[gentle music] Welcome to Bay State Golf. I'm Sean Melia. I'm doing something I don't do a lot on this video. I'm gonna give you a ranking. I'm ranking the five best public Donald Ross golf courses in Massachusetts.
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Rankings are always a little bit subjective, especially when you just have one person giving you a list.
This is not from a big conglomerate of golfers who have gone out and ranked golf courses and checked off boxes and have very specific things they're looking for.
Donald Ross's birthday is November 23rd, so I thought this would be a nice little homage to all of his work. He has 14 publicly accessible golf courses in Massachusetts. That's according to the Donald Ross Society.
If you look at other places, there's a different list. There's other, other golf courses added. Even the list on the Ross Society, you could quibble with.
A place like Whaling City, on their scorecard, they say it's a Donald Ross creation and not a lot of Donald Ross left out there, but it is, you know, part of their Ross Society list because he did design some golf holes out there.
So there's a kind of a-- Obviously, over 100 years, things change at golf courses. Things get moved around. Golf holes get changed. People come in and, and redo golf holes, redo swaths of golf courses.
Um, construction happens and holes are lost and all that kind of stuff. So the list that I'm using is from the Ross Society. And what I kinda did as I sat down just to put this list of five together
was I thought about a couple things, shot value, what shots are fun to hit at this Donald Ross course. I also appreciate when a golf course is, is walkable.
Uh, it doesn't have to be the easiest walk in the world to be a higher level, but most Donald Ross courses are pretty walkable already.
Um, and then finally, just the f- the other thing that I put into this is, as I made the list, I just asked myself, if someone called me the night before playing a round of golf and said, "Hey, we can play either this course or this course.
Which one do you wanna play?" Everything being equal with regards to time and all that other stuff. Which one would I pick? So for example, I'm gonna give you my sixth course on my list, which is Bass River.
I'm not gonna talk at length about Bass River. They just rerouted the golf course. I have not been back in a while.
Always tell people to go play at Valuable, Good Value, and you get a, a-- some water views, which is actually pretty rare on Cape Cod, especially in the public world of golf. But Bass River was number six,
so all the other five courses ahead of Bass River are ones that if someone called me and said, "Hey, do you wanna play the number five course?" Which in this case is Sandy Burr, I'd play Sandy Burr over Bass River.
It would be close, but that would be ultimately my choice is to go play Sandy Burr. And why would I choose Sandy Burr? What do I like about Sandy Burr?
There's a bunch of shots in, in the round that I think are, are pretty good. The approach into the fourth hole, the first par four on the golf course is the fourth.
It starts with a five, then another par five, then a par three, and then a par four, and then another par three. So it's a very interesting opening routing just in general.
Some good scoring opportunities, but the fourth hole is a very tough, long par four. Good green complex, uh, kinda perched up a little bit.
Classic Donald Ross as far as what it looks like and the shot it's asking you hitting a mid-iron in. So that fourth hole is really good. I also think the tee shots on holes nine, 10, and 11 are really good.
Um, nine is kind of a fun one because you're thinking about, "Do I wanna try to hit driver and maybe get up close to the green? Do I wanna lay back and just have a wedge?" 'Cause the green is pretty diabolical.
It's small. If you miss, the ball just gets rejected off. 10 is a classic Donald Ross long par three. There's usually one in there, and 10 is the one [chuckles] at Sandy Burr.
Probably a tough hole to start on if they're doing a split tee start. Um, it's 220, 200 to 220 yards uphill, kind of blind. Can't really see much of the green.
Little bit of a punch bowl, so you do have some catch base in there, uh, if you hit something a little long, but it's a tough green as well.
And then 11 is a thrilling downhill tee shot, really the only one you get on the golf course where you just feel like you're way up high, hitting way downhill. Uh, par five, you can very easily make a birdie on.
Uh, sure there's a lot of eagles over the course of the, of the season as well. It's a kind of a typical Donald Ross short par five that was definitely harder back in the day when he built it.
