Boston Golf Club (Gil Hanse - Hingham, MA) - A Photo Tour

[Jon Cavalier]

Boston Golf Club
Gil Hanse - 2004
Hingham, MA



Boston has long been known as one of America's best cities for golf.  With classic gems like Myopia Hunt Club (tour), The Country Club at Brookline, Essex County Club, Salem Country Club, Kittansett and Eastward Ho! (tour), as well as modern entries like Old Sandwich by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the best of Boston-area golf can rival anywhere.



Enter Boston Golf Club.  I had the privilege of seeing this 2004 Gil Hanse design on a beautiful late-October afternoon, and while I had heard good things about the club previously, to say that Boston Golf Club exceeded my expectations would be a dramatic understatement.  In short, BGC wins my award for "most pleasant surprise" of 2015.



Every hole at BGC offers something worthwhile.  The golfer is put to strategic decisions constantly.  Despite its location, the playing corridors are wide, encouraging thoughtful placement of one's ball.  And the setting is gorgeous.  Boston Golf Club is the best work I've seen by Gil Hanse, and I would recommend it without reservation to any golfer looking to play in the Boston area. 



I hope you enjoy the tour.



The first thing a visitor notices upon arriving at Boston Golf Club is the wooded setting.  After turning into the entrance, marked only with a stone post engraved with the number "19", the visitor winds his way up a curved drive to the gravel lot and walks up to the wooden-shingled clubhouse, built to look like a relic from the revolutionary war.


The club has a well-appointed golf shop, locker rooms and a second-floor bar and grill with a view overlooking the 18th green.  Such tastefully done facilities that mesh well with their location are always a refreshing sight in today's game.  Now member owned, Boston Golf Club clearly puts the focus where it belongs -- on the golf course.


In sticking with the simple revolutionary war motif, the club's logo is a simple red and white striped flag.  It's one of my favorite modern golf logos.


The golf course itself plays to a championship distance to a par of 71 over 7062 yards, while the members generally play to a more reasonable 6740 yards (the distances used in this tour) or a composite yardage of just over 6300.  The course slopes out to a robust 139 (74.8 rating) at the tips and a 136 (73.4 rating) from the next set of tees.


As seen in this overhead, the course is divided by a public road -- the front nine plays out across the loop to the east of the road, while the back nine plays on the western side where the clubhouse is located. 


Though the road is not visible from any part of the course and is completely unobtrusive during play, the unique routing does present a rather long initial walk from the clubhouse to the first tee, and from the ninth to the tenth tee.  But the course itself is very walkable.


And expertly tended to and maintained with firm, fast greens and fairway and short rough, courtesy of both the grounds-keeping staff and the goats kept on property.


Need trees removed . . .


Happy to help!


Any course with goats on the maintenance staff gets extra points in my book.  Now, on to the golf course...


Hole 1 - 485 yards - Par 5
The course begins with a short but challenging par-5 that plays up over a blind rise to a fairway hidden largely from view.


From the very outset, the player gets a sense of what they will encounter at Boston Golf Club - wide, heaving fairways and an abundance of gorgeous scenery -- both natural and, in the case of the stone wall seen here, man-made.


Though this sub-500 yard par-5 is reachable in two for some longer hitters, the challenge in attempting the hero play is stiff. The elevated green is ringed with bunkers and fronted by a ribbon of gunch that will likely result in a lost ball for those attempting the green by come up short.


Laying up presents its own challenges, and the elevated green is partially hidden from view from the end of the fairway.


The view from behind the putting surface reveals the substantial undulation in the first green and the ample width of the playing lane, which while often appearing tight, always provide the player with room to maneuver.



Hole 2 - 407 yards - Par 4
A beautiful two shot hole, the fourth calls for an ideal drive either short of or over the rocky outcropping that cuts into the fairway from the right side.


Indifferent tee shots will find trouble on both sides of the pinched fairway.


Once beyond the choke point, the fairway tumbles hard down to the large green, which is open in the front to allow golfers to use the slope and attack the green on the ground.


As this view from the right rear corner of the green shows, both the putting surface and the surrounding mowed areas are rife with movement.  The deep valley to the left of the green adds considerable challenge to approaches hit to left pins.



