North Shore Golf Spring 2018

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NORTH SHORE GOLF


PUBLISHER 

Edward M. Grant 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

Michael H. Shanahan 

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER 

James N. Wilson 

DIRECTORS 

Edward L. Cahill 

John M. Gilberg 

Edward M. Grant 

Gordon R. Hall 

Monica Connell Healey 

J. Patrick Norton 

Michael H. Shanahan 

ABOUT THE COVER: 

Bill Connell, a Lynn native, wasn’t a championship golfer 

but he had a huge impact on the game in Massachusetts. He was 

a pivotal player in the creation of the TPC Boston course and 

the Massachusetts Golf House & Museum in Norton. 

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER 

William J. Kraft 

EDITOR 

Bill Brotherton 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Anne Marie Tobin 

DESIGNER 

Tim McDonough 

PHOTOGRAPHERS 

David Colt 

Spenser Hasak 

Owen O’Rourke 

ADVERTISING SALES 

Ernie Carpenter 

Peter Battinelli 

Michele Iannaco 

Ralph Mitchell 

Patricia Whelan 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Bob Albright 

Bob Green 

Gary Larrabee 

Steve Krause 

Brion O’Connor 

Jim Sullivan 

Adam Swift 

N O R T H S H O R E 

GOLF 

PUBLISHED BY ESSEX MEDIA GROUP 

ESSEX MEDIA GROUP, INC. 

110 Munroe St., Lynn, MA 01901 

781-593-7700 

Subscriptions: 781-593-7700 x1253 

northshoregolfmagazine.com 

INSIDE THIS EDITION 

Lynner helped build Mass. Golf House ..................... 6 

MGA-WGAM merger is official ................................. 8 

Four Oaks’ restaurant earns thanks ........................10 

Townhomes proposed at Sagamore Spring ..............11 

Newbury Golf Center eyes June opening .................12 

North Shore Golf Notebook ......................................14 

Golf movies worth revisiting .....................................15 

Larrabee: Keep an eye on Emmerich brothers ........16 

Green: Clock is running on slow play .......................17 

Sullivan: Meet my golf mentor .................................20 

Ex-Bruin joins Ferncroft team ................................. 22 

Signs of spring at area courses ................................ 24 

Course directory ...................................................... 30 

COVER PHOTO: Courtesy of the Connell family 

2 >>> SPRING 2018


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EDITOR’S LETTER 

Bill Brotherton 

bbrotherton@essexmediagroup.com 

Spring has (not exactly) sprung 

As I sit typing this column for the Spring issue of North Shore 

Golf magazine, it’s snowing like gangbusters, the third in a 

series of March storms that clobbered the region and left 

thousands of homeowners with flooded basements, uprooted 

trees and no electricity. 

The golf community was not spared. The flooding may have 

subsided, but debris and downed branches still litter nearly 

every course north of Boston. That’s bad news for those of 

us clamoring to get outside and hit a bucket of balls or even tee it 

up at our local course. 

So, to get my golf fix, I settled into my easy chair, poured a glass 

of my favorite adult beverage, cooked up some popcorn and 

binge-watched a bunch of golf-themed movies. For 10 hours! 

There are more than you’d think. 

In this edition, I rate the films I sat through. You might be 

surprised by the films that get my highest ranking. One takeaway 

from my long day’s journey into night of movie exploring? I think 

it’s criminal that Humphrey Bogart never made a golf movie, 

especially with a nickname like Bogie. 

Also in this issue, Steve Krause writes about the late Bill Connell, 

a Lynn native who had a huge impact on Massachusetts Golf. 

The Golf House and Museum and the TPC course, both in 

Norton, would likely not exist if it wasn’t for Connell. 

There’s more! Former Boston Bruins goaltender Reggie Lemelin 

talks about his new role as membership ambassador at Ferncroft 

CC. A 55-and-older residential development is being considered 

at Sagamore Spring GC in Lynnfield; will it have any effect on 

one of the region’s most popular public courses? And the new 

Grazie restaurant at Four Oaks CC in Dracut has diners saying 

“thank you.” 

But wait! North Shore Golf’s course directory has been updated 

and our Notebook shares breaking news, including welcomes to 

new head PGA professionals at Wenham CC and Woburn CC and 

new club managers at Salem CC and Kernwood CC. 

Our columnists are at the top of their game. Gary Larrabee writes 

about the talented Emmerich brothers of Swampscott, St. Mary’s 

of Lynn and Kernwood CC. Bob Green, who is beginning his 40th 

year as head PGA professional at Tedesco CC, weighs in 

on the slow-play problem that plagues the PGA Tour and all 

of us at local courses. Joining us this issue is Jim Sullivan, the 

well-known Boston rock and roll writer, who introduces us to 

his mentor, the man who taught him about golf, life and so 

much more. 

We hope you agree the elements of this Spring issue of North 

Shore Golf would make one mighty fine movie, certainly on a 

par with some of the genre’s finest. 

Now if that darned snow would just melt … l 

Bill Brotherton is editor of North Shore Golf magazine. He grew up in Beverly, caddied and worked in the pro shop at Essex CC, 

is a Ouimet Scholar who graduated from Suffolk University, has written about golf for the Beverly Times and Daily Item of Lynn. 

He’s retired from the Boston Herald, where he wrote about music and edited the Features section. Like all of us, he can’t wait for 

golf season to begin. Tell him what you think at essexmediagroup.com. 



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THIS WAS HIS DREAM 

~TOM HEALEY 

” 

PHOTO: Courtesy of the Connell family 

If you build it, they will come 

Bill Connell helped establish TPC Boston 

and Massachusetts Golf House 



By STEVE KRAUSE 

It was during a trip to Ireland that the late Bill Connell 

was asked by his son-in-law “What’s the one thing you’ve 

always wanted to do?” 

Connell, the man who once headed the group that owned 

Suffolk Downs, and the man who helped broker the deal that kept 

the New England Patriots from moving to Hartford, Conn., didn’t 

miss a beat. 

“He said the one thing he’d always wanted to do was build a golf 

course,”said Tom Healey, whose wife, Monica, is Connell’s daughter. 

Connell grew up in McDonough Square in Lynn, went to St. 

Mary’s and Boston College, and had been a benefactor to all three 

during his adult life. The science building at St. Mary’s is named 

for him, and the nursing school at BC bears his name as well. 

Connell also sat on Bank of Boston’s board of directors. Next 

thing anyone knew, BayBank had been acquired by Bank of Boston 

and, as a result of the merger, there were 700 acres of BayBank 

land in Norton that awaited development. The bank’s CFO Peter 

Manning, who, like Connell, has BC connections, was “a big golfer,” 

according to Healey, and wanted to put a golf course on the land. 

“There used to be a PGA event at Pleasant Valley (in Sutton),” 

Healey said, “and it was pretty popular. The pros all liked going 

there. But it was stopped in 1994, and a lot of the pros were looking 

to get back into New England.” 

So it was a harmonic convergence of sorts. Connell wanted to 

build a golf course. Manning wanted to convert land into a golf 

course. And PGA tour professionals wanted to pick up a stop in 

New England after the discontinuation of the Pleasant Valley event. 

There was one more piece of the puzzle. Regulations stipulated 

that the bank couldn’t own more than a quarter of the course. The 

PGA was willing to put up half the money it would take to build it, 

but that meant 25 percent was still needed. Manning figured he’d 

go to the people he knew, individually, and the first person he 

approached was Connell. 

“This was right after he’d talked about wanting to build one,” 

Healey said. “He pretty much said ‘yes’ on the spot. 

“Between (Connell) and the bank, they had a majority 

ownership,” Healey said. “Not a very big one, but it was a majority. 

Really, Peter Manning was the catalyst for all of this.” 

Thus, ground was broken on the new course, which would be 

designed by the late Arnold Palmer, in 1998. 

“This was his dream,” said Healey of his father-in-law. “He really 

loved the game. He was an avid golfer, but he was like the rest of 

us,” said Healey. 

“Sometimes, he struggled. He was average. But he loved 

the game.” His kids laughed when recalling his favorite golf 

shot, which he named “Rick O'Shea.” 

Sadly, Connell did not live long enough to see the dream realized. 

He was diagnosed with melanoma in the spring of 2001, and died 

that August. Shortly after his death, the TPC private course in 

Norton was opened. 

Connell’s death also kept him from serving on the board of the 

PGA, on a policy subcommittee. He was named to the board, but 

died before the first meeting took place. 

TPC is short for Tournament Players Club, and courses with a 

TPC designation are owned by the PGA (which has a 49 percent 

stake in the Norton course). The PGA wanted to include Norton 

in a series of TPC tournaments that help determine the FedEx Cup 

champion, and that became a reality in 2007. 

“Now,” says Healey, “all the big names on the tour play in the 

Norton tournament.” 

There are four such TPC tournaments, of which Norton is No. 

2 (the others are the Northern Open in New York, the BMW 

Championship in Lake Forest, Ill., and the overall championship 

in Atlanta). According to the format, winners who have survived 

previous tournaments get to play in the next one. By the time 

golfers get to Atlanta, there are only 60 players left. 

After the Norton course opened, the PGA needed a sponsor and 

none were forthcoming. Finally, Deutsche Bank, headquartered 

in Frankfurt, Germany, agreed to sponsor the event, and it became 

known as the Deutsche Bank Classic. Run Labor Day weekend, it 

is the only professional golf tournament that runs from Friday 

through Monday rather than the traditional Thursday-Sunday 

format, Healey said. 

Last year, the PGA’s contract with Deutsche Bank expired, and 

Dell Technologies took over sponsorship. Henceforth, it’ll be called 

the Dell Technologies Championship. Justin Thomas won the 

tournament and will defend his title this Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. 

The PGA did not need all 700 acres for the course. It was 

decided by Manning, Connell and others, that some of that 

land would be used to house the various organizations of the 

Massachusetts golf system. 

“You had the (Massachusetts Golf Association), the (Women’s 

Golf Association of Massachusetts), the Francis Ouimet 

Scholarship Foundation, and they weren’t all in the same place,” 

said Healey, “so the Massachusetts Golf House and Museum was 

built to house them all in one place.” 

What started as the golf house ended up as a museum as well. 

An architect’s drawing of the Massachusetts 

Golf House & Museum in Norton. 

“That was another thing (Connell) decided we should do … have 

a museum,” Healey said. “Everything kind of moved forward, and 

it was being developed when he got sick in 2001. 

“He had pulled in some of his friends to help raise funds.” 

Former Blue Cross and Blue Shield CEO William Van Faasen, 

a Connell friend, helped spearhead the fundraising efforts. A golfer 

himself, Van Faasen wanted to name the golf house/museum after 

Connell. And even though Connell died before the building was 

completed, and the dedication made, he was told of the honor 

shortly before he passed away. 

Though Connell died 16 years ago, the family is still involved in 

the Norton course and Golf House, Healey said. 

“We care about it very deeply,” he said. l 

Steve Krause is Sports editor of the Daily Item. He can be reached 

at skrause@essexmediagroup.com. 

