Hickory Heritage Showcases Cape Cod
By BRUCE VITTNER

For six years Tom and Jan Martin, publishers of The Little Black Book of Golf, have been bringing golf writers and others associated with golf to Cape Cod in October for the Hickory Heritage Media Golf Classic to showcase the fine golf courses and excellent hotels and restaurants.

This year the courses played included Hyannis Golf Club, Farm Neck and The Captains Course in Brewster. Dinner and entertainment was held at the Irish Village in West Yarmouth that also does many golf packages. The Red Jacket Hotel provided accommodations for many of the media and hosted a lobster bake put on by the Yarmouth Restaurant Assn., and a catered lobster roll lunch was provided by The Casual Gourmet.

“We want all the writers and media folks to see what a great place Cape Cod is for golf and entertainment,” said Tom Martin who has published The Little Black Book of Golf since 1994. “Cape Cod is a world class golfing destination, and we want everyone to know that,” added Martin.

Each member of the media, local course owners, restauranteurs, and hotel and motel owners received a pair of knickers, soft cap, and matching stockings to wear for the Classic held this year at The Captains Course. “We want our local merchants to spend time with the media to talk about what they have to offer for golfers coming to Cape Cod, and we want to give back to the merchants who have supported us during the years,” said Martin, who talked about making the event larger next year. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could raise even more money for charity by inviting more merchants and even offering some spots for the public,” added Martin who was thinking of playing one round on Nantucket, one on Martha’s Vineyard and then a final day on the Cape.

Martin’s plan would be a gem as long as it continued to include Farm Neck Golf Club. It is one of the top places I’ve ever played. It opened in 1979 basically as a way to set aside a large piece of land from being over-developed. Course architects Geoffrey Cornish, Bill Robinson and Patrick Mulligan succeeded in creating a course that can only be described as “a walk in the park.”

Water views of Vineyard Sound, pretty ponds, salt marshes, dunes, meadows, marshland, and scores of wildlife made for one of my best days ever on a golf course. The course can be challenging, but it is not overpowering, with seven par 4’s under 360 yards from the white tees. It can play over 6,800 yards from the tips, but the blue tees at just over 6,300 yards were perfect. Course management is the key to a good score.

Farm Neck reminded me of Scottish courses with thick gorse and pretty plantings throughout the property. The unpretentious clubhouse and pro shop would fit perfectly in Scotland or Ireland. We took the Hy-Line high-speed ferry from Hyannis for the fifty- minute ride to Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard. It is definitely worth the ferry ride and cab fare to play Farm Neck. You can call the course at 508-693-3057 for tee times. Rates vary based on the time of the year, but are not as expensive as you would imagine. You can get information about the ferry at www.hylinecruises.com.

We had written about Hyannis Golf Club and The Captains Course in the July issue, and the courses might have even played better this fall. The changing colors of the trees that line both courses added even more to the pretty views. The back nine at Hyannis is one of my favorite 9’s on the Cape. There are 36 holes at The Captains, and both courses have great par 3’s and par 5’s that you will remember. Mark O’Brien, who worked at No. Kingstown Golf Club in the 1990’s is the director of golf at Captains and a leader in organizing a golf consortium of 16 courses on the Cape for marketing golf packages.

Useful Information:
www.hickoryheritagegolf.com
www.golfcapecod.com
www.captainsgolfcourse.com  1-877-843-9081
www.hyannisgc.com 508-362-2606
www.hylinecruises.com
Farm Neck G.C. 508-693-3057
www.capecod-irishvillage.com 508-771-0100
www.thecasualgourmet.com 508-775-4946