Golf around Boston

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

I will be in Boston from October 6 until October 10, attending a lawyers' conference. Would anybody recommend a place to play golf around? I know that the best option by far is The Country Club, but there's no way to get in unless you know a member, which I don't.

Thanks.

Ricardo

[PCCraig]

There are tons of great private options, but many are tough access tickets if you don't know a member. If you are interested in a neat public, I would go check out George Wright, a classic muni designed by Donald Ross. Plenty of really cool holes out there and it's pretty inexpensive.

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Dan_Callahan]

If you don't mind a little drive, Red Tail and The International are fun. Both are west of Boston. Foliage should just be starting to turn while you're in town.

[Mark McKeever]

Second vote for George Wright.  Its excellent.

Mark

[Tyler Kearns]

I'll give George Wright a third vote, a very good public option at $35.
There are tons of excellent private clubs in Boston and would recommend all three I played on a quick tour in the spring, Essex CC, Old Sandwich and Plymouth CC (the latter two being an hour drive south of the city).  I would imagine Plymouth being more accessible on short notice and a good example of a short course playing much tougher than you would imagine - another fine Ross course.

TK

[Jim Nugent]

Question for you guys who know the area well: since Ricardo is already in the (extended) neighborhood, would it be worth the 2 hour or so drive to New Haven, to play Yale? 

[J_ Crisham]

My suggestion is a polite call to the pro at the privates I've listed below- they are special places that are below the radar.
                  Charles River
                  Winchester CC
                  Vesper CC in Lowell- 1hr away

[Mark Saltzman]

Whitinsville has the best 9 holes in the Boston area.  Anyone care to disagree?

Photos.. http://onegolferstravels.blogspot.ca/2013/09/whitinsville-golf-club-whitinsville.html?m=1

[Mark McKeever]

+1 for Charles River on the private side. 

MM

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

Question for you guys who know the area well: since Ricardo is already in the (extended) neighborhood, would it be worth the 2 hour or so drive to New Haven, to play Yale? 

Jim,

I will be going through NY (in fact, I'm going to stay a few days there), so New Haven a drive to New Haven is not a problem. Thanks.

[Brad Tufts]

Hi Ricardo,

Here is the rundown:

The best golf within 50 miles of Boston is (not surprisingly) private.  The order of things from best on down is generally something like:
TCC/Essex/Myopia/Salem/Charles River/Old Sandwich/Boston GC/Winchester/Plymouth/Concord.  After those, there is a hugely strong second tier that includes (in no order):  Brae Burn/Woodland/Weston/Vesper/Tedesco/Kernwood/Turner Hill/ Renaissance/Cohasset/TPC Boston/Blue Hill/Wollaston/Weston/Pine Brook/Oakley/Dedham/Belmont/Wellesley/Oak Hill, and a few others that I'm surely forgetting....Duxbury/Spring Valley/Framingham/Marshfield/Marlborough...

On the public side, there is much more debate, as the top tier publics are wide-spread, and all are probably at best at the level of the second tier above.  On the modern side you have Red Tail 65 miles NW of Boston in Devens, Waverly Oaks in Plymouth (RT and WO by Silva), and the PineHills duo (Rees/Nicklaus design), also in Plymouth...all four of those are pretty good, if unspectacular.  Two more decent modern ones are Shaker Hills in Harvard, and Butter Brook in Lincoln.  

On the classic side you have George Wright, a VERY good Ross near the city, Franklin Park, a short course that is the second oldest public golf course in America, dating to 1895, with a ton of history and great old timey feel, and South Shore CC by Wayne Stiles down in Hingham (15 miles south of Boston).  Out towards Worcester I can vouch for Wachusett CC, another very playable Ross course.

Let me know if you would like further detail about any of the above, as I have lived in/around Boston for all of my 32 years!

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

Thank you all very much for the comprehensive information. It is very useful. I'll let you know where I can get in.

Cheers.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Hi Ricardo,

Here is the rundown:

The best golf within 50 miles of Boston is (not surprisingly) private.  The order of things from best on down is generally something like:
TCC/Essex/Myopia/Salem/Charles River/Old Sandwich/Boston GC/Winchester/Plymouth/Concord.  After those, there is a hugely strong second tier that includes (in no order):  Brae Burn/Woodland/Weston/Vesper/Tedesco/Kernwood/Turner Hill/ Renaissance/Cohasset/TPC Boston/Blue Hill/Wollaston/Weston/Pine Brook/Oakley/Dedham/Belmont/Wellesley/Oak Hill, and a few others that I'm surely forgetting....Duxbury/Spring Valley/Framingham/Marshfield/Marlborough...

