GETAWAY
Head to Cape Cod
For a Wonderful Autumn Golf Experience By JOHN TORSIELLO
T
he mild days and cool nights on Cape Cod, Massachusetts keep golf course turf 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 on this peninsula on the southeastern tip of the Bay State. There are myriad courses located within an hour or two-hour drive from wherever you settle down for the night. From championship 18-hole layouts, resort courses and charming, old ninehole tracks, The Cape offers myriad golf options. Because of the close proximity to the warming waters of the Atlantic ocean, Cape Cod remains fairly mild throughout the year and courses will remain open yearround weather permitting. When not banging drives or hitting seven-irons stiff to the pin, 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 very informative 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 860-563-1633, or visit www.FreeGolf. net to sign up. Here are some courses to play on your autumn Cape Cod road trip. 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 (www.GolfYarmouthCapeCod. com) 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 the average golfer, yet maintain or even enhance the course’s challenge to the
Bayberry Hills Golf Course 26 26
Golfing Golfing Magazine Magazine •• New New England England Edition Edition
low handicap player. Bunkers were re-positioned to enhance play options, and others replaced with closely mown collection areas on some holes, providing multiple options for greenside recoveries, fairway corridors have been widened, and green surrounds have been expanded. Rough areas in the front of greens have been replaced by tightly mown fairway to create the illusion of false fronts in many cases. Fairway corridors were widened and tree lines thinned, allowing for recovery shots where previously none existed. This feature, accomplished through the removal of over 3,000 trees, provides enhanced course playability, along with a vast improvement in aesthetics and added panoramic course views. The course’s original bunkers were also re-built to reduce sand area, while maintaining proper proportions and enhancing the original style. The bunkers were lined with pervious capillary concrete that allowed dramatic sand flashing, while reducing bunker face maintenance. Forward teeing areas on four holes were added for more options in course setup and to provide additional user friendliness. Three tees were re-surfaced, including a new championship tee on number three (a