NORTH SHORE GOLF


All together now 

MassGolf 

a merger 

of women’s 

and men’s 

associations 

By ANNE MARIE TOBIN 

WGAM president Leslie Logan and MGA president Thomas Bagley shake 

hands after the historic merger of the two Massachusetts golf organizations. 

With a combined 231 years of 

service between them, the Women’s 

Golf Association of Massachusetts and 

Massachusetts Golf Association have had 

many milestone moments throughout 

their distinguished histories. 

Last May 10, the two organizations 

made history when they signed a merger 

agreement combining the two into one 

new state organization now known 

as MassGolf. 

With a new name, a new brand, a 

new website (massgolf.org) and a new 

operating and governance structure 

that includes representation from both 

organizations, MassGolf hit the ground 

running January 1, when the merger 

became official. 

Under the agreement, MassGolf has 

assumed full responsibility for running 

all of the tournaments on the WGAM 

schedule, in addition to its own. For 

the first time in the history of either 

organization, the men’s and women’s 

state amateur championships will be 

conducted at the same site, with the men’s 

amateur being held at George Wright 

Golf Course and William J. Devine G.C. 

July 9-13 and the women’s amateur to be 

played for the first time at George Wright 

July 29-Aug. 2. 

The Massachusetts merger follows 

in the footsteps of several other state 

organizations that have successfully 

merged. “Rhode Island, Texas, Florida 

and several others have had great success 

following the decision to combine under 

one roof,” said MassGolf executive director 

Jesse Menachem. “We first started talking 

about it informally when Clarence Bennett 

was president of the MGA, and then we sat 

down together in late spring last year and 

found that our organizations had many 

similarities in terms of challenges and 

needs, such as the need 

to grow participation. 

The bottom line for both 

groups was we both knew 

that we were not attracting 

certain segments of the 

Massachusetts golf 

community. 

“Both groups felt we 

needed to reshape our 

vision together. We will 

continue to provide all the 

member services we have 

in the past, but we need 

to expand the First Tee 

program and plan to offer 

enhanced services in the 

areas of course rating, 

handicapping, championships, juniors 

and our grow-the-game initiatives, and 

that the best way to do that was to 

combine resources and begin to work 

together as one.” 

Sound familiar? Yes, if you happened 

to be around on March 5, 1900 when six 

women representing four clubs (Oakley, 

The Country Club, Concord and Brae 

Burn) met at 45 Commonwealth Ave. 

in Boston to discuss the need to form a 

women’s golf association. In her book, 

“On the Greens of Massachusetts, The 

Story of the Women’s Golf Association” 

of Massachusetts, 1900-2000, Moira 

McCarthy wrote that Grace B. Keyes, 

the first treasurer and state women’s 

champion, said it simply, “What we 

want, what we need is a way to play 

and improve at golf. We need more 

chances to play and compete and need 

to meet other women who love golf 

as well.” 

Keyes’ message was heard loud and 

clear, as two weeks later on March 19, 

the Women’s Golf Association of Boston 

was formed. By May, the first team 

competition was held, and by late 

October, the association’s first 

amateur championship was staged. 

It didn’t take long for the WGAB to 

attract attention from the local media. 

The Transcript Newspaper had this to 

say about the WGAB on Oct. 27, 1900, 

following the women’s amateur earlier 

that month at Oakley: “The manner in 

which they took hold of the matter and 

organized the association and the way in 

which it has been conducted, free from 

debt and without outside assistance which 

could have been had at any time, speaks 

volumes for the sportsmanship involved 

and affords a fine example for the men 

of Boston to follow.” And follow they did, 

with the founding of the Massachusetts 

Golf Association in 1903. 

ABOVE: The new MassGolf logo 

Cathleen Beach, former executive 

director of the WGAM, has moved on 

to a new role and new office as director 

of women’s competitions and player 

development. 

Beach said, so far, the transition to 

MassGolf has been seamless, especially 

when it comes to spring teams, the 

oldest and largest event on the women’s 

tournament schedule. 

“We have 750 players and 150 teams 

who registered to play this year, and that 

in and of itself speaks to the ease of the 

transition,” she said. “We had online 

registration for the first time, and now 

this year any woman can play or act as a 

substitute because we no longer have to be 

a member to play and our clubs no longer 

have to pay a membership fee. I think that 

this will bring exposure to women and 

clubs that in the past were not members 

of the WGAM, so that is a great change 

for all the female golfers in the state.”>>> 

PHOTO: David Colt/MassGolf 



Beach said she knew from the first 

informal discussions between the two 

groups that the time was right. 

“From the very beginning, there was a 

level of mutual respect and it just seemed 

like the lightbulbs all went off in our heads 

when we learned that our challenges and 

goals were the same,” she said. “The fact is, 

golf is gender neutral and that together we 

had a better chance at success than we had 

if we continued to work independently. 

It was all about the overall good of both 

of our futures and that we needed to 

change things to continue to do what 

we do.” 

Beach said she is most excited that 

the women’s amateur will be at 

George Wright. 

“I grew up as a public player, and I 

know there were many women who 

believed that the WGAM should be for 

private players only and also some who 

didn’t like it when we had tournaments 

at public courses, so the fact that we are 

going to George Wright is incredibly 

exciting and I couldn’t be happier.” 

There are approximately 86,000 

Massachusetts golfers on the GHIN 

system, which will continue to be 

administered by MassGolf. 

Menachem said there, no doubt, will 

be growing pains during the transition 

period, but is confident that the strong 

relationship that has formed between 

the men and women in recent years 

will ensure success and growth. 

“We now will be governed by a 12- 

member board of directors that includes 

officers and people from each of the 

old organizations, and we also have 

introduced a new advisory board 

consisting of past presidents, committee 

FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, 

THERE WAS A LEVEL OF 

MUTUAL RESPECT ... 

~Cathleen Beach 

members and representatives from 

our affiliated organizations to assist 

the process as we work through all 

the details,” he said. 

“We put a lot of time into working 

through all of the departments of each 

organization and learned that we have 

” 

some age-old perceptions we need to 

overcome, but I am confident that with 

everyone so much on board and so 

positive about our new direction, that we 

will be successful. This is an exciting time 

for all of us who love golf and want to 

promote it by growing the game. We have 

had a great working relationship with the 

women, and we look forward to furthering 

that in the future.” 

MGA president Tom Bagley and WGAM 

president Leslie Logan were the guiding 

forces for their respective organizations 

during the merger discussions last year. 

“After years of collaborating informally, 

it became clear to both associations that 

we could better utilize all our resources 

– staff, volunteers and finances – if we 

work together,” said Bagley. “Our 

collective goal is to better serve all golfers 

in Massachusetts” 

“We’re confident that women’s golf in 

Massachusetts will thrive under the new 

structure,” said Logan. “Our membership, 

championships, events and scholarship 

programs will be better served by our 

two organizations coming together.” l 

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ITALIAN RESTAURANT MAKING A NAME 

FOR ITSELF AT FOUR OAKS CC 

By BOB ALBRIGHT 

The Four Oaks team 

in Grazie restaurant 

with owners Cindy and 

Mike Kuenzler; pizza 

oven at Grazie; an 

example of the 

innovative cuisine. 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Four Oaks CC 

>If You Go 

WHAT: Grazie Italian Restaurant 

WHERE: 80 Meadow Creek Drive, Dracut 

PHONE: 978-455-0054, reservations suggested 

WEB: grazie.restaurant.com 

HOURS: Summer: 5 p.m. 7 days a week; 

Winter: Tuesday-Sunday 5-9 p.m. 

CHEF: Arben “Beni” Kurti 

HEAD PRO: Tony Martinho’s favorite dish: Chicken Limone 

“Grazie.” 

It’s Italian for “thank you.” It also happens to be the name of 

the bustling Italian restaurant at Four Oaks Country Club that is 

becoming as much a signature at the semi-private course in Dracut 

as its immaculate greens and sweeping views that span as far the 

Prudential and Hancock on a clear day. 

And it might be safe to say that as golfers and local foodies alike 

leave Grazie each evening, they may want to thank owners Mike 

and Cindy Kuenzler — in Italian or English— for not only rescuing 

the scenic par-70, 6,268-yard golf course from bankruptcy in the 

fall of 2012, but for also bringing a succulent slice of Italy to the 

Merrimack Valley. 

“Instead of focusing on one area, we’ve tried to focus on the 

course, beautify the course, and then enrich the entire building,” 

Mike Kuenzler said of the sprawling and well-appointed space 

that sits elevated above the course and houses the newly 

renovated 260-person Grand Oaks Ballroom, the pro shop, 

the Oaks Bar and Grille, and, of course, Grazie. 

“Our philosophy so far has been to pour everything back into 

the business and build it to be something special,” Kuenzler added. 

Stick a fork into Executive Chef Arben “Beni” Kurti’s signature 

Lobster Ravioli, and you will likely agree that Kuenzler’s vision has 

reached its tasty fruition. At the heart of Grazie stands a 6,000- 

pound wood-burning pizza oven that was shipped directly from 

Naples - Italy, not Florida - but all agree the most valuable import 

from the old country is Kurti, who was brought to the kitchen 

from his hometown of Perugia six years ago and has 

been wowing diners ever since. 

Featuring all locally sourced ingredients, including spices and 

herbs Kurti grows on site, both Mike and Cindy say their favorite 

entree is his Slow Braised Short Ribs over Risotto. 

“It’s very important to us that the customers are having a good 

experience,” Cindy noted. “To see them have a good time here and 

enjoy their experience and keep coming back means a lot to both 

of us.” 

Grazie features entertainment Thursdays through Saturdays 

and has been expanded to accommodate 140, with tables and 

two large counters; reservations are strongly recommended. 

From the intricate wine display cabinets behind the bar to 

the expansive granite countertops, there’s probably not a single 

design element at Grazie that Cindy sketched out on grid paper. 

“It’s like a puzzle and you just put it together,” said Cindy, who 

did most of the design work and oversees restaurant operations. 

The couple, who live in Dracut, say they have almost achieved, 

if not surpassed, their original vision from when they first 

removed the Jersey barriers and rescued the troubled venue 

from bankruptcy nearly six years ago. 

“Dracut never has had anything like this and we get huge support 

from the community, because it is something they want,” Mike said. 

The healthy membership numbers at the semi-private club, busy 

tournament schedule, and the overflowing reservation book at 

Grazie back that up and are further proof that the championship 

golf course and its popular Italian restaurant is on the right track. 

Or is it the other way around? 

“It’s funny. I was at a high school basketball tournament 

game the other night,” said Four Oaks head golf pro Tony 

Martinho with a grin, “and a guy came up to me and said, ‘Hey, 

aren’t you that golf pro from that course where Grazie is?’ ” l 



TOWNHOME 

DEVELOPMENT 

PROPOSED AT 

SAGAMORE SPRING 

The proposed Fairways Edge at Sagamore will be a high-end 55-and-older 

community with residences featuring attached two-bedroom townhomes ranging 

from 2,400 to 3,000 square feet, built in clusters of duplexes, triplexes and quads, 

with expected listing prices of $700,000 to $900,000. 

