By STACEY MARCUS & CARLEY D. THORNELL
Looking to host a wedding in a quintessential New England setting? Couples can create a singular celebration at myriad country clubs on Boston’s North Shore, many set on championship golf courses. These spectacular venues — with ballrooms lighted under the dazzle of chandeliers and gardens brimming with glorious posies — are ideal for golfers and non-golfers alike.
By BOB ALBRIGHT
Of all the possible ceremonies discussed as part of Winthrop Golf Club’s 100th anniversary this summer, there was one that proved to be a no-brainer for the centennial committee: rename the club championship trophy for the guy who has won 20 percent of the titles in the club’s 100-year history.
The crowd at Salem Country Club looks on as Glenna Collett Vare tees off during the 1932 Women’s Amateur Championship.
By ANNE MARIE TOBIN
If history has anything to do with it, this year’s U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club is going be a real doozy.
At the 2001 Senior Open, eight players were within two shots of the lead on the back nine. Five of them – Jack Nicklaus, Isao Aoki, Jim Colbert, Larry Nelson and eventual champion Bruce Fleisher – were even par and held shares of the lead.
Nicole LaPerriere of Newburyport stripes a drive during her round. | Photo: Owen O’Rourke
By BOB ALBRIGHT
ralbright33@comcast.net
On Labor Day weekend in 1916, a scenic golf course was unveiled off the old Newburyport Turnpike in Newbury promising unparalleled views of the
winding Parker River Estuary and nine challenging golf holes. Flash-forward a century, and that description of Ould Newbury Golf Club still rings true today, but that doesn’t mean things have stood still off the golf course. To help celebrate its centennial last year, the club completed an ambitious clubhouse renovation project that gutted the bar area and was paid for solely by donations from its members.
Proprietor John Moore behind the new, custom-made bamboo bar. | Photo: Mark Lorenz
By BETH BRESNAHAN
When we visited Nahant Golf Club at Kelley Greens soon after the first of the year the clubhouse was covered in sawdust and the walls were being stripped down to the studs. Play It As It Lies Golf Management Inc., the course’s new management team led by partners Anthony De Dominicis and John Moore, shared they were transforming the former clubhouse into a facility that offered patrons a fine dining experience, a nice bar and lounge.
Sagamore plans a Masters-ful change on 9th hole
If the newly-designed ninth hole at Lynnfield’s Sagamore Spring Golf Course looks familiar, don’t be surprised if Dave Loggins’ iconic theme music, “The Masters” (yes, that music), pops into your head as you approach the green. That’s because, well, the hole has been cleverly renovated to replicate the treacherous par-3 12th hole at Augusta National Golf Club.