108 (!!) golf holes congregate off of Route 3 in Plymouth.
I have only played Waverly Oaks one time - and I will probably never play it again. But that fact has nothing to do with hating the golf course, and all to do with that the property was sold in 2008 to become a movie studio! Anyone who likes golf and lives between Boston and Cape Cod should make the effort to get to Plymouth and enjoy Waverly Oaks before their doors (cart paths?) shut for good. Waverly Oaks is a modern Brian Silva design, with Silva's trademark deep, rectangular bunkering schemes defending built-up green complexes. The course is a major challenge, measuring over 7000 yards from the back tees, but offers four other tees to fit your skill level. Waverly Oaks is large-scale architecture built on dramatic terrain; I felt on a couple occasions I could slip climbing out of a bunker or ravine and never be heard from again.
The front nine opens and closes weakly with a pair of short par fours - each features a forced layup before a short shot to an elevated green. The 9th hole in particular feels too man-made as the green is awkwardly perched 50 feet above the flat fairway. In between, however, is a good string of holes starting with the rolling 427-yard 2nd: it features a gentle dogleg left for the drive, and an attractive approach over a shallow gully to an large unbunkered green. My favorite hole on the front nine was the par five 5th. The second of back to back par fives, the 531-yard 5th contrasts nicely with the watery 4th hole as it rises to a neat punchbowl green tucked into a hilltop saddle. I think these types of gathering greens work wonderfully on long holes where approaches a bit short or off-line are accelerated toward the putting surface. After consecutive 440-yard par fours, the 8th hole at Waverly Oaks is a stunner of a par three.
Don't miss right at the 207-yard 8th!
The 8th rewards a faded long-iron with room to bounce a shot on from the front-left part of the green; any pin on the right half of the green leaves virtually no room for error. A deep serpentine bunker wraps around the right side of the green, but catching it can be a huge blessing, as the other alternative for a pushed shot is bounding into a scrub-filled ravine. All in all, a challenging and strategic hole.
The back nine, like the front, opens and closes with ho-hum holes. The 10th is a straight 421-yard par four routed through a small valley, and the 18th measures 376 uphill yards with no hazards of great significance or interest. Yet again, the middle of the nine stands up very well, and climaxes at the penultimate hole! The 12th is a striking drivable par four at only 329 yards from the tips and 294 from the middle green tees. Silva pinches the fairway at various distances with three large fairway bunkers, offering challenge for all levels of golfers. If the wind is with and the left fairway bunker can be carried, an eagle putt could await. Thirteen is another well-bunkered hole, with six bunkers (including one smack in the middle of the fairway) scattered along the hole's 537 uphill yards. The 13th concludes with a great undulating green that makes you earn your score until the last putt drops. After the straightforward par three 14th, the 15th hole is a brilliant long par four measuring 474 yards. A bunker nudges in front of the right side of the concave green, but not right against its front edge - there is ample room, as there should be for a long approach, to clear the bunker and bounce onto the punchbowl putting surface.
Route 3 parallels Waverly Oaks' long par four 15th and long par five 16th.
The 16th is a long (636 yards!) par five that demands three solid shots. The drive and second shots are a bit clumsy with the fairway pinched and cascading, but the approach is a beautiful one to a small well-protected green set against a hillside of sand and lone trees. Waverly Oaks' best hole is number 17. Tipping out at 251 yards, and uphill at that, it's a par three in name only. A bit like the famous 16th at Cypress Point in strategy, you can either take on the heroic carry at the green, or bail out to the fairway on the left. Instead of ocean gobbling up a ball hit short, at Waverly Oaks a 25-foot deep bunker awaits the aggressively played but miscalculated shot. It might as well be ocean for most players!
Carrying the chasm at the 17th is a great thrill.
Seth Raynor's architectural influence on Brian Silva is clearly seen at Waverly Oaks. Greens are built up from their natural surrounds, with steep bunker walls leading to sand below. The difference between a great shot and a ball richocheting to death is often a fine line, but fun in a masochistic sort of way. Successfully splashing a sand shot out of a two-story deep bunker (on the third try!) is a shot I won't soon forget... and if Waverly Oaks does go under, I won't forget playing it either.
Course Rating: 6 stars out of 10
Bang for your $60 bucks: 6 stars out of 10
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