Just 30 minutes 

North of Boston 

1 CLUBHOUSE LANE • DRACUT, MA 

18 hole championship golf course 

GREAT SENIOR RATES MONDAY - FRIDAY • GOLF OUTINGS • BAR & GRILLE 

GRAZIE ITALIAN RESTAURANT • WEDDINGS AND EVENTS 

PUBLIC WELCOME 

FOUROAKSCOUNTRYCLUB.COM • 978-455-0054 

By ADAM SWIFT 

As you hit your golden years, it can get a little bit 

harder to get up and out to tee off at the local course. 

But if you live in Lynnfield, or want to move there, 

there could soon be an upscale option: Sagamore 

Spring Golf Course. 

Fairways Edge at Sagamore is being proposed by 

Richard Bonvie, president of Mashpee-based Bonvie 

Homes. Bonvie has developed several high-end 

55-and-older communities statewide, including the 

New England Country Club project in Bellingham. 

The planned residences will be 

attached two-bedroom townhomes 

ranging from 2,400 to 3,000 square 

feet, built in clusters of duplexes, 

triplexes and quads, with expected 

listing prices of $700,000 to $900,000, 

according to Ted Regnante, the local 

attorney representing the developers. 

No changes are planned to the 

popular 18-hole public golf course. 

The townhomes are designed with aging in place in 

mind and are suited for the active adult lifestyle, said 

Bonvie. The homes will feature first-floor master suites, 

open living space, ample storage and a two-car attached 

garage. Children younger than 18 will not be permitted 

to reside there. 

Richard Tisei, owner of Northrup Associates, is 

working with Bonvie on marketing the community. 

“This community will provide much needed residences 

for adults 55 and over who want to remain in Lynnfield 

as they become empty nesters,” said Tisei. 

The Sagamore Spring Golf Course has been owned 

by the Luff and Strobel/Thompson families since 1929. 

Richard Luff, speaking for the landowners, said the 

proposed adult community was the most attractive option 

of several he and his family considered for the land. 

“Working with Ron and his team will ensure the best 

use of the land and allow the golf course to remain open 

to the public,” he said. 

The developers will need a little help from Lynnfield 

voters before the shovels can hit the ground for Fairways 

Edge at Sagamore to become a reality. 

At the end of April, town meeting voters will need to 

approve three articles to help pave way for the project. 

The rezoning includes changing the east side of the 

property from a residential to an elderly housing district, 

allowing a golf course as a permitted use in an elderly 

housing district, and increasing the maximum number 

of units allowed in an elderly housing district from 136 

to 154, according to Regnante. 

Regnante estimated the project would bring to the 

town close to $1.8 million annually in gross tax revenue. 

Selectman Phil Crawford said the proposal by Bonvie 

looked to be a better use than single-family homes 

along Sagamore Spring. 

“I think there would be a lot of interest in a 

development like this for people who are downsizing,” 

said Crawford. “It would also open up (existing) 

four- and five-bedroom colonial homes for families 

looking to move to Lynnfield.” l 

Adam Swift is the editor of the Lynnfield and Peabody Weekly News. 

He can be reached at aswift@essexmediagroup.com. 

NORTH SHORE GOLF

NSG_Spring2018.qxp_Layout 1 3/23/18 8:15 AM Page 12 

Home on the range 

Erik Sorensen’s Newbury 

Golf Center & Ice Cream 

arrives on the scene 

By BOB ALBRIGHT 

Less than 24 hours removed from spending his entire life 

savings on a sprawling 27-acre undeveloped parcel of land, the 

look of satisfaction on Erik Sorensen’s face as he watched 

the first load of gravel delivered to his new property was 

almost palpable. 

“Now there’s a sight I’ve been waiting a long time to see,” said 

Sorensen, 40, in March as construction began on his planned golf 

instruction and ice cream center off Scotland Road in Newbury. 

The first load of stone symbolically marked the end of a 

withering 15-month permitting process that saw the PGA golf 

professional from North Reading submit more than 3,000 

documents to the town and attend 60 meetings, both public and 

private, to help make his ambitious plans for the Newbury Golf 

Center & Ice Cream become a reality. 

“I’m living and breathing this and it’s exciting,” said Sorensen, 

who has traded shaping swing planes and impact positions for a 

life filled with blueprints and catch basin designs as he navigates 

his new role as general contractor. “It’s certainly been an 

education, but I’m really enjoying the process.” 

Well, that may not be totally true. Along the way he has had to 

navigate around the nesting site of Eastern whip-poor-wills and 

assure one abutter some 450 yards away from his planned 

320-yard driving range that the PGA Tour driving average is 289 

yards and her windows were indeed safe. 

The actual planning of the high-end golf center - which will 

feature no nets, a two-green short game area, a grass tee and 30 

mats, including 10 that are covered, five target greens, a 

year-round covered area, and a four-window ice cream stand 

featuring nearby Richardson’s Ice Cream - has been the fun part. 

It’s a vision that has been percolating since Sorensen was on the 

Salem State golf team in the late ’90s and fine-tuned through an 

eventful teaching pro career that has seen him set up shop on such 

scenic practice tees as Myopia, Florida’s pristine Isleworth 

CC (during Tiger Woods’ prime years at the club), and most 

recently as the head professional at Vermont’s Dorset Field Club, 

among others. 

“When I graduated college I wanted to do this, but I didn’t have 

the knowledge or the capital so it kind of got put on the back shelf,” 

said Sorensen, who through his connection with Lynn’s Tony Sessa 

will work his 20th Masters this April in Augusta, Georgia. 

“I’ve seen the best of the best and I’ve seen what works, but 

I also always knew I wanted to come back to the North Shore.” 

The short game area and grass tees will be for members at the 

facility. Members will also receive free clinics and discounts in the 

pro shop. To give back to the town, Sorensen plans to donate a day 

of revenue annually toward a scholarship at Triton High School, 

along with letting the Triton golf team use the learning center free 

of charge. The public will be able to use the mats and sample all 

27 flavors that Richardsons has to offer. 

“We’ve got a flavor for each acre,” Sorensen said with a smile. 

Adding ice cream to the mix was a no-brainer for Sorensen 

who grew up in the shadow of both the popular Richardson’s 

in Middleton and Sun ‘N Air in Danvers. 

“Steve Jones at Sun ‘N Air has been great to bounce things 

off,” said Sorensen, who is also going to go through a full 

training session at Richardson’s. 

The golf connections Sorensen has been cultivating ever since 

he was a teenager shagging golf balls on the range at Hillview GC 

in North Reading have all been invaluable in launching the project. 

Steve Murphy of Golf Facilities Management is going to help him 

construct his short game area and a former associate at Isleworth 

constructed the facility's website. Sorensen hopes to have the ice 

cream stand and the mats up and running in June, just in time 

for the arrival of his wife, Sarah, and daughters, Grace, 6, and Ava, 

3, who are relocating to the area after finishing out the school year. 

Sorensen, who is the sole owner, feels both the concept and the 

location are poised to split the local fairways in an area that does 

not offer a basic diving range, let alone a state-of-the-art learning 

center, within a 15-mile radius. 

“I see a need for this with a higher-end facility with a 

membership and a large piece of land,” said Sorensen, who 

believes at 27 acres it will be the largest practice facility 

without separate holes in New England, if not beyond. 

“What people are looking for nowadays is something to do 

in 60 to 90 minutes with a family atmosphere,” he pointed 

out. “Bringing in the ice cream is a perfect way to do that. It’s 

exciting to see it all come together.” l 

>If You Go 

WHAT: Newbury Golf Center & Ice Cream 

WHERE: 131 Scotland Rd. Newbury 

WEB: newburygolf.com, Facebook/Instagram: @newburygolfcenter 

OWNER: Erik Sorensen 

PLANNED OPENING DATE: June 2018 

FEATURES: 30 mats, 10 heated & covered for year-round 

use; 10,000-square-foot grass tee; 3-acre short game area; 

7,500-square-foot putting green; 7,500-square-foot chipping 

green; two practice bunkers. Lighted, open till 9 p.m. 

ICE CREAM: 5,000-square-foot patio to enjoy 

all 27 flavors of Richardson’s ice cream. 

Eric Sorensen, blueprints 

in hand, at the construction 

site of the new Newbury 

Golf Center and Ice Cream. 

PHOTO: Bob Albright 



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NORTH SHORE GOLF


N O R T H S H O R E G O L F 

NOTEBOOK 

By BILL BROTHERTON 

FROM THE TOP: 

Toby Ahern and 

Jen McCarthy 

14 >>> SPRING 2018 

PHOTOS: Spenser Hasak 

Bill Crocker is the new clubhouse manager at 

Salem Country Club, succeeding Greg Cincotta 

who is now at Concord CC … Lorelei Judge is the 

clubhouse manager at Kernwood CC … Maxine 

Harney, granddaughter of the late Bay State 

golfing legend Paul Harney and daughter of Chris 

Harney, is a junior member at Ferncroft CC. 

•••••••••••• 

Ryan McDonald is the new head PGA pro at 

Wenham CC. He was previously at Northfield CC in 

central Vermont … Peter Bracey is the new head PGA 

pro at Woburn CC. Bracey, who grew up in Woburn and 

played the course as a young man, was most recently 

head pro at Ole Monterey Golf Club in Roanoke, 

Virginia … Cory Paris is the new superintendent at 

Middleton Golf Course. 

•••••••••••• 

PGA of America President Paul Levy was special 

guest at the NEPGA Section Spring Meeting March 27 

… Eric Barlow, pro at Winchester CC, is the NEPGA’s 

Teacher of the Year … Peter Doherty, pro at Atkinson 

Club, won NEPGA’s Player Development Award … Jim 

Furyk received the Ouimet Award at the Francis 

Ouimet Scholarship Fund banquet March 27 at 

the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. 

•••••••••••• 

Nahant Golf Club has donated 20 junior 

memberships to the Nahant Recreation 

department. Head PGA pro Toby Ahern 

presented the gift to Jen McCarthy of 

the Rec. Department, which will distribute the 

memberships. Ahern said the PGA Junior 

League program will continue this year, as will 

a series of junior clinics. Adults have not been 

forgotten: Ahern will host five-week Adult 

Beginners group lessons Wednesday and 

Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. starting April 18. 

Go to nahantgolfclub.com for details … 

Middleton Golf Course is hosting a Glow Ball 

Scramble Friday, April 20, 6:30-11 p.m. Pizza 

party before the 9-hole tourney. The course 

will provide glow ball equipment. Details at 

Middleton Golf Course’s Facebook page. 

Crystal Lake Golf Club in Haverhill has a new 

owner. The 18-hole, 137-acre course was sold at 

a foreclosure auction for $960,000 Jan. 11 to Sterling 

Golf Management Inc. The Newton-based company 

manages eight other courses in Massachusetts, 

including Unicorn GC and Stoneham Oaks, both 

in Stoneham, and one in New Hampshire ... Ould 

Newbury has undertaken an ambitious treeremoval 

project on its 6th tee and the side of the 5th 

green. This will allow sunlight to get to the tee boxes, 

which will be rebuilt this year. The men’s locker room 

at the club is also being completely redone … Unicorn 

GC in Stoneham has installed a new irrigation system 

on the entire course. 