Hole 3 - 420 yards - Par 4
The outstanding third hole begins with another blind tee shot to a fairway that swells up before dropping and bending slightly to the left.


Care must be taken to choose a line and a shot shape that will both enable the player to hold the fairway and to position himself to approach the angled, sloping green.


A ravine divides the fairway from the large third green, which is angled from short left to deep right, and which is also sloped hard from left to right, making the angle of approach critical.


The view from behind the green shows the exceptionally undulated fairway, uncommon elsewhere but frequently seen here.


After bagging his (hopeful) four, the golfer sets off on this footbridge through a wooded marsh to reach the fourth tee.



Hole 4 - 413 yards - Par 4
The third of three consecutive two shot holes exceeding 400 yards in length, the fourth hole requires a drive over the large framing bunker to the left over another rise, which hides . . .


. . . these traps guarding the left side of the fairway, and which should be avoided at all costs.  Beyond this hazard, the fairway drops into a valley before rising again to meet the green.


A common theme at Boston Golf Club is that many of the areas surrounding the greens are mowed to fairway height, accentuating the use of the ground game, providing recovery options for near-misses and exacting a heavier price for poorly hit shots that will not have the benefit of tall grass to stop the ball near the green.


Once again, the green is open across the front, allowing a variety of shots to be played.



Hole 5 - 313 yards - Par 4
One of the best modern short par-4 holes that I've seen, the fifth plays out through a chute of trees to an upsloping fairway with troublesome bunkering and mounds encroaching from the right.


While the tendency of most from the tee will be to play safely out to the left of the open fairway to avoid these bunkers, which will certainly add at least a stroke to most cards . . .


. . . those that do are confronted with an approach from a difficult angle to an extremely narrow green backed by a deep, tight bunker.


At the same time, the closer one plays to the trouble up the right side of the fairway, the better the angle into the difficult green. From the right edge of the fairway, the player has the benefit of playing down the long axis of the green.


The narrowness of this green and the shape of the bunkering to the rear is reminiscent of the ninth green at Myopia Hunt. Though most will have but a wedge in, this is one of the most difficult approaches on the golf course.


A brilliantly-designed short two-shotter in every respect.



Hole 6 - 157 yards - Par 3
The first of an exceptional quartet of one-shot holes at Boston Golf Club, the sixth plays from an elevated tee to an elevated green across an ocean of sand and shrub.


The wide, shallow green is shaped almost like a figure eight and plays more like two small greens than a single large one.


The left pin placements play easier than those to the smaller but shorter right side.


As is the case with all of the par-3s at Boston Golf Club, the sixth perfectly balances visual appeal with a demand for quality shotmaking.



Hole 7 - 423 yards - Par 4
The tee shot at the seventh must carry an expanse of sandy waste area, and a hidden valley on the right side (a smaller version of a similar feature on the second hole at NGLA) should be avoided.


The wide fairway gives way to a reverse redan-like green that is one of the most severely sloping on the course.


Serious trouble awaits the weak cut that misses the green short.  Even shots that hit the front right portion of the green risk being repelled into the bunker below.


One of the more difficult pars at Boston Golf Club -- a four here is an excellent outcome.



Hole 8 - 210 yards - Par 3
The longest one-shot hole at Boston Golf Club, the eighth green is partially hidden from view by chocolate drops-style mounding that fronts the putting surface and makes this tee shot appear much more difficult than it is.


As seen here, there is ample room between the drops and the green, which allows for the ball to be landed short of the green and bounced on to the putting surface. 


Likewise, there is substantial room to miss the green short or left and still have a good chance at par.


Missing this green long, however, is quite bad -- this nasty little bunker is more than ten feet below the putting surface.


The green itself is rippled and mounded.  A wonderful par-3 hole.



Hole 9 - 440 yards - Par 4
From an elevated tee, the golfer gives back the nearly 100 feet of elevation gained over the first eight holes.


Though the elevation change and the angle of the fairway makes this shot look rather tight, the fairway is wider and more accommodating than it appears from the tee.


From the fairway, the player must first avoid a small area of hazard intruding from the left side as he approaches one of the more scenic and interesting greens on the property.


