Blue Hill (Championship)

The Championship Course at Blue Hill Country Club is a design from the pen of Eugene “Skip” Wogan, a somewhat obscure architect who built a handful of courses in the Boston region, including Tedesco Country Club. Earlier in his career, "Skip" went to work as an assistant professional under Donald Ross at Essex County Club.

Although Blue Hill may not host a Golf Hall of Famer’s name on its marquee, the membership has certainly acted as if it has, bringing in Ron Prichard for a full restoration at the turn of the century. The result is a very playable course that, while not long — it tips out at just under 6,700 yards — defends against birdies and eagles with conscious bunker placement.

Case-in-point is the club’s collection of par fives. Although two, including the final hole, play well under 500 yards, getting to the putting surface in two will require skillful execution because of a barrage of bunkers placed all the way down the fairway, ensuring that players of almost all distances will have some hazard to avoid on their way home. The same logic applies to a range of short par fours around the course, which would be easy pickings for PGA pros but will force the best players who visit the club to think mightily before they take the driver out of the bag.

As a testament to the club's dedication to Wogan golf, Skip's son Phil Wogan was brought in to do the club's short course, the Challenger.