Winter New England Golf

[bogeyhitter25]

Does anybody up here in New England know of any course that's open right now? If there are any. I know there are quite a few in Cape Cod that are open year-round, but I'm not sure if they are open. Does anybody have some facts?

[murphmjm]

The dennis highlands should be open, if its not the pines will be. not sure about right at this very moment with the cold but they always have at least one course open in dennis through the winter. You could try butternut farm or stow acres, I don't know if they are still open since the snow but I had seen folks playing butternut before this cold snap ran through about a week or so ago.

[RIduffer]

I found this info, but it still says to call ahead and make sure they're open. FWIW, I have played Swansea CC and Pine Valley (little 9-hole course) both in MA, and Triggs in RI recently.

http://www.varsityedge.com/nei/negol...urses?OpenForm

Might be a bit far for you, but there's a semi-private course in Portsmouth, RI Montaup CC that is open year round. Because of it's location near the water, it is playable when most other courses have snow. Really nice course if you haven't played there, though the wind can be brutal.

[jamo]

Kelly Greens Golf Course in Nahant, its a peninsula (its almost an island) just north of Revere. I've never played there but i heard in annother thread that its open all year long. Their website confirms it.

[quball2011]

In CT there is Laurel View CC. It's open year round, we got a couple of nice days last January and I played in jeans and a hoodie. There were quite a few people out there too. It's in Hamden, ct.

[safetrip]

Fellow new englanders, hope you guys are enjoying the snow

Besides courses, do you know of any good indoor practice place? I've tried a heated outdoor one but it's still tough when the weather's like this.

[bogeyhitter25]

Fellow new englanders, hope you guys are enjoying the snow

Check out the

Natick Golf Center in Natick (obviously). It looks pretty solid. Depending on where you live in Boston, it could be a little drive. I think there is an indoor driving range in Salem, too, if you live in north Boston.

[jamo]

Fellow new englanders, hope you guys are enjoying the snow

Also

Golfrite in Hudson

[safetrip]

Check out the

NGC looks good. I'll check it out. I did some search and it looks like the indoor

range in salem has been closed

[jamo]

NGC looks good. I'll check it out. I did some search and it looks like the indoor

To be honest, and i've only been to the outdoor range there, its not that great. You have to take a golf cart to get to the range from the parking lot, and it is mostly mat tees with some terribly kept up grass tees. Have not been indoors though.

[safetrip]

To be honest, and i've only been to the outdoor range there, its not that great. You have to take a golf cart to get to the range from the parking lot, and it is mostly mat tees with some terribly kept up grass tees. Have not been indoors though.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

As far as outdoor range, my regular spots are Stone Meadow in Lexington or Southborough Golf in Southborough. Stone Meadow are a little cheaper but than can get crowded on weekends. Southborough has bays with heaters on the top but I found it inadequate for weather like now. Another thing is their mats are way too hard so I usually bring my own.

[jamo]

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

You know what, I went to the indoor range at Natick, and it was a lot better than i expected. They have 6 hitting bays into a wall, 2 separate "teaching" bays, 2 simulators, and a pretty sizeable putting green. As for outside, they do have a decent short game area, but what i didn't like was that they had a lot of mats and few grass tees, where the grass really sucked, but maybe that was because i went there in late October.

The other ranges i go to are East Coast Golf on rt 20 in Northboro (on the line with Westboro), and the Southboro golf range on rt 9. In my last post i mentioned that i liked GolfRite. I went there last week and lost a lot of respect for the owner/teacher. He totally chewed out a guy looking for a lesson, and then left before the guy got any real answers. I ended up basically giving the guy a free lesson. Then when i was leaving the owner tried to sell me a lesson package because he thought my bunker game was weak (i was using the bunker when he chewed out the guy). I was like "OK maybe sure." But bunker play in probably my biggest strength, and i get a lot of compliments on my form, so whatever. Also this place charges $20 an hour to hit balls, while Natick is only $6. Anyway, i hear the PGA pro at the Southboro Driving Range is really good. On my golf team, the co-captain (a sophomore) goes to him and he was the New England PGA Junior Tour 14-15 division player of the year. He also teaches an All-State player who played for a rival school of my town. He basically has you chart all of your stats, and you work with him over time to eliminate your weaknesses. He also uses video to analyze swings.

[safetrip]

You know what, I went to the indoor range at Natick, and it was a lot better than i expected. They have 6 hitting bays into a wall, 2 separate "teaching" bays, 2 simulators, and a pretty sizeable putting green. As for outside, they do have a decent short game area, but what i didn't like was that they had a lot of mats and few grass tees, where the grass really sucked, but maybe that was because i went there in late October.

Thanks for the info. I've been meaning to check out NGC soon.

I was told that there are two teaching pros in Soughborough. Do you know which one your friend goes to? I forget his name but one of the teaching pro seems to be very friendly. When I'm on the range and he walks by, he sometimes gives a quick advice.

[murphmjm]

Do the ECG and Southboro ranges open after snowfalls or do they wait until its mostly melted,(ie. call a few days after snow to see if they are open etc)

[jamo]

Thanks for the info. I've been meaning to check out NGC soon.

I put a link for it in my previous post, but

here is is again . That was for the range, here is the link for the page on the site about the instructor, whose name is Rich Fisher .

Do the ECG and Southboro ranges open after snowfalls or do they wait until its mostly melted,(ie. call a few days after snow to see if they are open etc)

They both have indoor and outdoor ranges, with mats indoor and outdoor, and grass tees in the summer. From experience (i've been a member at ECG for a couple of years) i know ECG is closed during storms, but i don't know how long after the storm the will open. For rain its no more than a couple of hours, for snow i'm not sure, but it probably can't much longer than a day, maximum (ie. if there's a snow storm on monday, they should be open on tuesday if the roads are plowed and its not snowing).

I know they don't get much business in the winter, so they don't need to run the ball-picker trucks too often, and thats really the only thing the snow prevents them from doing. I guess my point is, the day after a storm, call them, but they should be open.

[murphmjm]

They both have indoor and outdoor ranges, with mats indoor and outdoor, and grass tees in the summer. From experience (i've been a member at ECG for a couple of years) i know ECG is closed during storms, but i don't know how long after the storm the will open. For rain its no more than a couple of hours, for snow i'm not sure, but it probably can't much longer than a day, maximum (ie. if there's a snow storm on monday, they should be open on tuesday if the roads are plowed and its not snowing).

Thanks for this info! Will be there this weekend if it doesnt snow, again. ha

[jamo]

Like I mentioned, ECG has memberships, they save you some money if you use it a lot, plus they let you use the backside range which has a good sized chipping/pitching/sand-shot green, and a smaller putting green. They are all right, but the putting green is woefully slow, and this past year there was a lot of rain so the bunker was rarely in good shape. Also there is a little solar-panel power hut where you get the balls from with a swipe of a card. The only downside is that the member range is looking right into the sun in the afternoon, but you don't have to use that side. And no, i'm not trying to sell you anything, i don't know if i'll even retain my membership for this coming year.

Southboro has a HUGE putting green and a decent chipping/pitching/sand-shot area, but i think you need to be a member to use them, or you need to pay. Southboro, unlike ECG, actually enforces the member only use of the pitching green.

[murphmjm]

for the memberships, i can just buy the 99$ 16 reg buckets and be able to hit the practice area all year? Planning on joining mcc this year so not looking to spend a very large amount before dues come but definitely want to keep hitting balls through the winter.