•••••••••••• 

Donnie Lyons reports that Reedy Meadow in 

Lynnfield was one of the first North Shore 

courses to open: Feb. 26, thanks to a stretch of 

unseasonably warm days before the snow came. Back 

for another season - his 68th! - is longtime club manager 

Bob Baker, who Lyons said continues to be the 

face, heart and soul of the Reedy Meadow facility. “The 

man is amazing, I have never seen anyone better with 

people’s names than Bob, and honestly, people just love 

the place because of him,” Lyons said. “Think about it, 

he turned 80 in August and has been here for 68 years. 

Bob is just one of the greatest guys you will ever meet.” 

… Lynnfield's other course, King Rail Reserve, plans to 

open on April 1. 

•••••••••••• 

Josh Salah of Gloucester and Bass Rocks 

continues to compete on the Asian Development Tour. 

“I am continuing to make great strides with my swing 

changes and am excited about my progress,” he 

reports from Thailand … At press time, Salem native 

Rob Oppenheim of Indian Ridge CC had made the 

cut in five tournaments on the PGA Tour, earning 

$138,460 and ranking 224th on the money list. 

•••••••••••• 

Members at Mount Pleasant CC are still talking 

about last fall’s lively retirement party and 9-hole 

tournament for Jack Hassett, the Lowell course’s 

longtime superintendent … Beverly Golf & Tennis 

Club will hold its opening day Bramble on May 5 … Four 

Oaks Country Club in Dracut will host its popular 

Junior Golf Camp July 10-12. Instructors will be 

PGA professionals Anthony Martinho and Mary 

Wilkinson. Go to fouroakscountryclub.com 

PHOTOS: Spenser Hasak 

for info. l


The BEST and WORST of golf movies 

It’s too bad Bogie never starred in one 

By BILL BROTHERTON 

For those of us itching to hit the links, the wind, rain 

and snow of early March frustrated us to no end. 

One day, after breaking my back shoveling about eight 

inches of the heavy, wet stuff I nursed a Green Head IPA, 

settled int o my cozy chair and binge-watched a batch 

of golf-themed movies. There are more of them than 

you’d think. 

“Caddyshack” has always been one of my favorites, and 

has been since it came out in 1980. It’s still hilarious. Even 

funnier is the Three Stooges’ short “Three Little Beers,” a 

1938 howler that finds Moe, Larry and Curly creating 

mayhem at an exclusive country club and nearly destroying 

the course, cutting down trees, damaging greens and doing 

their laundry in a ball-washer. Kudos, too, to a series 

of amusing instructional/slapstick comedy shorts by the 

legendary Bobby Jones; W.C. Fields is even in one episode! 

After 10 hours of viewing, I’d decided “Caddyshack” 

had slipped to No. 3 on my favorites list. Putting on 

both my Siskel and Ebert hats, here is my ranking of 

golf-themed films. 

CHAMPIONS 

1. “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” 2005, 

starring Shia LaBeouf, Elias Koteas, 

Stephen Dillane. 

A true underdog story of young amateur Francis Ouimet’s 

(LaBeouf) unlikely 1913 U.S. Open victory against renowned 

Brit Harry Vardon (Dillane) at The Country Club in Brookline. 

Lots of golf action, with a riveting undercurrent of class 

prejudices and lack of support from Ouimet’s father. And 

you’ll want to go to Google to see if Ouimet and Sarah 

eventually married. Even though you know how this ends, it’s 

terrific entertainment. 

2. “Tin Cup,” 1996, starring Kevin Costner, 

Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin. 

Lovable underdog Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy (Costner), a train 

wreck of a human being and failed golfer, qualifies for the U.S. 

Open, where he competes against his arch nemesis Sims 

(Johnson) and competes for the affection of Sims’ girlfriend 

(Russo). A winning romantic comedy with lots of golf and 

inside humor. Plus you’ll love the way she waggles it! 

3. “Caddyshack,” 1980, starring Chevy Chase, 

Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight. 

A classic National Lampoon comedy that evokes laughs no 

matter how many times you’ve seen it. Dangerfield is a riot and 

Knight is spectacularly insufferable, but they and “SNL” 

stars Chase and Murray are upstaged by a gopher. “Whoa. 

Did somebody step on a duck?” 

RUNNERS-UP 

1. “Happy Gilmore,” 1998, starring Adam Sandler, 

Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen with 

memorable contributions by Bob “The Price is 

Right” Barker and Richard “Mr. Larson” Kiel. 

First off, I detest Adam Sandler. His shtick is annoying as 

hell. But this comedy is priceless, equal parts “Caddyshack” 

and “Slap Shot.” The sight gags are sublime and the 

one-liners are hysterical. The stuffy pro tour could 

use more lovable Happy Gilmores and fewer jerkward 

Shooter McGavins. 

2. “Pat and Mike,” 1952, starring Spencer 

Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray. 

Technically, not a golf movie. But there’s a glorious 

pivotal scene featuring Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 

Hepburn’s Pat Pemberton and other women golfers on 

the course. One of Tracy-Hepburn’s best films, the 

chemistry between the stars is undeniable. 

3. “Dorf on Golf,” 1987, Tim Conway, 

Vincent Schiavelli. 

Maybe the Green Head IPAs were talking, but this is 

silly, stupid, dopey, dumb foolishness. I laughed like 

an idiot at the antics of Conway’s diminutive golfer 

and clueless caddie Schiavelli. 

ABLE TO MAKE THE CUT 

1. “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius,” 2004, 

starring Jim Caviezel (The guy from 

“Person of Interest”), Claire Forlani, 

Jeremy Northam. 

2. “Dead Solid Perfect,” 1988, 

starring Randy Quaid, Kathryn Harrold, 

Jack Warden. 

3. “Donald’s Golf Game” and “The 

Honeymooners” “Hello, ball” episode. 

FAILED TO MAKE THE CUT 

1. “A Gentleman’s Game,” 2000, 

starring Mason Gamble, Gary Sinise, 

Philip Baker Hall. 

2. “The Caddy,” 1953, starring Dean Martin, 

Jerry Lewis (despise him more 

than Sandler; and the movie’s a dud), 

Donna Reed. 

3. “The Squeeze,” 2015, starring 

Katherine LaNasa, Michael 

Nouri, Jeremy Sumpter 

DISQUALIFIED 

1. “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” 

2000, starring Matt Damon, 

Will Smith, Charlize Theron. 

New-age mush. An embarrassment. 

The outfits are great though. 

Bill Brotherton is editor of North Shore Golf magazine. Let him know which of these are on your must-watch list or if there’s a film he missed; 

email (bbrotherton@essexmediagroup.com) or comment on North Shore Golf magazine’s Facebook page. Results of this informal poll will be 

reported in our Summer edition. 

NORTH SHORE GOLF


Emmerich brothers 

have major potential 

Gary Larrabee 

garylarrabee.com 

W 

e have had some outstanding brother combinations 

compete on the North Shore and beyond through 

the years. 

Among the best have been the Turners from St. John’s Prep 

and Bass Rocks (both now at Dartmouth), the DiLisios of 

Swampscott and Salem CC, the Mays boys from Masconomet 

and Ferncroft, the Clark twins from Salem High and Beverly 

Golf and Tennis, the Johnsons from Boxford and the Prep. 

And, dating back several decades, there are the O’Keefes 

and Whalleys, both of Lynnfield, the Prep and Colonial. Go 

way back and you must include the Gillis brothers, also from 

Bass Rocks, who became outstanding head professionals, 

NEPGA Hall of Famer Bob at Bass Rocks and Jim at Portland. 

We can’t omit the prominent brother-sister combo the 

Augers of Beverly Golf and Tennis. Robin starred at Bishop 

Fenwick and Albie excelled at the Prep. 

Based on their recent play and unlimited potential, don’t be 

surprised in the least if we add the Emmerich brothers 

of Swampscott, St. Mary’s of Lynn and Kernwood to this 

impressive group of achievers. 

To bring you up to date, Christian, 17, shot a one-under-par 

69 last fall at Wyantenuck Country Club in Great Barrington 

to win the MIAA Division 3 state individual title in 40-degree 

weather and in the process led the Spartans to the Division 

3 state team championship. 

Not to be outdone, Aiden, a 14-year-old eighth grader, was 

equally impressive last fall in winning the Catholic Central 

League individual title with a two-over-par 72 at Larry 

Gannon Municipal in Lynn. The year before he shot 73 and 

finished second by a single shot. 

“They are special kids with special golf potential,” said Jay 

Fiste, their coach at St. Mary’s. “They are all-in dedicated to 

golf. They receive excellent instruction from the professional 

staff at Kernwood. I’m not surprised either of them won those 

individual titles. They both played well all season and shot 

scores around par time after time.” 

Christian and Aiden are actually the second and third 

Emmerich brothers to play for Fiste. Maximilian “Max” 

Emmerich, now playing as a freshman for the McDaniel 

College golf team in Westminster, Maryland, was a major 

Spartans’ contributor before graduating a year ago. 

Christian, a lean 5-foot 10-inch, 130-pounder, has continued 

the recent teenage hold on the Kernwood club championship, 

beating Max for the men’s title last summer, at the same time 

edging Aiden for the Junior club championship. 

STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE 

“My short iron play seems to have carried me quite a bit the 

last couple years,” said Christian, an A student at St. Mary’s 

who works regularly at Kernwood with assistant professional 

Keith Bursey. “I just hope I can keep improving.” 

As solid a short game as Christian has, Aiden, said Fiste, 

“has the best short game of anybody I’ve coached in my nine 

years at St. Mary’s and my five years before that as Lynn 

Classical coach. He can get up and down from anywhere 

because he’s a great putter and an even better chipper. 

“They both have good swings, good all-around games. I see 

them both on upward trajectories for a lot of years.” 

Most important for the time being, Fiste can look forward 

to having Christian, No. 1 in 2017, for one more season 

come September, Aiden, who played No. 2 last fall, for four 

more years. 

Kernwood head pro Frank Dully envisions major success 

for Christian and Aiden. “Kitchy (Christian) is ultra talented 

in my estimation, our youngest men’s club champ ever,” 

said former NEPGA Section champ Dully. “He’s quiet but 

with a fire burning inside to get better; a silent assassin 

in competition. 

“Benny (Aiden) is talented way beyond his years,” Dully 

noted. “Like his brother, he’s willing to practice, practice, 

practice to get better. He’s got the personality of a grownup.” 

“My dad got me started when I was 10, and I’ve been chasing 

my older brothers on the course ever since,” said Aiden, 

the 5-foot 1-inch, 90-pounder who works with Kernwood 

assistant pro Craig Pitman and Dully. “Golf is fun for me, but 

I like competing, too, and I’m not afraid to take chances.” 

Their father, David, who admittedly struggles to break 90, 

is thrilled his three boys have developed into skilled players 

at such a young age. “I’m particularly proud of their dedication 

and focus – all three of them – when there are so many other 

sports they could be playing,” David said. “My plan was to give 

them access to a top-notch golf facility and see what they 

wanted to do. Much to my surprise, after a couple years, they 

all got hooked and they seem to be loving every day of it, 

whether it’s practice for several hours or being on the course, 

And Kernwood is a great course. They’ve decided to make golf 

their lives outside their family and studies.” 

