Butter Brook-Westford Course report

[OrangeCrush]

Played there for my annual birthday round on 7/2 and the course was in FANTASTIC shape!! Week day rates to walk aren't bad at $55, the weekends with riding get $$$$$.

Overall, I highly recommend if you are looking for a great challenging course.

[Pearson10M]

$55 to walk on a weekday for 18 and then $23 if you want a cart!? Too rich for me. You're right though, it is challenging and the first few holes have tight fairways. The back 9 is so different than the front nine.   I looked up the weekend rates, $83 - 102 for 18 w/cart depending on tee time.

 

 

[gjc985]

great course. You will find the owner and his son out there daily busting their asses off to keep the course in great shape. I agree it’s pricey, but there it’s right up there with Red Tail as one of the better courses in that area. Two completely different 9s.

[jdl]

Agree it's a good track but not a great value. Plenty of other good courses around that cost less $$.

I played Acushnet River Valley over the weekend and was reminded how similar both courses are. First 11 holes are tree-lined then it's out into the open starting with #12, only to return back to the trees to finish the final couple of holes.

[OrangeCrush]

Yeah I am budget conscience on my spending on golf. I play 10-12x a year. I will "spend" on 2-3 rounds per year on nice public or private courses (I insist to cover guest fee). I am more than happy to pay the fee during the week. If I am paying over $85 for a round, that better be an AWESOME course!

[OrangeCrush]

 

100% agree, to ME it's one of the best public tracks in NE along with Red Tail, The Oaks, Waverly Oaks, & The Ledges are some of my favorites. I refuse to pay PineHills and Granite Links prices.

[jdl]

Have you tried Crosswinds? Very similar style to Waverly and Pinehills but much more affordable. I also like Atlantic CC down there, though it's more of a older style golf course.

[OrangeCrush]

 

I did play there once, was very fun, if that was closer would be a go-to course!!! I live in N. Andover so that's a hike. I only go down to Plymouth every 2-3 years.

[Pearson10M]

OrangeCrush - Black Swan is a good track. Maybe not as good as BB, but about 30% less $$. Merrimack Valley is fun too and very decent conditions and some fun holes. On the w/e expect 5 h rounds.

I don't know why everyone is infatuated with Crosswinds. You're either hitting Uphill or Down. The conditions may be good as far as the turf, greens and traps, but the fairways undulate all over the place. Hit a drive down the middle, then watch it roll to the edge of the fairway into the 1st cut. Not my cup of tea. Couldn't wait to finish my round.

 

 

[Pearson10M]

Acushnet is a great track. A great value especially if you get a GolfNow deal for $40 or less for 18/cart. Even at $60 for 18 w/cart isn't bad. Conditions are always very good/great. I drive 50 minutes to play it often. Pembroke CC is also another one similar to Acushnet River.

[jdl]

Have you played Black Swan recently? The first few times my group played there we liked it, but the last couple of trips the conditions had gone downhill so we haven't gone up there for a couple of years My only other criticism is the layout is fairly boring, not too many really interesting holes. And that's the same ownership that bought Stow a few years back, same thing happened there to the point that my league decided to move to Juniper instead. It's my understanding they have one superintendent for both courses.

On an unrelated note, anyone played Poquoy Brook this year? Similar story there, used to be a great track then ownership changed and we stopped playing it because of poor conditions.

"everyone infatuated with Crosswinds" seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. I'd certainly rank it behind Pinehills and Waverly, but as I said it's also a lot less $$.

[OrangeCrush]

Yup, I played Black Swan when they opened, was in very good shape. It's a solid track and a good value. It's not a course I am rushing to play but if it's my last resort I am fine with it. Unlike Sagamore Lynnfield or Hillview that I would rather not play than play there. What sux is there aren't a ton of public 18 hole courses on the North Shore. I end up playing at Green meadows a lot or The Oaks/Breakfast Hill.

MCGC is a FUN course, a little quirky but I really like it there. My playing buddy and I are gonna try to play there next weekend as it's been 5-6 years since we played. He lives in N.A. as well so we play locally.

[Pearson10M]

Played Poquoy Brook last year a few times and it was fine. This year it appears to be much more pricey, so I haven't. Played Lakeville CC and that has definitely gone downhill over the past few years. My goto course for value is Acushnet or if I can find a deal at Pembroke, then there.

jdl - Played Black Swan two weeks ago and thought the conditions were pretty decent. I can see where you are at with holes 5 - 9, but I think most of the rest are require some thinking and/or skill. On the first hole If you crush your tee shot, you're in the rough. Hole 2, the par 5, you can play both sides, but does require a good tee shot if you want to be well over the creek and near the green in two. Hole three almost requires you to land on the green or miss just to the right of it, The 4th hole (Par 5) has that tall grass, boggy area right at 210 yards. Must carry down the right center. If you miss left, the carry is much more. Holes 5-9 are up and backs except for the par 3. Back nine have a bout 3-4 good holes, but 18 is a risk/reward par 5. If you can get over the trees at the bend and on the fairway, you can be on in two, but the smart play is a lay up tee shot of about 180 yards to the bend.

