2026 Predictions and benchmarks

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Author

Sean Melia
January 02, 2026

Hey Everyone,

Happy New Year!

For the third time in the last ten years, I watched the Ohio State Buckeyes lose a playoff game on New Year’s Eve.

Tiger Woods turned 50 this week. I posted about his 1992 U.S. Junior Amateur championship at Wollaston GC.

Instagram Post

I also shared my 2025 Composite course on YouTube. I realized I played every hole (except one…) on camera. So I made a hole-by-hole video with footage of every hole and my thoughts.

2026 Predictions

Michael Thorbjornsen will win on the PGA Tour

Thorbjornsen will make his TGL debut on Jan. 2 for the Boston Common Frogs (insane sentence…). He is entering his second year on the PGA Tour. He just turned 24 and has climbed into the top 80 in the Official World Golf Ranking. It took him a bit of time to settle into life on the road, but by last summer, he started playing some excellent golf.

So, he’s winning an event this year. I also think he’ll be in the 2027 Masters because he’ll crack the top 50 in the world by December.

Scottie will win The Masters

After a ravioli incident last Christmas, Scottie Scheffler took some time to return to his ass-kicking form. He’s on the Arnold Palmer plan as far as the Masters. Palmer won in 1958, 1962, and 1964. Scheffler won in 2022 and 2024. A 2026 green jacket and a third major in the last five feels appropriate given his dominance.

Side note: From 1958-1966, Palmer won four Masters, Gary Player won once (1961), and Jack Nicklaus won twice (1963 and 1966). Art Wall Jr. won in 1959. Quite a stretch of winners.

Cape Cod CC will stay open through the 2026 season

There’s just something that tells me the PureSky energy project is going to get slowed up. I’m not entirely sure it will be cancelled, but I do think that the project will be postponed.

Last week at the planning board meeting, the discussion about the solar project was pushed to January 13. I’m not sure what that means, but the more things get pushed back, the tougher it becomes to lock in those subsidies before the expire in July.

Massachusetts will lose two more golf courses

Sadly, I think the trend of courses closing will continue. There’s development and solar poking around looking for land. I also think family-owned courses are seeing a chance to cash in, especially when the next generation doesn’t seem too keen on taking over the family business.

A Mid-Amateur will win the 2026 Massachusetts Amateur

Why this prediction? I think Winchester CC is one of those courses that will fit some older players. It’s a bit like Framingham CC and even Essex. In 2024 at Framingham CC, the final match was between Ricky Stimets and Matthew Naumec, both mid-amateurs. Ethan Whitney was the only college kid in the final four. Matt Parziale rounded out that foursome. Naumec also reached the final at Essex in 2023. Jake Shuman, another Mid-Amateur, was in the semi-final at Essex.

GreatHorse felt like a young man’s golf course. Jake Ratti and Ben Spitz made runs to the quarterfinals.

But with a solid group of Mid-Ams on a Donald Ross that might require some guile, I like the chances of a Mid-Amateur winner.

2026 Benchmarks

I’d prefer not to call these “goals” per se, but as I cross the halfway point on the quest to play every course in Massachusetts, there are some small benchmarks that I can pinpoint and try to hit this year.

So here are three things that would be cool to say I did at the end of 2026.

Play every public Donald Ross

According to the Ross Society list, I have just Newton Commonwealth, Greenock, and Ellinwood to play.

Cross 200 courses

I’m at 168 courses right now. So 32 seems like a good benchmark. 215 courses could be incredible.

Finish off the public courses on Cape Cod

I was reticent to write this one, but went back and counted what I have left; from what I can tell, I have seven remaining. Seems doable. There are a few more if you count the islands, and maybe I’ll make a dent with some ferry rides this year, too.

Host an event/gathering

This has been on the wish list for a while, and I’d love for 2026 to be the year some people get together to play some golf.

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When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

📖 The Secret History by Donna Tartt is superb.

I’m listening to…

🎼 Cameron Winter, the lead singer of Geese, has a great solo album called Heavy Metal.

I’m eating…

🥩 Had a delightful Steak Frites at Waverly in Charlestown on New Years Eve.

🇮🇹 The Eggplant Parm from Prima is also excellent. Had it last week before Christmas.

I’m watching…

🗡️ The Beast in Me is riveting, fantastic television. Matthew Rhys is one of my favorite actors right now, and Claire Danes is very good.

Know someone who might enjoy this newsletter… send it along to them!

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