Uniquely Boston

George Wright Golf Course is a bricolage of Boston. At first glance, it appears cold and uninviting. You have to earn it's trust, but once you do, it reveals its loyalty and rich character.

If your first round at George Wright is anything like mine, you'll consider logging onto EBay to sell your golf clubs at a steep discount. Blind tee shots, false fronts, and deceptive visuals make your first time at George Wright a true battle. Much like Boston itself, George Wright is wary of the outsider.

Once you've paid your dues, George Wright's spiteful façade gives way to a uniquely complex and satisfying golf experience. What was once nasty, brutish, and misleading becomes welcoming, accessible, and authentic. Through your initiation, you learn the subtleties that make this course so special:

• On the 5th hole, keep it low on your approach and the land will funnel your ball onto the green.
• On the 6th, missing right on your approach affords your some leniency, as a steep hill will carom your ball onto the putting surface.
• On the 7th, everything in your body tells you to favor the right. Defy your instincts, aim at the left side of the fairway, and you will be rewarded.
• On the 9th, a drive down the middle is a left miss. A drive into the right rough is a split fairway.
• For hole 10, see note about hole 5 above.
• On the 12th, there are three prominent trees lining the left side of the fairway, if you want to lay back and have along approach in, aim at the one on the left. If you want to break out a wood, aim at the one in the middle. If you want to let it fly with a driver, aim at the one on the right.
• On 16, aim left on your approach and cross your fingers that your putt isn't downhill.
• On 17, take one extra club (two if there's any wind). If you're lucky enough to play this hole on a warm summer evening, take a deep breath and admire one of the most beautiful scenes in golf.

These nuances are what make George Wright such a unique test. If you want to score here, you have to have spent some time in the trenches. Bostonian's pride themselves on their grit, and George Wright fittingly demands it.

George Wright Golf Course is a perfect entryway into New England golf and one of the rare tracks that has a truly transcendent sense of place. If the Country Club in Brookline is an investment banker in slacks and a blazer, George Wright is his vulgar, dungaree-wearing cousin (who you'd much rather grab a beer with). Long on character and short on pretense, George Wright embodies the spirit of Boston.