George Wright

[Carl Nichols]

I am going to be in Boston the rest of this week for work; the weather looks nice for golf; is it worth schlepping my clubs to play a round at George Wright? 

[Brad Tufts]

Yes!  Approaching record temps tomorrow and Thursday....I think the record is like 72/73.


George Wright is a treat, and should be good this time of year...and not very crowded if playing on a weekday.


Wish I could join you, as the office is only 5 miles away, but work....

[Carl Nichols]

Thanks Brad.  Hope you are well.

[MCirba]

Seconds on that motion, Carl.

I may be the only person on the planet who ever played Myopia Hunt Club in the morning and George Wright Municipal in the afternoon but with the exception of a few low-lying holes that seem to stay pretty wet the GW course is a treat and to me one of the very finest true municipal courses in the country.

[David Whitmer]

Carl,

I have not played George Wright, but my brother (who is the golf writer for The Boston Globe) sings its praises. He wrote an article on George Wright back in 2009. Here is the link. http://www.boston.com/sports/golf/articles/2009/06/11/george_wright_gc_has_been_righted/

[PCCraig]

George Wright is a pretty neat golf course and is well worth checking out.

[Brad Tufts]

I always tell visitors to Boston that one can do MUCH worse than a full day at George Wright and Franklin Park.  The only caveat is that a 36-hole day really should be a weekday, as the rounds do get a bit long on weekends.  They are only about 4 or 5 miles from each other.


GW is a public Ross classic that, with maybe a few more dollars' budget, would be up there with any of the #5-#15 ranked Boston privates.  It has improved tremendously over the past decade, and it's always worth a play for me each year to see what they have done recently according to the master plan.  For instance, I hold my beloved Tedesco dear...but I think a well-conditioned George Wright would be right alongside in quality.


FP is America's second-oldest public course, original home to Willie and Georgina Campbell, was worked on by Ross, and even earned some Bobby Jones play while he was at Harvard Law.  Only 6000 yards, par 70, this course is also being slowly improved and spruced up, and its openness really gives a great glimpse into early 20th-century golf. 


George Wright had deteriorated for years but always remained playable...Franklin Park actually closed for over a decade in the 70s/80s, but a few locals kept its spirit alive by mowing a few holes on early weekend mornings before playing in the afternoons.


These courses often get overlooked when a well-connected visitor comes into town to hit-and-run at TCC/Charles River/Winchester/Brae Burn, but they are WELL worth a game!

[Carl Nichols]

Brad:  George Wright or BGC (which I've played before)?

[Brad Tufts]

Tough one, as BGC is really good.


Here's for an "only-on-GCA" recommendation...if you have played BGC before, and it seems like you can get on there at will...I would try George Wright!


My favorite holes (meant to include in my last post) are 3, 5, 7-12, 15, 17.  Great stretch there in the middle.

[Cob Carlson]

Carl: Brad is steering you straight. I am very biased. George Wright is my home course, and I am a former club champ there. I am also the guy who produced the documentary "DONALD ROSS: Discovering the  Legend."


We are having super weather this week in Boston, and the Wright is in PRIMO shape. Greens were punched in September and are perfect now.


The Massachusetts Golf Association loves our course. This past year something very special happened...a first. The State Four Ball Championship was played at both Boston munis - the Wright and Franklin Park. Each team played one round at each course. For such a small state, we have an amazing abundance of great players, yet the Wright held its own, and the best team score recorded over the two days there was 4 under. Virtually all the players in the field sang the praises of both courses.


In 2017 George Wright GC will host the Massachusetts State Amateur Championship. This is historic. Never before has our state championship been contested on a muni.


Kudos go to our Greens Superintendent, Len Curtin. Len is a terrific golfer, a knowledgeable Ross fan, and has done yeoman work in restoring the course using Ross' plans. He has removed many trees, brought back closely mown areas greenside, and redone almost all of the grass down bunkers. And has done so with a small annual budget and a skeletal crew.


When I have brought friends who are members at Charles River, Winchester, Brae Burn, The Orchards, Pocassett, etc., across the board they are in awe. You will use every club in your bag and it is a delight to walk. Holes 9 & 10 are two of the hardest par fours back to back in the state. It is a TRUE GEM. Don't miss it...

[Amol Yajnik]

I play more at George Wright than any other course here in the Boston area, and would definitely recommend it this week with the great weather we are having.  It's been a very dry fall here (and summer, for that matter) so you're going to find some small areas in the fairways that aren't in great shape, but overall the course should play pretty fast.  One note: the course staff has done renovations to the teeing area on 16 and will not open that area until next year, so 16 is now playing as a 250 yard par 4 from the front teeing ground. 


If I didn't already have a tee time with a friend at another course for tomorrow, I'd invite you to join me tomorrow.  Oh, one other thing: I played Franklin Park today, and their greens were recently aerated and very slow.  GW and Franklin Park is a great 36 hole day, but right now, I'd say that GW will be more enjoyable (but tougher) due to the greens at both courses.

[Tyler Kearns]

Carl,


I am glad to have made the trek out to George Wright when I was in Boston a few years ago, you will not regret it.  The course is routed over some nice terrain and while you have to contend with a few awkward holes like No. 10 and 15, their limitations are more than offset by those holes traversing the best topography, namely No. 3, 5 and 11.  The four one-shotters are all very good and the stretch of holes from 3 - 6 was my favourite.  The conditioning was fine and better than anticipated and the green fee makes this a wonderful bargain.  I only wish they would remove the chain link fence surrounding the irrigation pond on No. 13 (I assume it is a safety measure).
















