Drew McLeod wins the Boys Golf Championship in the playoffs at CRANSTON CC
Drew McLeod will win the Boys Golf Championship at the playoffs held at Cranston Country Club on May 28th
Editor’s Note: Last summer, longtime golfer and caddy journal sports writer Eric Rube visited and wrote about several golf courses in Rhode Island. The plan is the same as this summer, but I thought it was worth looking back at some of the top courses he visited before going too far this golf season.
When it comes to golf, I have a Titleist flavor and a top flight budget.
Working in the golf industry helped me get around this. Whether it’s a club, clothing or a ball, I managed to put together a powerful bag with a sharp wardrobe and wasn’t afraid to play with Prov1, “slightly used.”
The course access is the same. I’m not a member of the country club or any club, but I was able to play some great courses. Employee privileges at some clubs allowed access elsewhere on Rhode Island, and in some cases.
Rhode Island has some really great golf courses and I’m lucky enough to play quite a few, but not all.
For many years I have held a bucket list for the course and have been able to surpass one thanks to Media Day for the US Senior Open at the Newport Country Club this spring.
The currently updated list includes the courses I want to play, but I couldn’t fully understand how to do so. I’ve been watching live in my body – caddy or covering Riga events made me want to play it more.
If you don’t see some of the regular names in this list, that’s because I was lucky enough to play them. Wannamoissett Country Club beats me every year on Northeast Amateur Media Day, and I love it. I haven’t played in over a decade, but when I was a host of CVS Charity Classic, I knocked Rhode Island Country Club off the list. My favourite course in the state could be One Meterenomy Golf and Country Club, despite being beaten by a 12-year-old girl.
Here is my list of places I still need to play:
Misquamicut Club, Watch Hill
This is one of the few courses in Rhode Island that I have not been intervening. It’s a Donald Ross design and I don’t know much about it except for “the version of the Augusta National Vibes of Rhode Island.” I just wanted to play more by reading the stories from Golf.com. It’s probably a great walk, and despite my round appearance, the walking golf course is my favorite. Even mentioning Misquamicut might rule out playing it, but I won Masters Ticket Lottery last week.
The only way I say no:My wife says she will divorce me, and I can’t find a lawyer to write a paper quickly enough.
Shelter Harbor Golf Club, Westerly
This is one of the more I’ve heard of than I’ve seen. My only experience at the shelter was over a decade ago, covering high school games I had, so I was able to check out some of the course.
What I remember is that the clubhouse was insane. The hole I saw looked tough.
The course tours on the Shelter Harbor website are basically golf porn. Everything is impressively designed and has an old New England vibe despite being a new course. Bunkers are perfect, native grasses bring life, and water features that drop the jaws.
Several caddy colleagues who left the TPC for the shelter share stories about the course, which is as good as it is advertised. The combination of what the provision offers, such as course quality, location, amenities, etc. should probably make the shelter higher, but the other three have been on my list for a long time, with different types of emotional attachment.
The only way I say no: I’m floating on the Sako River, deep in the cool people in high school, my 13 year old refuses to take me home.
Warwick Country Club, Warwick
I haven’t played Warwick yet, and I have never been to a wedding there either. Not my Rhode Island.
Honestly, I don’t even know if I need to play the entire course. Give me a bucket of balls on the tee box No. 9 – Oceanside par 3 – and only that experience brings a smile to my face.
We’ve featured quite a few events at Warwick, but it’s a visual masterpiece. For my money, number 8 and number 9 are two of the most beautiful holes in the state, but Warwick CC is more than just an onlooker.
Covering the Riga and Girls High School Championships, we’ve seen how difficult this course is. The wind was screaming as Bay View’s Brook Brennan used her course knowledge as a member to navigate brilliantly towards the 2021 title.
This year’s Riga State Amateurs offered a seemingly different course condition every day. There was heat, extreme heat, wind and heavy rain before things were resolved during the championship match between Bobby Leopold and Michael Hamilton. As the sun sets, the sky explodes into colorful displays, thinning the sunlight and sparkling native grass. It was hard to think of a better place at that moment.
Warwick also has a special place in my heart as it was the last place before my oldest daughter was born. I was there to write a story about baseball hall of fame Mike Schmidt, who played at the Riga event.
I don’t really remember any interviews with Schmidt or anything I wrote, but hearing such news is something you will never forget.
The only way I can deny the chance to play: The ninth hole is closed.
Point Judith Country Club, Narragan Set
My one chance to play PJCC was when the rain washed away my chances in 2003 when Metacomet assistant pros got me crazy late in the season.
Since then, I have spent more than a few courses as a reporter. For years it was home to the RIIL Girls Golf Championship and also served as the home of the Narragansett High School golf team.
Point Judith is everything I love about the Donald Ross course. The sea breeze changes to a type that allows you to quickly round normal shots. All greens in the PJCC look smaller than the end. If it is not located above or around green, you will not realize you are in trouble until it is too late.
But the biggest reason is the location. Summer narragan set? It won’t be better than that. Do you sit on a coast guard deck when the sun sets? It’s the perfect day.
The only way I say no: It’s just like PC fans who try to tell me that “university experience” at Providence is better than the selling point.
Saconet Golf Club, Little Compton
I’ve been to this course once and that was all I needed to know what I wanted to play here.
My trip to Saconet was for work and was looking for members of Metacomet at the Riga event. I don’t remember which tournament it was, but I remember it was late in the season and not far away. That wasn’t a problem.
Sakonnet had no bruises. This is an absurd concept of golf courses at the end of summer. I have never seen this perfect green. It was close to the water, but we didn’t see it much, but the native grass and whipping winds made the sea golf feel unmistakable.
My hole memories fade, but when we caddy, when we are always “we”, we seem to have stopped in the air as we are always “we” until your player makes a mistake.
From what I remember, Sakonnet didn’t have the overwhelming length that occurs on the old-fashioned Donald Ross course, but the conditions that worked with the greens of wind and lightning became a ridiculous challenge. I’m glad I wasn’t swinging the club that day, but I knew that one day I wanted to go through it myself.
Donald Ross’ course is my favorite golf course. I am by no means a golf historian, but I learned the game at the Metacomet Country Club so the old Ross courses always have a friendly atmosphere. My mind says I can attack and score with the Saconet, but my brain knows otherwise. Unlike the rest of the state, it’s a course.
The only way I can deny the chance to play: My heart stops pumping and I’m literally dead.
Two courses that should be included
Pawtucket Country Club in Pawtucket
I wrote about Potucket in 2020, fighting Covid regulations. The owner was kind enough to invite me to play. The course meets my eyes and plays part 18th The patio hole filled with lunch/dinners is also intimidating, so it seems just as fun.
North Kingstown, Quidset Country Club
It’s probably on the list. I have some pretty impressive memories of cadde there and attending weddings, but have not created any golf stuff. Non-golfers don’t understand this, but the course can’t be in your eyes, and the quid set was one of them. All the holes looked like nightmare to me, so I was pleased that I wasn’t playing it.