The large green is nestled into a cove bordered in the front by the raised fairway and in the rear by a stone wall.  Missing this green long is not an option.


The green itself contains substantial movement, and hitting this green in regulation is no guarantee of a par.


A tough, fair and pretty hole -- a fitting end to the front nine.

[Jon Cavalier]

Hole 10 - 390 yards - Par 4
From a tee bordered by the foundation of an old ruin, the tenth plays out to a fairway sloping downhill and to the right.  The raised mound on the right of the fairway complicates this drive.


As seen here, the ideal tee shot favors the right side of the fairway, as anything left bears a risk of running off or through the fairway.


From the right edge of the fairway, the green is revealed.  Long is not an option, and the bunkers short of the putting surface make for a challenging recovery.


The result is one of the more difficult approach shots on the course.


Despite these challenges and the visual difficulties presented by the setting of the green, as is often the case at Boston Golf Club, there is more room to maneuver than first appears.


All in all, an outstanding par 4 and one of my favorites of the inward nine.



Hole 11 - 178 yards - Par 3
The penultimate one-shotter and the last until the eighteenth hole, the eleventh is a gorgeous par-3 playing out over a large wasteland to a green benched into the side of a hill.


The large putting surface is heavily sloped, and the high mound to the left of the green again provides for redan-like characteristics and the availability of an indirect route.


Today's pin, which sits at the base of the elevated left side of the green, is one of the most player-friendly, but . . .


. . . pins to on the back left side of the green are difficult in the extreme.


This is neither the hardest green to hit or the easiest green to putt, but one thing is certain . . .


. . . this is a beautiful golf hole.



Hole 12 - 424 yards - Par 4
The tee shot here is over a long stone wall to a fairway angled from left to right away from the tee.


The fairway itself is one of the most undulating on the entire course, and level lies are seldom found here.


Bunkers guard the left side of the fairway, and a principal's nose feature sits some 50 yards short of the green in the middle of the fairway.


Beyond these hazards, the fairway dips into a wide gully before rising steeply to meet the green.


The resulting false front can repel even marginally indifferent shots well back into the fairway.


After negotiating these many difficulties, the golfer is rewarded with one of the most difficult putting surfaces on the course.  Putting from the rear of this green to a front pin can easily result in one facing a 30 yard chip on the following shot.


A very difficult hole, and the first in a string of three.



Hole 13 - 415 yards - Par 4
Playing over a framing bunker to a wide fairway, the ideal tee shot here is to the left of the fairway so as to provide room to clear the dogleg.


Cut shots will often have to contend with the trees down the right side, but the green is sloped from left to right to aid such shots.


In a vision of dark comedy, Hanse turned this old ruin located on the inside corner of the dogleg into a bunker.  While few find this diabolical hazard, even fewer of those who do escape.


A welcome sight - yet another green open across its full width to the fairway.


As this view from the left side of the green shows, the thirteenth is no pushover when it comes to putting.  A hard left to right slant and internal undulations provide a stiff test.


In return for providing a green open to the fairway, the thirteenth severely punishes the overly aggressive golfer who ends up long. As is the case with so many holes at BGC, the thirteenth provides an ideal balance in strategic concerns.



Hole 14 - 418 yards - Par 4
The last in a difficult three hole stretch, the fourteenth plays gently downhill and slightly to the right along the eastern edge of the property.


This alternate tee to the left of the primary teeing ground provides the members with a different look at this hole.


Once more, the ideal line off this tee is to the left side of the fairway, avoiding the bunkering . . .


. . . and providing a straight-on approach to this green, which slopes away from the player.


Again, the green is hospitable to a ground attack which, given the slope of the green, is often preferable here.


An excellent two-shot hole.



Hole 15 - 545 yards - Par 5
The longest hole on the course and the first par 5 since the opening hole, the fifteenth is also one of the more dramatic holes at BGC.  From the tee, the fifteenth plays out to a largely blind fairway that bends slightly right.


The second shot must carry Hanse's rendition of a Hell's Half Acre bunker complex, which divides the fairway.


Once clear of the cross hazard, the player confronts a gorgeously sloped fairway that pares down to a mere ribbon of short grass that bends left and dives down to the green.


The beauty of the landscaping done on this hole cannot be overstated.


