Vesper

Established as Vesper Boat Club in 1875, Vesper Country Club actually came into being when it amalgamated with Lowell Country Club in 1899, making it one of the oldest golf clubs in America. Vesper’s 9-hole layout occupied most of Tyngs Island, in the Merrimack River, and it was here that Donald Ross won the first Massachusetts Open Golf Championship in 1905.

Little would any of the members have thought then that Ross would return as an esteemed golf course architect sixteen years later to redesign the 9-hole island course and extend the golf layout with another nine on the north bank of the river, forming a full 18-hole course for the golf club.

Today’s course measures 6,740 yards from the back markers, playing to a par of 72. Holes 1 to 3 and 15 to 18 are completely on the island. Hole 4 is a par three, where the tee shot is played from the island over the river to the mainland. Hole 14 is also a par three, played in reverse from the mainland across the river and onto the island.

Accomplished architect Brian Silva oversaw the renovation of all eighteen greens to USGA standard in 2009, using a combination of Ross drawings and old aerial photographs to assist his team with the work undertaken. Over seventy bunkers were rebuilt or refurbished during the upgrade and a significant number of trees removed also.