So those shots for me, and then 18 is a pretty good closer, really tough uphill second shot. You gotta hit a good tee shot, trees down the left, trouble down the right.
Um, hitting out of the rough is even tricky just because you want that ball to stop on that green that's perched up pretty high.The middle of the back nine kind of falls a little flat, which is why it's number five on here and maybe not higher.
Um, but for me, it is the fifth best Donald Ross public course. You're not gonna go wrong if you go play there. Um, it's got just some charm. It feels old school. It's a little tight, compact.
There's some spots where you [chuckles] might get hit with golf balls. Um, holes six, seven, eight are kind of funky.
Um, I think that tee shot on six could be really good, but it's just there's something about it that doesn't quite hold up for me. Maybe it's that tree and just the way the fairway is cut.
It's just not a really, a really good tee shot with the way the course is set up. But that's another hole that has a lot of potential, I think. Uh, but seven and eight kind of f- fall flat for me a little bit.
Uh, but overall, Sandy Burr, number five. Let's get to number four on this list, a newcomer in the world of public golf in Massachusetts. That's Cohasset, a nine-hole golf course in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
Cohasset was private for most of its existence, uh, and then last year became public.
New ownership came in and are trying to spruce it up a little bit after the course kind of just hit some hard times, lost some members, uh, and then had members leave just because they weren't happy with the condition of the golf course and where they saw things going.
So now it's public. It is really good. Drove out there and played it this October and just found a couple shots that I would, I would love to go and hit every time.
Almost every approach shot into all of these nine really good greens was, was thought-provoking. You had to just-- maybe five and seven are the two holes that you're, you know, don't offer much kind of intrigue.
Um, the fifth hole is probably the weakest hole on the course, but you've got a tough opener, which is a kind of a rare thing for Ross. Second hole, you're, you're hitting probably a wedge uphill to a blind, um, green.
And then three and four are back-to-back par threes. One is long, one is short. You're gonna hit like four, five iron and then maybe a wedge, gap wedge, pitching wedge into the fourth. So a cool dichotomy there.
So that's a really good little pocket of the golf course back in the, back near the clubhouse. And then six is an outstanding par five that I think could be better with a, a few little tweaks.
I played with my buddy Jed, who is very attuned to, you know, mow lines and just the little things you could do better.
He's a historian at Plymouth Country Club, so he's very dialed into kind of what a golf course should really look like on the, on the edges, on the fringes of things.
Um, so he just pointed a couple things out about six, but it's a really strong, tough hole as well. Walkable. Um, some awkward walks at, at Cohasset. You go from four to five, you're crossing a road.
You're kinda walking in a funny way. Even the pro, as we were checking in, kinda had to give us a lay of the land a little bit of how to get from four to five. Um, and then the walk from seven to eight is also long.
Gotta cross back across the road. Um, but also a really lovely walk 'cause you're walking along the water, along this little pond as you get to eight and play eight, nine to finish off the day.
So Cohasset, definitely a place if someone called me and said, "Sandy Burr, Cohasset," I'm going to play Cohasset. Even though it's nine holes, I'm playing it twice, maybe even three times.
Just really, really liked it out there, and I would recommend everybody putting it on their 2026 must-play list. Uh, it is absolutely there for me. And who knows when it turns back to being private.
So there's a little window right now where you can go play it. Go check out Cohasset. Number three on the list is Wachusett Country Club. Just a charming Donald Ross golf course that has some rolling land.
It's pretty tight in spots, uh, compact. You have a bunch of options very early in the round which can get you going in a good direction. It can also get you going in a [chuckles] really bad direction.
Um, the second hole and the fifth hole, both par fives, have water that come into play on that second shot, whether you wanna lay up or you wanna try to force the ball over that water.
The third hole, a par four with a pretty severe two-tier green and a false front. Think that's kind of a, another really good shot to have in. You get an uphill par three, another one.
