Hey Everyone,

On Wednesday night, I walked down to the TD Garden in bright sunlight for the Celtics game. It was just another hint that things are getting better and the golf season, the actual season, is close.

I broke the seal and played at Unicorn last Sunday morning. It was very cold, but it was nice to hit some shots and walk with my friend Jameson. MassGolf is keeping a running list of courses that are open or that have announced an opening day.

Over the winter, there has been a lot of news about course sales, closures, renovations, and developments. So I decided to collect the news I know about and put it into one place. If there is any news that you think is worth sharing, there will likely be a second edition of this! Email me at [email protected] with course news or any stories about golf in the Bay State!

Okay, let’s get to it.

Ford Championship: Megan Khang carded eight birdies on her way to a 65 (-7) out in Arizona. Alexa Pano shot 70. Lydia Ko leads after a 60(!). Live Scoring

Houston Open: Michael Thorbjornsen shot a tidy 68 (-2) on Thursday. He carded an early bogey and then three birdies. He needs a strong week, likely a top-10 finish, to crack the top 50 in the world ranking on Monday and get an invite to The Masters. Davis Chatfield shot even-par 70 with two bogeys and two birdies; he is hovering around the cut line. Paul Waring leads after shooting 63. Live Scoring

Club Car Championship: On the Korn Ferry Tour, Rob Oppenheim carded a 69 at The Landings in Georgia. It was highlighted by an eagle 2 on the par-4 5th. John Pak shot a 61 to hold a one-shot lead over Ian Gilligan. Gilligan is absolutely a player to watch. He had cancer in high school, finished his college career at Florida, and is one of the best young talents on the KFT. I wrote a feature about him in 2022. Live Scoring

Minor League GT: Jack Boulger (Walpole, Mass.) shot 63-69 and finished T5 in the Atlantic National. James Driscoll (Brookline, Mass.) finished T14. John Cammarano (Wellesley, Mass.) finished T18. Amateur Lucas Dascoli (Everett, Mass.) also teed it up. Results

Carpetbagger: Bryant finished T2. Chad Correia (Norton, Mass.) finished fifth, and Tripp Hollister (Peabody, Mass.) finished 80th. Gettysburg senior Patrick Kilcoyne (Belmont, Mass.) finished T30. Results

Bridgestone Collegiate: UConn finished 8th out in Napa, California at Silverado. Matt Costello (Taunton, Mass.) finished 60th, and Matt Oliveira competed as an individual and finished 77th. Sascha Robinson (Plymouth, Mass.) teed it up for Florida A&M, finishing 81st. Emil Nielsen (Wellesley, Mass.) finished 40th while competing as an individual for Santa Clara. Results

UC San Diego: Holy Cross finished T8 and recorded the best team score of the second round with an impressive 12-under total score. Alex Elia finished 5th individually. John Scully (Winchester, Mass.) and Ryan Scollins (Wrentham, Mass.) both finished T39. Brian Glennon (Hingham, Mass.), competing as an individual, finished 101st. Results

Golden Horseshoe: The Georgetown Hoyas had three Bay Staters competing down in Virginia. CJ Winchenbaugh (Weston, Mass.) finished 20th. Alan Rose III (Weston, Mass.) finished 26. Carson Erick (Hingham, Mass.) finished 33rd. The Hoyas came in 6th place.

Austin Peay Intercollegiate: Trevor Drew (Tyngsboro, Mass.) finished 41st while competing for Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers finished 3rd as a team.

City of Oaks: Boston College finished 6th at Lonnie Poole GC in North Carolina. Results

Ozarks National Invitational: Out in Missouri at Big Cedar, Merrimack placed 12th. (Note: Ozarks National is one of my favorite courses of all time.). Ericka Redmond (Concord, Mass.) placed 63rd, and Maya Murphy (Bourne, Mass.) finished 50th. Results

Kingsmill Intercollegiate: Dartmouth won its second event of the spring with a 23-shot win in Virginia. Sophie Tai led the Big Green with an 8-shot victory. Sacred Heart finished third, and Holy Cross finished 14th. Results

Matt Parziale Joins Grass League: The Grass League coins itself as “High Stakes Par 3 Golf.” Parziale will compete on the Tampa Bay Swamp Dogs.

