2017 Golf Thread

Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
SoSH Member
Feb 22, 2004
12,960
The Paris of the 80s
General thoughts on hybrids? Hybrids are totally awesome equipment and if you're carrying long irons instead and not a superb ball-striker you're giving up strokes. I can't imagine trying and failing to be better with a hybrid. They almost hit themselves.

I've got a cheap-o dated Cobra Baffler and it's still easy to hit. Replacing my 4-iron with it significantly improved my accuracy/consistency from 190-200. Plus it flies out of the rough, and in general carries more than an iron would and lands softer. I'm never going back to a long iron. I could even be convinced to toss my 5-iron in favor of another hybrid someday when I buy a new set of clubs.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
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Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
What is the current best phone GPS?
What kind of phone do you have? The GPS readings will only be as good as the GPS chip in the phone.

Broadly speaking, the phone apps can be divided into two groups of how each hole is visualized. Do you want to see aerial imagery which is basically Google Earth imagery or do you want to see more of an artist rendering of each hole. I've found that apps with aerial imagery are difficult to see in sun light whilst renderings are much clearer. Also the problem with Google imagery is that it can be years old.

Golfshot, SwingBySwing, SkyDroid ...in fact most of them use aerial imagery. FunGolf and GolfLogix use artist renderings.

Full disclosure, I know the guys at GolfLogix very well. If you decide to download the free version PM me with the email address associated with the account. I'm pretty certain they will upgrade you to the full version for a proper trial to see how you like it. Let me know what is your local course, they will make sure it has the latest version of the graphics which they are always updating if it has not already been done. I asked them to upgrade the graphics of a course for a member of this forum previously and they did it within a couple of days.
 

Light-Tower-Power

ask me about My Pillow
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Jun 14, 2013
15,968
Nashua, NH
I see so many people have success with hybrids, but I've never been able to hit them well. I've always felt I had a better chance of duffing a hybrid than duffing a long iron, so I carry traditional 3 and 4 irons.

I also hit my 3 iron better than I hit my 9 iron which I know is not normal and has made me very hesitant to even consider trying something new.
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
SoSH Member
Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
What is the current best phone GPS?
Idk if it's the best but swing by swing gets the job done for me

Considering moving to a hybrid since I can't hit an iron longer than a 5 well and don't play that often so I need forgiveness. I am considering the Callaway XR 15 4 hybrid (since I have XR15 woods and I love them), but actually hit a Taylor Made 4 hybrid the other day and liked that a lot. For those who are hitting hybrids or tried and failed, please pass on your thoughts.
I love my ping hybrids. I'd never trade my 3 hybrid in for an iron. Since I've been thinking of upgrading (shafts are too soft, new clubs are cheaper than reshafting) I've been hitting the titleist hybrids a lot. They're highly adjustable and surprisingly cheap online. I like them but not as much as the new pings.
 

Comfortably Lomb

Koko the Monkey
SoSH Member
Feb 22, 2004
12,960
The Paris of the 80s
What kind of phone do you have? The GPS readings will only be as good as the GPS chip in the phone.

Broadly speaking, the phone apps can be divided into two groups of how each hole is visualized. Do you want to see aerial imagery which is basically Google Earth imagery or do you want to see more of an artist rendering of each hole. I've found that apps with aerial imagery are difficult to see in sun light whilst renderings are much clearer. Also the problem with Google imagery is that it can be years old.

Golfshot, SwingBySwing, SkyDroid ...in fact most of them use aerial imagery. FunGolf and GolfLogix use artist renderings.

Full disclosure, I know the guys at GolfLogix very well. If you decide to download the free version PM me with the email address associated with the account. I'm pretty certain they will upgrade you to the full version for a proper trial to see how you like it. Let me know what is your local course, they will make sure it has the latest version of the graphics which they are always updating if it has not already been done. I asked them to upgrade the graphics of a course for a member of this forum previously and they did it within a couple of days.
I have an iPhone 6s. I most want distances to front/middle/back of each green. Visuals, picture vs aerial, don't matter much to me. Though I guess when off my home course knowing distances to reach/carry fairway bunkers would be nice but not essential.