On the public side, there is much more debate, as the top tier publics are wide-spread, and all are probably at best at the level of the second tier above.  On the modern side you have Red Tail 65 miles NW of Boston in Devens, Waverly Oaks in Plymouth (RT and WO by Silva), and the PineHills duo (Rees/Nicklaus design), also in Plymouth...all four of those are pretty good, if unspectacular.  Two more decent modern ones are Shaker Hills in Harvard, and Butter Brook in Lincoln.  

On the classic side you have George Wright, a VERY good Ross near the city, Franklin Park, a short course that is the second oldest public golf course in America, dating to 1895, with a ton of history and great old timey feel, and South Shore CC by Wayne Stiles down in Hingham (15 miles south of Boston).  Out towards Worcester I can vouch for Wachusett CC, another very playable Ross course.

Let me know if you would like further detail about any of the above, as I have lived in/around Boston for all of my 32 years!

Brad,

If you have Boston GC seventh in that list then I can't wait to see the others.

Ally

[Brad Tufts]

Hi Ally,

After the top three...the others are almost a toss up...

Charles River and Salem are similar, and OS and BGC are similar...its a case of preference....CR and SCC are manicured golden-agers, where OS and BGC are the more rugged newcomers.  I do have OS slightly higher than BGC though.

I also omitted Kittansett, as it is maybe 75 miles from Boston...that one would factor prominently in the Mass. top 10.  Wannamoisett is closer to Boston than Kittansett, although in Rhode Island.

[Mark Pearce]

Last time I was in Boston I played both Charles River and George Wright and would strongly recommend both.  I did also make the drive to New Haven for Yale and would do so again in a flash, given the chance.

[Mark Saltzman]

Is Eastward Ho too far outside of Boston to get a mention. I've seen the pics and no way am I skipping that when in the area (if I can get on).

About 2hrs depending on where in Boston you're staying and traffic.

[Brad Tufts]

Is Eastward Ho too far outside of Boston to get a mention. I've seen the pics and no way am I skipping that when in the area (if I can get on).

I was focusing on 'Boston area".

Eastward Ho is at least a 90 minute drive from Boston, with no traffic, which is never!

The Cape brings another grouping into play...Oyster Harbors, Eastward Ho, Woods Hole, Hyannisport, etc.  As well as another 30+ public courses.  All of Rhode Island is within 2H of Boston, and some of Connecticut as well.  And if you go north, you bring the Southern halves of Maine and New Hampshire into play if you set a limit of a 2-hour drive.

Yale is more like 2.5H from Boston.

[Jay Flemma]

I think you should try Red Tail - Brian Silva did a great job of re-creating some Macdonald/Raynor/Holes n a great piece of property.  It's pretty easy to get to coming from the south!

[Zack Molnar]

What is access like for Yale? I am staffed on a project on Boston and could easily make the drive down. Would a simple phone call suffice to get on?

[Keith Durrant]

Another vote for George Wright, which has half a dozen grand and memorable holes.

[Amol Yajnik]

Another vote for George Wright, which has half a dozen grand and memorable holes.

George Wright will definitely be the easiest course to get to if you are staying in downtown Boston. $40 to walk Monday-Friday.  Just a heads-up, no driving range there if that's a big deal for you, and there are no preset tee times on Monday-Friday, you get paired up with others at the first tee.

Others in this thread have mentioned Red Tail.  While I really like the layout of that course, the conditioning of the course has gone downhill in the past 2-3 years.  I haven't been out there this year since May, but heard pretty bad things about the conditioning this summer.  Things are probably a bit better now that fall has arrived, but be forewarned.  Red Tail will be about an hour drive from downtown Boston.

The other place I would recommend is the Pinehills facility in Plymouth, also about an hour from downtown Boston.  It's a 36-hole facility that is in the CCFAD model, but the conditions are always pretty good there.  The Nicklaus course is a little more open off of the tee, but then more demanding around the greens than the Jones course.  I prefer the Nicklaus course because my short game is better than my long game, but I know a number of people that prefer the Jones course.  There are very good practice facilities down there as well (driving range, short game area, etc.) whereas Red Tail's range is not good at all.

I can't help you much on the private side of things, but it looks like you have lots of input already in this thread from others.  Have a great time up here, October is a wonderful time to be in Boston.

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

Thank you all for the valuable information.

Is it possible to rent clubs at George Wright?

[Mark McKeever]

Is Eastward Ho too far outside of Boston to get a mention. I've seen the pics and no way am I skipping that when in the area (if I can get on).

Brian, it should be at the top of your list.  Eastward Ho is incredible.
Mark

[Jay Flemma]

Red Tail's definitely closer than 1 hr from Boston...I've made it in 30 minutes!  Plus there's a terrific sushi/hibachi grill restaurant 2 miles away!