Arriving at the green, the golfer confronts a putting surface that slopes up from front to back and which is riddled with small mounds and internal slopes.  The intricate green is a fitting culmination to this wonderful three-shotter.


One of my favorite par-5s in New England.



Hole 16 - 340 yards - Par 4
The final par 4 at BGC, and one of the shortest, the sixteenth doglegs left through a fairway punched full of rough bunkers, including a proper principal's nose feature.


The elevated green is fronted by several bunkers, including one of the largest and deepest on the course.


Hazards surround the putting surface, and a raised ridge running around the green from the front right to back left provides a half-punchbowl effect, and makes reading this green difficult.


Though a short par-4, the sixteenth is by no means without its teeth.



Hole 17 - 538 yards - Par 5
The final full tee shot at BGC plays out to a wide, mounded fairway with a large, rocky mound down the center line. 


Once this initial hill is crested, the remainder of this downhill par 5 is revealed.


One of the more straightforward holes at BGC, the sixteenth is a rather simple proposition -- keep the ball in the middle of the fairway and avoid the many hazards dotting its edges.


Yet again, this green will accommodate a shot played along the ground.  The putting surface is cut by a valley that bisects nearly the entire green and provides for some interesting and challenging pin locations.


As this view back up the seventeenth shows, the fairways at BGC are some of the wildest this side of Eastward Ho!


The view from the seventeenth green across the 14th fairway is one of the best on the course.



Hole 18 - 180 yards - Par 3
Often, courses that finish with a par-3 are referred to as "controversial."  But if a one-shot hole best fits the land and the location, as it does here, an architect does the course a disservice if he forces a hole that doesn't fit. The final hole at BGC plays uphill to a green located in the shadow of the clubhouse. It is a difficult par 3 and a fitting test to conclude a medal round or a match.


The green is fronted by a stone wall and deep bunkers -- short is not an optimal miss here.


As evidenced by today's pin location . . .


. . . and the mounding within the green, the final hole is no pushover, and provides a fitting finish to this brilliant golf course.



No course that I played this year exceeded my expectations more than Boston Golf Club, and I had high expectations going in.  What I found here was an expertly designed golf course that was extraordinarily interesting in its strategic demands and, most importantly, extremely enjoyable to play.  Every hole, and every shot, at BCG offered a strategic challenge that required an evaluation of the various options available and the risks and potential rewards of each possible play. As soon as I finished my round, I wanted to head right back out for another loop -- only darkness prevented me from doing so. 



Boston Golf Club has my highest recommendation and is a must see for any devout golfer in the Boston area.  Simply put, it is one of the finest modern golf courses that I have yet to play.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

- Jon Cavalier / @linksgems

Past Photo Tours:
National Golf Links of America
Fishers Island Club
Sleepy Hollow CC
Somerset Hills CC         
Eastward Ho
Myopia Hunt Club
Old Town Club
Whippoorwill Club
Ballyhack
Bayonne Golf Club
Bandon Dunes Resort
Garden City Golf Club
Longue Vue Club

[Joe Bausch]

I totally enjoyed the tour.   

[Mark Pritchett]

Jon,


Thanks for another great thread.  This one takes me back to a special day I had at BGC with a great group of friends. 


Mark

[Ian Andrew]

I played the golf course this year and really was quite impressed.


The stretches of 5-7 and then 10 thru 16 are very strong. And my personal favourite was the uphill 2nd, I thought that was a well conceived uphill four.


I'm sure others might pick on the impact of the road, but that didn't really bother me that much. I get why he made the decision.


I personally would have liked an easier green on the opener ...   :  )

[Carson Pilcher]

Great tour!  I look forward to playing there one day.

[Thomas Dai]

When I looked at the photo of the 6th hole on the this months photos thread I was intrigued about the course and suspected a detailed photo tour was about to be posted, and here it is.


Very nice tour as ever Jon. Interesting terrain and all over including internal greens contouring, stone walls, tiny bunkers, native edged bunkers including ones in the centre of fairways, goats to nibble the undergrowth etc. Not a great fan of forced carries off tees but if that's what the nature of the terrain gives then so be it.


