Opened in 1936, the George Wright Golf Course is a Donald Ross design. It's reputed that 60,000 pounds of dynamite, 72,000 cubic yards of top soil and 57,000 linear feet of drainage pipe was used for its construction.
George Wright Golf Course
Opened in 1936, the George Wright Golf Course is a Donald Ross design. It's reputed that 60,000 pounds of dynamite, 72,000 cubic yards of top soil and 57,000 linear feet of drainage pipe was used for its construction.
4
Finding quality classic period architecture that includes taxpayer-owned facilities is no small feat. George Wright dates back to 1938 as a WPA project coming out of The Great Depression.
The magic of George Wright comes from the terrain -- eye-catching ups and downs via a series of hills that are scattered throughout the round.
The opening two holes stretch the muscles and when you reach the par-5 3rd the majesty of the property starts its ascent.
After you play the uphill par-3 4th you arrive at the 5th tee. The hole is captivating because it allows the land to be the true star. The fairway has the appearance of a stormy ocean with sufficient movements before turning to the right. Bold players can take on the corner but the tee shot must be played with Robin Hood proficiency. The green is set below the high rise in the fairway and allows players to bounce their approaches into the putting surface.
The par-4 7th is another delicious hole. Sharing the same tee pad area with the 5th you proceed in the opposite direction. Players can opt to hit driver and get as far as possible as the land moves downward. The interesting aspect rests on whether you wish to lay back and see the green or opt for a shorter approach but then deal with a blind shot to the target.
The inward half is a quality mixture of holes. The terrain is the star and the holes flow very well without artifice.
Given the sheer number of rounds the overall conditioning is quite good. The missing ingredient deals with taking care of the minor details which would only add to the experience. Like many other taxpayer-owned layouts -- getting the needed manpower and dollars to do that is no small feat. George Wright has beautiful rock outcroppings -- similar to what you actually see at The Country Club which is just a few miles away. Adding new tee boxes is being contemplated on a few of the holes and interestingly, an earlier master plan was crafted by Gil Hanse which would extend the course to over 7,000 yards but was not implemented. Trimming back the canopy of a number of trees would also help in adding to the overall vistas and for bolstering the strategic calculus.
So much of what George Wright faces is no different than what Bethpage State Park faced before the major infusion of dollars when the Black Course was selected to host the 2002 US Open. Prior to that event the courses at Bethpage were in varying levels of conditioning. The Black also had a number of issues fairly similar to what George Wright has now.
The Ross layout has been helped by the involvement of architect Mark Mungeam who clearly understands how to balance the need for improvements on the architectural side while also realizing the course needs to handle the wide range of players who come to play each day.
George Wright has a number of fine holes and, as mentioned previously, is blessed with a site that fuels one's desire to return and test one's skill level. In 2018 the Massachusetts Amateur was played here -- the first time the event had been played on a public facility.
One of the keys for George Wright is in having a head professional and superintendent who have been present in their respective roles for a number of years. Thereby providing a steady hand and in maintaining much needed continuity. For too many taxpayer-owned courses the lack of continuity can easily derail any effort to improve what's present as one often needs an ever-changing scorecard of new faces on the scene. As someone who grew up on courses that grew grass by accident -- rather than by design -- I can fully appreciate what George Wright means to the Boston golfing community.
With the US Open returning to TCC at Brookline in 2022, I am hopeful more people from outside the immediate Beantown area will plan to see this entertaining layout.
M. James Ward
Overall rating
4.0
Overall rating
4.0
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