But if a golfer decides instead on the less perilous route down the right, he must then clear a gnarly bunker complex and more grassy mounds to land his second shot onto the putting surface. When you hit 16, youre brought back out of the trees to finish the course in the open. . He was the maternal grandfather of PresidentGeorge H. W.Bush and great-grandfather of PresidentGeorgeW. Bush. What exactly did the protest stem from? This fairway bends slightly to the left with marshes on either side. Briggs was cleared of wrong-doing in that instance. This is another very strong par 3 at 190 yards. While I feel Kittansett finishes a close race as 4th best in the state, if you like courses along the lines of Garden City Golf Club, Maidstone, San Francisco Golf Club, and Minikahda then Kittansett should be right up your alley. This is a great closing match play par 5 where birdies will fly. Named after the Native American term for near the sea, Kittansett opened in 1922, and Hood tinkered with the design for the next several decades. Donald Cherry was a Cup newcomer but didnt look particularly green in winning his singles match 9 and 7 over Norman Drew. I love your content (just found you on YouTube) and wish you the best. The Conservation Commission, which Briggs has long presided over, was the only board the school had to go to for permitting. The keen golfer was said to be very knowledgeable about course architecture, thanks largely to trips he had taken with his sticks to the British Isles. The British are supposed to be good losers, Duncan said at Saturday nights trophy presentation ceremony, since theyve had plenty of practice at it. But the layout is so much more: a steely, uncommon test on the calmest of days. The club has followed through by continuing to fell trees, opening up never-before-seen vistas on the point holes 1, 2, 16, 17 and 18. This hole reminds me a lot of the 5th atWannamoisettwith the ideal line playing over mounds at the right corner. The Kittansett Club, appropriately named from two Native American words meaning near the sea, is situated in the town of Marion at the end of Butler Point, which extends into Buzzards Bay. But there are so many other holes of note. Given that the initially wide fairway progressively narrows with swampland on the right, these bunkers force the golfer to think twice about laying up off the tee. This hole is perhaps the courses only routing blemish as the 8th green is near the 9th and you have to walk the length of the hole backwards to reach the teebox. The American team was, in a word, loaded. Tabor officials then hired Briggs business to perform the excavation work. The latest version of the Master Plan was released in 2013, and it involved the moving of mounds on Nos. All of a sudden the courses you want to play tend to have less to do with prestige, and more to do with your personal preferences, geographic history, and the style of golf you enjoy most. Yet Kittansetts length (6,814 yards, par 70), its smallish, steeply pitched greens, its overall strategic mettle were undiminished. The fund-raiser has. Four times the State Amateur has been held here; each time it set a record for the number of entries. 16 brings you back out towards the water and into the open. 4 through No. For decades, the layout was regarded as the creation of one of the clubs charter members, a local rubber company magnate named Frederic C. Hood. The tee shot on the par 4, 5th is one of the most intimidating on the course with two big bunkers in the middle of the fairway to contend with and wetlands all down the right. Now there was a great player, he said. Longer hitters can cut the corner over the hills and leave a shorter approach into a back-to-front sloped green. I think it was because the foreman for that job got fired for sleeping on the job and stealing, Briggs said. The wind had shifted, so while we thought wed be heading back towards the clubhouse with the wind at our back that wasnt the case. Here and there these oversized Kisses (more like chocolate-covered cherries really) reside on a holes periphery, seemingly without purposes. This integrated piece appeared as a course feature and Walker Cup sidebar in LINKS Magazine during the summer of 2006. Venturi, 22, was the baby in the group but his form was perhaps the best of all. The course at that time measured 6,374 yards from the back of the regular tees, with the stands of pines and hardwoods combined with stretches of marshland and wispy field grass to give it a very New England feel. This is a relatively straightforward hole with a generous fairway after carrying a series of fairway bunkers for the first 200 yards. Yet hardy stands of white pine, oak, cedar and tupelo frame the inland holes, creating a extremely stout test when it comes to driving the ball between the trees, over and around these myriad crossing features, and amid a random collection of chocolate drops. This was another golfing era. The collective result of those changes has been nothing short of spectacular. The par threes at Kittansett are among the best sets Ive played and the 3rd is the best of the bunch. All of the Tri-towns have people on their boards and commissions who serve double duty on other boards and whose businesses sometimes do business with the municipalities they serve. This teebox is directly adjacent to the pro shop and youll almost certainly have a gallery. Its easy to see why the course is consistently rated among the best in the country. Other times they come off quite strategically. The senior amateurs are in for a treat in 2022. Another one thats been on my personal list? The 375 yard 17th is another dogleg left running in the opposite direction of 16. 