Atb

[Frank Giordano]

Jon,

Thanks for another superb tour.  The constant movement in every area of the course makes for an exciting challenge to the player's judgment, and your report shows that very clearly.  You picked an ideal time to play the course, with New England's foliage  and the colorful "waste" areas all decked out to supply a stunning contrast with the emerald phases of tees-fairways-greens.  I just wonder, how does a player concentrate on the golf when the setting is so engaging and fascinating.  You really needed that second round, if you were to do your game justice after running around the first 18 with your camera clicking and your eyeballs bulging with delight.

[Benjamin Litman]

Marvelous work as always, Jon. Thank you for taking the time to assemble the tour and to share your thoughts. The reasons you've been raving about BGC for so long come through quite clearly. One word kept coming to me as I read over the tour: coherent. It held together particularly well, a reflection I imagine of the course's seemingly intimate and seamless routing. I felt truly "there," even if I've never been. While I seek to remedy that omission, I will more than happily rely on your tour in the meantime.


Quick question on the design: The par-3s, as you note, seem especially good, but I noticed that many of them demand a forced carry--as with the approach at the par-5 1st. All such carries seem more than offset by the number of long holes allowing for the ground game, but I wondered what your perception was while playing. Many thanks again.

[Mark Kiely]

Simply stunning, both the course and, as always, your photography. Thank you for posting this!

In the interest of accuracy, I believe you referred to the second hole as the fourth in your description of the first photo.

[MCirba]

Jon,

Terrific tour, thanks!

Boston Golf Club is a joy and I always enjoy the sense of discovery on each hole.  Few courses stand up as well to repeated playings.

[Eric Hammerbacher]

Great tour Jon.

I love the texture and rough and tumble look of the sandy waste areas, especially on 6,7, and 8.   Along with the stone walls,  they really give the holes great color and depth. I also like the way that clubhouse blends into the surroundings...any pics of inside the clubhouse?

You really can't get much better then New England golf in the fall. 

[Amol Yajnik]

It seems repetitive to say "another great tour Jon" but it's true!


This is another course close to me that I'd love to see in person.  I didn't realize that the topography varied so much, especially being in Hingham which is close to the coast.  I did find it interesting that there are some forced carries, but many more greens where run-up shots are accepted.  I wonder if the conditioning is done in a manner to encourage those shots.  Thanks again for your contribution.

[Ronald Montesano]

Hopefully other shutterbugs condemned to this incarceration center will chime in with precise observations. Here's what I picked out of the photos:


-You had a wretched sky (mostly) under which to shoot. Good light, but lots of whitey-grey clouds;


-The fairway color looks odd to me, contrasting mightily with the shade of the laurel-green rough. Am I correct and can you offer insight into the contrast?


-I haven't been in our neck of the wape in 7 weeks, so I have no idea how the leaves turned this year. Some seem to have cooperated, while others stubbornly cling to their chlorophyll.


-I'm a fan of your shots from behind greens. I'm impressed that you succeeded in showing putting surface changes. It's so hard to take the flat out of images.


-is there much chance for wide-angle shots? It seems that the fairways are secluded from each other, so the opportunity to capture multiple fairways/greens doesn't emerge. The exception seems to be the 14-15-17 area.

[Jeff_Mingay]

.. unbelievably gorgeous landscape. Thanks for posting your beautiful photos, Jon!

[Adrian_Stiff]

Looks a great course. Enjoyed the tour.

[Jon Cavalier]

Thanks guys.  Glad you're enjoying.  I will try to answer all questions, but first, since several people touched on it, I wanted to discuss the "forced carries" at Boston GC.


First -- forced carries off the tee on par 4s and 5s -- there really are none.  While there are some holes like the 5th on which a topped duff will end up in the gunch, even the shortest of hitters should have no problem carrying these.  They usually don't require more than 100 yards, even from way back.  I'm not a long hitter, and I never even thought about the carry off the tee.


As for the approaches and par-3s, yes -- there are several forced carries.  The first hole has one, the third hole has a partial forced carry into the green, the short 16th has one, and all four par threes require some sort of a carry into the greens.


But I didn't mind this at all on this course.  Why?  Because the course was both balanced (the majority of the holes have no carry at all -- you could putt the ball on to many greens from 100 yards out) and provided golfers with strategic choices, rather than simply forcing everyone to carry the same hazard from the same spot.


