country Club

Birch Hill Country Club opened in 1998 as Ridgewood Country Club, an 18-hole course in Moultonborough on the northern side of Lake Winnipesaukee. The layout was designed by Phil Wogan and George F. Sargent, and it was later renamed Birch Hill. The course was set in New Hampshire's Lakes Region with views from its tees toward the Ossipee Mountains and Red Hill, and the scenery was at its best as the leaves turned in autumn. Wogan and Sargent built a par-72 course that measured about 6,573 yards from the back tees, with a rating of 71.8 and a slope of 130, and golfers often remarked on its forced carries, bunkering and water hazards. The club operated as a semi-private course with memberships and public tee times, a driving range over water, a junior academy, and the Overlook Tavern, whose deck looked out over the course toward Red Hill. It sat less than two hours from Boston, making it a popular stop for summer visitors to the lake.