After undergoing a full bunker renovation in 2020, Walpole County Club successfully hosted Mass Golf and USGA qualifying events the past few years, leading to a newly signed seven-year agreement between the club and Mass Golf. This agreement will bring four Mass Golf Championships, including the 2029 Massachusetts Open, to Walpole.
Along with hosting its second-ever Massachusetts Open (first in 2012), Walpole will also be the site of the 100th Massachusetts Mixed Four-Ball Championship (fourth overall, first in its new form). It will also host its first Mass Women’s Four-Ball Championship and first Mass Senior Amateur Championship.
There will also be three one-day events for Mass Golf, USGA and New England Golf Association (NEGA) taking place in years when no Mass Golf Championship is being contested there.
Walpole Country Club future events:
The 2020 renovation by Golf Course Architect, Ron Forse, has been well-received. Every bunker on the property was renovated, nine new bunkers were added, and a few other changes were made to strengthen the championship layout. One of the more significant changes came on the second hole, where several trees were replaced with an impressive collection of bunkers, creating a more thoughtful hole with a variety of options on how to play it. A video recapping these changes can be seen at the bottom of this release.
In 2021, the club held its first Mass Golf Championship post-renovation, crowning Keith Smith & Steve Tasho as Massachusetts Senior Four-Ball Champions with Paul Nunez & Jim Ruschioni taking the Super Senior Division title. In 2022, Walpole hosted U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifying. Jake Shuman, the co-medalist of the U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier at Walpole, went on to earn a share of stroke play medalist honors in the U.S. Mid Amateur Championship at Erin Hills.
The Mixed Four-Ball Championship, an event won by the father-daughter team of Molly Smith & Phil Smith for the last two years, is set for May 1, 2023. It will be the third edition of the event in its current form, as it was elevated from Tournament status to a Championship in 2020.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 110,000 golf enthusiasts and over 340 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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