I live just west of Boston, so it takes me about the same time to get to BS as it does Acushnet. When I play with my Golf Buddy, he lives on the North Shore, so we play BS often.

[wsomol]

+1 I finally played Butter Brook this year and it’s a really great track that’s been in great shape. Very “playable” in my book, especially compared to some of the other nearby courses. My only complaint is that the patrons need to do a better job fixing ball marks on the greens—it’s pretty sad how many unrepaired ones you find.

 

I haven’t made it out to Red Tail yet this year, but it’s my favorite in the area.  Shaker is fine but is too overpriced for my taste. The Stow courses sadly are in terrible shape and Butternut is punishingly narrow, at least for me (fine for short, straight hitters though!).  Sandy Burr gets a nod for convenience and central location for me and my buddies to meet up. I’ll have to make a trip up to Black Swan, it’s not too far from me.

 

I’m heading down to Shining Rock in Northbridge on Fri—any of you play there?  Roughly in that area, I played Maple Gate earlier this summer and it was fine, but a 3.5 hour back 9 ruined the afternoon.

[quicknine]

@wsomol I play Shining Rock frequently. It's a great track -- one of the best in the area. They keep it in very good shape, though you'll see some slight burnout in the fairways. Generous landing areas (particularly in comparison to Butternut). Keep an eye on the tiered greens to make sure you aim for the right level.  Pick your tees wisely and bring the bug spray.

[jdl]

Shining Rock is a decent track, but I have 2 complaint. First is the layout is not good for getting groups off to a fast start. #1 and #2 are relatively tough par 4s, then #3 is a short par 5. Then a drive-able par 4. The first few years I played there it was unusual NOT to have 2 groups waiting on the 4th tee box. Last couple of times have been better, but it's just built into the design.

 

The other gripe is a lot of the green are fairly small with a lot of undulation. So you really can't have them all the fast, but they often are. I love fast greens, but not in this case.

 

OK, one more. Too many short par 4s that aren't driveable. ?

Edited August 21, 2020 by jdl

[wsomol]

I played Shining Rock early yesterday (Friday) morning with my brother-in-law. Given we were one of the first five(?) groups it played quickly.  Overall, I really enjoyed it. The course is in nice shape from tee to green (maybe one of the tees was a little chewed up). Based on advice from a friend, we played up a tee box to get to know the course and that's also the tees the guys we were playing with wanted to play so that worked out. I definitely enjoyed having a couple of drivable par 4s, that's always fun. One thing I like about it is that each hole is carved out of the terrain on it's own--it's not a typical back and forth muni.  That said, I agree that the fairways are generous and it's not a particularly tight course. If you do get errant, though, your ball is gone, it's not like it can be in the next fairway over.

 

I agree that the greens are tight and undulating. They are in good shape--firm but holdable and rolled pretty true.  They also sped up as the day warmed up and the dew evaporated, as expected. We played in about 4 hours, rarely seeing the group in front of us and keeping nicely ahead of the group behind us.

 

Overall, it's a really fun course that's in good shape. It's different in a good way--not a driver/wedge track and good variety of holes. We're going to play it again next weekend now that we know our way around it a bit.  Thanks again for the recommendation!

[jimb6golf]

I like Poquoy Brook as it's a decent track and pretty good conditions overall too.  Some others in the area include Olde Scotland Links and West Bridgewater GC (used to be River Bend) which are both in good shape and challenging too.  I enjoy Butternut, but understand if you spray your tee shot it's not all that fun in the trees all day as it's narrow.  Sandy Burr is a good course and has really improved over the past few years with fast sloping greens.  Some other courses in the area include Maplegate (as you said it gets busy), New England (although that's fallen a bit), Brookmeadow CC and even Wentworth Hills.  The latter is is great shape but it's not that long, but fun.  A little west finds Wachusett GC too.  I'll have to try Shining Rock and Black Swan at some point. 

[quicknine]

Glad you enjoyed Shining Rock. It's definitely the type of place where playing multiple times helps. Staff at the course is top-notch, too. I play the majority of my rounds there or Butternut. I also played Hopedale CC (semi-private, nine holes) recently. They keep those greens in pristine shape, but there are a couple of quirky holes and it's definitely not for everyone.

 

FWIW: I played with someone last night who played New England CC over the weekend and he spent five minutes railing against the conditions. Asked him if he was worth the drive and he gave me a hard no on that one.