I'll take a look at GolfLogix this weekend. I vaguely recall trying it a while back when I had only a 5c. I'll PM you my info when I get it going!
 

jercra

No longer respects DeChambeau
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
3,147
Arvada, Co
I have an iPhone 6s. I most want distances to front/middle/back of each green. Visuals, picture vs aerial, don't matter much to me. Though I guess when off my home course knowing distances to reach/carry fairway bunkers would be nice but not essential.

I'll take a look at GolfLogix this weekend. I vaguely recall trying it a while back when I had only a 5c. I'll PM you my info when I get it going!
I used to use FreeCaddie for front/middle/back (have a GPS watch now). The thing I liked was that it just yardages on a black background so it didn't chew up my battery showing me graphics I didn't care about.

I don't know if it's in GolfLogix, but if it's not, @CodPiece XL you should tell them to add a "simple mode" that forsakes all graphics for least battery use.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
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Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I have an iPhone 6s. I most want distances to front/middle/back of each green. Visuals, picture vs aerial, don't matter much to me. Though I guess when off my home course knowing distances to reach/carry fairway bunkers would be nice but not essential.

I'll take a look at GolfLogix this weekend. I vaguely recall trying it a while back when I had only a 5c. I'll PM you my info when I get it going!

What's your local course?
 

Stickman709

New Member
Jul 20, 2014
15
I used to use golflogix and it was fine but I found it to be one more distraction on course. One more thing in my pocket to deal with. I too really just want front center back distances so I switched to GPS watch. Garmin S2 and it us great. Accurate with others and range finders. Played 36 a few weeks ago and battery was still good after both rounds.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I used to use golflogix and it was fine but I found it to be one more distraction on course. One more thing in my pocket to deal with. I too really just want front center back distances so I switched to GPS watch. Garmin S2 and it us great. Accurate with others and range finders. Played 36 a few weeks ago and battery was still good after both rounds.
I know what you are saying...for me I've never worn a watch, I just didn't like having something on my wrist, especially playing golf. Garmin always have good products more so now that watches have native GPS chips.
 

Byrdbrain

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Jul 18, 2005
8,588
Where are you staying, how much do you want to spend and how far are you willing to travel?
I don't know much too close in to the city, Granite Links looks nice but I've never played there and it is pricey. Down south Pine Hills in Plymouth is one of the nicest in the area and they have two courses also not cheap. NW of the city Red Tail is excellent, not quite as expensive as the other two.
There are tons of other more middle of the road options but which of those make the most sense depend on where you are staying.
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
55,300
deep inside Guido territory
Where are you staying, how much do you want to spend and how far are you willing to travel?
I don't know much too close in to the city, Granite Links looks nice but I've never played there and it is pricey. Down south Pine Hills in Plymouth is one of the nicest in the area and they have two courses also not cheap. NW of the city Red Tail is excellent, not quite as expensive as the other two.
There are tons of other more middle of the road options but which of those make the most sense depend on where you are staying.
Staying in Medford. Not looking to spend as much as Granite Lakes. How are the two city courses?
 

Koufax

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Black Swan in Georgetown. It's a very good course kept in very good condition and it's a bargain. There is a decent bar for the 19th hole. As an alternative there's the Meadow at Peabody, a very demanding and interesting track, inexpensive and reasonably maintained. The 19th hole is a poor excuse for a watering hole, better to bring a sixpack in a cooler in you trunk and break it open when you've finished your round.
 

Byrdbrain

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Jul 18, 2005
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I have no idea on the city courses.
Butter Brook in Westford is nice, not too expensive and not too far of a drive from Medford.
A bit further out is Townsend Ridge in Townsend. Not too tough a course and you can usually get Groupons for it.
 

Stickman709

New Member
Jul 20, 2014
15
45 minute drive up 93 puts you at Atkinson resort. It has everything you need. It is on the higher end for $$ Trull Brook near Lowell might be a good value option. Haven't played there in a long time so can't speak for the conditions.
 

