Hey Everyone,

Over the month of September, I played seven different golf courses. Four were new in the quest. This week, I’ll share one hole from each course that I liked.

Also, if you are interested in a golf trip, I have partnered with The Golf Trip Guys, who are running a Hilton Head golf trip in April. It’s called the Spring Training Classic. A great opportunity to shake off the rust before next year’s season and meet some new people. Grab a friend and book this fun trip. Details.

News and Notes:

Results Round-Up: If you missed it, I posted a Results Round-Up on Wednesday with a slew of college results and a smattering of amateur stuff, too.

Endicott Cup and Tri-State Matches: Connecticut and Massachusetts won trophies this week at Woods Hole Golf Club. Massachusetts won the Eaton Cup (net), and Connecticut won the Tri-State Matches in the gross. I’ll let MassGolf take it from here.

Augusta National and Helene: Geoff Shackelford pulled together a ton of images and links about Hurricane Helene in his Quadrilateral newsletter. The tournament starts in 181 days. We are officially closer to next year's Masters than last year’s. Remember that in the dead of winter… Read here.

Thorbjornsen in the lava rocks of Utah: An opening round 67 in the Black Desert Championship has Thorbjornsen sitting T29. Another good round will give him a weekend spot. For the second straight week, the leader after round one shot 60.

First Stage of PGA Tour Q-School: Dillon Brown (Halifax, Mass.) is playing at Indian Springs in Broken Arrow, OK, in the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School. He shot 74-74-75 in the opening three rounds. He’s T67, and the top 20 will advance to the next stage. Over the next two weeks, 12 different sites will host First Stage all over the country. More Bay Staters will be teeing it up in the sites closer to the East Coast.

If you have any results or stories that you think would be great for the newsletter, send them to [email protected]. I’d love to highlight some high school and college golf this fall season. So if you’re connected to a program, send along results or highlights.

Seven Holes from Seven Courses.

I believe that every golf course, no matter how terrible, has redeeming qualities. It might be a single bunker, or one interesting shot, or a hazard that makes a player think just a little bit harder than they should.

Over the month of September I played seven different golf courses, and each of them had some good golf holes. Some of these courses I’ve played multiple times in the past and others were new to me.

Here’s one hole from each September round that I particularly enjoyed.

Wayland CC - 3rd Hole - 400 Yards - Par 4

Across the flat, unassuming course, the third is one of the few that has any sort of elevation change. And to be frank, “elevation change” is probably painting too steep a slope. The third green is sitting on a small “bump” on the property.

The tee shot is flat, but the water creeps in on the right of this dogleg, and a row of small trees lines the left side. Accuracy is important here, but it’s also one of the few par 4s at Wayland that also needs a bit of distance.

The green site has a small section of short grass on the left of the green, a bunker protects both sides. If the course was ever playing fast, short shots would creep down the subtle false front, the only one on the course.

Walpole CC - 2nd Hole - 377 Yards - Par 4

Arriving on the second tee for the first time will absolutely garner a reaction. The dogleg left would be boring without the bunker complex that hugs the left side of the hole. It’s a striking feature that creates a choice off the tee. Take on the corner and risk having your ball swallowed up by the deep bunkers, or steer clear and have a long shot into the green.

Taking on the bunkers creates a small window to keep the ball in play as players can run out of space quickly, too, once they get past the bunkers.

The approach is uphill and blind to a sloped green.

Salem CC - 8th hole - 517 Yards - Par 5

Salem has so many strong holes, and I could have written about a bunch of them. However, I’m picking out one that has a cool feature that might drive some people crazy. It’s also a par 5, and I have found in my quest that there aren’t a lot of great par 5s out there, especially on Golden Age courses, as they’re outdated due to distance or had features added to make birdies tougher to come by.

The 8th is a downhill, blind tee shot over a ridge. There’s space off the tee, but miss too far right, and trees and a red hazard come into play. The hole snakes slightly, so keeping the ball on the left can straighten out the hole; however, a large grass mound with a tree that sits about 120 yards away from the green creates complications for any layup from any part of the hole.

It might leave you cursing Donald Ross as you climb around the rocky, tall grass in search of your ball.

Once up near the green, there’s a short grass area on the left, perfect for players trying to reach the green in two. The green slopes from right to left.

The par 5s at Salem CC are all strong and all different, but that mound on the left of 8 makes it unique.

Unicorn CC - 5th hole - 410 Yards - Par 4

A long straight par 4 that plays over some rolling, rumbled land has a ton of potential. It runs along the edge of the property and requires two good shots. A lot of tee shots will land on one of the humps, so shots can be rejected or careen 10-15 yards farther down the hole. A tree guards the left side of the hole, and some mounding runs along the right side.

The green is somewhat mundane, but it’s built for the hole’s length. Players can roll the ball up near the green if they’re in trouble.

The fourth and fifth holes at Unicorn GC are the only ones that are requested from the rest of the course. A peaceful respite from the busy-ness of the rest of the routing.

Hyannisport CC - 8th hole - 202 Yards - Par 3

There are several great holes at Hyannisport Club, and many of them have had millions of words written about them and thousands of images taken.

