Looking to tee it up with your buddies on an annual trip to Cape Cod or wanting to take on a challenge to see where you game is at? Cape Cod boasts a variety of public golf courses from the Sagamore and Bourne bridges to the Lower Cape and over to the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket that will leave golfers scratching their heads, considering their sanity and ultimately their love of the game.
While every course has their own unique features, each will give golfers a taste of true Cape Cod conditions, including varying winds, natural areas and undulating terrain. Golf course architects have had to be savvy with the land afforded and utilize natural elements to develop their masterpiece. Courses are usually mapped no further than a mile from the ocean or bay, with winds protecting potentially scoreable holes.
That said, golf is already hard enough, but if you’re searching for a challenge, here’s a top five list of the hardest public golf course on the Cape. Maybe you’ll hit that one shot that keeps you coming back for more!
1. Dennis Pines (East Dennis, 6,931 yards, Par 72)
Designed by Henry C. Mitchell, Dennis Pines opened for play in 1966 and is widely considered one of the toughest layouts on Cape Cod. The Pines is nestled amongst tight tree-lined fairways that place a premium on accuracy over distance.
Golfers are routinely forced to leave the driver in the bag to keep the ball in play on abrupt dogleg holes. If a tee shot finds the fairway, golfers are then faced with approach shots into small greens that are speedy in the summer months. There are several forced carries over fall offs before the green that test a golfer’s ability to commit to a yardage, while shots that wander over the back further test the nerves with delicate shots to sloped greens. Water only comes into play on three holes, but danger lurks around every corner.
2. Miacomet Golf Club (Nantucket, 6,890 yards, Par 72)
Fancy a boat trip to one of the islands for a round of torture? Look no further than Nantucket Island’s only 18-hole public golf course, Miacomet, which is considered links-style. Originally a nine-hole course, Miacomet—a name derived from an area of the island inhabited by the Wampanoag Tribe—expanded to 18 holes in 2003.
There’s trouble off the tee with an abundance of long fairway bunkers lining the fairways. Fairways are constructed with contoured hills that leave no flat lie, making it difficult to hit into lightning-fast greens that vary in size from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet. Approach shots have the chance to run up onto greens, but they are heavily protected by false fronts and roll offs. Golfers beware should you be off your game.
3. The Cape Club (East Falmouth, 6,855 yards, Par 72)
Originally Ballymeade Country Club, the Cape Club has been widely considered one of the best public courses not only on Cape Cod but also in New England. It, however, took a little to get there. Steve Harrison laid out the original design, but it was redesigned by Jim Fazio five years later and Ballymeade still hadn’t reached its full potential. In 2015, following a change in management, the course underwent a significant transformation that included all new green complexes, expanded playing corridors and re-contoured fairways.
While blind tee and approach shots have largely been eliminated, what makes the Cape Club a difficult test is the variety of elevated shots—up and downhill—into greens. There are opportunities to take aggressive lines off the tee, but any wayward shot will be appropriately punished. Greens, which are firm, fast and undulating, are protected by bunkers that collect any shots left short of their intended target. They may turn your golf outing into a day at the beach.
4. Captains Golf Course – Port Course (Brewster, 6,675 Yards, Par 72)
With arguably a case for the toughest 18 holes you’ll find on Cape Cod, the Port Course Captains Golf Course is not for the faint of heart. With several forced carry tee shots—notably holes six, seven, 12—there is no gentle introduction nor fond farewell handshake. Wayward tee shots are difficult to get back in play as trees line the fairway and one would love to stand in the way of your punch 5-iron, kicking you God knows where. Holes six through seven can easily balloon you score with bogey or worse in play. The eighth hole, a par 5 that tops out at 573 yards gives players their ideal number for a layup because going for it in two is usually out of the question. The back nine is quirky with two back-to-back par fives (a story for another day), while the closing two-hole stretch is a combined 741 yards from the back tees.
During the busy summer months, it’s tough to get a tee time on either the Port or adjacent Starboard Course, but it’s worth the effort. Oh, and good luck finding a flat lie.
5. Quashnet Valley Country Club (Mashpee, 6,491 yards, Par 72)
Quashnet Valley is not long, but it is frustrating. Built on a natural site that includes ponds, streams and wetlands, the Quashnet River come into play on fifteen of the eighteen holes. The Club has played host to several Massachusetts Golf Association events, including the Junior Amateur, Mid-Amateur, and Public Links, as well as the Mass Women’s Open and the Cape Cod Open.
There are several blind and forced carry tee shots where the driver won’t be in play. Looking to cut the corner on a dogleg? Think again, because tee shots are protected by trees either side of otherwise narrow fairways ready to snatch your ball. The Par 5 seventh…