Koufax

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Trull Brook's conditions are OK. Sagamore in Lynnfield is comparable to Trull Brook and in closer.

Atkinson is nice but narrow and pricey. For that much of a trek I prefer Portsmouth CC, which is more scenic and in the same price category.
 

Light-Tower-Power

ask me about My Pillow
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Jun 14, 2013
15,968
Nashua, NH
Played Townsend Ridge on Saturday. Conditions were pretty good and it's a pretty interesting layout. Not too tough but a lot of OB and some narrow fairways. Also recommend Sandy Burr in Wayland. It's a Donald Ross course and it's usually in good shape.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
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Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
45 minute drive up 93 puts you at Atkinson resort. It has everything you need. It is on the higher end for $$ Trull Brook near Lowell might be a good value option. Haven't played there in a long time so can't speak for the conditions.
It's $58 weekdays, $68 Friday thru Sunday (plus cart, so add $12 if you don't want to walk). Is that really on the higher side of golf clubs in the Northern Mass area? That seems pretty standard to me for a good course. Atkinson is a good layout, usually in good shape and they also have a par 3 course if you want to dick around a bit after 18. I'm not familiar with many once you cross the NH/MA border, but if they're willing to drive, that's a fine option. Just be sure to book as soon as you can, it's public but they have a membership-esque style (I guess you could call it semi-private) that blocks off certain chunks of time on certain days.

If you're looking just to go hack, Crystal Lake or Haverhill CC are good options that are closer.
 

bostonbeerbelly

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Apr 26, 2008
2,224
San Fran
Finally broke the 80 barrier this past weekend. Shot a 79 at samoset resort in the final day of a 54 hole 28 guy weekend tournament. There was no preferred lies, putt everything out - as legit as it can be. Course had a slope of 127. I can't wait to get back out there this week.
 

Phragle

wild card bitches
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Jan 1, 2009
13,154
Carmine's closet
Staying in Medford. Not looking to spend as much as Granite Lakes. How are the two city courses?
I'll second Black Swan. It's very nice, they have great electric carts and twilight deals, and the pizza there is the tits. The aforementioned Portsmouth CC is scenic, but I prefer the golf at Black Swan.

For closer options, The Meadows in Peabody is ok, but I've only been there once so I can't remember any specifics. I haven't been to the Sagamore in Lynnfiled, but I've been to the Sagamore in NH and if they're similar then it's a good option too.
 

Koufax

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That's a great milestone. Congratulations! My personal best is 84, and I'm not expecting to see it again any time soon.
 

Koufax

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I'll second Black Swan. It's very nice, they have great electric carts and twilight deals, and the pizza there is the tits. The aforementioned Portsmouth CC is scenic, but I prefer the golf at Black Swan.

For closer options, The Meadows in Peabody is ok, but I've only been there once so I can't remember any specifics. I haven't been to the Sagamore in Lynnfiled, but I've been to the Sagamore in NH and if they're similar then it's a good option too.
Black Swan is also eminently walkable and they don't make you take carts.
 

Stickman709

New Member
Jul 20, 2014
15
I didn't realize carts for optional. With cart it bumps to $80 mid week which is a good value for the course but when I walk Sagamore in Lynnfield for $40 midweek Atkinson is a bit of a treat to splurge for. I work in Somerville and shoot up there in just about an hour if you get out of town by 2.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
Staying in Medford. Not looking to spend as much as Granite Lakes. How are the two city courses?
George Wright is my home course at this point. Between that and Brookmeadow, you can't really go wrong - both are really well kept for the price point and are pretty walkable.