Whether their daughter, Gretchen, 11, embraces her brothers’ 

enthusiasm for the game, only time will tell. 

But for the moment, the Emmerich brothers are the junior 

players to watch around these parts. l 



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>>> SHADES OF GREEN 

WE’RE DRAGGING 

OUR FEET 

ON SLOW-PLAY 

By BOB GREEN 

Does slow play drive you mad? You’re not 

alone. In June, the European PGA Tour 

will use a shot clock at its Austrian 

Open event, known henceforth as The Shot 

Clock Masters. 

Here’s how it’s going to work. 

Every group will be followed by an official 

and a large clock. A player will have 40 

seconds to hit his shot. The first time the 

player exceeds the 40 second limit, he will 

be given a yellow card warning. The second 

offense will draw a red card and one stroke 

penalty. An additional stroke penalty will be 

accessed with each subsequent violation. 

Each player will be allowed two timeouts, 

which will give him twice the allotted time to 

hit his shot. 

Players who are penalized will have a red 

card posted next to their name on all 

scoreboards. 

The European Tour experimented using a 

shot clock last May in a team event. Only one 

player was penalized. 

The hope is this will cut the time of rounds 

by 45 minutes, to 4 hours per threesome. 

Tour pros strongly endorse the 

experiment. Lee Westwood called it “a 

brilliant idea and long overdue.” 

Slow play, of course, is not just a problem 

at your local clubs, but a big problem on the 

world’s highest level professional tours. 

On the PGA Tour, rounds typically take five 

hours per threesome. 

Tremendous scrutiny, and a great deal of 

criticism, accompanied J.B. Holmes’ delay 

in hitting his second shot on the 72nd hole 

at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance 

Open in late January. 

J.B. took 4 minutes and 10 seconds to hit 

the shot! 

All the while, TV cameras were focused on 

him discussing club selection with his 

caddie. He needed to make an eagle to tie 

for the lead. Incredibly, after what seemed 

like an hour delay, J.B. decided to lay up and 

try to hole a 90-yard pitch shot instead of 

going for the green in two. A resulting par 

left him two shots out of a playoff. 

Thousands took to social media to express 

their outrage. Many tour players criticized 

J.B. for the delay and also slammed the 

PGA Tour for not penalizing him or at least 

addressing the problem. 

Some players defended J.B., but they were 

a minority. 

Have many slow play penalties been 

assessed on the PGA Tour? Actually, the 

Tour penalized a player in the 2017 Zurich 

Classic, a team event. The guilty party 

exceeded the 40 second limit twice. Before 

that, the last penalty assessed was in the 

1995 Honda Classic when Glen “All” Day was 

penalized one stroke 

Common sense says there have been 

more than two incidents of slow play in the 

past 22 years on the PGA Tour. So why 

haven’t more penalties been assessed? 

We’ve heard a number of reasons: 

1. Groups are given a warning if they are 

“out of position” in relationship to the 

group in front of them. 

2. They are playing for millions of 

dollars (they are) 

3. The courses are difficult and greens 

are very fast (also true) 

4. Penalties can impact income and 

subsequently have an impact on 

qualifying for Ryder and Presidents 

cups, eligibility to receive invitations 

to World Golf Championship events, 

Masters invitations, etc. 

Should the major tours, along with 

the USGA, be responsible for setting the 

example on pace of play? 

European Tour executives, when asked if 

the shot clock would be implemented at 

more events, said it would be utilized only 

for the event in June because it is “too labor 

intensive to do every event.” 

Worldwide media outlets will be focused 

on the tournament and, hopefully, send a 

powerful message to all golfers, from tour 

players to those at clubs across the globe. 

Pace of play affects most sports. The NBA 

has had a shot clock for 32 years. This year, 

Major League Baseball is trying to address 

the length of games by limiting mound visits 

and time between pitches. 

Kudos to the European Tour for shining a 

spotlight on one of the major threats to our 

game: slow play. More than 3 million golfers 

quit the game every year and I’m sure a 

large percentage of those cite how long it 

takes to play. 

There are several causes for slow 

play at the club level: 

1. Players take too long to play 

2. Players hit from the wrong set of 

tee markers 

3. Heavy rough 

4. Overcrowding, due to poor course 

management 

Overcrowding occurs when tee time 

intervals are less than 10 minutes. 

Busy courses are trying to maximize their 

revenue by having seven- or eight-minute 

intervals, thus getting more players on the 

course to bring in more money. However, 

they are shooting themselves in the foot. 

Interval times under 10 minutes is a formula 

for slow play, especially when there is a par 

3 in the first three or four holes. If a course 

has consistent slow play, players will find 

other courses to play. 

According to the USGA’s Dean Knuth, the 

Pope of Slope, “it only takes an hour to ‘play’ 

18 holes, the remaining time is Logistical 

Positioning, getting to the next shots with 

the right equipment.” 

Ways to combat slow play are varied, 

depending on the type of course. If you are 

out of position at a public course, your group 

might be told to skip holes until you regain 

your correct position, or you might be 

refunded your green fee and told to leave. 

It can be more complicated for private 

courses. At Castle Pines in Colorado, there 

is a Pace of Play Board that shows the 

names of players in a group, start time, 

>>> 



OUR COURSES ARE LOCATED IN LYNN, NORTH READING AND BEVERLY 

finish time and the number of minutes a group is behind the 

previous group. If that time is more than 10 minutes and more 

than the prescribed pace, the Golf Committee sends a slow play 

warning letter to the players. 

A second warning letter gets them suspended from playing 

morning rounds on weekends! 

Of course, I’ve never heard a golfer admit he or she is a 

slow player. 

The results of a Golf Digest 

“Rate your Pace of Play” poll: 

How would you rate your own pace of play? 

Fast - 57.8% 

Average - 37.4% 

Slow - 4.8% 

How would you rate most golfers’ pace of play? 

Slow - 56.2% 

Average - 41.8 

Fast - 2.0 % 

So, what can you do to help alleviate the problem? As 

Dean Knuth says, work on improving your logistical positioning, 

have the right equipment in hand and be ready to play when it’s 

your turn. 

Also, play from the appropriate tees. Check out the Play it 

Forward distance guidelines online. The tees you play should be 

based on how far you hit a tee shot. 

And keep up to the group in front of you. 

During one of Knuth’s on-course studies at Torrey Pines in San 

Diego, he approached groups that he determined were way out 

of position. He introduced himself as being from the USGA and 

that he had “determined they were a slow group.” 

Most were shocked and denied it, saying “I’ve never been told 

I'm slow and don’t believe it.” 

Many others said “I paid good money to enjoy my round and I 

deserve to take as much time as I need.” 

So what’s the answer? 

I think those of us who teach the game to beginners should 

include pace of play in our curriculums. I’m not sure that’s done 

to the extent it needs to be at that stage of becoming a golfer. 

There are many parts to the game that need to be learned 

before heading to the course for that initial round, and pace of 

play might be the most important. 

My sister-in-law, who lives in Florida, took up 

the game several years ago. I gave her two pieces 

of advice: 

1. A beginner should invest more in instruction 

than equipment 

2. Play fast. If you walk into the grill room and announce 

“I’m a slow player and I’m looking for a game today,” 

everyone will run. Conversely, if you play fast, everyone 

will enjoy playing with you regardless of your ability. 

Every golfer has a responsibility to help alleviate the problem. 

Golf can not afford to lose so many players because of something 

that’s preventable. 

Maybe we should put shot clocks on every hole? 

Do you have any suggestions? l 

Bob Green is beginning his 40th year as the head golf professional at Tedesco 

Country Club in Marblehead. Write to him at bgreen@tedescocc.org 

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NORTH SHORE GOLF


MY MENTOR 

HOW A ROCK ’N’ ROLL 

WRITER AND A MAN 

TWICE HIS AGE BONDED 

OVER GOLF 

Wilton Villetto 

By JIM SULLIVAN 

I have a group of golf friends here around Boston. But when 

my mother was alive, I’d often vacation in Sarasota, Florida, 

where she, a Maine transplant, was a snowbird. I’d play 

virtually every day. Most of my golf friends there were 

impermanent – and that’s fine, the nature of the game when 

joining a group - but there was one who was not. 

His name was Wilton Villetto and he exited this world on 

Sept. 26, 2010, five-and-a-half years after I last saw him. He 

was 85 and his heart and kidneys failed him. 

I met Wilton when I was 37 and he 68. Most of our time 

together was spent at the now defunct Forest Lakes Country 

Club. It was built in 1964 – the late pro QB Otto Graham, a 

co-owner, lived off the course, as did my mother. It snaked 

its way in and around a condo association. But it was razed 

in 2008 after the economic crash - it became this overgrown 

wasteland - and was refurbished under new ownership 

only a few years ago as The Palms Golf Course at 

Forest Lakes. 

My mother lived just off the first green, so I was a 

walk-on. Wilton and I both aimed to tee off around 

1 p.m. We met by that happenstance and, in that 

opposites-attract way, took a liking to each other. He 

liked what might be called my “potential” and maybe 

saw himself as my golf mentor, which he became 

from the early ’90s through the mid-aughts. 

Over our time together, the man consistently shot 

under or around his age. I talked with his son, Jack, 

recently and he said Wilton was shooting in the high 70s the 

year he died, sort of the golf equivalent of dying with your 

boots on. 

Forest Lakes was a well-groomed, semi-private, par 71 

course. I played it so much I can walk the holes in my mind, 

taking virtual shots, even now. It was Florida-flat, but it had 

no gators lying in wait by the ponds, unlike some of the other 

courses we played. 

While I could generally drive the ball past Wilton, I was 

playing catch-up the rest of the hole (or for that matter, round). 

I’d be scrambling to break 90 and he’d be heading for another 

round in the high 60s or low 70s. He could still do that the last 

time we played in March 2005. 

Why all this skill in a wiry, little old man? 

We got to talking, as players will. 

I learned he had been a New York State Amateur champion 

Jim Sullivan 

in the late ’70s, and he had the best short game of anyone I’d 

ever played with. He might drive the ball 225 yards, but it was 

always on the short grass, down the middle. An approach shot, 

a chip and a putt – up and down – simple as pie. 

Wilton was a gregarious, gruff-voiced fellow. He was short 

(maybe 5-foot-5), bowlegged (scurvy), tattooed, with a little 

gray mustache and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He was a 

former sailor who had lied about his age to join the Navy to 

fight in World War II. He about built and owned a golf course 

in Fishkill, N.Y. He owned a wallpaper factory in New Jersey, 

too. If this meant he had money, it never really factored into 

our world. He knew I was a writer with the Boston Globe and 

covered music and pop culture, but work talk wasn’t much part 

of what we did. 

I could hit the ball straight and long (ish) – sometimes. I 

could chip and putt like a demon - sometimes. But I didn’t play 

every day year-round and thus suffered the vagaries 

of most golfers with “potential” – inconsistency. 

