Greatest golf programs in Massachusetts for 2024-25

As a part of GOLF’s rigorous scores course of for our newly launched High 100 Programs within the U.S. and High 100 Programs You Can Play rankings, our fleet of 100-plus knowledgeable panelists recognized the most effective golf programs in each state.

You’ll be able to take a look at the hyperlinks beneath to browse all of our course rankings, or scroll right down to see the most effective programs in Massachusetts. And should you’re trying to create your individual journey sooner or later, you’d be clever to let GOLF’s new Course Finder software help you. Right here, you possibly can toggle all of our lists — High 100 public, greatest munis, greatest brief programs, greatest par-3s and extra — or filter by worth to create the right itinerary in your subsequent journey.

GOLF’s different course rankings: High 100 Programs within the World | High 100 Programs within the U.S. | High 100 Programs You Can Play | High 100 Worth Programs within the U.S. | America’s Greatest Municipal Programs | The 100 Greatest Brief Programs within the World

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The most effective golf programs in Massachusetts (2024/25)

SYMBOL GUIDE
# = High 100 Course within the U.S.
Y = High 100 You Can Play within the U.S.
V = High 100 Worth Course within the U.S.
P = Public/Resort

Ed. be aware: Some programs had been omitted from our rankings as a result of they didn’t obtain sufficient votes.

1. The Nation Membership — Clyde/Squirrel (Brookline) [#]

A Boston Brahmin society hang-out for greater than 125 years, this tree-lined design has performed host to 4 U.S. Opens and the well-known 1999 Ryder Cup. Its configuration of holes for the 2022 U.S. Open proved to be its greatest composite course but out of its 27 holes however be aware: GOLF ranks the Clyde/Squirrel course that its members play frequently. That’s the configuration of holes that was used for the 1913 Open when native lad Francis Ouimet surprised the large, dangerous Brits. Its old-school options embody cross hazards and medium-size greens. The sphere on the 2022 U.S. Open was reminded that there isn’t a substitute for hitting fairways and greens as thick tough stays a part of the course’s problem simply because it was in 1913.

2. Myopia Hunt (South Hamilton) [#]

Some critics of rankings grumble that internet hosting a serious unduly elevates a course. Is that true for Myopia Hunt, on condition that it has performed host to 4 U.S. Opens? Most likely not, given its final one was in 1908! What helped Myopia proceed to rise within the checklist is appreciation for Gil Hanse’s restoration work whereby timber got here down, and fairways had been expanded/reconnected to Herbert Leeds’s fabulous pit bunkers. The good-looking blue stem tough is greatest admired from a distance however there isn’t a hiding from the severely titled greens on the 4th, sixth and thirteenth. None of these two-shotters is lengthy however the slopes with which Leeds imbued them about 120 years in the past outline treachery at trendy inexperienced speeds. With the wind extra evident and the taking part in surfaces agency, the course’s thorny taking part in attributes are as soon as once more on full show. Enjoyable reality: The successful rating at its 4 U.S. Opens averaged almost 324, or 81 strokes per spherical.

3. Eastward Ho! (Chatham) [#]

Herbert Fowler will all the time be related along with his beloved first design, Walton Heath outdoors of London. In that occasion, he needed to lend the open heath its {golfing} qualities as the positioning featured modest topography. What he was offered with right here on Cape Cod was the precise reverse: a glacial moraine with tumbling landforms that converge in probably the most random manners. What a problem to route however his figure-8 routing with the clubhouse within the center seized on the chance to perfection. For authentic holes, few programs can compete.

4. Previous Sandwich (Plymouth) [#]

A contemporary basic with a starchy, old-school vibe, Previous Sandwich occupies alternative floor within the pine hills of jap Massachusetts, the place the land begins to elbow towards Cape Cod. Although not on the water, the course is commonly buffeted by Atlantic breezes, whereas its sand dunes and fescues add an additional layer of coastal atmospherics. Brief par-4s are one thing of a degree of delight for Coore and Crenshaw, and the Cape-style fifth is as wonderful an instance of any they’ve constructed. However the seventh is perhaps the extra memorable two-shotter, with its inexperienced perched, island-like, amid a sea of sand. 

5. Essex County (Manchester-by-the-Sea) [#]

Overlook about its pedigree historical past that features the Curtis sisters (sure, as within the Curtis Cup) and Donald Ross, Essex shines for having the most effective collections of holes in New England. After tackling a 600-plus yarder on the third adopted by a you-might-need-driver-here par-3 on the 4th, the golfer could also be feeling bruised. However what ensues is presumably the most effective set of par-4s holes within the state, highlighted by 17 and 18, which play up and down a small mountain. As handsomely offered as any Ross course within the nation.

6. Kittansett (Marion) [#]

Having hosted the Walker Cup in 1953, this membership has lengthy loved an enviable fame. Now, due to a sluggish and considerate 20-year restoration by Gil Hanse, the course may really exceed its fame. Central options within the type of both bunkers or grassed-over mounds make the course a tactical delight off the tee, whereas its medium dimension greens, from the well-known island inexperienced on the seashore on the third to the built-up knob at 16, make for an elusive set to hit in regulation. Exhausting by Buzzards Bay, the course is mostly buffeted by wind, which provides problem to the duty at hand

7. Sankaty Head (Nantucket)

8. Boston GC (Hingham)

9. Salem (Peabody)

10. Worcester (Worcester)

11. Nantucket (Nantucket)

12. Winery (Edgartown)

13. Charles River (Newton)

14. Winchester (Winchester)

15. Oyster Harbors (Oysterville)

16. George Wright (Boston) [P, V, Y]

17. Longmeadow (Longmeadow)

18. Taconic (Williamstown) [P, Y]

19. Hyannisport (Hyannis Port)

20. TPC Boston (Norton)

*Even on this golf-rich state, quite a lot of our panelists single out and rave in regards to the 9-holer Whitinsville.

How we rank our programs

For our newly launched High 100 U.S. and High 100 You Can Play lists — a course of that helped us create 50 best-in-state rankings — every panelist was supplied a poll that consisted of 609 programs. Beside the checklist of programs had been 11 “buckets,” or groupings. If our panelists thought of a course to be among the many high three within the U.S., they ticked that first column. In the event that they believed the course to be amongst Nos. 4-10, they checked that column, adopted by 11-25, 26-50, and so forth out to 250+ and even a column for “take away.” Panelists had been additionally free to put in writing in programs that they felt ought to have been included on the poll.

Factors had been assigned to every bucket; to reach at a median rating for every course, we divide its combination rating by the variety of votes. From these level tallies, the programs are then ranked accordingly. It’s an deliberately easy and simple course of. Why? As a result of it traditionally has produced outcomes which might be extensively lauded. Like the sport itself, there’s no have to unnecessarily complicate issues or attempt to repair one thing that already works so properly.

The important thing to the method is the expertise and experience of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all of the worldwide golf meccas, every of our 127 handpicked panelists has a eager eye for structure, each regionally and globally. A lot of our panelists have performed greater than 1,000 programs in 20-plus nations, some over 2,000. Their handicaps vary from +5 to fifteen.

As a result of the character after all ranking is so intensely subjective, nobody opinion carries the day. The one manner, then, to construct significant consensus is to include this range of panelists and experiences into one rating.

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