 

I played Poquoy Brook in the rain earlier this year. I'm not rushing back, but it's OK and I think I'd like it more a second time through after the sun this summer. I'd say Olde Scotland is a superior choice in that neck of the woods.

[jdl]

Hey quicknine, same here on Poquoy, we played it a few weeks ago in the rain and it seems to be back in good shape. In fact we're going back again on the 19th hoping to see it in better weather. Was supposed to be Blackstone but everything I've seen says their greens are gone. Even at a greatly reduced rate we're going to take a pass.

[wsomol]

Update on some recent rounds:

 

Maplegate - I got out there earlyish last Friday and it was a more normal 4.5 hour pace (I had a really slow round there this summer).  It's a solid track with a number of really great holes. The course is in decent condition, greens are firm but not punishing.

 

Red Tail - I finally got out there this past weekend. I still love the course overall. It's a great layout in general. The greens were in great shape--firm and undulating, really challenging for putting and short game shots. The course seemed set up to honor the US Open, lol.  Deep rough, long from the Silver Tees and the pins were in some crazy tight positions. Like 6ft off the front or back and sometimes on sidehills lies. The bunkers were in the best shape of any course I've played this year, with Covid making it harder to maintain them. With all of this positive stuff said, there are a few patchy areas of some of the fairways. It's not universal, but sad to see some parts in rough shape like that. 

[wsomol]

Blackstone National - ☹️ - played there today (9/27/20) and sadly the greens are in really bad shape there, badly burned out and punched. It's hard to find a good roll.  It's not worth playing there right now unfortunately.  It's still a great and really fun layout. Hopefully they can get it back together.

[jdl]

On 9/27/2020 at 4:26 PM, wsomol said:

Blackstone National - ☹️ - played there today (9/27/20) and sadly the greens are in really bad shape there, badly burned out and punched. It's hard to find a good roll.  It's not worth playing there right now unfortunately.  It's still a great and really fun layout. Hopefully they can get it back together.

Ah yes. My group was supposed to play there but had heard about the greens and bailed out went back to Poquoy again to play without rain this time. Same thing happened to them in the last drought - 2014. They elected to not bring in any water and lost all their fairways, took them a couple of years to recover.

[OrangeCrush]

My buddies and I played Red Tail on Tues,  aside from freezing our Word not allowedes off,  the course was in great shape!  The greens were perfect!  Was 40* with a steady 15-25mph  CHILLY wind!  I don't even care I shot a high score as the wind was so tough,  just great to see the boys for the 1st time in 8 mths!

[jdl]

Finally got a chance to actually play Butterbrook today! It was in fantastic shape. The greens were soft as usual, spent a bit of time trying to repair some of the craters left by approach shots. Probably helped a lot that the weather was just perfect today, mid 70s, sunny and just a slight breeze. And I was hitting the ball really well which always helps the attitude. I think I had maybe 5 bad shots and 2 bad putts, so pretty good. Great pace of play, only had to wait on 2 or 3 tee boxes. And at $50 to walk, I loved it! Plus the cart girl was out and stopped by to check on us every couple of holes. Really great way to probably finish off the season though we can always hope for a few more warm days...

[Imp]

On 9/29/2020 at 1:02 PM, jdl said:

Ah yes. My group was supposed to play there but had heard about the greens and bailed out went back to Poquoy again to play without rain this time. Same thing happened to them in the last drought - 2014. They elected to not bring in any water and lost all their fairways, took them a couple of years to recover.

I know, necro-bump unrelated to topic, but... when I searched on Poquoy, this came up top. 

I played Poquoy on Saturday. I play it a few times a year for 15+ years, but hadn't since covid started. They've had a new heads grounds/greens keeper for a couple years now and this is the best condition I have ever seen the course. Most dead areas are now grassy, rough is lush and grippy, they made some drainage improvements evidently on the known "always wet" areas and greens were rolling fantastic with no dead areas (huge improvement). As in, while the greens fees have gone up a bit, ($80 with cart) they are making great use of that $$ on the course.

 

Only complaint I have is, while I hardly ever take a cart when I play, I did on Saturday (I almost always walk)... and their cart GPS software needs some SERIOUS help. It would let you get deep into restricted zones before saying "please back out" instead of just killing the cart quickly. At that, the markings weren't the best as to the use of cart path areas, or no go zones for carts. Like on #7, I hit my ball into the left trees, and allowed me to drive the cart all the way across the fairway on the other side of the pond until it said "you have entered a restricted area, please back out." Well, I had to back all the way across the fairway to the cart path for a minute+ to get 'out'. Dumb. Like I said, I walk usually. 

But, walk it. You'll like it. It's in great condition.