I was, and remain, a bogey man, give or take a few 

shots. Broke 80 once. Broke 100 more than once. I’m 

happy in the low-mid 80s. Wilton never intruded 

with advice on my swing, but he paid attention and 

when I’d hit some particular rut I’d look to him and 

he’d generally know what I was doing wrong – not 

shifting weight, stance, grip, follow-through, whatever 

and make suggestions. He was a model of consistency 

in his game and he tried to impart that to me. 

Sometimes, I’d curse myself and go into an end-of-the-world 

funk. Wilton would ever-so-gently remind me: “Every day 

above ground is a good day.” (I think a lot about that now, with 

him gone.) As crappy a day as you might be having, it was 

golf. What did it matter in the grand scheme of things? You 

loved the game. You weren’t at the office. You’ll be back at it 

tomorrow. You’ll probably even work out the slump later in 

the round. (This was often true.) 

He’d get mad at himself, too, sometimes. He had higher 

standards than I. He wanted to break par every time out. He’d 

mutter “Wilton!” or “You old fool!” on the rare occasion that 

he chunked one. Golfers compete, yes, but they always play 

against themselves, too. Wilton was a perfectionist. He’d 

accepted that he wasn’t a long hitter anymore, and he worked 

relentlessly on his short game. But he wasn’t a machine and I 

>>> P. 25 

TOP PHOTO: Courtesy of the Villetto family 

Do you have a mentor from golf who made a difference in your life? Please let NS Golf editor 

Bill Brotherton know at bbrotherton@essexmediagroup.com and your story might be 

featured in a future issue. 



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NORTH SHORE GOLF


NSG 

Q&A 

FRONT9with former Bruins 

goaltender REGGIE LEMELIN 

By BRION O'CONNOR 

Ferncroft was my first 

country club that I joined 

when I moved to Boston in '87. 

~REGGIE LEMELIN 

” 

James Motzkin Sr. 



For many longtime hockey fans, the 

lasting memory of former Bruins 

goaltender Réjean “Reggie” Lemelin 

is his one-knee fist pump after he and his 

Boston squad shattered the dreaded 

Montreal Canadiens playoff jinx in 1988. 

Lemelin joined Boston at the beginning 

of that 1987-88 season, and moved to West 

Peabody. The Quebec native would finish his 

14-year NHL career with the Bruins in 1993, 

amassing 236 regular season wins and 23 

more in the playoffs. He was an all-star in 

1988-89, and shared the William Jennings 

Trophy for fewest goals allowed with 

teammate Andy Moog the following year. 

Lemelin, with traces of his native 

French Canadian accent, an easy smile and 

unmistakable twinkle in his eye, is a natural 

storyteller. After seven years at The Golf Club 

at Turner Hill in Ipswich, Lemelin is the new 

membership ambassador at Ferncroft Country 

Club in Danvers, joining the staff last fall. 

“Reggie’s such a great guy,” said Ferncroft 

head PGA professional Philip Leiss. “We’re 

happy to have him on board.” 

North Shore Golf: When did 

you come on board at Ferncroft? 

Lemelin: Around September. I did a couple 

of tournaments there during the summer. 

I’ve been in the business since 2009, 

working at Turner Hill. So I know a lot of 

players. The pro there, Phil Leiss, is a good 

friend of mine. And I’d known the owners 

a little bit before. So we got talking. 

What is your role as 

membership ambassador? 

It’s more about helping out with the 

marketing and the promotional aspect of 

things. Obviously, I am asked to recruit new 

members, but I also do some membership 

events. It’s always interesting to meet 

new people. 

>>> P. 28 

PHOTO: Spenser Hasak 

NORTH SHORE GOLF


SPRING GOLF 

ON THE NORTH 

SHORE 

24 >>> SPRING 2018 

PHOTOS BY 

SPENSER HASAK 

Before the snow arrived, 

North Shore golfers in 

February got an early 

start on the season. 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 

John DiVincenzo walks toward his tee 

shot on the first hole at Far Corner Golf 

Course; the foursome of Max Berry 

and Mike Estey of Salem and Erin and 

A.J. Robinson of Lynn walk toward the 

eighth green at Middleton Golf Course; 

Frank Woods of Saugus plans his next 

shot on the seventh hole of Middleton 

Golf Course; Golf balls fly off the tees 

at Golf Country in Middleton; Carol 

Hayes of Danvers makes her way 

down picturesque fourth hole at 

Cape Ann Golf Club.


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16. Vesper CC, Tyngsboro 

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MY MENTOR >>> CONTINUED FROM P. 20 

suppose I secretly enjoyed it when 

he briefly got off-track, never for long. 

Probably the worst game he ever played 

might have been in the high 80s. 

I went through a short period of 

shanking – the most damnable of golf 

maladies, where on a short chip you 

inexplicably hit the ball off the hosel and 

it scoots way right, on the ground. It’s an 

ugly, score-killing shot. It’s embarrassing 

and humiliating. It’s also insidious. You do 

it once; it gets in your head next time you 

line up that short shot. After a couple of 

days of this, Wilton drove me to a nearby 

course’s chipping area. He worked with 

me tirelessly for a couple of hours, getting 

me physically and mentally in sync. When 

we went back out, I repeated good shot 

after good shot. 

We almost always played for something 

– usually match, with the loser buying the 

post-game beer. He always gave me 

strokes. We’d I always try to balance it 

fairly – how I’d been playing vs. how he’d 

been playing – and I’d say, even given that, 

I lost four out of five times. But I had a 

hard time paying for drinks. He’d just 

about always pick up the tab against my 

futile protests. 

I felt his presence last summer. I’d 

be out on the fairway, on a par 5 with a 

long wood shot to the green. For some 

reason, this was the kind of shot he 

steadied me on and I would keep my 

head down, repeat this silent “Wilton” 

mantra in my head, and swing through. 

I hit those shots pretty well now, and at 

some level I think Wilton’s right there 

with me. l 

Jim Sullivan covered pop music and culture for 

the Boston Globe for 26 years. He’s been playing golf 

since age 12, never shying away from it, but publicly 

coming out as a golfer in a Globe story in 1996. 

(Once, golf and rock ‘n’ roll were considered “uncool” 

together.) He tries to play once or twice a week 

in-season, mostly at Newton Commonwealth, a hop, 

skip and jump from his Coolidge Corner home. 

He has been 3 inches from the cup on a par 3 several 

times, but never had a hole-in-one. He currently 

writes for WBUR’s ARTery, the Cape Cod Times 

and BestClasicBands.com among others and hosts 

the video/podcast show Boston Rock/Talk. 

NORTH SHORE GOLF


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North Shore Golf’s 

ahead of the curve 

FAR CORNER GOLF 

 

 

 

 

In the Spring 2017 issue of North Shore Golf, 

Bob Green in his Shades of Green column 

asked whether today’s golf balls go too far. 

It appears the Tedesco CC head pro was 

onto something. 

The PGA of America this month sent out a 

three-question survey to its 29,000+ men and 

woman PGA pros. 

1. Do you believe that increases in distance 

are detrimental to the health of the game? 

2. Do you believe that advances in golf ball 

technology have been beneficial or 

detrimental to our efforts to grow the game? 

 

 

FarCornerGolf.com • 978-352-8300 

A member of Bill Flynn’s Golf Course Management and Development Inc. 

3. Would you be in favor of or opposed to a 

rollback of the golf ball? 

The USGA reports that data from seven 

worldwide professional tours show that the 

average distance gain was more than 3 yards 

since 2016. 

According to statistics on pgatour.com, in 

1980, Dan Pohl was the tour leader with an 

average of 274.3 yards. Dustin Johnson led 

the tour in 2015, averaging 317.7 yards. That’s 

a difference of 43.4 yards. Where did those 

yards come from? 

Green in his column cited many factors 

playing a role. You can read his original 

column here: 

northshoregolfmagazine.com/shades-ofgreen-has-the-golf-ball-gone-too-far/ 

Some are leading the charge to scale back 

the ball, or even to have all tour players play a 

scaled back version of the same ball. 

Green opines: All because 1/20th of 

1 percent of the world’s golfers hit the ball 

300 yards? They’re worried about the classic 

courses becoming obsolete? To who? 

300 tour players? 

Let us know what you think. 

Here’s the USGA’s “Distance Report”: 

usga.org/content/usga/homepage/ 

articles/2018/03/2017-distance-report.html 

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NORTH SHORE GOLF


LEMELIN >>> CONTINUED FROM P. 23 

Why was Ferncroft a good fit? 

Well, I wasn’t doing anything (laughing). I had been working 

in the golf business and am an avid golfer. I love the game and 

love to be around it. Ferncroft was my first country club that I 

joined when I moved to Boston in '87. I was a member there for 

five years. So it’s still in my heart. Due to the fact that I was 

available, it was perfect. It just fell into place. 

Any specific plans for Ferncroft? 

It’s always about promoting the membership. There’s good 

membership there, but it’s not at capacity. We're always trying 

to bring in good people, people who are going to be active and 

be part of the family. There are so many different memberships 

over there now. They have a nice health club, and the pool, and 

an area where the kids can play. It’s very family-oriented. We 

have a nice executive course also. Seven holes back there, par 

three, which is great for a family. We also have an academy 

membership, which is for beginners. People can come once a 

week, and our instructors will do different things with them – 

chipping, putting, hitting the ball. Then, after the first year, 

these people have the fundamentals. 

How long have you played golf? 

I’ve golfed since I was about 14 years old. As a kid, I started to 

caddy (in Lac Beauport, Quebec) to make a few bucks. And 

then, within a short while, I realized that I didn’t want to be the 

one carrying the bag. So I started to play instead. And the year 

after, I started working at the pro shop. I was playing major 

junior hockey at the time, so that’s what I was doing in the 

summer. Then I got drafted by the Flyers, and that was it. 

Have you ever compared the challenges of 

hockey and golf? Which do you think is tougher? 

If you start doing something as a kid, and you’re doing it all 

the time, you get talented at it. With goaltending, I didn't really 

master the craft until I had already been playing pro for four, 

five years. I never felt like I was a solid, Number 1 goaltender 

until I was 29, 30 years old. My last 10 years, from say 28 to 38, 

when I retired, I felt extremely confident that I was capable of 

playing at an elite level. 

Golf, for me, is not natural. I didn’t start young with the 

fundamentals. I was a self-taught golfer. You can play and 

practice and do the best you can, but you're going to hit a wall 

where you just can’t any better. My best handicap was probably 

5 or 6. Now that I'm older, I'm more like a 10. I’ve lost distance. 

But not having the real fundamentals of the game, that’s why 

you can’t hit the ball as far anymore. There are guys who are in 

their 60s who are on the tour, and they’re professional, and they 

still hit the ball almost 300 yards. 

With golf, you’ve got to do the same thing, over and over. And 

that’s hard to do. If you’re off a little bit, or your hips are ahead 

a little bit, or you turn too early, or you hit the ball a fraction 

offline, it can mean a 20-, 30-yard mistake, and now you’re in 

trouble. I’ve played with a lot of really good players. The ones 

who can control their emotions and accept the fact that they’re 

human and they are going to miss some shots, and concentrate 

on their recovery and rebounding to the next hole, are the ones 

who succeed the most. 

