Top 20 Favorite Courses in New England

At the time of this post, I have played 72 golf courses in New England.  Some have been very nice, others not much.  I wanted to put together a list of the courses I liked the most.  Below is a list of my FAVORITE courses in New England, not necessary the best or the hardest I have played.  There is not really any rhyme or reason to this list, just my personal preference on the layout, and enjoy-ability.

1. Newport National, Middletown, RI

Great layout, great course conditions, great location.

2. The International – Oaks Course, Bolton, MA

TOUGH track, awesome elevation changes.  Impeccable course conditions.

3. Butter Brook, Westford, MA

The tale of two nines – front is regular parkland golf, back is links. $78 bucks on a weekend beats the other 4-5 star courses in the area.

4. Golf Club of Cape Cod, East Falmouth, MA

Amazing layout, clubhouse and service.  Some very cool holes here.  Top of the line.

5. Meadow Brook, Richmond, RI

Pound for pound, could be the top public course in New England.

6. Cape Arundel, Kennebunkport, ME

Links style, home course of George H.W. Bush.

7. TPC Boston, Norton, MA

Play where the pros play!

8. Shaker Hills, Harvard, MA

Great overall golf experience.

9. Thomson Country Club, North Reading, MA

My home track; course management and precise shots are king here due to the tight fairways and tricky greens.  Don’t let the houses and OB scare you!

10. Granite Links, Quincy, MA

Excellent 19^th hole – amazing views of Boston.

11. Belgrade Lakes, Belgrade, ME

Wish I played it on a non-rainy day.  Great views of the Belgrade Lakes.

12. Farm Neck, Oaks Bluff, MA

Again, wish it wasn’t a tsunami when I played here.  Some very cool holes and beautiful ocean views.

13. Acushnet River Valley, Acushnet, MA

Totally a hidden gem; similar to Butter Brook with the two different nines.  Absolute steal at $63 for 18/cart on a weekend.

14. Equinox Country Club, Manchester, VT

Very scenic views of the green mountains.  Nice layout.

15. New England Country Club, Bellingham, MA

Old reliable.  Tricky greens and uneven lies can make it frustrating to most.

16. Franklin Country Club, Franklin, MA

With more familiarity, would most likely move up this list.  Caddies are now available.

17. The Ledges Golf Club, York, ME

This could also move up on this list with more rounds here.  18^th hole is a beast.

18. Red Tail, Devens, MA

Always in great conditions whenever I’ve played here.  Nice clubhouse overlooking 18^th green.

19. Norton Country Club, Norton, MA

Often overlooked by the other course in Norton, this is a golfer’s golf course.  Tight fairways and small greens.  Bring your A game.

20. Olde Scotland Links, Bridgewater, MA

Nice and wide open.  Very good value.

There you have it.  What did I miss?  What are your favorite courses?  Give me your thoughts in the comments.

Golf Lingo

This blog is brought to you by frequent contributor/commenter Fives Timmy

Fans are known to shout out sayings once a Pro player has hit their shot, common shout outs like “TIGER” or “YOU DA MAN” or “GET IN THE HOLE” has now been replaced by new ingenious things like “MASHED POTATOES” or “BALONEY SANDWICHES”.  But for a sport centered on silence, fans aren’t the only ones talking to the air born projectile.  Players talk to that little magical dimpled ball and have other ridiculous sayings once it leaves the face of the club, as if that will have any impact on what the ball actually does.

Here are a few examples of some golf lingo, feel free to comment and add your own:

·         Bite!

·         Spit it!

·         Cut!

·         Go you son of a *&%#!

·         Hit the putt you Sally!

·         Grab an edge!

·         BREAK!

·         Come on wind!

·         Be the right club TODAY!!

·         Heads up, this could go anywhere

·         Right swing, wrong club

·         I’m pin high, if I just hit that straight that would have been perfect

·         Get up!

·         Get down!

·         Get legs!

·         Bite like Tyson!

·         Hit the hill!

·         Roll you bastard!

 

·         One Time!*

·         Release!

·         Stop!

·         Run!

·         Hit the pin!

·         Hang on!

·         Now WORK!

·         Stay outta there!

