Hey Martin,
I finally had the fortune to play Kernwood last year for the first time, and liked what i saw. For me, it brought a great many of the issues concerning restoration and the evolution of a Ross course into play. There were several places where the trees are downright claustrophobic, and newer ones seem to have been planted, so the end of this trend seems to be nowhere in sight. Despite this fact, the course is short, quirky, beautiful, and fun, attributes that make it the quintessential Northeastern Ross design in my opinion.
There are several holes that play along the Danvers River (empties into Beverly Harbor, not Boston Harbor, like it has been written before) that are beautiful and interesting, including the short par fours #6 and #7. #3 is a medium par four with a very cool green with a foot-tall mound in the center just big enough for a pin location. #8 is the most maddening hole, a 345-yd par 4 with a blind tee shot where hooked 5-iron is the best play from the tee. #9 was featured in Ross' Golf Has Never Failed Me, but the hole is a bland short par 3. The back nine is bigger, with some longer and tougher holes, but another quirky hole comes into play at #17, a short par 3 so drastically uphill the top of the pin can barely be seen.
I think the scores will be low during US Am qualifying, as the course is short enough that it can be had even if the player is not very familiar with the layout. The greens will be running very fast, which will put some teeth in some of the more sloping greens.
-Brad