Take the first hole -- sure, if you want to try the hero shot and hit that green in two from 230+, you're going to have to fly the gunch-strip, and if you come up short, you'll probably be dropping.  But you have the choice -- lay up, and its a simple 100 yard shot with a 70 yard carry -- for most golfers, that's a shot they're more than capable of hitting.


Same for the third hole -- if you want to try to attack a tucked right hand pin, you have to fly it all the way there, but the weaker player has the option of playing left and using the terrain to work the ball down to that side to make his par.


The 16th hole is dotted with hazards, but its really short -- the length is balanced by the many traps, the small green and the forced carry on to the putting surface.


Regarding the par-3s: the 8th hole is a pretty easy carry over the mounds -- maybe 160 yards -- from a perfect lie.  And even if the carry isn't made, the ball will be found.


The other par-3s are all sub-200 yards and not only have big greens, but 8 and 16 have a shorter/easier carry to the left, and 6 is the shortest hole on the course and is fronted by a bunker.


Point being, where the player is forced to carry a hazard or difficult area, they are either forced to do so from a relatively easy position or given a choice to tack around the hazard.  BGC does not force a single tough carry off the tee or into a green. 


I finished the round at BGC with one ball -- and I'm not that good.  But I like having the choice (not the requirement) to make the hero play on occasion.

[Randy Thompson]

A work of art and great photography. What a canvas New England provides for Fall and the architect and company had it clear on how to maximize and make it peak at the right time. The beauty is an undisputable 10 no doubt. How does it play? I see a lot of lost ball potential. How much width between the trees in general, Can any mid or high handicappers tell me how it played for them. Would you classify this as a fun course for all levels of players? Thanks for the tour and the work and time you put into it! I wanted to go this October to the Cape and had to put it off until next October. I will now do everything posible to see this course during the trip!

[Tim Gallant]

Jon,

Thank you for posting these photos and analysis. I was struck by the great balance of green complexes and their surroundings. While some greens were framed by treacherous bunkers and waste, it seemed that those holes where the primary difficulty arose from the tee, that Hanse balanced this with a fair green and surrounding to allow for recoverability (you mention this for hole 4 I believe). I enjoy this mix, which keeps players interested.

[Jeff Spittel]

Brilliant job once again, Jon. The course and the club ooze personality and you've captured the beauty of the landscape expertly.

[Anton]

Gorgeous photos!  Fantastic!  Thanks for sharing

[Brad Tufts]

Great tour!  My office is about 18 minutes from BGC.

Now, the new-age South Shore golf conundrum...BGC or OS?


They are always close to each other when showing up on rankings, as I imagine many raters visit both on the same trip.  Their landscapes are similar at first glance...hilly, undulating...even though BGC is more rocky and OS is more sandy.


Both clubs/courses have their devotees...OS as a club is a bit more of a full-amenity hideout, whereas BGC is stylized as a bit more rustic and low-frills.  At OS you can't take a shower outside, at BGC you can. 


BGC can be tighter, quirkier golf, and OS is bigger and brawnier in places.  It's fun that members of each will scoff at the suggestion that the other layout is better than theirs, but would never turn down a visit to the other...


And I'm sure you will find a few locals that will say the answer to OS v. BGC is Black Rock!

[John Kavanaugh]

Half the pictures would equal twice the discussion.  This tour has resulted in a complete loss of desire to see a course which once held interest.  Horrible, just horrible.


I would love to hear a professional photographer outline how someone could take so many pretty colors and mix them up into a stew of putrid jobbletygook.  Please, someone step up and help Jon before he wastes anymore of his precious time or disparages the image of another great course.


If I'm wrong please pull out one picture that doesn't leave you with at least one symptom commonly associated with a concussion.

[Jon Cavalier]

I so missed you in my tours, John. Glad to have you back.

[Ronald Montesano]

Now, the new-age South Shore golf conundrum...BGC or OS?

For those not in the know, can you tell us what OS stands for...Our Ship? Onion Sack?


Thanks, BT

EDITOR'S NOTE:  Figured it out...Old Sandwich?
RM