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FINDING a line of golf bags racked on the street in front of the celebrated Equinox Hotel left me with mixed feelings. It confirmed my initial view that here was a most unusual resort but seeing my clubs unattended in such a public place brought some concern about security. They were, after all, antiques.
"Don't worry, sir," said the front desk clerk. "Someone from the pro shop will collect them shortly. Until then they're quite safe. We have no crime here."
The place was Manchester, Vermont, a community of 3,000 souls that luxuriates in a wooded valley overlooked by Mount Equinox. It is a model town, picture book pretty and with traditional New England architecture of white clap-board, all with an air of modestly stated affluence.
The tree-lined main street has fashionable shops, restaurants and small hotels clustered around the steepled church, the focal point of a well-ordered community. Compulsory off-street parking leaves the roads uncluttered; advertising hoardings, like the police, are conspicuous by their absence. The traffic is minimal, the pace of life an amiable stroll.
I was worried about a set of clapped out old golf clubs? The people here leave their house doors unlocked when they go on holiday and park their cars with the keys in while at work!
This Utopian situation is, I discovered, common throughout Vermont. With a population of 560,000 it is one of America's least populated States, a collection of largely rural communities where the terrain and climate make honesty inherent.
It's a mountain State so Vermont is subject to harsh winter weather: 20 feet snowfalls are common and then a flat battery or a bad fall can be life-threatening. So survival is a common cause. Everyone "looks out" for his neighbour, particularly the elderly; hence those unlocked doors...
As my host explained. "If a friend doesn't make the office, or show for a lunch date, or a neighbour hasn't been seen, then someone will investigate. It's part of mountain philosophy."
Which explains the paucity of crime and, for visitors, a serenity that is absolute, enhancing a peerless setting. Those seeking an exclusive holiday with style should investigate Vermont. For golfers it's difficult to imagine anywhere more agreeable..
The Green Mountain State is part of New England and is a winter ski destination so there's ample good value accommodation; small inns, ski lodges, de luxe motels and swish hotels, plus swathes of fine restaurants.
Come mid-April, though, and the snow has usually gone, leaving golf courses pristine and verdant. Go in May or June, when they've dried out, and you'll experience nothing quite like it. Better still, make that late September or early October when a million trees are changing hue and you'll be doubly smitten.
A minor problem then is that what's known as the Foliage Season is a high point of the year for the domestic tourist market.
But there's a bonus for golfers: if you book your flight and accommodation in advance you'll find the courses uncrowded simply because everyone is away swooning over the mountain scenery!
There are some 60 courses in Vermont, which geographically is an upright oblong in shape and slightly wider at the top. It is bordered by New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York State and, to the north, Quebec, Canada. Two major highways run from the northern to the southern borders and one could complete the drive in about four hours. Travelling east to west on secondary roads takes about three hours at the widest point, although visual distractions could double that!
Where you stay is dependant largely upon the duration of your holiday and your airport of arrival. The latter could be Boston, about 150 miles from both Manchester and Woodstock in the south, or Newark, New Jersey, from where there are connecting flights to Burlington, the State's largest city with a population of about 35,000, near the north western border.
From here there's a trio of appealing resorts within comfortable driving range: the Basin Harbor Club on the shores of Lake Champlain, and the mountain resorts of Stowe and Sugarbush each have a variety of accommodations and equally variable golf courses with one common attribute: a peerless setting.
Basin Harbor is a 750 acre sports resort complex near the town of Vergennes and close to Burlington. Its 18 hole parkland course, set mainly alongside the vast Lake Champlain, is an ideal holiday course that will bring the first of several unforgettable days. Carts are available but here most choose to walk and smell the flowers along the way...
Similarly at Stowe, a typical mountain town that's a winter mecca and whose course is only one of various summer attractions. Few courses are more appealing or in finer condition.
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