Wind and Massachusetts Golf

[John Ezekowitz]

Contrary to popular belief, Chicago is not the windiest of America's 50 largest cities as measured by average wind speed. That honor belongs to Boston (although to be fair, the top 5 are fairly close). As shown by this NOAA map, Eastern Massachusetts has higher average wind speeds than cities and regions such as El Paso and Fort Worth, Kansas and the plains. Nevertheless, other than the courses on the Cape, I don't think we think about wind as a prime variable when we think golf in Massachusetts at some of its great courses. Why is that?


I can think of two reasons that have nothing to do with GCA, and one that does. The first two are that the wind is stronger in the winter months when we don't play and that the average might mask a low variance. I'm guessing the 20+ mph days are the ones that stand out when we think about wind and a round of golf.


The third one is more interesting: trees.


I thought about this while getting beat up with the rest of the field at the US Amateur qualifier at Essex this week in 20+ mph winds. 3-over qualified (I wasn't close). The course is a magical place and the members told me that the wind is much more of a factor since they had taken out thousands of trees since 2000. Other courses like TCC and Kittansett have followed suit to great effect. The tree clearing on the front nine at Brookline has been fantastic.


When I look at historical aerials for my home course, Belmont, which is celebrating its centenary, there are almost no trees. I'm guessing the wind was a much larger factor then. Of the many reasons for tree clearing, I think one of the under-appreciated ones for old courses in the NE is to bring the wind back into play as it was intended to be when the course opened.

[Rich Goodale]

Interesting, John.


I was born in Boston, and my extended family goes back to the 17th century there.  I grew up mostly in Connecticut, and the occupied landscape in the 1950's in most of New England then consisted of small pastures surrounded by stone walls.  I was very surprised to learn in the 70's that MA and CT were the most forested states in the USA, due to re-forestation and gentrification.


Vis a vis golf, my paternal grandfather and two of his three sons were scratch players in MA (Winchester GC champions, Lesley Cup players, etc.), but the other one (my father) hated golf but had a great swing, even in his late 60's.  I grew up playing baseball and tennis and sailing in the 60's and I remember NE golf as an August sultry day or two every year on Cape Ann.  Wind was rarely involved regarding golf then but summer squalls over Long Island Sound made yacht racing interesting, to say the least.  In the few times between the devils triangle of Larchmont , Noroton and Manhasset Bay that I capsized or had a mast or two broken in serious competition, I always thought that my golfing and ball friends were pussies, until I read recently that one of them saved many lives as a doctor at a massive shooting some recent years ago.


A bit of wind means nothing to me these days...


Rich

[Tim Martin]

Contrary to popular belief, Chicago is not the windiest of America's 50 largest cities as measured by average wind speed. That honor belongs to Boston (although to be fair, the top 5 are fairly close). As shown by this NOAA map, Eastern Massachusetts has higher average wind speeds than cities and regions such as El Paso and Fort Worth, Kansas and the plains. Nevertheless, other than the courses on the Cape, I don't think we think about wind as a prime variable when we think golf in Massachusetts at some of its great courses. Why is that?


I can think of two reasons that have nothing to do with GCA, and one that does. The first two are that the wind is stronger in the winter months when we don't play and that the average might mask a low variance. I'm guessing the 20+ mph days are the ones that stand out when we think about wind and a round of golf.


The third one is more interesting: trees.


I thought about this while getting beat up with the rest of the field at the US Amateur qualifier at Essex this week in 20+ mph winds. 3-over qualified (I wasn't close). The course is a magical place and the members told me that the wind is much more of a factor since they had taken out thousands of trees since 2000. Other courses like TCC and Kittansett have followed suit to great effect. The tree clearing on the front nine at Brookline has been fantastic.


When I look at historical aerials for my home course, Belmont, which is celebrating its centenary, there are almost no trees. I'm guessing the wind was a much larger factor then. Of the many reasons for tree clearing, I think one of the under-appreciated ones for old courses in the NE is to bring the wind back into play as it was intended to be when the course opened.

John-This is an interesting thread. None of the North Shore(ECCC, Salem, Tedesco, Myopia Hunt, Bass Rocks) courses are far from the Atlantic and as such are prone to a pretty diverse variance in wind speeds. As a contrast the Western portion(Berkshires)of Massachusetts though not close to the water are known for wind as well. I think Belmont is a great old golf course though it's hard to imagine the site mostly devoid of trees. Congrats on the centennial celebration. Any of your members Patriots fans?