Seems like the more you f- the more Ross courses you look at, the more you see, you know, an uphill par three somewhere, both private co-courses and public golf courses.
I think an underrated hole, especially for the, just how good the green is, is the eighth hole. Really think that's a, a cool hole.
It's on a flatter part of the land next to nine, and they're, they just kinda run adjacent to each other. But that eighth green is, is really good. It sits in the ground a little bit. It's not perched up.
It's not, doesn't have a false front. It's just got some kinda cool waves and, and bits through it, a little collection area on the left.
I think, I think that's a really, a n- a really good hole after you cross the road from playing four, five, six, and seven. And then you get to the back nine. Ten is a kind of a doable, scorable par five.
Then you got 11, a really tough tee shot. Then you have 12, which for me might be one of the best par fours that Donald Ross built in the state on public land, on a public golf course.
Um, there are some private golf courses that have, you know, ones that are probably better, but as far as golf courses that you can just go and play, the 12th hole at Wachusett is superb.
It's a good, long, tough tee shot. The land rolls. It's got a little bit of the fourth hole at Concord Country Club vibes, not as severe with, with the kinda swales that run through the fairway.
You gotta hit the green, um, or you're gonna roll back. Big false front, kind of a narrow greenCollection area in the back, so you can kinda putt it, but you don't really wanna be back there. Just awesome.
13 is a really tough par three, long one, downhill, another pretty severe green.
Um, I hit a wedge-- I hit a bunker shot out of the, the left green side bunker, climbed out, and my ball had rolled almost all the way down into the flat area.
Uh, just a, just a pretty severe front of that green too when you're hitting a mid to maybe long iron, depending on the wind. It's tree-lined. Then 14 is a, is a, like a fun par four.
You can try to hit driver up by the green. You can lay back. Some options there. 15, a short par five. So there's just all sorts of, of options and shots you can hit. It's scoreable for sure.
If you get kinda going with your driver and you feel good, um, you can definitely make some birdies. You can definitely collect some pars.
Um, a good place if you're someone who's looking to like break 100, to break 90, to break 80. Definitely a good option.
I know there'll be people in the comments who will jump and say Wachusett is the longest round in Massachusetts. It might be.
Um, that m- [chuckles] that would be possibly one thing that would deter me from, from playing Wachusett kind of on a regular basis. It's just, I feel like a lot of people say it just takes a long time to play.
I played it this summer. It did take, it d- just takes a long time. You got those reachable par fives. The first few holes, you're kinda waiting around. It gets tight in some spots.
Um, so there's people who are waiting for you 'cause you might be on their fairway or there's just places where you're kinda crossing and, uh, and can be in the way of other people.
So definitely a golf course that can take a little bit of time to play. Uh, but an outstanding value, and that's co- that's coming from someone who's, who understands it's a $95 price tag.
But that's the most you pay, at least in 2025. Who knows what next year will bring, if it gets a little bit more. But 95 bucks, when you look at some of the other places, it's in great shape. It's interesting.
They've done a nice job adding some texture. You got fescue grass, long grass, whispers, kind of those spots on the, on the bunkers, um, that just add a little bit of texture and visual, um, stimulation as well.
So Wachusett, love it, and I would h- put it u- put this one on your list as well. It's a g-golf course I played in 2020.
Was looking forward and had it on my, like, I gotta go back and play it again, and I finally did do that in 2025 this summer and was really impressed with how much better it was over the last couple years.
They've just done a, they've done an excellent job over the last five years. Um, so Wachusett is number three. Number two on my list, this was a tough one to put number two, um, but Franklin Park is number two.
I personally really love Franklin Park, and I, the things that I love about it are the open space. I love the public feel of it. I love the fact that you can be on some holes and there's people walking by to work.
Some people are, you know, some people would complain that they might have, you know, I've seen people on bikes kinda riding through the golf course.
It's definitely an avenue for people to get to and from their homes or from work. Um, you know, you might have a-- [chuckles] I've never had this happen, but I know people have had their golf balls snatched.
