Conveniently located just off Rte. 495 in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Maplegate Country Club offers some of the most relaxing four hours of golf in the MetroWest area. The course is a 50-minute drive from Boston, a 40-minute drive from Worcester and a 35-minute drive from Providence.
Often voted as one of the Top 10 courses in New England, Maplegate’s well-kept grounds have hosted signature events, including a 2008 U.S. Open qualifier and a 2009 U.S. Amateur qualifier. Major qualifiers aside, the course is the perfect place to bring friends or family for an unforgettable 18-hole experience. Tree-lined fairways are dotted with water hazards. Doglegs abound on both the front and back nine, and there’s a challenge around each corner requiring golfers to have both on-target and lay-up shots in their bags.
Maplegate’s four tee boxes make it playable for golfers of all skill levels. The course is challenging, but fair, and while nothing about the course could or should be described as typical, club management describes the vistas as “typical, picturesque New England,” punctuated by stands of beech, birch, pine and oak. Built in 1991, the Par-72 course can be played in just over four hours and ranges from 4,852 yards from the front tees to 6,815 yards from the back tees. Leonard French designed the overall layout, while Phil Wogan was responsible for the greens.
The course itself is well-thought out and meticulously groomed. Start your round with a bang on the Par-5 1st. Grip it and rip it if you feel confident on this hole that runs 515 yards from the back tees and fades left in two stretches. You’ll run into your first water hazard on the Par-3 3rd. It’ll be far from the last time you’ll have to avoid the drink. Water cuts the very next hole, the Par-5 4th, in half. Plan accordingly or you’ll be staring at a lackluster score. Once you’re past the water, the last third of the hole doglegs left. A large bunker sits mischievously about 100 yards from the green on the left side.
Get used to water playing a role in your round; you’ll have to go over a stream about 140 yards from the green on the relatively straightforward Par-4 No. 5. One of the last hurdles on the Par-4 dogleg left No. 7 is the water hazard that lies in wait about 90 yards from the green. Even the Par-3 8th packs a lot of punch into its 145 yards, as a pond looms to the right and in front of the green. The 8th, which many describe as the club’s signature hole, features what may be the most beautiful vista on the course: a 100-foot waterfall that often features swans swimming in the pool below.
The second half of your round begins with the Par-4 10th, which features bunkers cushioning both sides of the fairway and the green on this dogleg left that runs 376 yards from the back tees. Another water hazard comes into play on the 11th hole. It runs from about 80 yards from the green on the left side of the fairway all the way to the left side of the green. Three bunkers threaten to swallow wayward shots to the right and back of the green.
Water also dominates the left side of the fairway on the Par-3 12th. The Par-4 13th, 388 yards from the tips, also has a water hazard. This one looms to the right. The conservative player will hug the left side of the fairway, and a more adventurous, or perhaps more foolhardy, player may go for broke over the blue expanse.
No. 14 is a monstrous Par-5 that veers slightly to the left. It runs 510 yards from the tips. The 16th, meanwhile, is massive and challenging. It’s a long Par-5 at 530 yards from the tips, and while it is a relative straight shot, there are obstacles aplenty, including a bunker on the left of the fairway and a water hazard about 90 yards away from the green. End the round with No. 18, a hard dogleg right Par-4. The second half of the dogleg is punctuated by two bodies of water. One gashes across the fairway, while the other looms in front of the green to the right.
Maplegate offers golf lessons from the club’s pro, Greg Dowdell who provides tutorials in individual and group settings. Visit maplegate.com for more information and rates.