[Brad Tufts]

Hi John,


I think I had read that Boston is the windiest once or twice...it can be best understood walking the Boylston St. building canyon in the winter or spring!


As far as Tedesco is concerned, we have two winds...one off the ocean from the East, and the other up from the SW.  The ocean wind is a cold, stormy, humid wind, the other a predominantly dry, warm summer wind.  Strangely enough, it's late July and the SW wind has yet to take over.  Our two toughest holes, 7 (235) and 16 (440), play straight into the ocean wind, so they have been brutally tough this year so far.


We have taken out lots of trees, but haven't really changed the treed/non-treed nature of Tedesco too much.  I bet if we went back to 1910 tree cover, we'd be a much windier place like Bass Rocks or Essex.

[John Blain]

How does Essex compare to Kittansett?  I have only played the latter and it was in a USGA Senior Open qualifier around five years or so ago.
I thought it was a fantastic course, very difficult when the blows (does it ever NOT blow? ) especially if you are playing with a pencil in your hand.


I have heard Essex is fantastic. The only criticism I have ever heard is that at times they can get the greens just too fast for the design. In fact, I believe it was two or three years in a USGA Local qualifier for the US Open one of the greens was so fast it was deemed unplayable and I want to say the field had to play one of the other 17 holes to complete an 18 hole score.


-John

[Tim Martin]

How does Essex compare to Kittansett?  I have only played the latter and it was in a USGA Senior Open qualifier around five years or so ago.
I thought it was a fantastic course, very difficult when the blows (does it ever NOT blow? ) especially if you are playing with a pencil in your hand.


I have heard Essex is fantastic. The only criticism I have ever heard is that at times they can get the greens just too fast for the design. In fact, I believe it was two or three years in a USGA Local qualifier for the US Open one of the greens was so fast it was deemed unplayable and I want to say the field had to play one of the other 17 holes to complete an 18 hole score.


-John

John-I would think day in and day out you are going to get more wind at Kittansett in that the piece of land it occupies is basically on a peninsula surrounded by Buzzard's Bay.

[Brad Tufts]

Agreed.  And Essex is my #1 in Mass!

[MCirba]

Myopia has taken out a ton of trees since my previous visit and maybe more to come.


The long views are incredible!

[Tim Martin]

I would think courses on Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard have the highest average wind speeds in Massachusetts.

[John Blain]

How does Essex compare to Kittansett?  I have only played the latter and it was in a USGA Senior Open qualifier around five years or so ago.
I thought it was a fantastic course, very difficult when the blows (does it ever NOT blow? ) especially if you are playing with a pencil in your hand.


I have heard Essex is fantastic. The only criticism I have ever heard is that at times they can get the greens just too fast for the design. In fact, I believe it was two or three years in a USGA Local qualifier for the US Open one of the greens was so fast it was deemed unplayable and I want to say the field had to play one of the other 17 holes to complete an 18 hole score.


-John

 
John-I would think day in and day out you are going to get more wind at Kittansett in that the piece of land it occupies is basically on a peninsula surrounded by Buzzard's Bay.

Tim-
I think I asked my question the wrong way    I was just more curious as to those who have played both courses which one do they prefer and why. Thanks and sorry for the confusion, my mistake.


-John

[Jason Topp]

I played a tree lined course until 5 years ago.  Now, I play an essentially treeless course.  The difference in impact of the wind is dramatic. I now check the current conditions when playing and know that a 10-15 mph wind is going to affect tee shots 25 yards either way.  On the tree lined course it did not matter nearly as much.

[Tim Martin]

How does Essex compare to Kittansett?  I have only played the latter and it was in a USGA Senior Open qualifier around five years or so ago.
I thought it was a fantastic course, very difficult when the blows (does it ever NOT blow? ) especially if you are playing with a pencil in your hand.


I have heard Essex is fantastic. The only criticism I have ever heard is that at times they can get the greens just too fast for the design. In fact, I believe it was two or three years in a USGA Local qualifier for the US Open one of the greens was so fast it was deemed unplayable and I want to say the field had to play one of the other 17 holes to complete an 18 hole score.


-John

 
John-I would think day in and day out you are going to get more wind at Kittansett in that the piece of land it occupies is basically on a peninsula surrounded by Buzzard's Bay.

Tim-
I think I asked my question the wrong way    I was just more curious as to those who have played both courses which one do they prefer and why. Thanks and sorry for the confusion, my mistake.


