Plymouth

Members at the Plymouth Country Club enjoy a short Donald Ross design, playing just more than 6,300 yards to a par of 69. The landscape does not aim to make that job easy, however. Although the opening three holes play on relatively flat land, closer to the coastline, the next 14 take off on a roller coaster of a ride through the Massachusetts foothills, left over from glaciers many moons ago.

One of the interesting features that sets Plymouth apart from the scads of other Ross designs is the surplus of tee shots offering a somewhat blind perspective. Ross was not a believer in hiding bunkers from the player’s eye and, accordingly, the majority of the sand hazards at Plymouth are docked along the greens. Still, the views from the tee can cause a sense of unease, encouraging caution, and even the yips. One of the valleys on the property still holds water, and the fairways for Nos. 9, 10 and 17 will play over it.

The top handicap hole is No. 12, the longest par four on the course at 465 yards. The terrain is relatively flat, aside from the significant drop from tee to fairway. Looking at Ross’s thick-browed bunkers from atop this perch while the fairway winds between forest, one may be tempted to think of Sunningdale.