·         That’s gotta go!

·         GO, GO, GO, GO!

·         GET IN THE HOLE!

·         DISAPPEAR!

·         FORE!


*- Denotes submitted by a reader

When To Yell Fore

Editor's Note:  This is a guest blog from "Fives Timmy"

How did the saying “fore” to warn that someone may get a welt from an errant Srixon or Bridgestone on Pro V1 on their noggin or back or wherever start?  I am sure Google will tell you but I didn’t want to ruin your vision of this blog to research that so let me tell you why.

I think there are some courses where you never ever will hear the word “fore” - the courses that are carved out hole by hole with debris, or trees protecting other holes, for example.  There are some tracks (hello Myrtle Beach, hello Thomson CC, hello Norton CC) that have condos or townhouses in the rough instead of trees and we’ll get to that in Chapter 59 but for now we talk of “fore”.

In 2004 I was playing solo golf in the middle of Germany; hit an errant shot (yes the rogue off course shot) toward another solo Kraut.  I yelled “fore”, but he never moved.  As I approached my ball (which was on his tee box a good 30 meters off course – European speak), he was yelling at me like a F Hitler rally.  ”Blah der blah der frau blah der herr blah der ein auf weidesehan blah”.  I say “whoa whoa Rommel, slow down.  I said “fore”. 

He screams “You are in Germany, yell veil”.  Veil to me is a meal.  OK, he wins, he is right, it’s his f country.  So, I join the Ted and play the rest of the round with him.  Having a miscommunication due to a foreign language is one thing but what about those occurances where “fore” isn’t warned in your own motherland USA?

In all of the times I have played Chemewa GC there has never been a time when I didn’t hear someone yell “fore”.  In fact, it’s a multiple event due to the DMZ like layout of that battlefield, I mean golf course!  Playing in a tight track, one has to be aware and of course, there are still times when the little dimpled ball gets close but no warning is screamed. 

Recently, I participated, with 11 others, in a Ryder Cup like event.  6 on 6 with one group dressed in red/white/blue and the other in either green or yellow shirts at a course called Old Scotland Links.  Now a Links course reeks of danger of getting hit by an errant shot given little to no trees between the holes i.e. no protection hole to hole.

The fourth hole there – a par 4, 290 yard hole with wind at your back on the tee box is a hole that some may try to drive the green especially duffers with  a large amount of testerone or any Notre Dame football fanatic! So what happens on that specific hole at The Old Scotland Lnks as my European squad is walking off that green onto the next tee box? A Titleist 2 with a logo indicating the Deutsche Bank Tournament on it comes perilously close to taking out  our number one seed player aka “The Cigar smoking Italian”, landing squarely on the cart path and bouncing over our heads into the fescue.  In a show of ultimate sportsmanship and despite the fact we almost got hit with a ball due to no warning or “Fore” being heard, we found the ball in the tall grass for the Notre Dame fan to continue his quest for a subpar hole. 

Now, I ask you: is it understandable to have a slight disagreement over the faiilure to convert the warning of “fore” to a foreign language quick enough to provide the distress signal?  The answer of course is a resounding “YES”.  So what is the excuse for that lovable yet inaccurate golf loving Notre Dame football freak to not send out the requisite scream of “fore”?

“Meet you at the 19th Hole”

You just spent over 4 hours in the sun, playing horrendous golf.  You can’t believe how many of your “perfect shots” just “happened” to find that lake, tree or fescue throughout your round.  You are having trouble understanding how you could play so poorly after you “figured things out” on the range earlier this week.  After about the 12^th hole when you were already 8 over on the back, you decided that if you are going to suck at golf, you’re at least going to get drunk doing so.  So after you tapped the rockies and polished off 6 Coors Lights on your back 9, you are going to keep it going on the 19^th hole.

