Which Mass Golf Member Clubs Carry The Lowest Average Handicap Indexes - MASSGOLF

A List Of Massachusetts Clubs With The Lowest Average Handicap Indexes

— January 31, 2025 — 

In Massachusetts, golf enthusiasts take pride not only in participation but also in performance. One compelling way to assess a club’s – competitive edge is by examining the average Handicap Index of its membership roster. By analyzing GHIN data from the past year, we gained valuable insight into the skill levels of players at each club.

Whether their average rankings stem from homegrown talent or players who joined at just the right time, here is the top 25 list based on combined Handicap Indexes for men and women.

Clubs With Lowest Average Handicap Indexes In Massachusetts

1. Old Sandwich Golf Club

  • Avg. Index: 9.50 (9.01 men; 20.55 women)

  • Old Sandwich Golf Club, a masterful Coore & Crenshaw design, offers a stunning lay-of-the-land experience with meticulously contoured greens, striking bunkers, and links-like characteristics on ideal sandy soil. Doug Clapp and Scott Copeland, the last two winners of the Mass Senior Amateur, are among its talented ranks.

Old Sandwich’s lay-of-the-land course from Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore is a very good test, full of classic concepts. (Patrick Koenig)

2. Boston Golf Club

  • Avg. Index: 10.21 (9.47 men; 16.89 women)
  • When your club boasts several Mass Golf champions such as Jack O’Donnell, Sue Curtin, Carson Erick, and, of course, LPGA star Megan Khang, it’s no surprise to find BGC ranked so high on this list. The challenging course, designed by Gil Hanse in 2005, spans 300 acres of dramatic elevation changes, rocky ledges, and forested terrain, earning widespread acclaim as a modern classic.
Boston Golf Club is considered one of the great walks in American golf. (Patrick Koenig)

3. Orchards Golf Club

  • Avg. Index: 11.69 (10.32 men; 19.45 women)
  • This Western Mass club has an excellent championship pedigree, having hosted the U.S. Women’s Open (2004) and U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur (1987). In the book The American Private Golf Club Guide, author Daniel Wexler has this to say about The Orchards: “For those curious as to why vintage [Donald] Ross designs hold such a charm for the connoisseur, The Orchards delivers – both in style and substance – as purely as just about anything in Massachusetts.”
Orchards hosted the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open, won by Meg Mallon, who was born in Natick, MA. (David Colt, file)

 

4. Indian Pond Country Club

  • Avg. Index: 12.15 (11.44 men; 25.39 women)
  • Indian Pond features a scenic design by Damian Pascuzzo and Andy Staples. The layout is a secluded, Pine Valley-inspired routing with tree-lined corridors and strategic bunkering, while three holes interact dramatically with the titular pond. The club hosted the first two rounds of the 2024 Ouimet Memorial Tournament, the Mass Girls’ Junior (2022), and Mass Junior Amateur (2021), in addition to several qualifying and Member Day events.
Indian Pond CC hosted the Massachusetts Junior Amateur and Girls’ Junior Amateur Championships in back-to-back years (2021, 2022). (Teddy Doggett)

5. Thorny Lea Golf Club

  • Avg. Index: 12.79 (12.12 men; 20.78 women)
  • The City of Champions is also a club of champions, namely Matt Parziale and Shannon Johnson, who won the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur and 2018 U.S. Women Mid-Amateur, respectively, among their long list of accolades. Fellow Thorny member Megan Buck also won the Mass Women’s Mid-Amateur at Thorny last year, while Steve Tasho Sr. is a 2-time Mass Amateur champion.
Thorny Lea Golf Club is home to some of the state’s most talented golfers, especially on the women’s side. From left, Courtney Lee, Laura Jean Mann, Megan Buck, and Shannon Johnson. (Mass Golf)

 

THE BEST OF THE REST:

6. Sterling National Country Club – 12.83 (11.34 men; 22.34 women)
7. Segregansett Country Club – 13.33 (11.63 men; 26.57 women)
8. Ludlow Country Club – 13.43 (11.77 men; 28.82 women)
9. TPC Boston – 13.54 (11.82 men; 24.39 women)
10. Plymouth Country Club – 13.60 (11.50 men; 28.15 women)
11. LeBaron Hills Country Club – 13.66 (11.31 men; 28.14 women)
12. Haverhill Golf & Country Club – 13.75 (12.22 men; 25.72 women)
13. Renaissance – 13.86 (11.53 men; 24.26 women)
14. Andover Country Club – 14.10 (12.97 men; 24.48 women)
15. Marlborough Country Club – 14.15 (13.09 men; 23.37 women)
16. GreatHorse – 14.23 (11.83 men; 29.11 women)
17. Framingham Country Club – 14.49 (11.73 men; 29.90 women)
18. The International – 14.66 (11.94 men; 26.60 women)
19. Franklin Country Club – 14.70 (12.36 men; 32.74 women)
20. Indian Ridge Country Club – 14.79 (12.34 men; 28.62 women)
21. Taconic Golf Club – 14.80 (12.90 men; 23.47 women)
22. Country Club of New Bedford – 14.88 (13.30 men; 25.94 women)
23. Wedgewood Pines Country Club – 14.98 (12.58 men; 27.43 women)
24. Country Club of Greenfield – 15.04 (12.64 men; 24.74 women)
25. Oak Hill Country Club – 15.13 (12.14 men; 26.38 women)

 

Other Fun Facts:

  • GreatHorse and Framingham Country Club have produced each of the past two champions of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship, Ryan Downes & Matthew Naumec, respectively. Naumec won at Framingham last year, and GreatHorse will host the championship this summer.
  • Taconic Golf Club, surrounded by pine-covered mountains in the state’s northwest corner, has hosted three USGA Championships (1956 U.S. Junior Amateur, 1963 U.S. Women’s Amateur, and 1996 U.S. Senior Amateur). The course’s layout seamlessly integrates with the natural contours of the Berkshires, offering players breathtaking vistas of the surrounding mountains and forests. In addition to its talented membership, it serves as home for the Williams College golf program.
  • In the overall rankings, Cohasse Country Club in Southbridge led all 9-hole facilities with an average of 15.75, placing it #35 overall. Brockton Country Club, which was founded in 1900, carries an average of 15.98, good for #39.
Segregansett Country Club features long, narrow fairways that make driving accuracy the biggest focus. (Contributed)

About Mass Golf

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 130,000 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.

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