For part one of a recent Massachusetts weekend, I had the pleasure of enjoying a beautiful morning at Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, MA.
More information on the club's history can be found in the "My Home Course" piece by Brad Tufts:
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/tedesco.htmlWhile Tedesco flies under the radar of the more famous golden age Boston-area contingent (Myopia, Salem, Brookline, Essex, Kitansett, etc) it's really an enjoyable course to play. It is always in excellent condition and most notable are the greens, which are famous in the area for being some of the fastest and truest around. There is certainly a different personality between the front and back nine, but more accurately holes 1-10, 17, 18 versus the stretch from 11-16.
Don't let the short yardage fool you, though - at just under 6500 yards, the course record for Tedesco, par 70, is a mere 5 under par.
1st hole - Par 4 - 432 yards
The elevated tee and offset fairway makes it difficult to align oneself, particularly when a mighty swing with the driver is called for.
1st green
The pushed up green/false front repels shots that come up wanting
2nd hole - Par 4 - 392 yards
The green set into a rocky hillside rivals only the 16th as the best site on the course
4th hole - Par 4 - 435 yards
One of the most sloped (back to front) greens on the course
5th hole - Par 4 - 368 yards
A birdie opportunity, but don't get too aggressive with your wedge shot in here - Salem Street looms just beyond the sloped green
6th hole - Par 4 - 277 yards
Another birdie opportunity...obviously there are multiple options here but the severely uphill shot to the green along with the trouble left and right discourages the Driver play for all but the most aggressive players. a 5 iron at the right edge of the far bunker is the safe play to leave you a SW shot at the most severe green (internal contours) on the course.
6th hole
This shot shows our balls in the fairway (having hit 5 irons) and the uphill shot we now face to the green
9th hole - Par 5 - 505 yards
The first of back-to-back (and the only two) par 5s at Tedesco - if you can avoid the 2 bunkers that pinch the fairway at around the 270 mark off the tee, you have this shot to the green where left gets you tree trouble and right sends you down to the bottom of the hill.
11th hole - Par 4 - 372 yards
The course changes character here, having been mostly flat-ish parkland to this point, the 11th is a hard dogleg left with a bunker protecting the inside of the dogleg. A 225 yard shot off the tee leaves you with this view to the green, another severely back to front sloped surface and a deceptive bunker well short of the green throwing off your depth perception
12th hole - Par 4 - 363 yards
A confusing hole...and one that I have yet to figure out through about 7 rounds at Tedesco. There is a large rise in the fairway about 225 yards off the tee, over which is the ideal play to get you into the position seen here, which is still a severely uphill shot to a shallow green. Years ago you could play up the hill long and have a chance of your ball coming back down onto the green...a more dicey proposition now with longer grass prevailing.
13th hole - Par 3 - 143 yards
The highest point on the course is also one of the most windswept. I'm not sure I've had a tougher time with a hole of under 150 yards in my life. The small chipping area left of this green is hidden by the hillside.
14th hole - Par 4 - 364
Downhill, pretty, tight. Pretty straight forward here - hit it about 220 off the tee and you have a short iron into the green.
14th hole
Just another pretty shot
15th hole - Par 4 - 376 yards
14 and 15 are a "down and back" pairing and are of similar length, though since 14 goes down, 15 must come back up. A tee shot of any longer than 270 yards will give you an extremely awkward downhill lie to this green, so best to choose the straighter club as distance doesn't gain too much. This may be the most severely sloped green on the course.
16th hole - Par 4 - 454 yards
The first (and toughest) of a 3 hole finish that goes 454-442-446. The hole rides a plateau for the first 280 yards or so, then plummets down 30+ feet to a valley where the green is benched into a hillside. Another windy approach shot means that your mid-long iron needs to be well struck to find the surface in regulation. This is probably the closest approximation of a "Signature Hole" at Tedesco - it's certainly the most memorable.
18th hole - Par 4 - 446 yards
A fine finisher for those who believe a stern but fair par 4 is how a course should conclude. One of the flattest holes on the course from tee to green, it's easy to get carried away with your drive on this hole and overswing. The ideal shot is a power fade starting at the clock on the clubhouse, but really anything close to straight will do here, and ending up in the right half of the fairway is preferred. The green is receptive and players standing on the first tee will be witness to anything either remarkably good or remarkably embarrassing that you do here.