So what makes a great 19^th hole?  The simple answer is: beer (or if your round was that bad, hard alcohol).   While that is true, there is more to it than that.  I recently played Shaker Hills and I will say they have one of the best 19^th holes I’ve ever seen (more on that in a minute).  Here are my 4 main things I look for in a 19^th hole:

1.       Does the 19^th hole overlook the 18^th green?

2.       Is there Bud Light on draft?

3.       Are there plenty of tvs in the inside space?

4.       Does the 19^th hole distinguish itself from other courses in any way?

Shaker Hills hit on all 4 points and then some.  They have an amphitheater-like deck overlooking the 18^th hole, the #1 and #10 tee boxes, and views of the 9th hole as well.  This is serious.  Not only that, and this is where it distinguishes itself from any other course I’ve been to:  they have a live feed of the 18^th hole on a 50 inch tv inside the tavern so you can watch the groups coming up.  I’ve never seen anything like that before.  It’s truly a great idea and makes excellent viewing for any tournament played.  I think more courses should do this, especially the ones where the bar doesn’t overlook the 18^th.

So after you’ve finished your round, find a spot on the deck, grab a Bud Light draft and watch all the groups coming up on 18 while you try to figure out how you could have played so poorly after you ripped it up on the range just days before.

Golfing with Random Teds: When You're the Random Ted

I recently wrote about previous experiences of golfing with random Dougs and how it can be a rather painful experience.  Well well, now the shoe is on the other foot and it’s time to look at it from a different perspective.  What about when you are the random Ted?  Then what?

This very idea popped in my mind recently because, well, I was That Guy who got paired up with a couple of friends.  Last Friday, I showed up at the course around 4 in the afternoon, hoping to get a quick 9 (and if I’m lucky, 18) in before the sun went down.  Due to the lovely September day we had, the course was a little more crowded than usual. 

“If I play as a single and get a cart, I should still be able to bomb around and get my 18 in”, I optimistically thought to myself.

After checking in at the pro shop, the lady behind the desk tells me it’s going to be a slow round as there are a lot of people out right now.   “No worries”, I tell her, “just trying to get 9 in since it’s so nice out”.  I was clearly lying as I wanted to play 18 but didn’t want her to think I was a complete psycho.

“There’s 2 guys going out right now, you can join them if you want”, she tells me.

"Alright, great", I respond.

What am I supposed to do, say no?  Tell her I’d rather play as a single because I just wrote a blog about the potential perils of golfing with randoms?  Should I check to see if they are smoking or crushing bud diesels before I agree to this? Wait, didn’t I join a course with the idea of meeting new people to golf with in the first place? 

After a quick bout of self-loathing and fighting off my Larry David moment of possibly avoiding this situation, I come to my senses and realize I should play with these guys.  After all, golf is a gentleman's game right?  Grow up.  I just hope I don’t play like shit like I did the week before.

So off I go.  I’m going to get paired up with the 2 buddies who just wanted to play together, probably play in the same fantasy football league and are most likely single digit handicaps.  I’m sure they’ll love my company and shitty golf game.  Not to mention they are walking and I’m riding in a cart, clearly I don’t need the exercise*.

After exchanging pleasantries, both guys drill their drives right down the middle of the fairway.  “Nice ball”, I say to both of them, trying to earn some goodwill.

This actually brings up my first conundrum of the day and playing with randoms issue #6: "what if we don't play from the same tee boxes?".  Before the round, I decided I was going to play the white tees instead of the customary blues, in an effort to score better than last time.  I was planning on putting the driver away, hitting my trusty 2 hybrid off the tee in order to keep it in the fairway, sticking wedges onto the green in regulation, then 2 putting for par all day, every day.  Boring golf.

Well think again my friend.  These cats were playing from the blues.  Of course they are, one guy is a 6 handicap, he's not going to play the WHITES! Do I stick to my plan and play from the whites?  Or I do man up and play from the tips like these hossas?  

Not wanting to seem like a pussy, and because I've played the blues 3 times already, I (not so)confidently decided I'd play the tips.  My game plan heading into today was thrown out.  Take out the big stick and let it rip. 

I tee up my Titleist 4 with 2 dots and swing away.  Boom.  Just as I anticipated, I spray it right.  Plunk.  Right in the drink.  Lost ball.  Nice swing, dick.  

After re-teeing and hitting 3, I keep the ball in play this time.  Whew.  That would have been very awkward if I lost another ball.  Alright we’re off.

