MUST PLAYS
Autumn, Cape Cod, and Golf. A Winning Combination
By JOHN TORSIELLO
A
h, autumn. What a wonderful time of the year and it hardly gets better than September, October and even November to play golf. The mild days and cool nights help golf course turf stay green and lush, even after the hot summer we had. And there is perhaps not a better place to play the game we love at this time of year than Cape Cod on the southeastern tip of Massachusetts. The slower pace of fall on the Cape also means you don’t have to fight for tee times. All the golf you could want is located within an hour or two-hour drive from wherever you bunk down for the night. From championship 18-hole layouts, resort courses and charming, old nine-hole tracks, “The Cape” offers myriad golf options. Because of the proximity to the warming waters of the ocean, Cape Cod remains fairly mild throughout the year and courses will remain open year-round weather permitting. It’s not just the golf that is to be enjoyed on Cape Cod, but pretty much everything
about this narrow piece of precious land that stretches into the Atlantic Ocean like a flexed arm. When not smashing drives or nailing seven-irons to the green, you can get away from it all on the beaches (quiet at this time of year), hiking trails, and shopping in cozy villages. Check out the numerous seafood restaurants and lobster shanties, where you can sample freshly-caught seafood and enjoy a beverage while sitting on a picnic table and gazing out into a harbor or the rolling ocean waves. The National Seashore and its remodeled visitor’s center, as well as a number of wildlife sanctuaries, feature miles of walking and biking trails and unfettered strolls along the beach. And it’s easy to find suitable accommodations, whether it is on the ocean or bay side of The Cape, a posh hotel in Chatham or a weathered cottage in the dunes in Wellfleet. Thanks to Golfing Magazine’s comprehensive Course Play Stimulus Program, our subscribers can try out a number of courses on Cape Cod. Check out the details of this can’t miss offer in this issue. Call 860-
Bayberry Hills Golf Course 22
Golfing Magazine • New England Edition
563-1633, or visit www.FreeGolf.net to sign up. Here are some courses to play on your autumn Cape Cod road trip. Sandwich Hollows Golf Club in Sandwich offers views of Cape Cod Bay to the north from several holes. The course is bordered by hundreds of acres of conservation area to the east, west and south, giving golfers the feeling of being isolated from players on other holes. Sandwich Hollows features a number of parfours on the short side, several long par-threes, and challenging par-fives, one of which (the sixth hole) measures close to 600 yards from the tips. Yarmouth is home to 45 holes of golf that encompasses the newly renovated Bayberry Hills Golf Course, the Links 9, and Bass River Golf Course. The work at Bayberry Hills Golf Course was undertaken by Tim Gerrish of Providence, R.I., a former member of the Geoffrey Cornish/Brian Silva team that laid out the track in 1988. Changes were made to make the nearly 7,300-yard course friendlier to
