Mass. Women's Amateur Preview: The Course

The 122nd Massachusetts Women’s Amateur will be held at Concord CC from August 11-15. This is the sixth time that Concord CC will host the event; the last time was in 2014 when Isabel Southard won the first of two straight championships.

This preview will break down the course and what holes might make or break the field this week.

Related: Massachusetts Women’s Amateur: The players

The History

Concord Country Club was founded in 1895 by a group of local residents led by Moses B. L. Bradford. The club opened its original nine-hole layout on July 4, 1914, on farmland purchased from a local landowner. Donald Ross was hired to design the course, and in the late 1920s, he returned to add a second nine holes across more dramatic terrain. The full 18-hole course was completed in 1930. The fieldstone clubhouse, also built in 1930, retains its original slate roof and rustic charm.

When people talk about the top courses in the state, Concord CC isn’t often on the tip of many tongues, but it should be. It’s one of the more underrated and overlooked courses Massachusetts has to offer. It gets lost in the glut of Golden Age courses in the Boston suburbs that are also outstanding: Winchester CC, Essex CC, Myopia Hunt, Charles River, Brae Burn, and The Country Club (this list could go on and on…)

Many of these courses were also designed by Donald Ross.

Over the years, the club has done a fantastic job making small, incremental changes to the course to improve it or have it play how Ross intended. They have added tee boxes and bunkers, and they have tweaked the presentation of holes. The first and 18th have a shared fairway, and so do 16 and 17. Greens have been expanded to add new pin positions.

Course set up

Concord CC will play as a par 72 for the championship and measure 6,016 yards. Yardages will change from day to day depending on how Mass Golf wants to set up the course. Looking at the Concord CC scorecard, this yardage seems like it will be a mix of the blue and white tee boxes.

Front Nine

Back Nine

Concord CC has proven over the years to be a stern test for both the men and the women.

In the 2014 championship, winner Isabel Southard was the lone player to shoot under par in stroke play. They used to play one round of stroke play before cutting to match play. Southard shot 67 (-5), and the second seed shot 72.

To be fair, if someone shoots under par in the Women’s Amateur, they are going to earn medalist honors. Since 2020, there has been one championship that had two players finish under par, and that was in 2020 at Essex when Shannon Johnson (-2) and Megan Buck (-3) did it. In 2023, at Dedham Country and Polo Club, Molly Smith earned medalist honors with a 3-over total.

At Concord CC in the 2022 Mass. Amateur, Arthur Zelmati shot 138 (-2) to earn medalist honors at Concord CC. He was the only player in the red. Over those two days, five players recorded rounds under par, and the low score was Zelmati’s 67 in the first round. No one broke par in the second round, as the wind was high and the course was playing incredibly tough.

Some high-level thoughts about Concord CC

From a macro view of the course, the land movement, doglegs, and greens offer a unique challenge to any golfer.

The rest of this post is for paid subscribers to the newsletter. It includes details about the course five holes of note and how to play them, along with some thoughts on the par 3s and some excellent viewing spots if you plan to attend. The event it open to the public.

Subscribe to Supporter to read the rest.