Um, there are, there are some, some stuff going, that, that can go on there that I would imagine can be kind of annoying. And in some cases,
I know there's some unsavory stuff that can go on and stories about, uh, stuff kind of in the woods back there.
So all of that being said, I do think Franklin Park, for a golf course in the city designed by Donald Ross, is just an incredible value. We are so lucky to have a course like this inside of Boston's city limits.
There's a lot of shots I think about and I like playing on this golf course. I think the stretch of three, four, five is a really good trio of holes. Um, I love that tee shot on three.
I love the, kind of the, the value of the second shot on three. If you hit a good tee shot, how much, how interesting and how hard that second shot is into that green. You're playing uphill.
Four is a really good slept on, I think, par three, and it's pretty long. The wind is usually involved because you are sitting up kind of at a high point of the property. You're hitting back towards the clubhouse.
Five is another really good one. You have a couple choices. You can hit driver. You can hit iron.
Um, I, I kind of see that as a, as a little bit of a mini Eastward Ho sixth, just the way the, the fairway kind of like runs through this mounding.
Uh, it's a little less dramatic obviously, but it has that same kind of, that same kind of feel as you, as you walk through the dunes and then you kinda see where you're going, uh, once you, once you get to your golf ball.
So all of that, and then you kinda dip in seven, eight, nine aren't great. I love-- You know, they're, they're, they're fine golf holes. There's nothing great about them.
They're not holes that I think about on the drive to the golf course that I'm excited to hit any tee shot there. The 10, I love 10. I think 10 is an outstanding par four.
Uh, and then you've got 12, which doesn't need much discussion. Gets talked about a lot. The Bobby Jones hole, the co- the hole he played over and over again, called one of his favorite par fours in the world.
Um, many believe it kind of just inspired some of the way, uh, holes were cut through the woods at Augusta National. Um, you know, people compare it to the eighth at Augusta.
The eighth is a par five, but just the way the land climbs up through those trees, super hard hole. 14 is a hole for me, another one that I, I, I think about a lot because it's a blind tee shot.
The green is shaped and angled kinda funny. You gotta be left. I wish the fairway was farther left over there so you weren't hitting out of the rough, but another good hole.
Another uphill par three, um, but just overall, Franklin Park has just so much charm. It has this old school feel.
You're hitting a bunch of different shotsYou've got blind tee shots, you've got open space, you've got some tight holes, you've got a short par 3 and 13, you've got some hard par 3s. Uh, just a really good mix.
You're gonna hit a bunch of different shots, a bunch of different tee shots. You've got, uh, tons of options. I think that's what makes it really good. And then for me, I, I do like that public feel to the golf course.
You, you feel like you're in a place, um, and, and I do like that. I might not like it if someone snatches my golf ball or something else unsavory happens the next time I play it.
But, uh, for now, I think it's, it's, it's-- we are so lucky to have it. Then we move on to number one, which is George Wright, another golf course by Donald Ross inside of Boston.
A golf course that was supposed to be private. Of course, the Great Depression hits, and the whole plan kinda goes under, and it becomes a city-owned piece of property, and they build the golf course on it.
Most expensive golf course to be built at that time. Tons of rock, tons of explosions, um, to, just to build out that golf course.
I say this, um, whenever I talk about Franklin Park and George Wright in combination, when they're next to each other in anything. Franklin Park is the place I would play for an entire summer.
If you said you could play one or the other for an entire summer, I'm playing Franklin Park. I just, I just would prefer to go there every day and play golf. I'd have more golf balls at the end of the year.
Um, I'd probably have a couple lower scores at the end of the year, selfishly. George Wright is the place though if you said you can play one of them one time during the year. You get-- You cannot go play the other one.
You're done for the season. I'm gonna go play George Wright.
It's the place I would most likely bring a visitor from out of town if we were going to play, um, just because I do think it's-- they're both unique, but George Wright is, is, is more unique, um, which is a ridiculous statement to make.
