Formed from the excavated dirt of the “Big Dig,” Granite Links was once a granite quarry producing some of the most elegant granite in the world. Filling in the quarry reclaimed the land from being a wasteland and turned it into a golf course while providing some of the best views of Boston.
This golf course is designed for all golfers of every level, assuming they pick the right tees to play from. Too far forward, and the course will play too easy. It is vice versa from the back tees if a golfer is playing the course from too far back. The average golfer may have difficulty getting over some of the forced carries; however, none of those forced carries will be a factor unless a ball is struck poorly. Most golfers will be looking past the forced carries. If the local course rules prevail that all high grass is to be treated like a lateral hazard, it will make recovering from mis-hits much tougher. It is a challenging course to recover from missed fairways and greens. The course is more like target golf. Resistance to scoring is low here. If golfers hit their targets, they will score well here.
The golf course was built for riding in carts, and it is not a walker-friendly course. Some greens are far from tees or do not lead the golfer to the next tee box. Lots of places where you would not want to walk with a bag with you. This golf course contains three nines, and it feels more like one nine-hole course three times as they all have much of the same feels and shots. While the conditions here are usually pretty good, the quality of the course conditions can decline toward the end of the summer from the amount of golf being played here. The greens will get fast and dry from the exposure to the elements, which can make putting much more difficult.
The links set up looks beautiful from afar. The wind-swept high grass that surrounds holes and the white sanded bunkers placed next to the greens give the course that exclusive look. The view of Boston will definitely leave an impression. The vista is pure from the range and clubhouse.
Granite Links is expensive and not necessarily worth the cost to play here. The rates have steadily risen over the last couple of years too. The twilight rate is more reasonable for golf; however, it does not start until 4 pm. Unless it is the summertime, playing 18 holes will not be possible.
Conditions: For how expensive it is to play here, the conditions are ok, not excellent. The course is getting a lot more play due to its popularity, and it is taking away from the overall golfing conditions. Difficulty: From a pure Strategy standpoint, the course is not very difficult. However, there are forced carries, and not knowing where to hit from the blind tee shots will add more difficulty to the course. Practice Green: There are two practice greens, and one is a relatively flat green with two levels. The other green is like putting on the side of a mountain. It is a lot of fun to play and practice on. Both greens run honestly to the greens on the course and are usually quite fast and accurate for a public track. Value: There is not much to say about the value here. As it is expensive at $150 on the weekend. Note that if you can play right at 4 pm for the twilight rate, you can get almost 18 holes in before it gets too dark. Range: There is a range, and it has a lot of mats. The grass hitting areas are rarely open to the public. The course added lounge chairs to the driving range, and they serve drinks from their newly installed bar at the range. During summer nights, the place is a hot spot for people to lounge while listening to live music, drinking, and hitting golf balls at the range. Wear a hard-hat: There is no need for a hard-hat.
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