Wright has a much better layout, but it'll be a longer round. Call starting Wednesday for weekend tee times, and bring an old Boston ID if you have one for resident rates.
 

doldmoose34

impregnated Melissa Theuriau
SoSH Member
I had one of the bushnell small gps, that died a valiant death when I had it in my back pocket with a ball and sat my fat ass on it, broken LCD display. Since then I've been using the free GolfLogix on my IPhone 7. Only problem is the ads every couple holes but easy to X out of them. I keep it I. The cart when I ride but since I usually walk I have a Cube push cart and just keep it in the score card holder
 

Dave Stapleton

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So I finally did the fitting thing myself. I went to Joe and Leigh's and ended up with the M2 woods and irons (I've generally been a Taylor Made guy). I've played about 5-6 rounds so far and while still a bit inconsistent it's remarkable overall. I am not a long hitter and I am getting about 30 yards more on my driver and 15-20 on the 3 Wood. Also, I am now seeing a more right to left ball flight vs. a baby cut. And I am hitting the ball so much higher off the tee which is accounting for a lot of the distance.

One other benefit from a fitting is putting together your bag and figuring out which clubs you need. For example, with my old set I hit a 5 hybrid and had a huge gap between that and my 6I. Now I have a 4, 5 and 6 hybrid AND a 6 iron. I am a 14 HCP btw.
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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Played Olde Scotland Links for the first time today. Man what a fun track that is. I can't believe I've never played there before now. Good value for $69 on a weekend morning with a cart too.

It was pretty wet due to the rain this weekend, and we played from the tips so it played pretty long. Once it dries out though I could imagine it being much better and even more fun
 

southshoresoxfan

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Jul 15, 2005
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Played Olde Scotland Links for the first time today. Man what a fun track that is. I can't believe I've never played there before now. Good value for $69 on a weekend morning with a cart too.

It was pretty wet due to the rain this weekend, and we played from the tips so it played pretty long. Once it dries out though I could imagine it being much better and even more fun
I LOVE Ole Scotty. Great course. Some huge holes from tips. Some room to spray early then tightens up a bit on the back. First hole i line up on the tree line and just rip a fade w my driver. My fav hole is 6. The huge 5 where everything flows left on the approch shot. Great golf hole.
 

HoyaSoxa

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Dec 4, 2003
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Finally played my first 18 of the year on Father's Day (it ain't easy with two little kids), and while my game was in rough shape (40 putts on fairly easy greens!), I was very pleased with my experience using The Grint app on my Apple watch. It was good with distances (so long as you give it a moment to catch up on the GPS) - the watch app shows front-middle-back, while if you use the phone it will show you a map of the hole and allow you to get distances to other spots. It was also really easy to keep score and track a few basic stats (fairways hit, hazards, putts - yikes!), and I never had to take my phone out of my pocket. It also surprisingly did not completely drain my battery during the round. For $19.99/year for the pro membership, it also gives you an official USGA Handicap, and has some pretty cool features that I am unlikely to ever use, like tournament scoring for multiple players.
 

TFP

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I'm a long time Grint user and fan. I got a rangefinder for xmas but before that, the GPS app in the Grint was remarkable in how it didn't drain your battery. Accuracy seemed to be mixed though.

I track every round in real time on my phone and it's remarkably easy. Looking back on 3+ years worth of stats is great.
 

TFP

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You'd be wrong, I'd love to hear that. The more golf talk, the better.

Plus - it'll let me know if I should hit you up for advice when I book my inevitable Scotland golf trip in 4-5 years.
 

Koufax

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Played Olde Scotland Links for the first time today. Man what a fun track that is. I can't believe I've never played there before now. Good value for $69 on a weekend morning with a cart too.

It was pretty wet due to the rain this weekend, and we played from the tips so it played pretty long. Once it dries out though I could imagine it being much better and even more fun
They were open all winter. I played there several times on frozen ground. It was lots of fun.
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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I LOVE Ole Scotty. Great course. Some huge holes from tips. Some room to spray early then tightens up a bit on the back. First hole i line up on the tree line and just rip a fade w my driver. My fav hole is 6. The huge 5 where everything flows left on the approch shot. Great golf hole.
They were open all winter. I played there several times on frozen ground. It was lots of fun.
I do love how it is open on the front but then you have to really think off the tee on the back. I think I'd go driver on every hole on the front (except maybe 7) and 10-12 then not once from 13 onward until the 18th tee. It required some legitimate strategic thinking too (I agonized on what to hit on 15 off the tee and into the green) but it's not target golf or unfair by any stretch.