TK

[Cob Carlson]

Tyler, that unsightly chain link fence was removed last year. Nice pictures!

[Brad Tufts]

Good info from Cob, George Wright's consummate tournament player!...the pics above are holes 3 (first par five), 5 from behind (so tough on first play, a great risk-reward hole that forces you to lay up and hit a running long-iron second), 11 (love the front edge of the green creeping to/over the front edge of the fillpad finally!), 12 green (with a long view to 15 green), and the fun par three 17th.


Tyler...I wouldn't call #10 awkward, just really difficult.  The difference between a drive that skirts the left fairway bunkers and a bail-out to the right may be 5-6 clubs on your second shot.  Say what you will about the blind downhill second shot, but I've never felt screwed by it.  I think 15 is a neat hole too...shades of #11 (members) at TCC with the rock face that must be carried or circumvented to the left.


For me, the worst holes are those over less-inspiring terrain, and they aren't bad really.  #1 is an old-timey yet blah start, #6 is boring-ish (until they restore a tee up on the rock ledge to the left of the current tee? Cob?), #13 is the result of drainage issues...it doesn't fit but it solved big problems so it gets a pass...14 has always been trapped in a grove of trees without enough sun to grow grass... and #18 is sort of a forced-draw if you want to hit driver,but the greensite in the open area near the clubhouse is still neat.

[Cob Carlson]

Brad is the whiz when it comes to insights on our many great courses here in Mass.


#13 was a redo a few years ago because a fly by night irrigation company busted an original iron-clad drainage pipe, back in the nineties, and turned our left rough into a mini-pond bog area. Long story short, it took many years, but a fix was commissioned. The good...trees were cleared on the right side of the hole and some gravel laden rough was cleaned up. The green complex (superb) and the fairway from 75 yards in from the green was left untouched. The bad...a tee water hazard was put in on the left side (blind shot from the tee) where there was once just rough. It seems to be a magnet for balls. The fairway was pitched left to drain into the hazard, but not quite enough. Consequently, drainage is still very poor, and the fairway grass has never really rooted. From the tee the hole feels like a misfit to the rest of the course.


#1 and #2, although relatively broad and plain, give the player two holes to warm up. But if you hit it in the rough...a likely bogey on both.


#14 has had a bunch of trees removed and the new sight lines and access to the sun are top notch.


I would beg to differ on hole #6. (see my film DVD extras on this). It is a straight line from tee to green, but Ross winds you there with a graceful 'S' curve. You can bail out to the right, but have 165-185 in over a trap to a green that goes hard away from you. Or you can hit your second shot from here short of the green left, and have a strong chance of an up and down. The play I like off the tee is to draw it slightly around a testy little cross bunker on the left that leaves you a 135-150 shot in, great angle, right up the shoot. The hole is blessed with a beautiful granite ledge on the left side adjacent to that cross bunker. Recent complete tree and brush removal greenside right has added to the hole's lustre.


The high left granite tee you mention Brad, was not original Ross, but rather an add on in the eighties for outings, I believe. Not a great angle, and has been mothballed along with similar add on tees right on 15 and left on 18. All good calls to let them grow over.


Most folks think our signature holes are two par threes...the 4th and the 17th. They often appear in trademark photos.

[Brad Tufts]

Great stuff Cob...I haven't played GW in a couple years, so I have to get back next season to check it out again.  It used to be my go-to "local" course when I lived in Southie and didn't want to go the N. Shore.


Didn't know that about #6...I always thought it was a filler hole because it never bit me...but the greensite in the saddle is noteworthy.  I will have to consult my DVD.  My feeling may just be because it suffers between the rollicking #5 and #7...two holes where the player has no clue on a first play...they look narrow, crowned, etc. but really come alive once you play a second time and you know what to expect over the hills.  I love #7 through #12...that variety is exactly why Ross was a genius at routing, and those same stretches full of quirk and variety can be found at each of the Ross faves around Boston...Salem 7-14...Brae Burn 2-8 and 15-18...Charles River 10-15...Concord 2-7 and 10-13.

[Tyler Kearns]

Tyler, that unsightly chain link fence was removed last year. Nice pictures!

Cob,


Glad to hear about the fence removal.  Look forward to playing G.W. again sometime in the future, it sounds like things are steadily heading in the right direction.


TK

[Mark McKeever]

I try to make it out there every time I am staying in nearby Dedham, MA.  I love the place and recommend it to anyone headed up that way.


MM

[Tom Bagley]

Very good articles in the most recent Mass Golfer about the rebirth of Franklin Park:

http://onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?i=268722

[Mark Steffey]

my useless wish when the 'Boston 2024' talk started was the golf would be held at george wright!  a little olympic $$ could have been just what was needed there to get it ready.

[MCirba]

Thanks for sharing that terrific magazine Tom.

[Stephen Northrup]

The clubhouse is a cool (literally) WPA-era stone building -- the whole course was built with WPA funds. I haven't played it in a couple of years but conditioning seems to be better every time.

[Tom Bagley]

Thanks for sharing that terrific magazine Tom.

Mike:
You're welcome.  And, as the magazine mentions, George Wright and Franklin Park will be co-hosting the Massachusetts Amateur in 2018 - the first time the Amateur has been played in the City of Boston or on truly public golf courses.

[MCirba]

Tom,

That's wonderful news, thanks.

I missed Franklin Park on my only golf visit to Boston.   I won't make that mistake next time. 

[Lyndell Young]

+1 on GW I loved how Ross used the natural landforms. I think I heard Gil Hanse has visited , with some restoration could be a top 100 IMHO