By: Richard Rapp
rrapp@massgolf.org
Fans of golden-age golf course architecture, championship hosting pedigree, and old New England charm – rejoice! Mass Golf is pleased to announce three future championship sites that will surely satisfy your exacting criteria.
In 2025, the 122nd playing of the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship will be held at Concord Country Club. A month later, Worcester Country Club will host the 2025 Massachusetts Senior Amateur*. And in 2027, the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur will return to The Kittansett Club in Marion.
The year 2025 will mark the sixth time Concord has hosted the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur (1960, 1978, 1997, 2004, 2014). Concord has also served as the venue for three Massachusetts Amateurs, including Connor Willett’s momentous victory in 2022.
The event will feature two rounds of stroke play on August 11 and 12 before the field is whittled down to a bracket of 32 players, with two rounds played on both the 13th and 14th. The final match will take place on Friday, the 15th.
Concord Country Club, situated in one of the epicenters of this country’s early history, was founded in 1895. Donald Ross was commissioned to design the original 9 holes in 1913, then called upon again in 1928 to build another 9 holes on newly acquired land. Though they are not played chronologically, the newer 9 holes traverse more dramatic terrain than the original, providing a persistently interesting mix of thoughtful holes routed on gently moving land, interspersed with rollicking, roller coaster delights.
Collectively, the 18-hole layout makes for a worthy championship test, which has held up over the years.
“We are thrilled that our club will be hosting the 2025 Massachusetts Women’s Amateur next summer,” said Concord’s General Manager/COO Gregory Cincotta. “It is an honor to be chosen as the host site for this prestigious event and we are looking forward to showcasing our beautiful and challenging course to all the talented competitors. The anticipation and excitement among our members and staff is palpable as we prepare to welcome the top women golfers in the state and look forward to a great event.”
A select few courses — five to be precise — have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, and the Ryder Cup. However, only Worcester Country Club has welcomed those three heavy hitters, as well as the Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship. Eat your hearts out Atlantic Athletic Club, Hazeltine, Pinehurst, and Champions GC. Next year will mark the second time the club has hosted the Mass Senior Amateur, and the first since 1967.
Around the same time that Donald Ross finished his original 9 holes at Concord, Worcester CC commissioned the en vogue Scotsman to design 18 holes in Worcester. From its very inception, marked by a 1914 opening dedication from President William Howard Taft, the grounds were fertile for the sowing of historic seed.
The club hosted the 1925 U.S. Open, which William Macfarlane won, defeating Bobby Jones in a playoff. In an earlier round, Jones famously called himself for a penalty that would have rendered a playoff unnecessary. In response to the admiration he received for his honesty, Jones quipped, “You may as well praise me for not robbing a bank. There is only one way to play the game.”
Worcester then hosted the inaugural Ryder Cup in 1927, when Walter Hagen captained the United States side to victory. A few decades later, Betsy Rawls won the 1960 U.S. Women’s Open — her 4th such title (tied for the most all-time with Mickey Wright).
Worcester’s long history of hosting is not limited to the national scene, as evidenced by Byron Nelson’s win at the Massachusetts Open in 1939. Current Head Professional Andy Lane recognizes that local dynamic.
“The history is felt throughout the entire property, everywhere here on the golf course, around the clubhouse,” Lane said. “The history is a big part of the club. But as special as the [national] history is — the history with a lot of the Massachusetts Opens, Amateurs, and state events, is rooted in the club’s history as well. To continue that is a special thing.”
Gil Hanse, an impossibly prolific golf course architect who seems determined to restore the great United States golden era courses to something more closely resembling their original glory, recently completed extensive restoration work at Worcester.
“After the restoration, there’s a buzz here that is very exciting, and the golf course is better than ever,” added Lane. “Gil Hanse and his team came through here last fall — the golf course is absolutely amazing. So, I know that everybody that comes and plays here is going to love it.”
Considering Hanse’s efforts to return the course to Ross’ original intentions, one might catch goosebumps thinking about Lane’s words regarding the history felt around the property. When the competitors return to Worcester in 2025 for the Mass Senior Amateur, so too will the same twilight shadows cast upon the contours of the 1913 design, along with the eternal specters of Ross & Rawls, Hagen & Sarazen, Taft & Nelson.
In 2027, the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur returns to The Kittansett Club for the first time since 1984. Lifelong Kittansett member and two-time Mass Women’s Am Champion (1985, 1986) Loren Milhench leGassick played in that event as a teenager. She fondly remembers a crowd of 250 members rallying around their fellow member, Muffy Marlio, as she made a run into the finals before falling to Karen Plamondon Richardson.
From the suddenly nostalgic tones in her voice, it was evident that 40-year-old memories from that championship, with Buzzards Bay glistening in every direction, were swimming merrily through leGassick’s head.
“I just remember how much fun it was and how welcoming the membership was,” said leGassick. “It wasn’t one of these, ‘oh, the women are taking over the course for the week.’ It was the opposite. It was just, ‘oh, isn’t this awesome? We get to show off our golf course for the state amateur.’”
The Kittansett Club is no stranger to elite amateur competition, having hosted the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in 2022 and the 1953 Walker Cup. LeGassick expects the club’s membership to show a similar enthusiasm in 2027.
“We were out there watching and really, really enjoyed it,” said leGassick. “[We] just loved the chance to see awesome golf and also, just been very proud of our golf course. So I think we’re going to have that same exact energy and excitement. It’s such a challenging, beautiful golf course and a great venue for a state amateur. It’s incredibly difficult, but fair at the same time. You have a choice to go for it, or you have a choice to play conservatively, and that’s where match play can be really fun.”
William Flynn consulted on the course’s original layout in the early 1920s before founding member Frederic C. Hood led the original construction. Much like at Worcester, Gil Hanse has worked his restorative magic on the grounds. Kittansett has been a decades-long project for Hanse and crew, as he has cleared trees, restored greens and bunkers, and frequently deferred to Flynn’s original plans.
The result is a windswept oasis at the end of Point Road in Marion. Jutting into the bay, Kittansett will once again provide a compelling, seaside stage for the best women golfers in Massachusetts.
*Massachusetts Senior Amateur was listed as Massachusetts Senior Open in a previous version of this release, and has since been corrected.
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