I will definitely be back.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
Looking to play 36 on Saturday with the better half out of town... wondering if anyone knows of courses with play-again rates on the weekend? My google-fu was not successful
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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Looking to play 36 on Saturday with the better half out of town... wondering if anyone knows of courses with play-again rates on the weekend? My google-fu was not successful
Crosswinds down in Plymouth does, and they have 27 holes.
 
You going to play until 10:30 tonight?
No, but I did play match at Gullane yesterday against a member there who was teeing off at 5:11 this morning in a special competition in which they play six holes on each of the three courses there to celebrate it being the longest day.

My match (which I won 4&3) was in the first round of a 128-man matchplay competition called The Ladies Cup. Any member of a club in East Lothian is eligible to enter, regardless of handicap, and the entry fee was £12, which is absolutely the best thing about Scottish golf: the competitive culture here is extraordinary. I play in numerous open competitions like this at great courses across Scotland, and the entry fee is always way below the normal green fee for playing the course as a visitor (e.g., the standard rate for Gullane No. 1 is £120 for a round), plus if you do well you can actually win money in the form of vouchers for pro shop merchandise. Two years ago I made the quarterfinals of The Ladies Cup and the semifinals of a similar event at North Berwick which has an 18-hole strokeplay qualifier and a 32-man matchplay draw, and I won more than £200 between them.

Anyway, the real reason I'm pointing this out is to highly, highly recommend that anyone coming to Scotland investigates including an open competitions like these on your golfing itinerary. Some of them have a matchplay component - e.g., I played in the annual four-day open at Cruden Bay a while back, which had a £50 entry fee and I think usually takes place the Tuesday to Friday of Open Championship Week and involves two days of strokeplay qualifying (18 holes each day) followed by separate scratch/low handicap/high handicap 16-man flights of matchplay (up to 36 holes each day) with consolation strokeplay competitions each day if you get knocked out or don't qualify for matchplay. Others are pure strokeplay, some with a handicap cutoff and some without, some 18 holes and some 36 holes - e.g., I'm playing at Royal Dornoch on July 22 in the 36-hole Sinclair Cup, which costs £54 to enter and this year was restricted to golfers with handicaps of 7.4 and under, although there are other opens there where higher handicaps are more than welcome. I don't think you'll find events like this on any of the Open Championship courses with the possible exception of Carnoustie, but you will find them pretty much everywhere else, and I find them so much more rewarding and interesting than normal tourist golf.
 

FL4WL3SS

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Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
I got invited to play at 5:45am tomorrow before work. I don't know whether to be elated or mortified. Seattle has definitely redefined the phrase "ass crack of dawn", it gets light so damn early here.

Of course, I wasn't able to turn down the invite.
 

doldmoose34

impregnated Melissa Theuriau
SoSH Member
No, but I did play match at Gullane yesterday against a member there who was teeing off at 5:11 this morning in a special competition in which they play six holes on each of the three courses there to celebrate it being the longest day.

My match (which I won 4&3) was in the first round of a 128-man matchplay competition called The Ladies Cup. Any member of a club in East Lothian is eligible to enter, regardless of handicap, and the entry fee was £12, which is absolutely the best thing about Scottish golf: the competitive culture here is extraordinary. I play in numerous open competitions like this at great courses across Scotland, and the entry fee is always way below the normal green fee for playing the course as a visitor (e.g., the standard rate for Gullane No. 1 is £120 for a round), plus if you do well you can actually win money in the form of vouchers for pro shop merchandise. Two years ago I made the quarterfinals of The Ladies Cup and the semifinals of a similar event at North Berwick which has an 18-hole strokeplay qualifier and a 32-man matchplay draw, and I won more than £200 between them.

