NORTON, Massachusetts – Since 2010, thousands of golfers across the state have made everlasting memories and introduced themselves to the Mass Golf experience through Member Days. Now in its 15th year, this series of one-day, 18-hole events at championship-level, private golf courses is open to members of all ages and abilities, with events spanning from spring to fall.
Because of extraordinary popularity, Member Day entries are based on a lottery system open to all Mass Golf Members who wish to participate in one or more of the 22 events at 20 different clubs spread throughout every region of the Commonwealth. Each lottery closes six weeks prior to the event start date.
Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston, which will host the Ouimet Memorial Tournament in late July and the 2025 Mass Open, will kick things off with the first Member Day on Monday, May 6. The schedule runs through the end of October, concluding Monday, October 28 at Milton-Hoosic Club in Canton. Among the noted courses is Cape Cod National Golf Club, which is laid out on a rolling Cape Cod landscape that’s dotted with kettle ponds and vibrant foliage. Plymouth Country Club, Orchards Golf Club, and Kernwood Country Club, all excellent Donald Ross designs, are also on the schedule this year.
In addition, two premier Ross 9-hole courses, Whitinsville Golf Club and Cohasse Country Club, will have separate entries for a morning and afternoon session. Whitinsville has been rated by GOLF.com as the second-best standalone 9-hole golf course in the world, only behind Royal Worlington & Newmarket GC in England.
“We have some great venues on the calendar this year, and we’re excited to be at a few places we haven’t been to in a few years,” said Kyle Sherman, Mass Golf’s Manager of Events & Services. “The vibe of member days is really fun and casual. Everyone is there to have a good time and enjoy a day off of work on the golf course. It’s great to be able to give members access to these courses for the day.”
The cost of entry for each Member Day is $110, which includes greens fees, cart, and range balls. Active Mass Golf Members can request up to four spots (including themselves), and they are notified by email if they are selected. A waitlist is also established for those who are not selected but registered for the lottery.
To accommodate as many members as possible, preference in each lottery will be given to members who have not yet played in a Member Day throughout the year. As the season progresses, members who have not played in a Member Day in 2024 will see their chances increase. If the field for an event is not filled by first-time 2024 players, invites will then be sent to past Member Day participants, in the order in which they were randomly selected in the lottery.
“I always tell lottery entrants to keep on top of your emails,” Sherman said. “Just because you didn’t get in on the day the lottery closed doesn’t mean you’re out.”
In terms of which events to enter, there are choices from the Berkshires to the Cape. Starting out west, Stockbridge Golf Club returns to the Member Day schedule for the first time since 2013. The club, which hosted the 2008 Mass Open, is laid out on flat terrain but is routed around and across the Housatonic River, which is spanned by four golf cart suspension bridges.
Salem’s Kernwood Country Club, which held the 2014 Mass Amateur, is also back in the Member Day rotation for the first time since 2020. The 14th features a turtleback green, which will leave some memorable putts, and the uphill par-3 17th, another Ross gem, is an uphill par-3 exposed to the elements with a false front and a deep bunker short right.
Other signature championship courses include Plymouth Country Club and Orchards Golf Club, which hosted the 2021 and 2022 Massachusetts Women’s Amateur championships, respectively. Plymouth is a par-69 gem that plays over rolling terrain and offers a variety of green complexes, including a punchbowl on the 5th and a volcano green on the 7th. Orchards also has a set of challenging green complexes matched with stunning views of the Pioneer Valley hills.
Milton-Hoosic Club in Canton and Brockton Country Club were Member Day newcomers last year, and are back on the schedule for 2024.
Opened in 1891, Milton-Hoosic is one of Mass Golf’s oldest member clubs and one of the few in the state designed by Willie Park, Jr. (others include CC of New Bedford, Pawtucket CC, also on the Member Day list). Like Whitinsville Golf Club, Milton-Hoosic also cracked the top 50 list of best standalone nine-hole courses in the world. The course’s 4th hole features a stellar drive into a valley, with a creek lurking at the end of the fairway and an approach playing into the tricky elevated and sloping green.
Brockton, which was founded in 1900, features a par-36 9-hole course stretching across a modest 2,961 yards from the tips. Originally laid out by notable golf course architect, Willie Campbell, who is credited with designing The Country Club, the course has undergone numerous revisions such as adding punishing hazards and nearly 600 yards of distance. The club also co-hosts the Brockton City Open with its fellow city courses.
For the latest information and schedule for Member Days, visit MassGolf.org, scroll under the “PLAY” tab at the top of the screen, and click “Member Days.”
Monday, May 6
Indian Pond Country Club (Kingston)
Monday, May 15
Mount Pleasant Golf Club (Lowell)
Monday, May 20
Orchards Golf Club (South Hadley)
Monday, June 3
Whitinsville Golf Club (Northbridge) [Morning & Afternoon]
Wednesday, June 5
LeBaron Hills Country Club (Lakeville)
Monday, June 10
Cohasse Country Club (Southbridge) [Morning & Afternoon]
Monday, June 17
Ledgemont Country Club (Seekonk)
Wednesday, June 26
Brockton Country Club (Brockton)
Monday, July 1
Plymouth Country Club (Plymouth)
Monday, July 15
Oak Hill Country Club (Fitchburg)
Monday, August 5
Pawtucket Country Club (Pawtucket, RI/Seekonk, MA)
Tuesday, August 20
Stockbridge Golf Club (Stockbridge)
Monday, September 9
Walpole Country Club (Walpole)
Monday, September 23
Kernwood Country Club (Salem)
Wednesday, September 25
Acoaxet Club (Westport)
Monday, September 30
Renaissance (Haverhill)
Monday, October 7
Cape Cod National Golf Club (Brewster)
Monday, October 14
Country Club of New Bedford (Dartmouth)
Monday, October 21
The Ridge Club (Sandwich)
Monday, October 28
Milton-Hoosic Club (Canton)
For the latest updates and news, visit MassGolf.org or follow Mass Golf on Facebook, X and Instagram at @PlayMassGolf.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 120,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
