Sand, sailboats, marsh, and ocean: the par three 2nd's got it all.
Have you ever driven from Boston to New York City? Next time, throw the clubs in the trunk, leave an hour and a half earlier, and stop at Fenwick Golf Course, located exactly halfway between the big cities. Fenwick is the antithesis of either city - the borough is reached via a two-lane causeway across a cove of the Atlantic Ocean, and has a sleepy population of 52 (yes, fifty-two) residents as of the 2000 census. The golf course winds through the streets and seems remarkably one with the town: the St. Mary's by the Sea Chapel sits unnervingly in play only yards to the right of the first fairway! In addition, during the course of playing nine holes, you either cross or walk down at least 5 of the town's 10 streets! I have never experienced a walk in golf much like the 300-yard one you are forced to make to get from the 1st green to the 2nd tee: the only way is carrying your bag down the shoulder of one-lane Agawam Ave. Good thing cars are a rare breed in Fenwick.
Playing the Fenwick Golf Course is like being transported back to the 1920's. The greens are mostly circular and all tiny - demanding targets even with an abundance of wedge shots into them. A few bunkers pinch the fairways, but at distances easily carried by the modern driver. Old-school chocolate drop mounds date the course as definitively old-school. Nine holes costs $15. Playing Fenwick's nine is as exhilarating yet relaxing experience as I've had in golf.
The course begins with a long par four, with power lines crossing in front of the tee and the aforementioned chapel in play for any slicers visiting the right rough. The charming 300-yard walk down Agawam Ave brings you to the par three second hole.
Katherine Hepburn's mansion is sandwiched between #2 and the sea.
The 202-yard 2nd might be the hardest par on the course - but it balances challenge with beauty. The ocean is in view from tee to green, and the stately Hepburn mansion lies across a small pond that has surely swallowed its fair share of slices. The green is defended by four bunkers of varying size and depth, and a well-struck long iron will penetrate the wind and allow a birdie putt. The other option that may work, as my friend Danny found out to my chagrin, is a skulled ground-hugging 4-iron that humps and bumps its way along the fairway ending up 6 feet from the cup! The 3rd hole is another par three at 157 yards, but equally challenging as the 2nd due to its wildly undulating three-tiered green. Very narrow from front to back, a bunker guards the left while chocolate drop mounds make up and downs from right of the green difficult. A unique hole, and clearly one built a hundred years ago.
The cove frames the rising green of the 3rd hole.
If Fenwick has a "signature hole," the 4th fits the bill. I'd suggest all golfers, no matter the tee markers they play, tackle the 4th from its back tee measuring 443 yards. The drive is of the "cape" dilemma, as the tee is located almost in the ocean, overlooking a curved cove of the Atlantic with the fairway on the far side. A strong drive is necessary to clear the longest expanse of water up the right side of the fairway, but options exist for the shorter player to play safely left. The last time I played Fenwick, I barely made the carry, but bounced high off the road parallelling the water, propelling my ball well up the fairway! What a fun and beautiful shot the drive at the fourth is.
Danny hits a warmup drive into the ocean off the back of the 4th tee.
A wonderful review of one of my favorite courses. Fenwick has a long and interesting history, which I chronicled in my book, "To the Nines."
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you took the time to play such as special layout.