George Wright-Americas last abused treasure?

[ginger1]

In the city of Boston, in a working class neighborhood, is the last great unadulterated Donald Ross treasure in America-George Wright Golf Course. Named for a local sports hero of the early 1900's, and built by Ross and his lead foreman this is a fine example of Ross architecture.The best news it hasn't been screwed up by a pushy green chairman or psuedo-designer. The course was managed by The City of Boston for years and when golf was slow in the 1970's they almost shut it down. The surely haven't put a penny into the architecture which is just fine.

   Now the city of Boston has taken the course from a course management company. They are trying to  upgrade it,but how about it USGA, you did a masterful restoration at Bethpage-Why not take on this one? From the huge clubhouse to the fantastic WPA era stone work throughout,to the rolling, fantastic layout, lets do it to it!

[les_claytor]

Geo. Wright was the second municipal course built in the US.  Do they still ridge horses on the course?  I've heard it's pretty cool, and I'd love to get up there some day.

I wouldn't say it's the last abused treasure.  I would hope it could be restored.

[Joel_Stewart]

Has anything developed in terms of a restoration at this course in the last few years?

I would add George Thomas Griffith Park as an abused treasure.

[Joel_Stewart]

Also Alister Mackenzies Sharp Park.  Can't get much worse then the city of San Francisco and their management.

[Ronald Montesano]

We have a wonderful non-profit organization, the Olmsted Parks Conservatory, in charge of parks in the municipality of Buffalo. Trouble is, none of the three city courses, Delaware (18) Cazenovia (9) nor South Park (9) has a layout of pedigree. If you played the bookends, you'd chuckle your way through the round. Caz, in south Buffalo, might be a hidden treasure, as it shows movement in many places, although some of the greens are laughable.

[RDecker]

A builder/shaper who'd done some work for me a few years ago had been hired to do some drainage work at George Wright.  He told me
that the budget was tight and that he was going to be lucky to see his money in a timely manner.  He thought the course was great but a
bit of a "red headed stepchild".  It would be great to see a Bethpage like rebirth of a Ross gem, however as a Mass. resident it's hard to imagine governmental intervention not going badly.

[Cliff Hamm]

George Wright completes a trio of fantastic Donald Ross munis the others being  Shennecossett in Groton, Ct., Triggs in Providence, RI.  These three showcase Donald Ross's versatility.  Shenny is a tremendous links type course.  Triggs is parkland style.  While GW would also be considered a parkland course, it is the topography that to me makes it unique.  It is up and down with the land being the hazard.  Ross's ability to route a golf course is once again highlighted.  

I played it this fall and loved it.  Course was empty and they had a special for $39.  Again, this trio of Donald Ross munis are all bargains.  I would stack these three  munis  at this price within 100 miles against any other three.  The course was in fine condition and a pleasure.  Because of the hills, bends  and blind shots it demands much more than one play.

Some pix:

A clubhouse worthy of a US Open.  Until you go inside and feel that Hannibal Lecter might be around any corner:



The course:










Approach to 10 after drive:




Drive on 12 or so.



The view from the top of the hill.  As I recall you can drive to the lower portion.






While it may not be BB, how many courses are?  GW deserves more attention and is well worth a play.

[Chip Gaskins]

I played George Wright a few times when I did an intership in grad school in Boston a decade ago...I took the train and walked from the station to the course.  Good fun.  It wasn't in good shape but had a few very fun holes, I remember one par 4 had a greensite beautifully benched into a hillside.  Glad to see the city has given it some love, but Bethpage it is not.

[Mark Pearce]

I played George Wright a couple of years ago at the end of a trip that included Charles River and Yale.  It wasn't in immaculate condition by any means but was quite playable and the course itself wasn't a let down, even in comparison the CR and Yale.  There's a lot of good holes and it's on a very good piece of land.

[Joel_Stewart]

Great photos.  It looks much better then what I was expecting.  It does need some serious tree trimming.

By these photos, Sharp Park is in far worse condition.

[Brad Tufts]

All,

George Wright is a great muni layout.  It is a Ross (and I believe McGovern as foreman) layout that originated as an estate of a prominent Bostonian that was bought by the city and named after the 19th-century baseball star George Wright.  The course's construction was a WPA project that was originally meant to be a private course but turned public during the depression.  It has been mentioned above that George Wright is the second municipal course in the US after Van Cortlandt.  This is incorrect, as Franklin Park is the answer there.  FP is also in Boston, and opened in the mid-1890s whereas GW opened in the early 30s.

There was some mismanagement at GW in the 90s by a management company that was notorious for failing to put its profits back into the course, so the city took it back over in the early 2000s.  Since then, a master plan has been insituted that will slowly restore original bunkering and fix issues that the course has likely had since it opened in the 30s.  I have played the course 8-10 times over the last 12 years, and every year a new bunker appears or a project has been completed (most prominently the fix at #13, converting a chronic low wet fairway into a pond and fairway to the right).  The golf course is always in decent, playable shape, and with a bit more TLC could be the equal of many of the private layouts surrounding the city.

This would not be a candidate for the Bethpage treatment.  George Wright tips out at 64-6500 yards, with minimal room to expand.  This will never be a PGA Tour layout, but maybe someday could host a womens' USGA event.  The 36-hole layout at Ponkapoag in Canton has been mentioned in conjunction with the USGA treatment, but the MDC, the organization that runs the facility, has refused so far.  There is a great deal of room there and 18 holes of 36 can be traced back to Ross, so there is a chance that something could be worked out someday.

[Nick Campanelli]

I'll add pictures to this site soon, but in the meantime click the following link to view all 18 in detail....

http://www.cognizantgolf.com/george-wright-golf-course.html.

I've played it twice and could play it everyday and be happy.  Incredible layout that gets better with every round.  The fifth, seventh, twelfth, and sixteenth holes stand out immediately.  The short 13th just got better thanks to Tim Gerrish.        

Tim could speak regarding the recent renovations as he was overseeing the work (while with Mark Mungeam).  A short blurb regarding his recent work can be found at http://gardner-gerrish.com/golf-course/george-wright-golf-course