17 is a visually tricky hole, as from the tee it can be tough to know exactly where youre going. Verdict: The charming and exclusive Kittansett Club is one of the most underrated courses in America and might be my dark horse candidate for best course in New England. These include the Massachusetts Amateur Championship in 1958, 1978, 1990, 1999, 2008 and 2020 and the WGAM Edith Noblit Baker Trophy in 1954, 1979, 1989, 1995, 2005 and 2015. The actor, who has a home on Marthas Vineyard, has been spotted multiple times on the South Coast in recent years, grabbing takeout from restaurants in New Bedford and Fall River. In the 1990s, the team of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner restored the course to its original glory by removing trees and renovating bunkers. For the 2022 season they expanded their outdoor bar, which is a fantastic place to have a drink and enjoy the view of both the course and the water. Designed by myThem.es. Sean, great article! Its been a fixture on the various top 100 lists for decades. Free shipping for many products! We were hosting an Eighty Club event at Old Sandwich and Boston Golf Club, and I tacked on an extra day to the trip to make the journey out to Marion and experience a course Ive been excited about visiting for years. However, the course performed admirably, conceding not a single sub-par round during the weekends play, even though the wind a Kittansett trademark blew hardly at all. Sean Ogle helps people build businesses they can run from anywhere in the world. The Succession actor has yet again voiced support for J.K. Rowling in the wake of controversy surrounding the author's transphobic comments. When I visited in late June, a wind-killing fog (thick enough to cancel the first day of the 2006 U.S. Womens Open down the coast at Newport) had settled over the place. (LogOut/ The soil was quite rocky, and that presented Hood and his construction crew with a couple of problems. True All Day Pants Review: Damn Good (Golf) Pants. The 15th is the longest of a short set of par fives at 515 yards. The par 4 2nd also plays 415 yards and is another very difficult hole. Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com. The Kittansett Club 11 Point Rd Marion, MA 02738-1906 View Website EXPLORE THE COURSE MAP Panelists Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists 4.7 100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE. But taking out the chain saws was not only about bringing back the vistas. Like the short 4-par at No. The project was soon undertaken by a group of local golf enthusiasts, many who gave generously of their time and financial resources to support the construction of Kittansett. (LogOut/ This approach runs uphill towards a back-to-front sloped green guarded by bunkers on either side. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2012-2022 Location 180, LLC | All rights reserved. Events like these culled a few tupelos, to be sure. At 385 yards, the 6th is another difficult sub-400 yard par 4 that features another awkward teeshot. Big hitter? Because of the ever-present winds perhaps, Hoods design rarely calls for forced carries into the greens themselves. When you get your first glimpse of the club on the left-hand side my GPS was telling me Id arrived. A time when the British played one ball (1.62 inches in diameter) and the Americans another (1.68), when all matches were contested over 36 holes, a time when players were ultimately judged by the skill with which they deflected adulation when a point might well be refused if it hadnt been earned in the spirit of fair play. The conditions were surprisingly calm and beastly hot that Labor Day weekend 53 years ago. Im honestly surprised I was able to get out and see the course considering theyd just finished up the event. At the Commissions June 22, 2011 hearing on the Notice of Intent, Briggs, in his capacity as a ConCom member, discussed the Notice of Intent and voted to issue an Order of Conditions regarding the Notice of Intent. That finish of Ronnie Whites made us all proud to be British.. Thankfully, nobody had messed with the design or routings of the original holes. History:Long thought to be the work of amateur architect Frederic C. Hood, recent discoveries indicate that William Flynn deserves credit for the layout. Congressman from its Second District went 2-0, winning his foursomes match with Ward, 9 and 8, and clinching the Cup with another landslide victory in singles, 7 and 5 over Roy MacGregor. This approach is fairly straightforward with a narrow green guarded by large bunkers on either side. The prudent play is left of center, directly over the bunkers highest point; this allows the contour to shape the ball onto the green. This September, I finally got that chance. The first thing I noticed was that the golf course had become overgrown and had suffered from what can best be described as benign neglect, said Hanse. Featuring a dazzling set of seaside holes and equally interesting inland holes, an invite to Kittansett is to be cherished. And on other occasions, Flynn made them more pronounced, as on the fourth, which doglegs sharply to the right. But that has to end, say some. It only took a minute, but from the moment I arrived, I knew I was going to like this place. Holes 3 through 8 is my personal favorite stretch of holes on the course. With the U.S. Senior Amateur visiting Butler Point this week, it seemed a fine time to place this story above the fold.]. The setting of the clubhouse is top 10 among the courses Ive visited in my travels. The 7th is one of three par 5s on the course, and the bunkering on this hole I found to be notable and forces you to really place your 3 shots well. Tucked away in a sort of nether region between Cape Cod and the Rhode Island coast, it's widely acknowledged as the second best course in Massachusetts (after The Country Club), though few have actually played it and none passes up a chance. Sometimes, the slants were quite subtle, like those on the par-5 seventh, and No. So, we cut them back and planted native grasses on and around the mounds instead. Some of the mounds at Kittansett ran down the edges of holes and others diagonally across them. The opening holes provide wide fairways with generous landing areas. This is also one of the best bunkered holes on the course with numerous bunkers running through this fairway forcing the golfer to think carefully on each shot. He also made sure that consecutive golf holes rarely played in the same direction. 