-John

John-They are both a treat and I could split 10 plays 5 and 5 without any angst. Both provide a compelling set of holes with two pretty different settings.

[Brad Tufts]

I have not been to Kittansett since all the trees have come out, but I would say Essex 7-3.



The major knock on Kittansett for me is that due to its exposed nature, it's really a mid-summer course.  The shoulder seasons get pretty intense weather-wise.  I like a good breeze as much as the next guy, but survival golf is another thing.


For me, I have the Mass. hierarchy like this at the top:  Essex, TCC, Myopia, OS, BGC, Salem, Kitt...then you start splitting hairs with Charles River, Taconic, Worcester, Oyster Harbors, Plymouth, etc.  The big ones I haven't been to are Sankaty, Nantucket, and the new version of Vineyard Club, which I have heard is awesome.

[Tim Martin]

I have not been to Kittansett since all the trees have come out, but I would say Essex 7-3.



The major knock on Kittansett for me is that due to its exposed nature, it's really a mid-summer course.  The shoulder seasons get pretty intense weather-wise.  I like a good breeze as much as the next guy, but survival golf is another thing.


For me, I have the Mass. hierarchy like this at the top:  Essex, TCC, Myopia, OS, BGC, Salem, Kitt...then you start splitting hairs with Charles River, Taconic, Worcester, Oyster Harbors, Plymouth, etc.  The big ones I haven't been to are Sankaty, Nantucket, and the new version of Vineyard Club, which I have heard is awesome.

Brad-I would say you need to play Kittansett again post tree clearing/restoration. I have been there in different seasons and never had that experience where I deemed it “survival golf”. You are always going to have days where the wind is tough on seaside golf courses. Take a pass on Sankaty Head if you don’t like the wind regardless of season.

[Brad Tufts]

I didn't say "I don't like to play in the wind"...and yes, I surely need to see it again.  It's a great golf course, that is inarguable.


I'm basing my comments on stories I've heard from qualifiers, etc.  A guy at my club who belongs there begged off a round there in mid-June one year because "it's not warm enough yet for Kittansett."  An exaggerated view to be sure, but for me, I wouldn't pay the big membership bucks to be brutalized for several months of our short Northeast golf season.  One of my two plays was in October several years ago, and a light 10-15mph breeze turned into a 5-club wind on 16/17/18, so, yikes.


It's a fun place to play, just severe at times.   

[Tim Martin]

I didn't say "I don't like to play in the wind"...and yes, I surely need to see it again.  It's a great golf course, that is inarguable.


I'm basing my comments on stories I've heard from qualifiers, etc.  A guy at my club who belongs there begged off a round there in mid-June one year because "it's not warm enough yet for Kittansett."  An exaggerated view to be sure, but for me, I wouldn't pay the big membership bucks to be brutalized for several months of our short Northeast golf season.  One of my two plays was in October several years ago, and a light 10-15mph breeze turned into a 5-club wind on 16/17/18, so, yikes.


It's a fun place to play, just severe at times.

Brad-I am not looking at it from a card and pencil standpoint as anytime you get bad weather regardless of location it's harder to post a score. That said Kittansett can't be any tougher than Oyster Harbors, Wianno or Eastward Ho from a wind or tough conditions perspective. All three of those courses sit on the bay and not in open ocean water. Essex County is only a few miles from the Atlantic so obviously can get a fair amount of wind as well. If you look at monthly temps and wind speed averages there isn't much difference between Marion and Machester-by-the-Sea. When I think of the word brutalized I conjure up a mental image of the prison scenes in Midnight Express rather than a trip around Kittansett

[WilliamN]

That said Kittansett can't be any tougher than Oyster Harbors, Wianno or Eastward Ho from a wind or tough conditions perspective. All three of those courses sit on the bay and not in open ocean water.

I've not played Eastward Ho!, so I can't comment - but as far as wind impact, I would definitely rank it 1. Kittansett, 2. Wianno, and 3. Oyster Harbors.  Kittansett is just more exposed than Wianno for a bigger number of holes.  Wianno's elevation changes can give its inland holes exposure and it does have holes that are on or close the water that it can get very windy.  OH (despite being an island) is protected by the surrounding homes, older trees, and lack of elevation and so it the breezes don't impact as much as the other two.


I may slot Hyannisport right behind Kittansett for wind impact too, but of those four, Kittansett definitely gets more wind (at least in my experience - although I've played OH, Wianno, and Hyannisport more than Kittansett)