It’s hard to describe the feeling when you step on the property at George Wright Golf Course, but something about it just feels good … and comfortable.
There are reasons for that, of course. It’s a beautiful, meticulously maintained, Donald Ross-designed 18-hole golf course in the shadow of Boston. That alone is worth the price of admission.
But there’s also something intangibly welcoming about the course. That part is most important, and it’s the result of an undeniable labor of love and a commitment to making golf accessible and fun.
It is the quintessential municipal golf course.
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The stunning visuals are impossible to ignore. Tucked in the middle of Hyde Park, a few 3-woods from downtown Boston, stepping onto the property at Geroge Wright feels like you’re a million miles from the Hub.
The Norman-style clubhouse gives off serious 12th-century vibes, an impressive feat for a course built in 1938. Golfers walk up the hill from the parking lot and through the clubhouse to a back patio right off the first tee. It’s also home to one of the best chicken sandwiches you’ll find in the 617.
The awesomeness of the perfectly utilized land hits you right away. This is one of many Donald Ross-designed courses in the region. Considered one of the best, most prolific golf course architects of all time, George Wright is one of the Scotsman’s most impressive public works.
The original plan for the plot of land on which one of the country’s best municipal courses now sits was for it to house a private course. Then, the stock market crashed in the late 1920s, and plans changed. The city commissioned Ross who famously claimed the project would either need $1 million or an earthquake.
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In the end, it was a bit of both, as the Works Progress Administration helped foot the bill for a whole bunch of dynamite. The result was a quintessential Ross course with switchbacks and turtleback greens.
As the course approaches its century mark, it certainly has endured and is now thriving. Business is booming with 50,000 rounds per year, and getting a weekend tee time is like trying to secure Red Sox tickets in 2004.
But it hasn’t always been this way. The course fell into some disrepair late in the 20th century. The city ultimately reclaimed control of the course in 2003, an acquisition near and dear to the heart of late Boston mayor Tom Menino, a Hyde Park native whose widow still plays the course.
Since then, the course has had a core leadership group that includes head pro Scott Allen and superintendent Lee Curtin. With Mark Mungeam serving as the course’s architect for master renovations, the group put forth an effort to get the train back on track.
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Over the last two decades, working with a limited budget under city constraints, they spearheaded needed and embraced changes to the property. From a golf standpoint, Curtin and his team have done a magnificent job accentuating the Ross dynamic without losing any of the charm.
But it’s more than just cutting back trees, exposing gorgeous granite outcroppings and restoring the greens to a championship level. The course looks and plays like an exclusive country club without the stuffiness that turns away so many from the game.
While gregariousness is a job qualification for someone in Allen’s role, he’s the kind of guy who pauses a trip around the property to give an impromptu playing lesson to a couple of high school kids dew-sweeping the back nine. His rapport with those he works with and those who come through the door is infectious and the dynamic is representative of the entire vibe at George Wright.
It’s all so accessible, too. Boston residents can walk 18 holes on the weekend for $55; non-Boston residents can get on for $62. In a world where a day of weekend golf at a meh course outside the city starts at $100, this is also one of the best bargains in Boston golf — assuming you can get a tee time.
George Wright Golf Course is a delight to play. The Ross of it all makes for a challenging but fun test of every club in the bag. But what makes this one of the best municipal courses in the country is everything else that comes with it.
