Wayne Mills writes, “I just came across your blog after reading your GOLF Magazine piece on Fazio/golf architecture. After reading your take on course ratings (I’m a Golfweek rater), I thought I would endeavor to enlighten you about New England’s great golf courses.”
Wayne goes on to list his personal Top 10 New England courses, and I thank him for that. I’ll even concede that his rankings have merit. But I want to make a couple of points before presenting his choices.
Point 1: Wayne admits that he’s a Golfweek rater — i.e., he is a lavishly-compensated minion working for a rival course-ranking outfit.
Point 2: Wayne has, in all likelihood, visited most of the golf courses in his Top 10. (Familiarity with a venue does not disqualify a course rater, but neither can we ignore the obvious temptation to give high scores to a country club or resort that has fed, clothed, and possibly even bathed the critic.) I, on the other hand, have never even heard of the 9-hole Tatnuck Country Club of Worcester, Mass., which is currently T-53 on my list.
Point 3: Wayne won’t reveal where he lives. (I’m sending the longitudes and latitudes of his Top 10 to my Cal Sci consultant, Charles Eppes, but simple triangulation suggests that Wayne lives in Boston’s elegant Beacon Hill neighborhood, probably on Bowdoin Street. And he drives an Escalade.)
That aside, here are Wayne’s choices for Feast of the East, along with his snarky comments:
1 The Country Club (Not top 50??? Please, the place is a museum and a cathedral.)
2 Newport CC (Ever been?)
3 Kittansett (Oceanfront as good as any.)
4 Wannamoisett (Ross at his best.)
5 The Orchards in W Mass (A classic Ross.)
6 Taconic at Williams College (An unbelievably good golf course in a bucolic setting.)
7 Eastward Ho on Cape Cod (Herbert Fowler’s greatest. Classic golf in a glorious waterfront setting.)
8 Crumpin Fox (Roger Rulewich’s masterpiece.)
9 Country Club of Vermont (A modern classic in the Green Mountains.)
10 Belgrade Lakes (Ten times the course that The Ledges is.)
“And many more,” he writes, before parting with a venomous, “Let me know if you ever get up this way and I’ll show you.” [My emphasis.]
Nice try, Wayne. I’ll visit Boston again when Paul Revere rides out on his horse to say it’s safe.
John Garrity's Top 50 
John, I love you pal, but if you don’t straighten up, I’m going to have to nominate you for Celebrity Rehab. A man your age should not be smoking crack.
Worcester?? Suggesting that saying “arguably the best restaurant in Worcester” is some sort of compliment obviously means you haven’t spent much time in Worcester.
point 1- lavishly compensated??Golfweek?? I do it for the love of the game.
Point 2- Ok I will admit that on occasion I have been gracious enough to accept some golf, cart, shirt, hat, food and booze ’til it came out my nose from various golfing venues but it didn’t change my view of things one bit.
Point 3- actually I live in the Back Bay in a dumpster on Newbury St. (The food is better there) In the summer I move to my digs under the Longfellow Bridge. It’s waterfront property on the banks of the Charles River and I can keep an eye on the People’s Republic of Cambridge.
I wouldn’t get too uppity about the Red Sox. Aren’t you from Kansas City home to the major leagues only Triple A team?
and furthermore, Paul Revere has ridden out on his horse to say it’s safe. His name is Scott Brown and actually it was a pick up truck, the modern equivalent of a horse.
How come the word “snarky” is always associated with my commentary? I don’t get that. I prefer pithy and I don’t have a lisp.
JG, Wayne knows his Boston and he is right about Scott Brown being our Paul Revere in his pick-up truck riding off to Washington DC to save us from those pabulum puking liberals! But Wayne, please leave my Worcester alone! You’ve probably only seen our wonderful downtown area around the DCU Centre where the sidewalks roll up after 5 p.m. We’ve got Worcester CC where they hosted the first Ryder Cup and a US Open. Tatnuck CC founded in 1898 is wonderful track as well here in Worcester… It is located up near the Worcester International Airport, and the food in the club house is second to none. On another note, how about a shout out to Charles River CC in Newton or Plymouth CC where the Pilgrims still play? My point is; that Mr. Garrity has his blinders on when he wrote his Top 50. He hangs around in his cellar hitting golf balls off the mat into a net all year long, except when makes his pilgrimage to Belmullet and plays the 17th hole at Carne with three balls over and over again. Wayne, you’ve got to read “Ancestral Links” by JG. Special attention should be given to Chapter 9! Anyways, I’ve invited JG up here several times to play; he assures me that he is saving up his 7Up cans so that in retirement he can afford to travel to New England. All the best,
John Harrity
John Harrity-
Actually never been to the DCU Center but once attended Worcester Academy as a PG where I played on the undefeated New England champion football team. Also my oldest son is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, one of the best engineering schools in the world so I know my Woosta.
I agree on Charles River and particularly Plymouth. I once described playing there as “having a serious conversation with a wise man.”
I’d be happy to have you host me at Tatnuck. I have to warn you though, I’m a 9 on the golf course but a +3 in the grill room.
We should have Garrity up for a little match and relieve him of that ill-gotten pension money.
Wayne, thanks for your response. I would love to have you up to TCC, and I would enjoy hanging with anyone who is a +3 in the grill room. Mr Garrity has a standing invitation to visit. All he has to do is to sign up with SI to cover a tournament in the northeast and he can submit his golf losses on his expense account. My friend Rick Boule whom JG has met and played with in Ireland could fill out our foursome. Rick has the same grill room handicap as I; +4. Where in Mass do you live?
All the best,
jh
Maybe we can get Garrity up here for Hartford or possibly the Curtis Cup at Essex CC. He probably will try to expense his gambling losses which means we’ll be getting 1099’s from him.
A couple +4’s and a +3 in the clubhouse?? That sounds very dangerous and Garrity is Irish so you know what that means.
Other than the dumpster on Newbury St, I don’t have a fixed address. I’m kind of nomadic.