Following in the footsteps of others, wanted to see if there are others on the board that are in Massachusetts. I live right on the border of Brookline and Boston. I usually play my golf at either of the 2 Boston munis, George Wright and Franklin Park, and usually play during weekdays due to my job. I’m pretty excited to see the conditioning of those 2 tracks this summer in preparation for the Mass Amateur. Would love to tee it up with some fellow members on here once spring arrives here.
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Checking in here from Scituate. I play all over the area and love GW and FP as well and am always up for playing there. GW has made great improvements and Mass Am lead up should make it even better.
I play a bunch on the South Shore and on the Cape too.
I’d love to hear of any good lines on charity events that folks may know of to check out in the area. Want to play Myopia, Winchester, Salem, Essex, and Old Sandwich somehow this year.
I have several other NLU following buddies in Boston who I will alert to this thread who can chime in as well.
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Small world! I grew up in Scituate, live in Quincy now. I also play at GW and FP a good amount, along with South Shore in Hingham, Red Tail in Devens, and Newton Comm since it’s right by my work. FP is such a great track, stinks that rounds are 5+ hours on the weekends usually.
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I’m in Norwood, I’ll play just about anywhere from TPC Boston or Pine Hills to Ponky (hot take: Granite Links is overrated). Most of the time I’m at Lost Brook (great little executive course) because it is so close and I can play it in 2 hours.
I’m in Cambridge and play all over. Usually hop over to Fresh Pond after work for 9 and will venture out of the city to Stow Acres, Sandy Burr, Shaker Hills/Red Tail. Also enjoy going down to Plymouth and playing Crosswinds. I try to play in a couple Mass Golf tournaments which lets you play at some nice courses if you play well enough. I will be eager to check out GW and FP this year. Love both those tracks and have played in the Boston Open at FP the last few seasons.
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Out west here in the Amherst area. Anyone else?
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Living in Boston, but moving to Weymouth area. I will play anywhere and excited to play more South Shore. Grew up in Tewksbury so I’m familiar with the area north of the City.
Good to see some other Massachusetts guys on here. When the season arrives up here, we’ll have to get together at some point. Sounds like someplace on the South Shore works best for everyone. South Shore and Pinehills are the 2 places I play the most down that way, with Pinehills really only during the shoulder seasons due to the rates.
@eddiecoyle: check out https://newenglandseries.com. It’s a series of one-day tournaments that goes to a bunch of private tracks around here. I’ve played TPC Boston, Essex, and Myopia Hunt through those events. Since they are tournaments, the pace of play can be rough (Myopia was absolutely brutal), but it gave me chances to play at tracks that I wouldn’t have been able to get on. I’ll keep my ears to the ground about charity events this summer as well.
@TheMassHacker: Granite Links is a really good bar with a shitty golf course attached to it. I’ve played it once and never want to go back there. I have no idea how they charge what they do for rounds out there.
@310toUnknown: I’m about 15 minutes away from Fresh Pond, always love to sneak out there for a quick 9. It’s nice that they’ve put a little money into that place with the bunker renovation the past couple of years.
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Used to live in Scituate, no love for Widows Walk? Been in tough shape the last couple years, but I always found it fun on a good day, maddening on a bad one of course.
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Widows Walk is where I warm up every season. Conditions were so bad late in the year the last two years though so I only play early in the season. You better hit the ball straight there. I do love the logo.
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I live in Needham but end up playing most of my golf on the Cape where my folks have place in Harwich and belong to Ocean Edge, so that is the best course where I have pretty easy access. Before they joined I also played pretty regularly at Captains, Cranberry Valley, and the Dennis courses. I am certainly tempted to nominate Dennis Pines in the “toughest public course most people don’t know” category - those tight, twisty fairways do not suit my game.
I grew up playing at Wellesley CC, worked at Charles River in college, and got to play quite a few of the better known private courses in the Boston area through HS golf and other connections from working at the River, so as an adult with two young kids and not unlimited resources, I find playing public courses in the area fairly frustrating now. In that respect I am the definition of spoiled, but I won’t be joining Wellesley or the River until I win the lottery.
