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Cape Cod National Golf Club
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Photography by George Peet
Of all the time we spend playing golf, practicing golf and thinking about golf effectively made us better golfers, even if it were in very small increments, we’d be better golfers, right? I mean much better golfers. Like Tiger, better golfers. OK, maybe not Tiger, but at least Daly.
I started playing golf 16 years ago at about an 18 handicap. If I set out then to shave one stroke per year, I’d be playing at a +2. Even at one-half a stroke per year, I’d be playing at a 10. The reality is, despite 16 years of playing, practicing and thinking, 10 and especially +2 are on the low side of approximation.
That’s how I was thinking on the first tee at the Cape Cod National Golf Club in Brewster—admittedly not the best pre-shot routine but nevertheless my routine.
A 504-yard par 5 with a wide-open driving target, the first fairway is slightly elevated. A large bunker sits on the left side, and trees form the left and right borders. The hole feels good. It’s almost like the hole is telling you to hit a 300-yard drive dead center of the fairway. For some reason, I don’t think I can answer that call.
As I’m staring down the barrel of a classic opening par 5 at Cape Cod National on a beautifully sunny day, about 70 degrees, seagulls flying overhead from the nearby bay, and the hole literally begging me to hit a perfect drive, I’m thinking instead, “Stay out of the trees, stay out of the bunker, and please, please, get it past the red tees.”
Cape Cod National is one of the newest additions to golf on Cape Cod. Designed by Brian Silva, Golf World magazine’s Golf Architect of the Year in 1999, Cape Cod National opened for play in 1998. The course is located rather inconspicuously two miles down South Orleans Road, only a stone’s throw from Pleasant Bay.
Upon its completion, Cape Cod National was instantly indoctrinated into the elite class of Cape Cod courses. Serene, polished and breathtaking, the National has the kind of magnetic allure that golfers dream about during a day at the office. It’s courses like the National, as it’s often called, that make Cape Cod a golf Mecca, traveled to by golfers all over the world, all looking for the kind of experience that the National aims to deliver. Unfortunately, not everybody is offered access to the National’s treasures. But if you’re clever, there is a way to sneak a peek without having to pay for membership dues.
The National is a private, members-only course that allows the public staying at the Wequassett Inn to play for a fee. The owners of the course, clearly trying to capitalize on the influx of Brewster tourists during the summer months, also own the hotel, hence the loophole. As a brief aside and according to the town of Brewster’s website, “Brewster’s year-round population of about 9,600 grows to about 25,000 in the summer season as visitors come to sample the diversions of the town” (1998 numbers). These figures also hint at the fact that it may be difficult to find a room. So if you’re serious about playing this course, make your reservations sooner rather than later.
Despite its short existence, the National has attracted some impressive accolades: Golf Magazine placed it in the top 10 Massachusetts golf courses last year (2005-2006), ahead of such world-famous courses as Sankaty Head, Hyannisport and the Vineyard Club; also, Golfweek placed it among the top 10 Massachusetts golf courses with public access—even though it’s accessible only with the hotel stipulation.
And there’s good reason for such praise. With five par 4s, two par 5s and two par 3s per side, the layout is well balanced, providing the golfer with hole after hole of diverse, exceptional golf. Perhaps more important, the National doesn’t rely on its dynamic Cape Cod landscape to provide a great golf experience. As much as the course appropriately capitalizes on its Cape location, the classic golf course design is so strong it could provide a memorable golf experience regardless of its seaside location. Put these same 18 holes in the middle of the desert, and golfers are going to walk away satisfied, eagerly awaiting the next chance to play.
From the back tees, the National measures 6,954 yards, with a 73.6 rating and a 129 slope. The views from the course are symbolic of traditional Cape Cod golf: beaches, seascapes, fescues, cranberry bogs and a topography that makes the best use of the Cape’s naturally formed hills and valleys. (And for these assets, we’re glad that the National is not in some Southwestern desert.)
The second hole and the fifth hole, for example, have three distinct playing elevations from the tee, fairway and green. These elevation changes require important decisions on each shot. Along with the constantly changing elevations, there are also three interior water hazards that come into play on seven holes, making course management imperative to successful play at the National.
And don’t be frightened by the what-look-to-be bronze statues of various zoo animals located near these water hazards; I tapped on the metal heads of the hippos, the seals and the deer to make sure there was no chance they could suddenly come to life and snatch golf balls.
Like the bronze statues that are scattered throughout the National, there are plenty of unique golf holes, particularly the par 3s. The first par 3 on the front side, the sixth hole, with the mama and baby hippos curiously looking over the water hazard on the left side of the green, is a lengthy 203 yards. A slow and calculated draw with a low iron is the ideal play. If the draw becomes a hook, the deepest bunkers on the course will force a blind sand shot to a tiered green. The 13th hole, a no less than 239-yard par 3, is a contender for the best looking at the National. And the 16th, the shortest par 3 at 151 yards, offers spectacular views of Pleasant Bay and also of the clubhouse at Eastward Ho!, the known rival for those dining at the Cape Cod National clubhouse.
The par 4s aren’t too shabby either. Four out of the 10 par 4s are 449 yards and over, which all require long drives followed by long irons, considering the swirling winds that haunt the National throughout the year. At 311 yards, the seventh is not among the long par 4s. Because it’s short, however, doesn’t mean it’s easy. The tee box and the middle of the fairway are divided by a massive gulley before a near 90-degree dogleg unveils a saddle-shaped green, back and to the left. A five or six iron will suffice off the tee, but watch the approach shot. Only inches off the back side of the green and you can kiss away both your ball and your chances for a low-scoring front nine.
The National’s greens are young and immature as far as the grass is concerned—typical of a course that has only recently passed the five-year mark. But they do check well and roll nicely. In time, the dirt and sand sitting just beneath the bent grass, occasionally spraying up when landed on, like a ball into water, will settle.
The backside has a couple of cleverly designed 4s. The green on the 391-yard 12th hole is hidden until about 125 yards away. There’s a holly tree and a dogleg plus a ravine filled with overgrown scrub brush that obstruct the view. There’s another blind tee shot to an elevated fairway on the 14th hole. At the 175-yard mark (from the tee box), the fairway is skinny, to say the least, maybe 25 yards. A large hill with small scrub pines protects the right side, while a cranberry bog sits roughly 20 feet beneath the fairway on the left side. If that doesn’t sound difficult enough, the postage stamp green lies well below the mid-point of the fairway, requiring every bit of an accurate approach shot.
The National is a challenging golf course with all the expected features of a well-respected 18 championship holes of play. For a guy who’s been chipping away at an 18 handicap for 16 years, there’s nothing more I could ask for in a golf course, except maybe a membership.
Please. Pretty please. I could use the practice. There’s got to be some way to get to +2….
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