Ya The Abbey plays. Super underrated. I was loyal to The Publick House for awhile but stumbled (quite literally) into The Abbey one night and it became one of my favorite restaurants.
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Iām sure we have crossed paths then. I lived right above Burro Bar for 3 years. Spent way too much money at the abbey. I too was loyal to PH and become a convert. Moved to Norwood and I still drive back to the abbey every couple months
I would not drive from Brookline to play Highland Links (and I love the place) during the week of July 4th. Youāre probably looking at a 2.5+ hour drive and then a 2.5+ hour 9 hole round! The drive, other than really the last little bit, isnāt that scenic at all. Now, if youāre staying over night on Cape, slightly different story. If youāre jonesing to play a unique 9 hole course āon the capeā, then play Little Marion instead (although not on Cape). It doesnāt have the views of HIghland Links, but it is also awesome and the drive is much more manageable.
However, the ferry to P-Town is a great way to spend a day - Iād just leave the clubs at home and explore Provincetown. My wife loves that place (and she also loves Highland Links)ā¦
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Quick additional thoughts on Wellesley - itās challenge is that it was essentially created in 3 different chunks. They had the original 9 holes, then they got more land and added another 9 holes, in space that should probably only have fit 15 holes and then they acquired more land and finally had enough space for a proper 18 holes. The club claims a Donald Ross design, but the reality is it as much a Geoffrey Cornish / Mark Mungeam course as it is Donald Ross. I think Wayne Stiles actually did the original 9 holes before Ross did some work.
As was mentioned earlier, they layout is a bit funky. There is that gap between 9 and 10, but the thing I donāt like about the layout more is 17 and 18 are both par 5ās. The course has really good holes, just would rather put them in different order.
That part of Boston actually has a bunch of fun golf courses really close to each other. Putting aside TCC, people who live in Wellesley are members of Weston, Pine Brook, Brae Burn, Charles River, Woodland and Dedham (I am sure some other places) - in addition to Wellesley. In that ācompetitive marketā, my understanding is that Wellesley has pretty much ALWAYS had a multi-year waitlist since the 2008 market recovery so theyāre doing something right
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I wanna see if we can do a gold/yellow as an option. That is what I got last year for the Skirmish and it looked really good.
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The Cranberry Red from Truro is straight fire
Played the Brookside Club on the Cape this weekend for the first time. Really liked it. Tons of elevation changes and lots of sidehill fairway lies, but I dug it. And for $85 on a weekend, much cheaper than Waverly or Prinehills.
Iāve played Brookside twice and itās been super windy both times. I felt it was pretty good overall, lots of bang for your buck, but I took issue with a few of the holes. There were a few front pins on greens with false fronts that led to some de-greenings. Like a lipped out 8 footer became a 15 yard chip back up the hill. And the hill on the side on I think the 5th hole completely negated my buddyās good drive. He crushed it right edge of the fairway and it caught the slope and ended up almost in the woods on the left where he had to pitch out under the trees at a 45 degree angle to get to where I was after a shank and a good second shot over the hill.
Agree on this analysis. There isnāt a ton of good public golf in this area. Brookside pretty consistently has great conditioning and pace of play. A lot of fun holes, but then some whacked out holes thrown in.
Four (I believe) has that real strange layup and then completely blind second. Five the side hill off the tee makes it almost unplayable. That one severe dogleg across the road followed by an almost horse-shoe hole. Itās just a little quirky, though Iām willing to play it for pace and conditioning, as those can be killers at courses like Falmouth (5.5 hours on a shitty, flat, boring course no thank you)
Iāll disagree with this take. The munis on cape (Old Barney, The Dennis Courses, the Yarmouth Courses, the Captains Courses) are very good and then youāre not far from Pinehills, Waverly, Crosswinds, Southern Marsh. Drive a bit farther and you have two of the most interesting 9 holers in Little Marion and Highland Links. Then (for at least another year) you have Cape Cod Country Club, which might be the best of the bunch.
I might argue that Bourne might have the best public courses within an hour of just about any town in Massachusetts
(That being said, I agree with your take on Falmouth - Iād rather go to the dentist than play there)
Totally agree on 5th hole. That thing is absurd. I hit as good a drive as I can on that hole and it was stuck behind the giant rock on the right side.
I agree a lot more with the sentiment that there are some whacked out holes but I may be biased. We used to play the front once a year in a high school match and I canāt remember many more courses that felt like an unfair advantage to the home team for course knowledge.
Sorry, was specific to Falmouth and more immediate area, not mid-cape and further.
CCCC is awesome, and my go-to, but unfortunately not for much longer.
Iām considering joining Woods Hole, and intel on the course?
Yes, then agree with that!
Woods Hole is awesome. Buddy just joined, great, fun & unique holes, rolling topography (unlike Falmouth Country Club which is dead flat). My only criticism of the place is there are some funky walks between holes. For instance, after you play #10 you have to cross the 2nd or 3rd fairway to get to the 11th hole - but other than that - itās really a spectacular place. I think they also redid their clubhouse which is supposed to be very nice.
The other private option that I really enjoy down there is Pocasset. Doesnāt have the water views that Woods Hole does (or the prestige) but very good course and great culture there
Thanks for the intel, Iāll check it out!
Playing George Wright for the first time tomorrow. Any pointers?
Be patient.
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What time? going off at 1230.
Order hot dog at the turn.
Enjoy the par 3s. fairway is king. if it doglegs, take the corners on but know inside is dead. (5,10,11,15) 12 will be annoying for at least 1 person in your group even if you all hit perfect drives.
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I donāt really think itās worth cutting the corner on 5, the long-ish dogleg right par 4 on the front. Kinda need two long shots there.
Donāt go too long or right on your tee shot on 6. You can get blocked out there.
9 is a tough hole. Everything in the fairway over the hill slopes hard right to left. If you can start it down the right, that will help.
Donāt bail right on 10. Makes the hole super long.
Idk what to do on 12 really. Kinda just hate that hole.
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