George Wright Golf Course, Boston, MA

[Tim_Weiman]

Wondering if anyone is familiar with George Wright, a public course in the Boston, MA vicinity. From pictures, this old Ross course looks pretty nice.


Behind my question is consideration of national golf memberships and other alternatives that would allow me to play reasonably affordable golf in the summer away from the heat and humidity of Houston.


The Boston area makes sense for personal reasons with my daughter now working at Mass General during a few years at grad school.


Interested in any feedback on the course, the atmosphere of the place and how difficult it is to walk on during the week if not on weekends.


Thanks!

[Bill Healy]

George Wright is a terrific Ross and Walter Irving Johnson design during the late 1930s.
The public golf course has tee times and a small inner club, which is not taking new members.
You will enjoy it.
Bill

[MCirba]

Tim,
It's been about 10 years but George Wright is very good and great fun, as is Franklin Park.    Both courses have had some influx of cash/work over the past decade or so and I believe Ran may have a write-up here to give you a taste.   Enjoy!

[Brian Finn]

https://golfclubatlas.com/countries/george-wright-golf-course/

[Tim Martin]

Tim-The golf course is more than worthy and sits on a rollicking piece of land. The atmosphere is fun and reminiscent of many big city Northeastern courses with no shortage of characters milling around. The grand old clubhouse is restored and sits in the middle of a working class neighborhood as opposed to one of Boston’s tony suburbs. Weekend tee times are very tough to come by if you are not part of their Men’s Club. The city has reawakened as to the significance of the golf course and continues to make upgrades.

[Tim_Weiman]

Tim,


Thanks to you and others for the feedback. As I mentioned, George Wright is of interest due to the Boston location where my daughter will be living during grad school.


Weekends aren’t that important. I would just like to get on during the week. Happy to hear the place has characters. That’s golf, at least golf at its best.


Thanks again.

[Amol Yajnik]

The secret is out about George Wright in the Boston area.  The golf boom in the pandemic is partly to blame as well, but it has gotten significantly harder to get tee times there.  The course only moved to scheduled tee times a few years ago.  Weekday golf is definitely easier than weekend golf in terms of getting out there.  It also plays much tougher than the other Boston muni, Franklin Park.  Happy to answer more questions if you have them.

[Tim_Weiman]

Amol,


Does the course accommodate singles walking on during week?

[Amol Yajnik]

Amol,


Does the course accommodate singles walking on during week?

Yes but you cannot book a tee time as a single. 

[Cob Carlson]

Tim: I guarantee you will love playing George Wright. You will use every club in your bag.


The link in response #3 is a great and thorough piece by Ran.


This past year Golf Digest rated George Wright GC 3rd best muni in the USA. High praise.


Here is a fun link for you...


http://onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?m=11753&i=507624&p=14&ver=html5

[Richard Hetzel]

We visited Boston a few years back, and the wife and I played 18 here on our way to Maine. Awesome municipal golf course, with a nice variety of holes. If I remember correctly, the first hole is kind of boring, flat and straight away, but it gets interesting right afterwards. I grew up in Connecticut, so I am very familiar with heavy Boston accents. On one of the last holes a guy rode up in a cart and yelled, "Have you seen my sandwich?" My wife asked me why he was looking for a sandwich? Hahaa, I said, "No honey, he said sand wedge!" The course was pretty busy on that summer day that we played, and I bet it probably always is busy there, but I could play there every day and be quite happy, which is how I judge golf courses on a very simple level. And, it's Donald Ross, which I like! You are lucky because there are a lot of cool, quirky public options all over the Boston area that you can check out.

[Brad Tufts]

I can also attest to the awesomeness of George Wright...my advice is play often, and play with Cob! (good advice for me too, it's been a few years).  GW is only getting better from year to year.


I think weekday walk-on play is doable, just don't expect to walk right onto the tee.  When I lived in South Boston (2006-2012) I played there a bunch...I remember going over to walk on for a weekend round as a single at like 7-7:30 AM, and there were guys making the turn that had started at 5:30!  I have to imagine the recent boom has only made it more crowded.


Franklin Park is also fun too, if a bit short and forgiving...it's about 10 minutes from GW.  FP is the second-oldest public golf course to Van Cortland, and it has that old-timey feel today.  Boston golfers really benefit from these great courses.

[Adam G]

George Wright is excellent as is Franklin Park! But at this point unless you have a "pass" it's easier to get on most private courses in the area on a weekend morning than it is to get on George Wright (and at this point it is probably easier to get into most private courses in the area than it is to get a pass). Weekday singles are doable, as others have mentioned.


New England has a number of good public tracks. For instance, if you have the time (100-120 mins) going to Shennecossett and Fenwick in Connecticut is a fun 27 hole day by the ocean. And of course Cape Arundel in maine (90 mins) is a must.

[Brad Tufts]

Good point by Adam...there are other pretty good and historical publics around Boston, even more if you are willing to explore a couple hours afield.


I'd add Sandy Burr as decent, Wachusett as rather good.  If you like short and quirky even President's (former Wollaston CC c. 1890s, many times redesigned) or Newton Commonwealth (Ross originally, now cramped 5500y) might fit the bill.  South Shore is a great Stiles about 30 mins south of Boston in Hingham.


If willing to drive there are some good moderns to be had...Red Tail, Pinehills (Nicklaus/Rees 36), Waverly Oaks, Ledges in York, ME, Portsmouth CC in NH...Newport National down in RI.  All of these pale in comparison to the privates around Boston...maybe fighting amongst the lower end of the second tier of the privates at best.

[Ronald Montesano]

Interview with Cob from a few years back.

http://buffalogolfer.com/wordpress/interview-with-cob-carlson-the-man-behind-the-donald-ross-film/

[Michael Moore]

After joining up with the fourth group in line, we settled in to observe the proceedings. A group wearing various Teamsters windbreakers had the honors. The first guy teed off, then the next, then the next. Then a cart from eighteen drove in front of the tee while the last guy was at address, causing almost everyone in line to join into a very loud and profane torrent of abuse. Merry Christmas!
 
The next time I played with a veritable Groundskeeper Willie who screamed "keep swingin' laddie!!" while I fumbled around in a bunker, and proclaimed that "these frrrront pins arrre a bitch!!" as his ball bounded past them. And then there was the time that Brad Tufts and I played with a couple of locals straight out of Good Will Hunting, whose story about a guy who saved an old lady from choking at a Menino rally and was rewarded with a cushy union post in the administration through which he got his hands on some Big Dig graft took an entire two holes to recount.