US Challenge Cup: Believe it or not, the Junior Match Play Championship kicks off the Challenge Cup season at Triggs in Providence this weekend. The event takes two weekends. This weekend has stroke play qualifying, and then the match play bracket will be set. The final matches will take place at Newport CC. Not too shabby! Tee Times

It's been a busy offseason for golf in Massachusetts. Between sales, closings, renovations, and a few surprises, there's a lot to catch up on before the 2026 season gets underway. Here's a course-by-course breakdown of everything that's happened over the winter and what it means for golfers across the state.

I also made a video about all this news. You can watch that here.

The city voted unanimously to allow Charter Development to build on part of the property, affecting holes 1, 2, 3, and the driving range. The course will shrink to 9 holes during construction. The clubhouse should remain intact, though parking and access roads may change. Long term, the plan is to spend $8–10 million rebuilding an 18-hole course on the remaining land — a project that could stretch into the 2030s. It’s unclear when this project will actually begin.

Stonehill College stepped in and purchased the course in early March, after a deal to sell to Toll Brothers for senior housing fell through. The college is launching a Division I men's golf team in the fall of 2027 and will use the course for both their men's and women's programs. The good news for everyone else — it will remain a semi-private course open to the public, just as it always has been.

Big news: the course will be open for the entire 2026 season. Pure Sky Energy had been planning to break ground on a solar field in July, but something has shifted. No official explanation has been given, but the course is open — so go play it. This is a beloved community course, and 2026 may be a crucial year in determining its long-term future.

I have made a few t-shirt designs to help raise some money for the Save Historic Cape Cod CC group. You can check them out here.

The North Course has been trimmed from 18 holes to 9, while the South Course remains 18 with some minor rerouting. A brand new heated outdoor driving range has been open all winter. The club is also celebrating its 100th year — originally known as Mapledale Country Club, it was the first Black-owned country club in the entire United States.

This one is done. The course was sold at the end of December and will be converted into a solar field. The French family built and owned the course for generations. The daughters of Leonard French ultimately decided to sell the golf course. It's a tough loss for an area that has already seen Bungay Brook close in recent years.

Shining Rock has been sold to Alliance Golf, a Connecticut-based company that also owns Red Tail in Devens, Massachusetts.

Leo J. Martin will be closed for all of 2026 while the state invests $5 million in renovations. Several greens — including the 6th, 15th and 16th — will be rebuilt or relocated. Architect Mark Mungeam, known for his excellent work at Franklin Park and George Wright, is involved in the project, which is an encouraging sign for the quality of the end result.

The Heher family sold Cotuit Highground to the Barnstable Land Trust. For now, it remains a golf course, but the Land Trust has floated the idea of eventually converting it to walking trails and natural open space within the next 3 to 5 years. It's a welcoming, low-key course that's been a great entry point for new golfers on the Cape.

Very early stages here. Thorndyke Development approached the town in October 2025 with a proposal to convert part of the 18-hole course into a 55+ housing community, keeping 9 holes and adding a driving range. A follow-up meeting was held in January with more details. Rezoning, votes and public input will all be part of the process — nothing is decided yet.

The course is closed for the next two years due to the Herring River Restoration Project. Work needs to be done to raise the back portion of the property, which has been prone to flooding. Plans also include some rerouting and the potential addition of a driving range. The course is expected to reopen in 2028.

In an interesting move, the Cape Club of Falmouth is transitioning from a high-end public option to a private club. They are currently selling memberships with an $8,000 initition until April 1, when the price will go to $25,000.

After a major renovation by Gil Hanse, Yale Golf Course is set to reopen in late April 2026. Public green fees are posted at $350 for general golfers, $250 for those with a university affiliation, and $150 for students. Tee times can be booked 60 days in advance. It's widely considered one of the best college golf courses in the country.

A lot is changing, and not all of it is good news. But there are bright spots — Stonehill saving Easton, Yale coming back, and Cape Cod Country Club getting at least one more season. Stay tuned throughout the year as these stories continue to develop, and as always, get out and play whenever you can.

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