As it turns out, they were both really good guys, and really good players.  I told them about my my story of playing the course before it opened, how difficult the course is and other small talk.  I even made plans to play with them again, though after I bunted around the course for a 47, I’m not so sure I should be expecting their call anytime soon.  All in all, I had an enjoyable round of golf, aside from my score.   

So what did I learn?  Golfing with randoms ain’t so bad after all, but it’s a different feeling when you’re on the other side of things and you’re the Ted, that's for sure. 

 

* I don’t Crossfit and I don’t exercise at the moment, but I carry around my 13 lb boss of a child quite a bit and I think that is sufficient.  Too bad the fall is here, otherwise it'd be suns out, guns out nonstop.

You Know You’re a Golf Junkie If...

o   You refer to the course as a “track”

o   You say things like “Bite!”, “Release!”, “Cut!”, “Be the right club today!” during your round

o   You track your fairways, greens and putts while you play

o   You discuss different course architects (“Did you know this is a Donald Ross course?”)

o   You have your name engraved on your bag

o   You have a name tag on your bag

o   You wear a visor when you play

o   You’ve played more than 18 holes in a day before

o   You have played 18 at one course, and then went to another course to get in another 18

o   You own a pull cart (this goes for anyone under the age of 65)

o   You have your own particular way of marking your ball to identify it from others

o   You play in multiple golf leagues

o   Golf is your only real hobby

o   You have travelled down South, West or to a foreign country strictly to play golf

o   You have your own putting mat at work

o   You end emails with “Hit ‘em straight”

o   Rather than going out for drinks on a Friday night, you stay in for a good night sleep since you have an early tee time

o   You set a reminder on your phone to call for a tee time the minute the course is accepting them

o   You’ve tried playing golf before the course even opens

o   You keep track of all the courses you’ve played, and then email your friends about it

o   You started a golf blog

Golfing with random Teds

Whenever I am planning a golf outing, I like to get a foursome out there.  And the reason is simple.  I don’t want to get paired up with random Teds.  Now, bear in mind that I’ve been paired up with some really good golfers and nice people whenever I’ve gone out as a single or twosome.  But it’s not my ideal situation.  If you are playing a nice course, then chances are they like golf and will probably be at least decent.  But if you’re playing a local muni, all bets are off.  Get ready for your new playing partners to fire up some Marlborough Reds and suck back some Bud Heavies because Eddie needs to kick back after roofing all week. 

But the Eddies and the Carls of the world aren’t my issue.  I don’t care if someone is a roofer, a lawyer, a salesman or what.  Actually, there lies my problem.  I don’t like the small talk and don’t want to know what you do for a living.  “So, what do you do for work?”  Do you really care what I do for work?  Do you have 20 minutes so I can explain to you what my company does, and then another 10 on how my job fits into the puzzle?  If you do, then you are a genuinely good and interested person and I don’t deserve to be around you because I’m a dick.  But chances are you don’t care just like I don’t care.  If I were out playing golf to network or sell you something, then I get it, we’d need to talk shop.  But I’m not.  I’m here to try and shoot in the 80s and not 3 putt every hole.

And I know the small talk about work and whatnot is inevitable, just like talking about the weather is a staple when you’re on a conference call with people from other areas of the country.  There’s no avoiding it.  But that’s why you need to get a foursome to escape these situations.

Aside from the small talk, there’s also the familiarity issue.  I get a little uneasy playing with people I don’t know.  I play my best when I am comfortable.  Now, I need to wonder about how to play with these guys.  How is their golf etiquette?  Should I not talk in their backswing?  Will they get offended if I take a piss in the woods?  Will they think I’m a lush if I start dieseling Bud Lights at 11am? What tee boxes are they gonna play from, and if it’s not the same ones we’re playing, should we play from theirs or should they play from ours?  GAAAHHH.

When you’re with your buddies, none of that stuff matters.   Swear all you want.  Talk in people’s backswings.  Take a piss next to the tree.  Drink a beer a hole.  Who cares?

So when you set up a golf outing, try to get at least 3 people, if not 4.  Otherwise, pack your bag with some Bud Heavies, pick up some smokes and get ready to hear how Steve just whiffed on his drive because he’s been drinking since 10 this morning because work’s been a bitch.