Anyway, the real reason I'm pointing this out is to highly, highly recommend that anyone coming to Scotland investigates including an open competitions like these on your golfing itinerary. Some of them have a matchplay component - e.g., I played in the annual four-day open at Cruden Bay a while back, which had a £50 entry fee and I think usually takes place the Tuesday to Friday of Open Championship Week and involves two days of strokeplay qualifying (18 holes each day) followed by separate scratch/low handicap/high handicap 16-man flights of matchplay (up to 36 holes each day) with consolation strokeplay competitions each day if you get knocked out or don't qualify for matchplay. Others are pure strokeplay, some with a handicap cutoff and some without, some 18 holes and some 36 holes - e.g., I'm playing at Royal Dornoch on July 22 in the 36-hole Sinclair Cup, which costs £54 to enter and this year was restricted to golfers with handicaps of 7.4 and under, although there are other opens there where higher handicaps are more than welcome. I don't think you'll find events like this on any of the Open Championship courses with the possible exception of Carnoustie, but you will find them pretty much everywhere else, and I find them so much more rewarding and interesting than normal tourist golf.
love hearing about what it's like playing over there, for my fellow golf podcast addicts, one of the No Laying Up guys is playing all over Scotland and posting incredible pictures of it on twitta
 

Koufax

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Got the itch to play a new course last Thursday when the weather was so wonderful. A little consultation with the New England Golf Guide revealed Belgrade Lakes Golf Club, which they rate as a 5 star course. So I headed up there by myself and played as a single. The modest clubhouse sits on a hilltop with a great view of the lake, and the first tee is spectacular. You quickly descend into a parkland style course with little or no water views. The good: The course is impeccably maintained, complete with lovely shrubbery; the staff is very friendly; and it is a generally fine layout. The bad: No cart girl and generally defenseless greens. I played from the gold tees which through some miracle got at 133 slope rating. The course is easier than that, I can assure you. It almost has a resort course feel.

I walked the course (very easy to do). At the 9th and 18th greens, there is a bit of a climb to get back up to the clubhouse. Nothing like the climbs from 8 to 9 at Crosswinds, but steep. They send a cart down to carry you up the hill. It's a nice touch. The pace of play was a bit slow (4 hours 30 minutes) considering that they space tee times 12 minutes apart. There was no ranger to move folks along, which is great if everybody keeps up the pace and not so great if there's a slow group.

I'm a bit of a golf course junkie and am glad I took the trip up. I'm not sure I'd drive 2 1/2 hours just to play it again, but I might when I retire.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

T&A
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Feb 9, 2010
5,302
Providence, RI
I got to play TPC Boston this weekend. It was my first time playing at a PGA Tour stop. Overall I liked the course, there were some really fun and interesting holes. Others were just alright and didn't stand out in a memorable way. Certainly was worth the guest rate though and the greens were incredible to putt on. They were fast but rolled so smooth and true. Once you got a handle for the speed it felt like you could almost glide any putt up to the hole.

I'm a high handicapper but I shot a 46 on the front, which I'm really happy with at a course like that. The back nine, well it was very sunny and warm on Saturday afternoon, so yea we will blame what happened on the back nine on fatigue :)
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
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Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
Got the itch to play a new course last Thursday when the weather was so wonderful. A little consultation with the New England Golf Guide revealed Belgrade Lakes Golf Club, which they rate as a 5 star course. So I headed up there by myself and played as a single. The modest clubhouse sits on a hilltop with a great view of the lake, and the first tee is spectacular. You quickly descend into a parkland style course with little or no water views. The good: The course is impeccably maintained, complete with lovely shrubbery; the staff is very friendly; and it is a generally fine layout. The bad: No cart girl and generally defenseless greens. I played from the gold tees which through some miracle got at 133 slope rating. The course is easier than that, I can assure you. It almost has a resort course feel.

I walked the course (very easy to do). At the 9th and 18th greens, there is a bit of a climb to get back up to the clubhouse. Nothing like the climbs from 8 to 9 at Crosswinds, but steep. They send a cart down to carry you up the hill. It's a nice touch. The pace of play was a bit slow (4 hours 30 minutes) considering that they space tee times 12 minutes apart. There was no ranger to move folks along, which is great if everybody keeps up the pace and not so great if there's a slow group.