I picked the 8th hole here because it acted as an anchor for my Car Test. As I drove home, the 8th was one of the few holes in the middle of the routing that I distinctly remembered.

It sits out near the marsh, and visually, from the tee, the mound that sits in front of the green actually looks like the green. It’s not. The shot has to go over that small mound to reach the green. The wind plays a role on every shot at Hyannisport Club, and this green is built for nearly every wind. There is space left of the green; there is a small run-off area on the right with short grass that allows players to putt. Short is also fine, but long is going to be tough. Bunkers stop balls from scurrying out of bounds and look lovely from the tee box.

Walking up to the green after a blind shot is always thrilling, and the reveal the first time you play the 8th is a good one.

George Wright - 6th hole - 394 Yards - Par 4

Standing on the 6th tee box during our round last month, Jed said that the 6th might be his favorite hole on the course. I’m not sure it’s my favorite, but it’s certainly one that flies under the radar because of where it sits in the routing. Holes 5 and 7 and striking and discussed a lot. The 6th, the middle child of the trio, is sometimes an afterthought. However, it is a cool hole, a better, more interesting version of the 13th hole, which is a hole our group doesn’t really like.

The tee box on 6 has some incredible rock outcroppings and they are a reminder that missing left will bring in even more rocks and a bunker.

A 3-wood off the tee is the safer play. It gives players more space to miss right, as driver can reach the trees and completely block out the approach into the green. Driver has to take on the left bunker, but the reward is a better view of the green.

Last month, I hit my 3-wood just into the right rough. I noticed that they had actually added 3-5 yards of fairway on the right side. A nice addition.

The approach is over a mound that cuts across the front of the green from right to left. It can act like a punchbowl, as some shots can bounce down towards the green if they miss right. Long and left is dead.

Is the 6th hole the best hole on the course? No.

But it’s very good and shouldn’t be ignored. If you’d like to psychoanalyze my defense of this hole and where I sit in my family’s birth order, you can email me!

William J. Devine at Franklin Park - 17th hole - 287 Yards - Par 4

The 17th hole is one of those holes that offer a choice off the tee, and given its placement in the round, it can prove to be a big decision. Maybe you’re playing a great round and want to try to protect your score. Or maybe you’re feeling good and want to attack. Maybe you’re in a tight match and need to make a move.

The short hole is well protected off the tee. Bunkers, long grass, and trees all sit at magic distances for players who are tempted to bash a driver up toward the green. Playing it safe avoids all the trouble. No matter where you are after your tee shot, the second shot is going to be blind, unless you hit your tee shot on or around the green.

Then there’s the green. Sloped and challenging, befitting the uphill climb to the green, it runs from back to front. A bunker protects the front of the green.

In the Mass Amateur qualifier, Cole Manning made an eagle on the 17th and then made another eagle on the 18th to shoot 66. It’s a cool two-hole finishing stretch that can bring in plenty of variance and impact matches or rounds.

Here’s a recap of my September golf…

If you would like to support my work, you can upgrade your subscription.

When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

• Kyle Porter left CBS and is writing on his own over at Normal Sport. He’s been at it for a few years now, but he’s turning it into his sole venture. Go subscribe; he’s doing a bunch of giveaways and such in the coming weeks and his writing is excellent.

• My former colleague at New England Golf Journal, Jim McCabe, is a golf writing legend. He has a Wednesday Newsletter that you should read and subscribe to. Power Fades.

• Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari has a new book out called Nexus: A Brief History of Information from the Stone Age to AI. I rarely listen to audiobooks, but this felt like a good one to seek out on Spotify. Very interesting and thought-provoking.

• The Jack Nicklaus Name, Image, and Likeness debacle are insane. From Puck News.

I’m listening to…

• A Bon Iver song popped up in a show or movie we were watching this week. I made a mental note to pop on his For Emma, Forever Ago. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it’s 14 years old.

• Spotify fed me FINNEAS this week. He’s Billie Eilish’s brother and I thought it was actually pretty good!

I’m eating…

Made a few things this week…

• Shepherd’s Pie. A classic. Fall is here.

• Lecso (Paprika-packed pepper stew). A new one in this house. Delicious. Like a tomato, pepper stew. Don’t skimp on the suggestion of crusty break.

I’m watching…

• We finished Bad Monkey this week. The weekly release of the show made it feel like it dragged…. a lot. Now that it’s all there to watch, the last few episodes might be easier to watch if you have some control on how you consume them.

• I’ve been watching a bit of playoff baseball this week. Great background noise in the evening or late-night. Some incredible games these last couple of weeks.

New here? Reached the bottom?

Hell Yeah.

You should subscribe.

Bay State Archives

• A list of golf courses open in the winter.

• Bay State Picks: Best courses you can walk for less than $60.

• Bay State Picks: Nine-hole courses to play before or after work

• Bay State Picks: 18 public golf that is worth your time

• Bay State Picks: Easy 18-hole public walks

• Bay State Deep Dive: Myopia Hunt Club

   

• "On Course" New England Journal Podcast

  • LISTEN HERE (and subscribe!)

  • WATCH HERE (and subscribe!)

• Amateur Golf Podcast

  • LISTEN HERE (and subscribe!)