By
BRUCE VITTNER
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce’s slogan is “A Short Trip to
Far Away.” For golfers, that short trip offers some of the best
golf you can find, and it won’t empty your gas tank. Hyannis is
only 90 miles from Providence, and on a recent golf trip to the
Cape we played some very good and quite unique courses.
There are 27 public courses and 15 private facilities on Cape
Cod. “You can play seven different courses in seven days and see
a different type of layout each day,” said John Cherry, Vice
President—Golf and Sports Marketing for the Chamber. The terrain
on the Cape is so varied. You will see large elevation changes
on many of the courses with beautiful panoramas.
We started off playing Ballymeade Country Club in No. Falmouth.
Just ten minutes from the Bourne Bridge on Rt. 151, it is easily
accessible. Unless your drives are going straight, many of the
holes will not be so easily accessible. The rolling terrain and
undulating greens will make the course a tough challenge. The
rating from the back tees is 74.3 with a slope of 139, and it is
deserved. There are four sets of tees, however, so playing the
course can be fun and the beautiful clubhouse and immaculate
conditioning of the course makes for a memorable day.
The next day we played Dennis Highlands in Dennis. There are two
excellent courses in Dennis—Dennis Pines being the other.
Residents of the town can play both courses all year for a
membership fee of $560. Almost makes you want to move. Dennis
Highlands is easier than Dennis Pines, but the Hurdzan and
Kidwell design is fun to play and a chance to get a good score.
Its slope of 118 attests to its gentleness, but the par 4 sixth
is one of the toughest on the Cape. The par 3s are varied and
challenging and OSG’s Kathie Dyson scored her first hole-in-one
on the downhill sixteenth.
The third day was the best for this writer. We took the Hy-Line
high-speed ferry to Nantucket to play Miacomet Golf Course. In
just over an hour we were on the island that sits 28 miles from
the mainland. The quaint houses and shops, cobblestone streets
and beautiful flowers took our minds off golf when we docked. A
ten-minute van ride to the course was scenic and when we
approached the course we got back into the playing mood.
The
pretty 6th hole at Miacomet G.C. on Nantucket.
The
Nantucket Land Bank owns Miacomet, and only three years ago
added another nine holes to make it the only 18-hole public
course on the island. Course architect Howard Mauer incorporated
many large bunkers and waste areas into the new nine holes. You
will see the difference between the old and new nines, but each
side has its own character and charm. Watch for the winds.
Three-club winds are common, and will change the way you look at
the yardage. Be careful on number 14, as a hidden water hole
sits in front of the green on this reachable par 5.
It makes for a long day to travel to Nantucket for just one
round of golf, so it might be smart to stay overnight and enjoy
the beautiful beaches, great fishing and many other fascinating
things around this island that used to be the whaling capital of
the world.
On our last day we stayed right in Hyannis to play Twin Brooks
Golf Course. It is a very enjoyable par 3 layout with holes
ranging from 90 to 215 yards and water on five holes. Many of
the holes would fit right in on championship courses. You will
certainly have a chance to use all your irons. Since you can
play the course in less than three hours, it makes a great first
or last day course to play. Jim Cook, general manager of the
Four Points Sheraton Hyannis Resort, said of his course, “We
tell guests to play our course and if they don’t enjoy it we’ll
give them their money back. We haven’t had anyone complain yet!”
The conditioning is pristine and the Geoffrey Cornish designed
course will give you a good test. Four Points also has partnered
with the 36-hole Captains Courses in Brewster to offer golf
packages as well as spa and golf packages. They can be reached
at 800-598-4559.
The Bayside Resort Hotel (1-866-970-GOLF) in West Yarmouth was
the host hotel for our golf trip. Andrea Cummings is the
Director of Golf Packaging for the Bayside Resort and was
extremely helpful. The Dockside Hotel Group hosted our banquet.
“We have three properties and packages for every price range,”
said Jeff Swartz, managing partner and director of golf. The
Dockside properties, all on Route 28 in West Yarmouth, are the
upscale Cape Point Hotel (1-800-323-9505), the mid-range Mariner
Motel Lodge (1-800-445-4050, and the economical Town ‘N Country
Motor Lodge (1-800-992-2340).
The Cape is less than two hours from anywhere in Rhode Island
and southeastern Massachusetts, and you will truly feel that you
are on a great golf vacation. The Cape Cod Chamber has an
excellent website,
www.CapeCodGolfCoast.com
that gives information about golf as well as other valuable
information for visitors.
If you would like to take a chance to win free golf, the Chamber
is selling $100 raffle tickets. The first prize is the choice
between one year of Free Golf for a Foursome on Cape Cod or
$10,000 in cash. For ticket information contact
johncherry@capecodchamber.org.
Their toll-free number is 1-888-332-2732. With over 40 courses
to choose from, you really are in golfer’s heaven.
Bruce Vittner is a member of the Golf Writers Assn. of
America.
