Myopia Hunt Club

Myopia Hunt Club, South Hamilton, MA. One of the most unique golf experiences in the country and is now the most difficult golf course I have ever played (and it’s under 6,600 yards) Visiting the property is like going back in time with the polo grounds, horse stables, and foxhounds as you drive down the long driveway. Dating back to 1882, the golf course opened for play in 1898 with Herbert Corey Leads being the man who gets the credit for the plans. Host of four U.S Opens, with the last being in 1908. The 1901 Open at Myopia still holds the record to this day for the highest 72 holes score of all time for the tournament (331). Bunkers come in all shapes and sizes and for sure are true hazards on the course that you need to avoid and can be found in some of the most unique places. 

With some blind shots and the bunker placements, local knowledge has the upper hand at Myopia. The greens are some of the toughest I have played with, all being insanely small with turtleback shapes, front to back slopes, false front, and very bold undulations. The greens were running around 11.5-12 when I played and are the toughest putting surfaces I have played on. Balls run away from you and sometimes off the greens and into bunkers or runoff areas short of the green. If you weren’t within 10 feet of the pin, your ball is rolling off. Very few pin-able hole locations on some greens like 4 and 8, especially with the way the greens were running. The best players in the word would need to have their A game hitting into these greens and their short game. Although it’s a challenge, the urge to come back and get revenge is at an all-time high. You can play the ground game and use the contours and slopes to funnel your ball towards the greens, and to do this usually requires a carry-over a cross bunker roughly 30-60 short of the greens. 

Gil Hanse has been completing a master plan where massive tree removal and expanded short grass around the greens has already been done with more work to the plan. There is truly no course in the world like Myopia and can challenge the best golfers in the world. It tests every aspect of your game, makes you think off the tee, and you will use every club in your bag. Blind shots, small greens, massive contours, rolling fairways, elevation changes, tough short par 4’s, long and short par 3’s, cross bunkers, wide corridors… Myopia has it all. It sets the standard that a course doesn’t have to be long to be challenging and embracing history can do wonders