Dedham Country & Polo Club – Played June 2020
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 124 Country Club Road, Dedham, Massachusetts
- Year: 1897
- Original Architect: Seth Raynor
- Additional Work By: Donald Ross, Herbert Fowler, Craig Schreiner, & Brian Silva
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available
Score Card Information:
- Gold: 6,187 yards, Par 70, 71.0 Rating/136 Slope
- Black: 5,984 yards, Par 70, 69.6 Rating/135 Slope
- White: 5,717 yards, Par 70, 67.8 Rating/126 Slope
- Red: 5,276 yards, Par 71, 71.2 Rating/125 Slope
- Green: 4,842 yards, Par 71, 69.1 Rating/123 Slope
You’ll notice in the summary information above that it seems like the course has had a lot of influences.
Diving into the history, I learner that the club dates back to 1887 when a local group wanted to found a polo club. This was apparently rare in New England. Eventually golf was added to the club’s offerings. A nine hole course on the original site was designed by Alex Findlay.
The original course and golf club was a thing of the past by 1901. The Dedham Polo Club and Norfolk Country Club were thriving however, and they decided to join up. They signed a lease for the current location of the club.
Donald Ross and Herbert Fowler did some work but Seth Raynor completed the first eighteen hole course for the club in 1925. Because of this history, the course is viewed as a Raynor routing. Today, Dedham Country & Polo Club is the only Raynor course in Massachusetts.
It’s history is also peppered with issues of clubhouse fires and financial struggle tied to World War I. These were not uncommon occurrences for clubs of this vintage.
Moving closer to present day, in 2018 the course underwent an expansive restoration by Brian Silva. They rebuilt and reshaped 96 bunkers in addition to adding SubAir systems for the greens. All of these items were done with getting back to the Seth Raynor roots of the golf course.
I noticed that the course seemed to play longer than the yardage on the card. As you’ll see throughout the tour, Dedham Country & Polo Club has plenty of challenge packed into a small package.
I was lucky enough to catch the course during the week on a hot June day. I was paired with two other guys who were a blast to play with.
Note that all of the holes have a name attached. Many of these correspond to the type of template hole they are based on. Raynor was a frequent user of these holes that he learned from CB Macdonald based on holes from the British Isles.
Hole 1 – 417 yards – Par 4 – Strategy
The first tee provides, possibly, the best view on the entire property. Perched on top of a massive hill the hole unfolds below you. The challenge here is carrying the creek.
As you can see, the approach plays uphill to a green you cannot see. Be wary of the bunker lurking in the front left.
The green is a big target which helps when you are coming in with a longer club.
Hole 2 – 344 yards – Par 4 – Plateau
I’m sure the more you play this hole the more comfortable you get with it. I was unsure of what to hit so I played for the fairway with a shot of 200 yards. Little did I know the tee shot is the easiest part of the hole.
The green is raised well above the fairway. The green has some wild slopes in the front and right sections. And if that’s not enough, there is a sliver of a bunker in front to catch any misses.
Hole 3 – 203 yards – Par 3 – Redan
A redan is one of the most famous template holes. They are marked by greens that tilt away and down from the point of entry. For this green you come in from the right, so the slope if left and down.
You can’t see all of the landing area so you must trust the slope into the large green.
I love the squared off greens you see at Raynor courses.
Take a look at this bunker behind the green. You’ll notice this around the course, a flat bunker next to a steep face around the green. It’s not something you see all the time, especially in more modern courses.
Hole 4 – 441 yards – Par 5 – Cape
Looking at the yardage on the card, I was a bit surprised this was a par five. When you play it though, it makes sense. The road to the right almost forces you left which makes the hole longer. The entire second half of the hole plays uphill to increase the real-feel distance.
The raised green features dropoffs and slope. I can say approaching this green from 60 yards was intimidating.
Hole 5 – 133 yards – Par 3 – Short
Many older courses feature a short par three and I loved this incarnation. With a short iron, the bunkers shouldn’t be an issue but any mishit will find trouble.