I do live right by Needham GC, which is a well-maintained and challenging private nine with some pretty tight fairways, and I am able to play there certain times (generally after 3 pm Sundays) as a resident non-member. If I could ever get to the point of being able to play most weekends, I will probably join the club - dues and initiation are pretty reasonable.
The nearby munis (Newton Comm and Putterham) are fine for getting out for a walk and to swing the sticks if I can find a time to sneak out early or late in the season, but unbearably slow on weekend mornings in the summer. Just about everything else I have played is a 6 hour commitment between driving time and slow play, and that is not well-tolerated around the mcriblet estate.
Also checking in from Brighton, just moved here in the Fall. Actively looking to explore the golfing scene once the weather corresponds! Haven’t played any of the munis yet but want to try em all.
Chelmsford here. Play Butter Brook alot, Shaker Hills when it’s off rate. I’m in Maine most weekends in the summer, so play alot up there as well.
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Glad to see the NLU Boston Region growing.
I currently live in Reading, but moving to the North Shore in March to Swampscott. Last 4 years ive played out of Atkinson CC in New Hampshire but looking to barnstorm this summer and hit some different courses.
I am a big George Wright fan with the caveat that I have only played on a week day I hear weekends there are Jason Day/JB Holmes level slow.
We should get a Boston NLU Masters Meet up set up
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Checking in from downtown Boston. Play George Wright a lot on the weekends. Would love to get everyone together over the spring/summer.
Hey, checking in as well. I live in Norwell, MA (cool to see some other South Shore people here too).
I play a lot of the same courses as have been previously mentioned: South Shore CC, Granite Links, Pinehills, etc.
Seeing Myopia discussed above - I was able to play it last summer (insanely difficult, but such a great course with an awesome history and layout). Really enjoy TPC Boston as well.
I’m thinking about joining Harmon Golf in Rockland for practice purposes - anyone ever been a member? The practice facilities look great (went on a tour a month ago) but wondering if it’s worth the monthly cost?
Checking in from Boston, but grew up in Norwood. I worked grounds at Needham GC during high school too and can second that as a solid course.
I play the city courses occasionally, but also mix in courses south and west of the city - Brookmeadow, Pembroke, Wayland, Sandy Burr. I’ll play pretty much anywhere though and I’m always looking to hit up new courses
@arydolphin how is Fresh Pond these days? I played there a few times a while back and the rounds were slogs. The starter would send groups out on top of each other
@Digs have you played Trull Brook? This guy I work with used to play there. I’ve never made it up there though
@Johnnyb I have a friend that is a member at Harmon. If you’re a guy that is really looking to work on their game, I don’t think there’s a better place around. 9 hole “long” course along with 9 hole short course, plus all of the practice facilities that you could ever want. The regular 9 hole course isn’t long, but it’s tight in spots and challenging. I know that my friend will still leave there and go play other courses, but he loves the practice facilities there and his handicap has never been lower. I looked into joining when I moved up here, but it’s like 35-45 minutes away from me depending on traffic and I just couldn’t do that regularly.
@daws213 I only play Fresh Pond during the weekdays, so it’s not as much of a slog as the weekends. I usually go as a single and they just throw me out there, and I’ll catch up to some other group by hole 2 or 3 and just join up with them. The course is never going to be in the best shape, but they have renovated the bunkers within the past couple of years and made it a bit nicer in spots.
I’ll second @arydolphin on Fresh Pond, @daws213. I play on weeknights and it’s not too bad if you go as a single. You can get on right away but if you get there past 5:30 you aren’t finishing before dark. I’ve played the 9th way too many times with zero light. Condition wise they have improved it immensely and the new bunkering is great. Really enjoyed what they did with 4, 5, and 7. 5 is actually one of my favorite golf holes and would put it on any course.
From Texas and live back here now, but lived in Tewksbury from 09-10 (work)…played Trull Brook a lot after work. Houston is flat as hell so I miss the elevation change that Trull Brook had on some holes