10 shows off more interesting mounding which is a theme throughout the course. It was showing its age, and as good Yankees who were not inclined to spend very much, we waited awhile before doing something about it.. Town of Marion, Massachusetts, United States View. Ward and Charlie Coe were the top international amateurs of their day, and Sam Urzetta, a 51 Walker Cupper, was the 1950 U.S. The visitors would salvage a measure of self respect when Ronnie White, 3-down after 30 holes, stormed back to post a thrilling 1-up victory over Chapman on the Americans home course. In 2017, Murray reportedly yelled at people taking photos of him before abruptly departing from a VIP reception that charged $150 for, among other perks, the opportunity to take a photo with the legendary actor, according to the Chicago Tribune. This hole features another demanding teeshot with a narrow fairway lined by marshland and trees on either side. At just 155 yards, this world-famous hole plays directly over the Ocean to an island green surrounded by beach sand. KITTANSETT CLUB MARION, MA 02738-1906 | Tax-exempt since May 1947 EIN: 04-2035017 Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501 (c) (7) Defined as: Social and recreational clubs. This hole is extremely open on the left with the 18th fairway but features a lateral hazard on the right with marshland. You have a recipe for a special place, and one Ive always personally been excited to see. Marion, MA 02738 Clubhouse: (508) 748-0148 Pro Shop: (508) 748-0192 Employment 34 F | Wind 12 mph Copyright 2020 The Kittansett Club Site by Clubessential Options Close Site Options Hide Settings Images ( ) & CTES ( ) Object Plugins FED You and those before you have made a habit of these tainted appointments for years and years. The major defense is undoubtedly the wind, which usually whips off the Ocean, but the layout is also difficult, especially off the tee. 16 that was fashioned in the thickly forested land that made up the interior part of the track. Among the first groups to play the new track included 1913 U.S. Open champion Francis Ouimet, who joined Kittansett soon after as an honorary member. Club's weekly film round up. Many of the games greats were indeed on hand for the event. The average employee at Kittansett Club makes $0 per year. At a prodigious 220 yards, this is a semi-blind par 3 courtesy of tall fescue directly in front of the teebox. The Caddyshack actor was on the South Coast this weekend for the U.S. Senior Amateur golf championship at The Kittansett Club in Marion before heading up to Mattapoisett for a 7:30 p.m. dinner of swordfish and sushi specials at Turks Seafood on Sunday, according to Fun 107. The rest, to be believed, must be experienced first-hand. At Kittansett fescue grass can frame a lot of the features well, and this hole is an excellent example of it. This green is large, two-tiered and guarded by deep bunkers on either side. Briggs, 60, owns Sherman E. Briggs Excavating, a business which has performed excavating work for Tabor Academy in Marion for more than 20 years. If you had to describe the setting in a word? In light of the recent state Board of Ethics ruling against Sherman Briggs, I request that you send a message to the other town boards that this is not acceptable behavior, and that if you engage in this type of behavior you will be removed. Molly was a planner, and while she could easily plan her wedding . And so Kittansett remains a bit of a mystery guest, even to Bay State golfers. Kittansett seems tailor-made for a national mid-amateur championship, and while Demmer hinted that the subject has been broached presumably with the folks who famously value par there are no plans. From the back tee, 241 yards away, the tiny exposed portion of the putting surface appears to sit precariously (and inaccessibly) at the edge of the world, 15 feet above a bunker bounded by ball-sucking bogs. Too long and youre in the bunkers across the fairway. The practice facilities are also strong and include a grass range long enough for driver and two short game areas. The Cup was named for the then President of the USGA George Herbert Walker, a banker and businessman. Many of the bunkers had also shrunk in size over the years and lost what had initially been a rugged, almost windswept appearance. When asked what he thinks brought the matter to the attention of the state Ethics Commission, Briggs offered a few theories. With a teebox in the middle of a marsh, this is a difficult teeshot with a forced carry of 160 yards and dogleg not coming until 225 yards. Its a very nice setting with the clubhouse off to the left, and is the shortest of the par 5s at Kittansett. In some areas its more subtle (like on the 2nd fairway for instance.) The Kittansett Club is a Please contact the clubhouse For membership rates & information Course Info Location and Contact 11 Point Road, Marion, MA, 02738 kittansett.org update website (508) 748-0148 update phone Have you golfed here? The oft-photographed 3rd, a pitch across an ocean inlet to a green surrounded by beach sand, is the notable exception. After the original drawings from William Flynn were discovered, Hanse refined his project in 2003, 2014 and again in 2019, adapting much of the Flynn plan. Kittansett has hosted the state amateur four times; each time it set a record for the number of entries. 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