A Raynor trait is the “thumbprint” in the green. The third at Yeamans Hall has an example of this. We get the same trait in this green, albeit less pronounced.
Hole 6 – 486 yards – Par 5 – Prize Dogleg
This is a really fun hole. The more daring you can be up the right, the shorter your second shot.
The old school design shows up here as there is a ramp to the green to run your shots onto the putting surface. I hit about 10-20 yards shot out of the rough and it ended up past the flag.
Hole 7 – 376 yards – Par 4 – Knoll
I forgot to get a picture of the tee shot but the second shot has plenty of intrigue. Long is wrong but anything that gets spinny will pick up speed down the steep slope in front.
Hole 8 – 382 yards – Par 4 – Maiden
I loved this tee shot view. Depending on how far you hit it, the bunker in the middle is in play. I stayed right of it as was just past it. The shorter you can make the approach the better, due to the tricky green.
The green features mega internal contouring. This back right pin is for suckers with a drop off and bunkers all around.
Here’s the view from behind the green.
Hole 9 – 330 yards – Par 4 – Alps
Take some time on this tee shot. You must be wary of the left bunker distance.
The characteristics of the Alps hole come out on the approach shot. This template hole features blind approach shots with a bunker fronting the green. You can see all of that come to life in the photos below.
Hole 10 – 549 yards – Par 5 – Long
Long is a great name for this hole. Two big shots are needed to get home in two. The hill on the left side can stop drives in their tracks if they don’t carry far enough.
The slightly raised green is much easier approached with a wedge.
Hole 11 – 404 yards – Par 4 – Valley
The eleventh is a very difficult hole. A power fade is the preferred play to carry the hill and get to the right side of the hole to attack the green.
I was messing around on the left side of the hole so you get views from there.
Hole 12 – 179 yards – Par 3 – Eden
A large green awaits you as you walk onto this tee. The Eden template is well protected by bunkers. The left bunker is known as the Hill, the right is Strath, and Shelly in front. I recommend hitting the green!
Hole 13 – 361 yards – Par 4 – Lion’s Mouth
The tee shot here plays to a blind landing area but the real fun is on the approach shot.
While you can’t see it from where I was in the photo above, the green is fronted by the Lion’s Mouth bunker. The rest of the putting surface features plenty of slopes.
Hole 14 – 221 yards – Par 3 – Biarritz
Before we get into this hole, I wanted to show you the yardage markers on the tees. They give you the hole names as well as the distance.
This is a mammoth par three. It played about 240 yards for us. I was going for anything in line with the green.
The major feature of Biarritz holes is the huge dip in the middle. This green is incredibly long from back to front.
Hole 15 – 399 yards – Par 4 – Road
We have another blind landing area here. The approach must be precise to avoid the pot bunker in front of the green.
The green features a false front built to repel any shots coming up short.
Hole 16 – 367 yards – Par 4 – Bottle
Knowing your lines really helps on this hole. The further up the right side you can go the longer you can hit it.
Once you get over the hill, the hole opens up. The bunker in front is deceptive since it is nowhere close to the green.
Even though it is blurry, I wanted to show the view behind the green. I love it when these runoff areas are shaved down allowing for balls to run.
Hole 17 – 189 yards – Par 3 – Reverse Redan
There is plenty of water here but any decently struck shot shouldn’t have trouble clearing it. As the name implies, this is the opposite of normal redans. The green angles from front left to back right, favoring a fade. Some treacherous bunkers guard the right side of the green.
Hole 18 – 406 yards – Par 4 – Home
For all the fun template holes, I was a bit disappointed with the final hole. Overall it was fine I just didn’t find it as interesting as the other holes.
It doglegs left and plays up a pretty good hill.
I also got a photo of the logo on the carts for you.
I’m learning that I am a sucker for Seth Raynor golf courses. I love the template holes and the squared-off greens. They have the right amount of quirk for me.
Dedham Country & Polo Club fits right into that viewpoint. The course is filled with interesting holes and requires many different shots. For a course that is not very long, I was impressed with the variety I found throughout the round.
