Sassamon Trace was my 55th new course in Massachusetts on a bright, fall-like early Sunday morning round.
This is a par 32 in Natick that’s on an old landfill. The course is divided up into two distinct sections. Holes 1,2,3, and 9 are up on a ridge with nasty fescue and large drop offs.
Following a walk from the third green, you’re brought to a lower portion of the land for holes 4-8. This is a nice little loop with an apple orchard lining the par 3 fifth and par 4 sixth.
It’s nice to play a par 32 with a par five. This a legit one, too. A tight driving corridor makes the tee shot tough and it takes two very good shots to reach a well guarded green in two.
The other hole that stood out was the par 3 third, which plays downhill with the land sloping hard left to right.
The ninth hole is a nice cape-style hole with way more landing area than it looks from the tee box. The green on nine has a dastardly ridge running through the middle of it from front to back making it important to hit an accurate second shot.
The greens here are rather large and were in good shape. Like most courses in the northeast, it was a tad soft due to the rain we’ve had.
My two gripes are that a lot of the par 3s are roughly the same distance. A bit of variation would be nice. Also, the bunkers could use a touch up, but for 26 bucks on a Sunday morning it’s a good spot to start the day or bring a beginner and get them hooked