It seems like many hockey players are good golfers. 

Do you see a connection? 

Yeah, we have our summers off (laughing). 

How about the camaraderie? That’s why so many 

older hockey players keep going to the rink. It's as 

much about the locker room, sharing stories. 

Do you see a comparison? 

Well, in the dressing room, you can let loose a little more 

because you’re behind closed doors. When you’re in the 

clubhouse, you have to be a little bit more careful. But it’s the 

same idea. You become much closer when you’re part of a team. 

You go on the road with these guys, and they became your 

brothers. You know everybody’s life, the things they do, the way 

they act, what they did the day before. So it’s not quite the same 

camaraderie as your buddies that you go golfing once a 

week with. 

>>> P. 32 

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Knowing how nerve-racking goaltending can be, were 

you ever nervous in goal? And are you ever nervous 

playing golf, especially in tournament play? 

Oh, yeah, I got really nervous playing goal. I remember a game 

in my last year of junior. We were playing Montreal, in the 

Quebec Major Junior League, and it was a playoff game and 

it was my draft year. And this team was much better. I 

remember being almost sick, just thinking about the game and 

wanting to do well. We did win, 4-3, and there were a lot of 

scouts there, and that helped me going into the draft. But as 

I mastered my skills, by the time I was 29 and felt really 

good about myself, I was not that nervous. When you get to the 

Stanley Cup finals, you do feel it, until game time. But once you 

get into the game, it all disappears. You just do what you have 

to do, and your instincts take over. 



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NS GOLF /// COURSE DIRECTORY 

PRIVATE CLUBS 

Andover Country Club 

60 Canterbury St., Andover, MA 01810 

andovercountryclub.com; 978-475-1263 

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essexcc.org; 978-526-7311 

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58 Brickett Lane, Haverhill, MA 01831 

haverhillcc.com; 978-373-1146 

Golf Professional Jason Dufresne 


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indianridgecountryclub.us; 978-475-9484 

Golf Professional Mike Miller 


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148 Country Club Way, Ipswich, MA 01938 

ipswichclub.com; 978-356-3999 

Golf Professional Daniel R. Dwyer 


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Golf Professional Frank Dully 


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longmeadowgolfclub.com; 978-441-1542 

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Golf Professional Steve Sheridan 


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141 Staples St., Lowell, MA 01851 

mpgc.com; 978-452-8228 

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salemcountryclub.org; 978-538-5400 

Golf Professional Kevin Wood 


Tedesco Country Club 

154 Tedesco St., Marblehead, MA 01945 

tedescocc.org; 781-631-2800 

Golf Professional Robert Green 


Thomson Country Club 

2 Mid Iron Drive, North Reading, MA 01864 

thomsoncc.com; 978-664-2016 

Golf Professional Christopher Young 


The Golf Club at Turner Hill 

3 Manor House Lane, Ipswich, MA 01938 

turnerhill.com; 978-356-7070 

Golf Professionals: Nate Hopley and 

Mike Brown; Slope 138; Rating 75.1 

Vesper Country Club 

185 Pawtucket Blvd., 

Tyngsborough, MA 01879 

vespercc.com; 978-458-8731 

Golf Professional Stephen Doyle 


Winchester Country Club 

468 Mystic St., Winchester, MA 01890 

winchestercc.org; 781-729-1181 

Golf Professional Jim Salinetti 


Winthrop Golf Club 

453 Main St., Winthrop, MA 02152 

winthropgolf.com; 617-799-1455 

Golf Professional Jim Bruce 


PUBLIC CLUBS 

Amesbury Golf and Country Club 

46 Monroe St., Amesbury, MA 

978-388-5153 amesburycountryclub.com; 

9 holes. Club Pro Butch Mellon; Tee times: 

5 days in advance; Fee for 9 holes: $20/$21 

weekday/weekend; Fee for 18 holes: 

$30/$32 weekday/weekend; Cart rental: $15 

per person for 18 holes $7.50 per person for 

9 holes; Yards 6,095; Slope 125; Rating 70.5 

Beverly Golf & Tennis Club 

SEE OUR AD ON PAGE 19 

134 McKay St., Beverly, MA; 978-922-9072 

ext. 111, beverlygolfandtennis.net; 18 holes. 

Golf Professional Dave Dionne; Tee times: 

6 days in advance (members), 5 days in 

advance (non-members); Fee for 18 holes: 

$40/$45 weekday/weekend; Cart 

rental: $16 per person for 18 holes; 

Yards 6,276; Slope 126; Rating 70.8 

Black Swan Country Club 

258 Andover St., Georgetown, MA; 

978-352-7926, blackswancountryclub.com; 

18 holes. Director of Golf: Dave Trull; 

Golf Professional Jason Greene 

Tee times: 6 days in advance; Fee for 9/18 

holes: $26/$45 weekday, $29/$54 weekends; 

Cart rental: $19 for 18 holes; 

Yards 6,803; Slope 129; Rating: 72.9 

Bradford Country Club 

201 Chadwick Road, Bradford, MA 

978-372-8587; bradfordcc.com; 18 holes 

Club Pro: Kevin Murphy; Tee times: 5 days 

in advance (online tee times also available); 

Fee for 9/18 holes: $19/$34 weekdays, 

$23/$44 weekends; Cart rental: $20 per 

person for 18 holes; Yards: 6,157; 


Candlewood Golf Course 

75 Essex Road, Ipswich, MA; 978-356-5377 

candlewoodgolf.net; 9 holes; Tee times: no; 

Fee for 9/18 holes: $16/$21 weekday, 

$17/$22 weekend; Cart rental: $14 for 9 

holes; Yards: 2,075; Slope N/A; Rating N/A 

Cape Ann Golf Club 

99 John Wise Ave., Essex, MA 

978-768-7544; capeanngolf.com; 9 holes; 

Club manager: Jim Stavros; Tee times: 5 

days in advance; Fee for 9/18 holes: 

$25/$38 everyday; Cart rentals: $11 per 

rider for 9 holes; Yards 5,862; Slope 119; 

Rating 68.3 

Cedar Glen Golf Course 

60 Water St., Saugus, MA; 781-233-3609 

cedarglengolf.com; 9 holes.Club manager: 

Burton Page; Tee times: no; Fee for 9/18 

holes: $21 ($18 seniors/juniors)/$35 weekdays, 

$23/$38 weekend; Cart rental: $18 for 

9 holes; Yards 6,050; Slope 107; Rating 66.7 

Chelmsford Country Club 

66 Park Road, Chelmsford, MA 

978-256-1818; sterlinggolf.com/chelmsford; 

9 holes.Club pro: Gary Burke; Tee times: 4 

days in advance; Fee for 9/18 holes: 

$19/$26 weekday, $22/$30 weekend; 

Cart rental: $16 for 18 holes; Yards: 4,934; 

Slope 108, Rating 64.6 

Country Club of Billerica 

51 Baldwin Road, Billerica, MA 

978-667-9121 ext. 22; 

countryclubofbillerica.com; 18 holes. 

Club Pro: Ed O’Connell; Tee times: 5 days 

in advance; Fee 9/18 holes: $22/$35 

weekday, $25/$40 weekend; 

Cart rental: $17 per person for 18 holes; 


Country Club of New Hampshire 


187 Kearsarge Valley Road, 

North Sutton, N.H.; 603-927-4246; 

ccnh@golfmanagementco.com; 18 holes; 

Fee for 9/18 holes: $20/$36 weekday, 

$25/$45 weekend; Cart rental: $17 

per person for 18 holes; Yards 6256; 

Slope 126, Rating 70.3 

Crystal Lake Golf Club 

940 North Broadway, Haverhill, MA 

978-374-9621; golfcrystallake.com; 18 holes. 

Club pro: none; Tee times: 10 days in advance 

for members, 7 days in advance for public; 

Fees: 18 holes $28 weekdays, $37 weekends; 

Cart rental: $18 for 18 holes; Yards 6,525; 


Evergreen Valley Golf Course 

18 Boyd Drive, Newburyport, MA; 

978-463-8600; evergreenvalleygolf.com; 

9 holes. Tee times: no; Fee for 9/18 holes: 

$13/$25 everyday; Cartrental: $14 for 9 holes; 


Far Corner Golf Course 


5 Barker Road, Boxford, MA; 978-352-8300 

farcornergolf.com; 27 holes. 

Club pro: John O’Connor; Tee times: 5 days 

in advance; Fee for 9/18 holes: $23/$41 

weekday, $27/$47 weekend; Cart rental: $18 

per person for 18 holes; Yards: 6,711; 

Slope: 130; Rating: 72.9; Third 9 Holes: 


Four Oaks CC 


1 Clubhouse Lane, Dracut, MA 01826 

fouroakscountryclub.com; 978-455-0054 

Golf Professional Anthony Martinho; Tee times: 

6 days in advance; Fee 9/18 holes: $24/$41 


per person for 18 holes; Yards 6,268; 


Gannon Municipal Golf Club 


60 Great Woods Road, Lynn, MA; 7 

81-592-8238; gannongolfclub.com; 18 holes. 

Club Pro: David Sibley; Tee times: 2 days in 

advance after 6 p.m.; Nonresident 

fee for 9/18 holes: $22/$39 weekday, $24/$47 

weekend; Cart rental: $18 per person for 18 

holes; Yards 6,110; Slope 123; Rating 70.2 

Hickory Hill Golf Club 

200 North Lowell St., Methuen, MA; 

978-686-0822; golfhickoryhill.com; 18 holes. 

Director of Golf: Don Myles; Tee times: every 

day; Fee: 18 holes: $42 Mon.-Thurs., $45 

Fri., $52 Sat.-Sun.; Cart rental: $18 per person 

for 18 holes; Yards 6,287; Slope: 123; 

Rating: 70.8 



NS GOLF /// COURSE DIRECTORY 

PUBLIC COURSES, continued 

Hillview Golf Course 


149 North St., North Reading, MA; 

978-664-4435; hillviewgc.com; 18 holes. 

Golf Professional: Chris Carter; Tee times: 

3 days in advance; Fee for 9/18 holes: 

$22/$40 Weekday, $25/$43 weekend; 

Cart rental: $16 per rider for 18 holes; 


King Rail Reserve Golf Course 


427 Walnut St., Lynnfield, MA; 

781-334-4643; lynnfieldgolf.com; 

9 holes. Club Pro: Eddie Whalley; Fees 

for 9/18 holes: $21/$31 weekday, $22/$44 

weekend; Cart rental: $9 per person for 

9 holes; Yards 3,460; Slope 112; 

Rating 63.6 

The Meadow at Peabody 

80 Granite St., Peabody, MA; 

978-532-9390 

peabodymeadowgolf.com; 18 holes. 

