10. Wachusett Country Club

Location: West Boylston (1:02 W of Boston / 1:54 E of Pittsfield).
Architect: Donald Ross, 1927.
Yardage: 6567 (blue) / 6170 (white) / 5573 (red).
Weekend Rates: $60. Cart included.
Best deal: $30 (walking, M-Th before 9am or after 3pm).

Wachusett's 5th fairway plunges downward over hilly terrain.

Wachusett Country Club is a hidden gem, unknown to most Massachusetts golfers outside of the Worcester area. If located closer to Boston or Springfield, Wachusett would be overrun with golfers appreciating its classic layout and great conditions. Thus it is wonderful that Wachusett is located where it is - though busy, it retains a sense of calm and serenity found in land removed from city life, and is able to stay in private-course type shape all summer long. Wachusett was laid out by master architect Donald Ross on an old farm in 1927. Most of the course maintains this wide-open feel, but the middle of each nine dives into heavily wooded property, which is home to some of the course's best individual holes. Wachusett's character is only enhanced by the forays into these two different golfing environments, and you leave the eighteenth knowing you've played a very good golf course.

Holes 5-7 bottom left, and 11-14 bottom right are cut out of heavy forest.

Wachusett's front nine begins with a 3-hole loop returning to the clubhouse. The 1st is a typical, and welcome, Donald Ross "handshake" start: a wide fairway greets the downhill tee shot, bordered on the right by a charming stone wall, which points to the large green below. The 2nd is a fascinatingly configured par five measuring 518 yards. The drive is back slightly up the hill the 1st came down, and longer players should play up the right side. Assuming a good drive, the next shot is hit 45 degrees right over a small pond, where the green may be in reach 200 yards beyond and far below. Watching an well-struck wood use the high left ground to bounce down to the large unbunkered green complex is very satisfying. The 3rd hole plays very differently from the back tees (380 yards) and the middle tees (270 yards). It can be a bear from the tips just to reach the green on this very uphill hole - but from the white markers a good drive can carry a large ridge and bound close to the sloped green back near the clubhouse. The next 4 holes play across the road, including the beautiful par five 5th. It covers 507 yards, all through a chute of dense woods. The approach shot is the prettiest on the course, as it is tremendously downhill to a slightly elevated green fronted by a creek and backed by a sparkling pond. The tees on the par three 6th serenely sit adjacent to the pond: the 157-yard shot is an uphill one to a small ledge of a green surrounded by bunkers and forest. Like all classic greens built into a hill, you don't want to be long of the pin! The front nine closes back on the clubhouse side of the street with back-to-back bears of par fours. The 8th measures 436 straight yards, but is a standout hole because of its brilliant green. It's not often you see a green split into sideways tiers instead of front and back ones, but at Wachusett's 8th, the left side of the green is well below the right. Hitting a draw that filters across the green and drops down the slope to a pin on the left is a really fun shot.

The back nine plays through more woods than the front, but on equally rolling land perfectly suited for good golf. After a breather at the par five 10th, the challenge ramps up again at the dogleg left 11th. It plays 430 yards and demands a right-to-left tee shot into a narrow corridor of woods. The approach is not much easier; the target is a narrow and undulating green bunkered left and behind. I think the par four 12th may be even harder than the #2 handicap 11th hole. It measures only 4 yards shorter, and plays through an equally narrow chute of trees. However, the fairway heaves like a roller-coaster all the way from tee to green, ensuring an awkward lie for the long approach. To say the least, Wachusett's snack shack is rightly placed to grab a drink after the beating handed out by numbers 11 and 12.

Wild rolls give character to the distinctive 426-yard 12th hole.

The 198-yard 13th at Wachusett is a classic Donald Ross long par three, playing from high point to high point across a valley - it resembles the 14th hole at George Wright, and continues the string of difficult holes. The remainder of the back nine at Wachusett is far from long, but is comprised of difficult greens and testy wedge shots. The best of the approaches is found at the 316-yard 16th hole, where a flat fairway suddenly rockets upward to a green high above the tee's elevation. Do you lay back for a flat lie but a longer approach shot? Or drive as far up the slope as possible, minimizing the 2nd shot but bringing deep rough and a large fairway bunker into play? I've found both tactics can fail miserably!

The skyline nature of the 16th green hides its wicked back to front slope.

Wachusett closes with a classy pair of holes that slowly transition back to the open land around the clubhouse. The 17th measures 374 yards, ending at a wonderfully canted green, and the 18th at 177 yards is the ever-rare par three finisher. I've always wondered why more courses don't end on a par three, as I love the unique pressure of making one excellent swing to set up a possible finishing birdie putt.

The golf course at Wachusett Country Club has little flashiness, but heaps of old-school character. To any golfer seeking out a challenging golf course but a laid-back atmosphere: make the quick hour's drive from Boston or Springfield to West Boylston, and rediscover the charm that may be missing from your home track.

Course Rating: 6 stars out of 10

Bang for your $30 bucks: 8 stars out of 10