I'm a bit of a golf course junkie and am glad I took the trip up. I'm not sure I'd drive 2 1/2 hours just to play it again, but I might when I retire.
Belgrade is one of my favorite courses in the area. (I disagree that it's an easy course, but that's just my opinion.) The views from the clubhouse of the lake and the 9/18th green are amazing. I hope you took the time to sit and have a drink after your round on the deck. I also think it's really cool that they let employees bring their dogs and they just roam around near the clubhouse and on the deck, I think last time we were there there was at least six or seven dogs just hanging out and playing with the golfers. There is definitely a relaxed sense of pace, but I don't mind it there because that's kind of what they shoot for. And as to no cart girl, we learned that the first time we went they don't care if you bring your own. When they came to grab our bags, we had coolers and did the "yeah, so it's just snacks and gatorades and stuff" and the bag guy replied "you didn't bring any beer?" kind of incredulously. His direct quote was "as long as you're not towing an Igloo behind the cart, have some fun guys." Which we very much appreciated. They have some of the nicest staff I've ever encountered at a course.

We take a 3 day fall trip up that way every year, usually 8 guys and we play Samoset, Belgrade and Sunday River, which imo are the three nicest courses in Maine, with Sugarloaf a close 4th. If you want a tough track, Sunday River or Sugarloaf are what you're looking for. SR you won't play off a flat lie very often and there's a lot of elevation changes and forced carries. Sugarloaf has a ton of elevation as well and a lot of blind shots; buy a yardage book. Do not try to walk either. I honestly don't remember at Sugarloaf, but SR you are not allowed to drink on the course - the cart paths are so steep on some holes they don't want people drunk; and with reason, some of them are a bit harrowing. Both of those courses have extremely reasonable stay and play packages in the ski condos if you go the right time of year.
 

FL4WL3SS

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SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
I got to play TPC Boston this weekend. It was my first time playing at a PGA Tour stop. Overall I liked the course, there were some really fun and interesting holes. Others were just alright and didn't stand out in a memorable way. Certainly was worth the guest rate though and the greens were incredible to putt on. They were fast but rolled so smooth and true. Once you got a handle for the speed it felt like you could almost glide any putt up to the hole.

I'm a high handicapper but I shot a 46 on the front, which I'm really happy with at a course like that. The back nine, well it was very sunny and warm on Saturday afternoon, so yea we will blame what happened on the back nine on fatigue :)
What was the guest rate? When I tried to get on there, they were trying to charge me $325. That course is not worth $325 to me.
 

Byrdbrain

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Jul 18, 2005
8,588
We take a 3 day fall trip up that way every year, usually 8 guys and we play Samoset, Belgrade and Sunday River, which imo are the three nicest courses in Maine, with Sugarloaf a close 4th. If you want a tough track, Sunday River or Sugarloaf are what you're looking for. SR you won't play off a flat lie very often and there's a lot of elevation changes and forced carries. Sugarloaf has a ton of elevation as well and a lot of blind shots; buy a yardage book. Do not try to walk either. I honestly don't remember at Sugarloaf, but SR you are not allowed to drink on the course - the cart paths are so steep on some holes they don't want people drunk; and with reason, some of them are a bit harrowing. Both of those courses have extremely reasonable stay and play packages in the ski condos if you go the right time of year.
You can drink on SL and while not as laid back as BL seems to be they've always looked the other way at us when we've brought coolers. I also think they allow walking at SL and we've see people do it but there is no way in hell you could get me to do it.
We've done multiple 3 day stay and play deals at SL and after a few years off we are going back again in early September. The course is tough, as hilly as you would expect a mountain course to be and every fairway seems about a third smaller than it looks since one side or the other feeds everything in to the woods. The times we've been there the greens have varied from slightly quick to be careful not to putt this off the green.