GolfNewsRI

Two Thursdays ago, on July 20, Golf Dude Rich and I were invited to play at TPC Boston. 

The course is formerly the home of the PGA Tour Playoffs, until the Tour decided to leave the Boston area a couple of years ago. 

Anytime you get the opportunity to play a PGA Tour course, even a former one, you should take it. 

Upon arrival, the man at the bag drop asked us what our tee time was, and then knew immediately who we were playing with. Didn’t even have to check a tee sheet.  

After we parked, we met up with our buddy and went inside to get some drinks before heading to the practice range. 

The practice range is all grass and each spot comes with a bucket of balls and an alignment stick, not that I used it. 

After that, we went to the practice putting green, back upstairs for more drinks and then off we went. 

We got to the first tee, where Rich and I recalled watching Tiger tee off from years ago among 100s of people. 

“Now on the tee, from Jupiter, Florida, Tiger Woods.” 

Needless to say, our names were not announced like that, but we did have a delightful conversation with the starter, who took some pictures for us and gave us the lay of the land. 

“No carts in the rough,” is a big sticking point at TPC Boston, and it makes sense. 

And we are off. 

The Course 

As you would expect, the golf course is in amazing shape, pristine condition, not a piece of grass out of place. 

You actually felt guilty taking a divot (we replaced them don’t worry). 

We hit the ball good, but struggled only because we didn’t really know the course. Rich had never played it and I played it once two years ago. 

Rich started playing really well late in the front nine and then into the back nine. 

He made a few pars and I think even threw in a birdie for good measure. 

I had my moments. 

On the back side, the hole that stands out is the 16th. 

The famous par-3 over the water plays a lot tougher than it looks, and we found that out the hard way. 

For us, the hole played about 115 yards with the flag on the right side. 

I put two balls in the water and Rich put his shot on the dance floor – but nowhere near the DJ. 

He didn’t make par, and I took a 7. 

After 17, obviously, is the finishing hole, the par-5 18th. 

We have watched it so many times during the tournament, but you don’t realize how hard that hole is. 

The tee shot is into a fairway that is split down the middle by a bunker, then there is another bunker on the right side and a hazard in front of the green. 

The pin on this day was like a PGA Tour pin, back right corner and hard to get too. 

Rich and I actually both played the hole pretty well. 

I ended up with a ten-foot birdie putt, which I missed, but a closing par was pretty good. 

I think Rich made bogey after putting his approach shot in the run-off area on the left that we both actually forgot was there. 

Overall, we had a blast playing at TPC Boston. 

The course was pristine and the staff could not have been nicer.