NORTON, Massachusetts (February 27, 2025) – Imagine stepping onto the first tee at a course you’ve only seen in pictures, the kind of place where you and your golf partners usually say, “Maybe someday.” For the past 15 years, Mass Golf Member Days have allowed thousands of Mass Golf members to fulfill those desires at some of Massachusetts’ most exclusive private courses — venues typically reserved for members and their guests only.
Following record participation last season, including a 25% increase in unique players, this series of one-day, 18-hole events continues with a fresh lineup, an updated lottery system, and a season packed with opportunities to play some of the most desired and storied courses all across Massachusetts.
And much like the return of major golf, signing up for Member Days is right around the corner. Beginning Tuesday, March 4, golfers can enter the lotteries for their preferred events. In order to participate, you must have an active GHIN Number and create a Golf Genius Player Profile if one hasn’t already been created. This system ensures a fair and efficient way for all Mass Golf members to get their chance to participate.
“We are thrilled to offer another exciting lineup of courses in all corners of the state for this year’s Member Days, along with a new and improved lottery system,” said Kyle Sherman, Mass Golf’s Manager of Member Events & Services. “A big thank you to the clubs that continue to host and support the program, as well as a couple of first-time hosts this year. The program continues to grow year after year, and we look forward to a fantastic 2025 season.”
With 23 events on the schedule, Member Days tee off on Monday, May 5, at Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston, which has previously hosted the 2024 Ouimet Memorial Tournament, the 2022 Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur, and the 2021 Mass Junior Amateur. The schedule extends through October 27, when the season culminates with simultaneous events at Ipswich Country Club and Milton-Hoosic Club (Canton).
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.
Each lottery closes six weeks prior to the event start date. Preference in each individual lottery will be given to members who have not yet played in a Member Day during the 2025 season. If first-time 2025 players do not fill the field for an event, invites will then be sent to past 2025 Member Day participants in the order in which they were randomly selected in the lottery.
One of the most exciting additions this year is Wyantenuck Country Club in Great Barrington, a historic Berkshires club that dates back to 1896. Wyantenuck Country Club is one of just two Massachusetts courses with famed architect C.B. Macdonald’s fingerprints upon it. Charles Banks, a prolific associate of Macdonald & Seth Raynor, is credited with renovating the golf course, which was originally designed by Robert Pryde in 1913. Dedham Country & Polo Club, a Seth Raynor design, is the other.
Locally, it is renowned for hosting The Chicken Wing Open. The course features a 6,500-yard parkland layout, which climbs up and down a hillside on the outward nine. The closing stretch plays out and back in more of a links-style layout. The course is known for its consistent and high level of conditioning, which is championed by a long-tenured greens staff.
In addition, two premier Donald Ross 9-hole courses, Whitinsville Golf Club and Cohasse Country Club, will have separate entries for a morning and an afternoon session. Whitinsville has been ranked by GOLF.com as the second-best standalone 9-hole golf course in the world, only behind Royal Worlington & Newmarket GC in England.
The Club at New Seabury, traditionally a major draw among Member Days sites, will host one on the Ocean Course on May 19. This seaside gem along the Cape’s southern shore hosted the 2024 Mass Four-Ball Championship and recently completed a full bunker renovation, expanding fairways, recontouring greens, and relocating cart paths.
Two of Brockton’s golf clubs, Thorny Lea Golf Club and Brockton Country Club, are celebrating 125 years this year and will host Member Day events in the summer.
Thorny Lea’s course is one of many esteemed New England layouts designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek. Despite being less than 6,500 yards from the back tees, it continues to test some of the region’s best golfers. Canadian architect Ian Andrew recently completed the 10-year renovation of the golf course in accordance with Thorny Lea’s master plan. His work included tree removal, bunker renovation, and the updating of several golf holes, all with the respect and guidance of the original Stiles and Van Kleek design.
Brockton CC 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 added length. The club also co-hosts the Brockton City Open with its fellow city courses.
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 Kernwood Country Club returned to the Member Day schedule last year and are back on the schedule for 2025.
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.
Kernwood, located in Salem, has hosted both the Mass Open and Mass Amateur in past years. The 14th hole 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.
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 5
Indian Pond Country Club (Kingston)
Monday, May 12
Orchards Golf Club (South Hadley)
Thursday, May 15
Wyantenuck Country Club (Great Barrington)
Monday, May 19
Country Club of New Seabury (Mashpee)
Wednesday, May 28
Mount Pleasant Golf Club (Lowell)
Monday, June 16
Fall River Country Club (Fall River)
Wednesday, June 18
Brockton Country Club (Brockton)
Monday, June 23
Whitinsville Golf Club (Northbridge) [Morning & Afternoon]
Wednesday, June 30
Cohasse Country Club (Southbridge) [Morning & Afternoon]
Monday, July 14
Oak Hill Country Club (Fitchburg)
Monday, July 15
Sterling National Golf Club (Sterling)
Wednesday, July 23
LeBaron Hills Country Club (Lakeville)
Monday, July 28
Wedgewood Pines Country Club (Stow)
Tuesday, August 11
Thorny Lea Golf Club (Brockton)
Monday, August 18
Tatnuck Country Club (Worcester)
Monday, September 22
Kernwood Country Club (Salem)
Wednesday, September 24
Acoaxet Club (Westport)
Monday, October 6
The Ridge Club (Sandwich)
Thursday, October 16
Plymouth Country Club (Plymouth)
Monday, October 20
Country Club of New Bedford (Dartmouth)
Monday, October 27
Ipswich Country Club (Ipswich)
Milton-Hoosic Club (Canton)
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.
