Boston Golf.

[RyWill]

So I'm coming home from Chicago for a week for the fourth of July and already have a few courses picked out to play with my Dad and brother. As of right now we're playing Red Tail Thursday, Crumpin Fox Friday, and Okemo CC in Vermont on Saturday simply because it's right next to our house up there.

 

What I'm looking for is somewhat of a warmup course for Wednesday. My Dad and brother don't play too much and are taking work off all of these days while I'm home so I want them to have a good time. I'm looking for a course that is going to be a bit easier, but still potentially a challenge from the tips, and is a bit cheaper while keeping it within a reasonable drive from downtown. Right now my dad wants to play twilight at Granite Links but I'm thinking that may not be the best course to start the weekend at.

 

Any ideas are much appreciated and if you're ever out in Chicago hit me up for some recommendations of my own.

 

Thanks.

[Sean2]

You may want to give Braintree Municipal a look. It's just south of town and considerably cheaper than Granite Links. South Shore Country Club in Hingham may interest you as well. If you want to go a bit further south, Olde Scotland Links in Bridgewater is worth a look.

I think all three would provide you with a decent warm up.

ps: all three have websites and can be easily googled. Enjoy your visit and good luck!

[cubiclegolfer]

play presidents in quincy, great greens and all of the views of granite at 1/3 the price

[bryanr]

Granite Links is beautiful but not a good warmup course - some very odd holes (e.g. three tiered par 5 with 2 waste gaps), windy, and some blind shots into long grass that devours balls. I'm not sure it's worth $75 to make a twilight run but it does have a great 19th if you're into that. The views of Boston are pretty stellar.

Shining Rock is a brand new course west of Boston - very affordable and the fastest/smoothest greens I've played in the area so far. You could also try Brookmeadow in Canton - an extremely good deal and probably a good warmup course - relatively straight, good condition, not too many blind shots.

There's pretty much nothing within 20 minutes of downtown - even the George Wright course a few miles away takes 25 min to get to. If you have the time, it might be worth the drive to head down to Plymouth and play Pinehills or (the soon to be gone) Waverly Oaks. If you can swing a 50 min drive just plow down and play Newport National - it's shaping up like one of the top public courses in the country and it's less expensive than Granite.

Oh, another note - the bugs here are pretty bad right now. Red Tail isn't as infested but there are a lot of courses that I've been eaten alive on. Staying close to the coast seems to help (e.g. Acushnet River Valley, which was superb a few weeks ago). Perhaps another reason to make the trek to Newport National.

If you're looking for a fourth at Red Tail drop me a message, I'd be happy to join.

[RyWill]

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. A lot of good options that definitely meet what I'm looking for. Even though I've lived in Boston pretty much all my life, I didn't really get into golf until I moved to Chicago so my knowledge of the scene in my home city isn't too solid.

The trip to Vermont may be on the out so I'm thinking Pine Hills is going to replace that. Which of the two courses do you guys like better? The Nicklaus course seems to be rated better, but it seems like more people have ended up playing the Jones course. Any info on that is much appreciated.

Bryanr, one of my buddies might be playing with us, but if he ends up backing out I'll hit you up before I end up booking the tee time later this week. We'll prolly end up playing early afternoon.

Thanks again.

Ryan.

[justhittheshot]

Waverly Oaks is definitely worth the drive down and is cheaper than Pine Hills. Newport National is a difficult course. As far as Waverly goes, I heard that because of the financing issues with PRS that the course is being leased back to the owner from PRS until they can get all the appropriate financing to build the studios. The course believes that they might be open for as many as five more seasons....

[bryanr]

I played South Shore Country Club finally and I have to say, it's probably your best bet for a warmup round. Great condition, very good layout, plus it's accessible via the commuter rail (stops next door to club). Great place.

[classick]

Red Tail is a gorgeous course. I hope I can get back there when I go back to school in the fall.

[rlskinne]

Agree on South Shore CC, great course. I'd play the Jones at Pinehills over Nicklaus. If you want a real treat, head down towards Newport, RI and play Newport National. One of the best around IMHO.

[muzz]

I played SSCC once, and I hated it because of all the hills and the blind shots....it didn't help that it was roasting the day I played......and we walked.

Won't go back though, even if it's beautiful out.