Director of Golf: Peter Cronan; Tee times: 

3 days in advance; Nonresident fee 

for 9/18 holes: $21/$40 weekday,$26/$47 

weekend; Cart rental: $10 per person 

for 9 holes; Yards 6,708; Slope 135; 

Rating 73.7 

Merrimack Valley Golf Club 

210 Howe St., Methuen, MA; 

978-685-9717 

merrimackvalleygolfclub.com; 18 holes. 

Club Pro: George Kattar; Tee times: 7 

days in advance; Fee for 9/18 holes: $23/$38 

weekday, $28/$48 weekend; Cart rental: 

$18 per person for 18 holes; Yards 6,012; 


Middleton Golf Course 


105 S. Main St., Middleton, MA; 

978-774-4075; middletongolf.com; 18 holes. 

Club Pro: Chris Costa; Tee times: 1 week in 

advance; Fee for 9/18 holes: $23/$36 

daily; Cart rental: $12 per person for 18 holes; 

Yards 3,215; Slope N/A; Rating N/A 

Mount Hood Golf Club 


100 Slayton Rd., Melrose, MA; 

781-665-6656 

mthoodgolfclub.com; 18 holes 

Club Pro: Mike Farrell; Tee times: 5 days in 

advance; Nonresident fee for 9/18 holes: 

$25/$43 weekday, $50 for 18 on a weekend; 


Murphy’s Garrison Par 3 

654 Hilldale Ave., Haverhill, MA; 978-374-938 

garrisongolf.com; 9 holes; Club Pro: Ted Murphy; 

Tee times: no; Fee for 9 holes: $11 weekday, 

$12 weekend; Yards 1,005; Slope N/A; 

Rating N/A 

Nahant Golf Club 

1 Willow Road, Nahant, MA; 781-581-9000 

nahantgolfclub.com; 9 holes. 

Golf Professional: Toby Ahern; Tee times: 3 

days in advance; Non-resident fee for 9 holes: 

$18 weekday, $21 weekend; Cart rental: $12 

for 9 holes; Yards 3,910; Slope: 104; 

Rating 61.0 

New Meadows Golf Club 

32 Wildes Road, Topsfield, MA; 978-887-9307 

newmeadowsgolf.com; 9 holes. 

Club Manager: Gerry Peckerman; Tee times: 

yes; Fee for 9 holes: $19 weekday, $22 

weekend; Cart Rental: $9 per person for 9 

holes, $15 per person for 18 holes; 


Olde Salem Greens 

75 Wilson St., Salem, MA; 978-744-2149; 

9 holes; Club Manager: Scott McDonald; Tee 

times: 1 day in advance weekday, 2 days on 

weekend; Non-resident fee for 9 holes: $20 

weekday/$21 weekend; Cart rental: $13 for 9 

holes; Yards 3089; Slope 121; Rating 69.4 

Ould Newbury Golf Club 


319 Newburyport Turnpike, Newbury, MA; 

978-465-9888; ouldnewbury.com; 9 holes; 

Club Pro: Jim Hilton; Tee Times: No; Fee for 

9/18 holes: $25/$38 weekday, private play on 

weekend; Car Rental: $10 per person for 9 

holes; Yards 6,230; Slope 128; Rating 71.0 

Reedy Meadow At Lynnfield Centre 


195 Summer St., Lynnfield, MA; 781-334-9877 

Lynnfieldgolf.com; 9 holes; Club Pro: 

Donnie Lyons; Tee times: no; Fee for 9/18 

holes: $20/$30 weekday, $21/$31 weekend; 

Cart rental: $8 for 9 holes per person; 


Rockport Golf Club 

Country Club Road, Rockport, MA; 

978-546-3340; rockportgolfclub.net/; 9 holes. 

Club Pro: Stephen Clayton; Tee times: 1 day 


everyday; Cart rental: $13 for 9 holes; 


Rolling Green Golf Course 

311 Lowell St., Andover, MA; 978-475-4066; 

9 holes; Club pro: none; Tee times: no; Fee for 

9 holes: $16 weekday, $17 weekend; Pull cart 

rental: $3 for 9 holes; Yards 1,500; Slope N/A; 

Rating N/A 

Rowley Country Club 

235 Dodge Road, Rowley, MA; 978-948-2731 

rowleycountryclub.com; 9 holes. 

Club Pro: Darin Chin-Aleong; fee for 9/18 

holes: $21/$33 weekday, $23/$35 weekend; 

Cart rental: $19 for 9 holes for tworiders; 


Sagamore Spring Golf Course 

1287 Main St., Lynnfield, MA; 781-334-3151 

sagamoregolf.com; 18 holes; Club Pro: 

Steve Vaughn; Tee times: 7 days in advance; 

Fee for 9/18 holes: $27/$45 weekday, $29/$52 

weekend; Cart rental: $12 for 9 holes per 

person; Yards 5,914; Slope 124; Rating 68.8 

Stoneham Oaks 

101 R. Montvale Ave., Stoneham, MA; 

781-438-7888; stonehamoaks.com; 

9 holes.Club Pro: Jeff Barnes; Tee times: no; 

Non-resident fees for 9 holes: $16 weekday, 

$18 weekend; Cart rental: $9 per person 

for 9 holes; Yards 1,125; 

Slope N/A; 

Rating N/A 

Swanson Meadows GC 

216 Rangeway Road, Billerica, MA; 

978-670-7777swansonmeadows.com; 9 holes. 

Club Pro: none; Tee times: 7 days in advance; 

Fee for 9 holes: $22 weekday,$25 weekend; 

Cart rental: $11 per person; Yards 4,486; 


Tewksbury Country Club 

1880 Main St., Tewksbury, MA; 978-640-0033 

tewksburycc.com; 9 holes; Club Pro: 

Mike Rogers; Tee times: Friday-Sunday 2 days 


weekday, $26/$42 weekend; 

Cart rental: $11 per person for 9 holes; 


Trull Brook Golf Course 

170 River Rd., Tewksbury, MA; 978-851-6731 

trullbrook.com; 18 holes; Club Pro: Al Santos; 

Tee times: 7 days in advance; Fee for 18 holes: 

$42 weekday, $53 weekend; Cart rental: $18 



Tyngsboro Country Club 

80 Pawtucket Blvd., Tyngsboro, MA; 

978-649-7334; 9 holes. 

Tee times:5 days in advance for weekends; 

Fee for 9 holes: $17 weekday, $19 weekend; 



Unicorn Golf Course 

460 Williams St., Stoneham, MA; 

781-438-9732; unicorngc.com; 9 holes. 

Club Pro: Jeff Barnes; Tee times: no; 

Nonresident fee for 9 holes: $22 weekday/ 

$24 weekend; Cart rental: $9 per person; 


Wenham Country Club 


94 Main St., Wenham, MA; 978-468-4714 

wenhamcountryclub.com; 18 holes. 

Club Pro: Ryan McDonald; Tee times: 

weekends only; Fee for 9/18 holes: $23.50/$38 




Windham Country Club 

1 Country Club Drive., Windham, NH; 

603-434-2093; windhamcc.com; 18 holes. 

Club Pro: Joanne Flynn; Tee times: 7 days in 

advance; Fee for 9/18holes: $24/$42 weekday, 

$29/$50 weekend; Cart rental: $9 per person 

for 9 holes; Yards 6,442; Slope 135; 

Rating 71.2 

Woburn Country Club 

5 Country Club Road, Woburn, MA; 

781-933-9880; woburncountryclub.com; 

9 holes; Club Pro: Peter Bracey; Tee times: 

2 days in advance; Non-resident fee for 9 

holes: $21 weekday and $22 weekend; 



DRIVING RANGES 

INDOOR FACILITIES 

BFM Mini Golf & Driving Range 

327 Main St., North Reading, MA 

978-664-9276 

Big Sticks Golf 

26 Ray Ave., Burlington, MA 

bigsticksgolf.com; 

781-229-2269 

The Clubhouse Golf & Entertainment 

222 S. Main St., Middleton, MA 

theclubhousege.com; 

978-539-8725 

Dilisio Golf Range 

115 Swampscott Road, Salem, MA 

dilisiogolfdrivingrange.com; 

978-745-6766 

Golf Country 


160 S. Main St., Middleton, MA 

golfcountry.org; 

978-774-4476 

Golf Galaxy 

40 Walkers Brook Drive, Reading, MA 

stores.golfgalaxy.com/ma/reading/3225/; 

781-944-0535 

Golfers Warehouse 

4 Newbury St., Danvers, MA 

edwinwattsgolf.com/store-702.aspx; 

978-777-4653 

Golftec 

194 Newbury St., Peabody, MA 

golftec.com/locations; 

978-777-2930 

Paradise Family Golf 


25 Lonegan Road, Middleton, MA 

paradisefamilygolf.com; 

978-750-4653 

Sagamore Golf 

22 North Road, North Hampton, NH 

sagamoregolf.com; 

603-964-8393 

Sarkisian Farms & Driving Range 

153 Chandler Road, Andover, MA 

sarkisianfarms.com; 

978-668-5522 

Sun ‘N Air Golf Center 


210 Conant St., Danvers, MA 

sunairgolf.com; 

978-774-8180 

NORTH SHORE GOLF


LEMELIN >>> CONTINUED FROM P. 28 

Any fun anecdotes from the links? 

A bunch of us went to Gordie Kluzak’s 

bachelor party, back in 2003. It started with 

a round of golf at the Golf Club of New 

England, and then downtown for a big 

dinner. There were at least 20 guys, if not 

more. 

So we had a big night. Ray (Bourque) and 

I were together, and we had taken a limo 

because we didn’t want to drive. So we got 

back real late. And we had made plans to 

golf with two friends of ours for the 

morning. So they call us in the morning, and 

say “Where are you guys?” And we told 

them we decided to play a little bit later 

because we were hurting a little bit. 

So, anyway, we finally show up, at Salem 

Country Club. Now, we usually beat them, 

and they figured this was the day they were 

going to get us for sure. We both had a bit of 

a headache. 

So we started the round, and Ray dubbed 

his shot, maybe 100 yards on the first hole. 

And I was struggling. 

Ray hit his second shot with a 5-wood from 

about 210 yards out, and it lands five feet 

from the hole, and he makes birdie. That 

gets the game going. So we’re going back 

and forth, and we get to the eighth hole. It’s 

a par 5. Ray hooks it a bit left into the rough, 

and everyone else is down the middle. He 

hits his second shot absolutely pure. It’s on 

the green somewhere, but there’s a little bit 

of a dip in the green where the pin is, so 

we’re not sure where the ball is. 

Everybody hits their ball great, and 

we chip to the hole. And it turns out Ray’s 

ball is in the hole for a two, on a par five. 

So these other guys, we all made birdie. 

And one guy, Joe, was playing with a stroke, 

because he had a handicap a little bit higher 

than the rest of us. So he birdied for a 

four/three, and lost the hole to a two. 

And, of course, we then went out and 

beat the crap out of them. l 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brion O’Connor is a long-time freelance writer 

and incurable “social” golfer who lives with his wife 

in Hamilton, where their neighborhood abuts the 

legendary links of Myopia Hunt Club. He has no 

idea what his handicap is. 


NSG_Spring2018_covers.qxp_Layout 1 3/20/18 2:19 PM Page 3


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