But it just feels a little bit more special. It feels like a place that an out-of-towner would be like, "Oh, this is what New England, Massachusetts golf is. This is a really good example of it."
And that comes with just little chunks of the golf course that are so good and so strong.
And as I was just kinda going through and thinking about, like, what are the shots, what are the holes, I mean, you've got-- you stand on the fifth tee, and you realize you've got five, six, seven ahead of you, um, for tee shots that are kinda challenging, approach shots that are really f- really entertaining to hit, challenging to hit.
Six is a hole that gets forgotten, but it's, you know, one of, one of the favorites among the group that I go and play George Wright with. It, it-- People sleep on it a little bit because it is between five and seven.
And then the other little section of the golf course is nine, 10, 11, 12, just four really good par fours.
I think people could quibble with 12, and I sometimes do just because of that tee shot I have never really figured out where I'm supposed to aim.
And I've hit balls kind of where I thought they were off the planet, and they're just on the edge of the planet, and I'm able to hit it up by the green and, and salvage a par. Um, but 12 is, 12 is a little funny.
But 10, uh, but nine, 10, and 11 is another trio of par fours that are just, that are really good, and you throw in 12, and it's awesome. The par 3s there are also so strong. 17 gets all the love. People love it.
I love it. I think it's great. I love the setting where 17 is. You walk off 16 after that little kinda climb up to the green.
Every transition from the par, the pr- whole previous two, each par 3 is lovely, um, whether you're walking from seven to eight, then from eight to nine, uh, walking from 14 to 15, walking from 13 to 14 up through the woods.
Um, but four, eight, 14, 17 are as strong a set of par 3s that I think you'd find in Massachusetts public golf, maybe in the country.
Some people believe I can't speak to that because I haven't played enough golf all over the country, and that's fine, but I'll-- will speak for Massachusetts. I think those four par fours, par 3s are, are superb.
It's a really hard walk. It's a tough walk, but I-- it's just one of those golf courses that stands out to me as a place I'm bringing a visitor. I'm sharing stories about it. It has a history. It has a sense of place.
Um, I've met people who caddied there in the '40s and '50s.
Um, I've heard some amazing stories about the construction of that place that I've shared in other places and, and, uh, you know, families selling coffee and donuts to the construction workers in the beer bottles that they left the Friday before, uh, they were collected.
Families would collect them, make coffee and donuts, and sell them back just to keep their house during the Great Depression. So some awesome stories, some history, uh, some great golf.
Both Franklin Park and George Wright are also just constantly being improved. I think Wachusett has the same thing, um, and Cohasset as well. I can't really speak for Sandy Burr. I haven't played there enough.
I've played it on shoulder seasons. Um, you probably could tell in the, in the video clips that I shared.
I played it in March this year, um, so I got some footage of it, but it's, you know, brown and, and not green yet because it was the first round I played this year.
So I can't really speak to what Sandy Burr has done over the years. But Cohasset all the way to George Wright and those four, they're kind of all seemingly getting better and trying to improve and doing little things.
Mark Munjem has done an excellent job at George Wright and Franklin Park, just always new tee boxes, r- refreshing bunkers, um, just the maintenance care of both of them for the amount of golf that they both have humming through them from sun up to sun down, especially in the summertime, even before sun up and even after sun down, and the fact that the maintenance team is able to keep that grass growing and keep those greens rolling really nicely is something else.
So those are my five favorite, the five best in my mind, Donald Ross golf courses that you can play in Massachusetts. What are some of your favorites? Do you have a top five? Put them in the comments.
Just give me your one through five, um, and see where we match, where we don't match. If there's a place I haven't played yet, maybe something sneaks into this five.
Um, but I will, I will share the ones that I have played and have not played so you can kinda get a sense of, of what I'm looking at as well. Thank you so much for watching.
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Thanks again for watching, and we will see you next time on Bay State Golf.