The Bay Club at Mattapoisett
As early morning fog rolls across Narragansett Bay I look over the west passage of the Sakonnet River from atop the third tee at Newport National Golf Club. It is very early as the morning light cascades over these finely sculptured links, for a moment I am not sure if this is Ireland or Aquidneck Island.
When you make the turn into the Bay Club which is just minute off Interstate Route 195 you quickly realize, you are in special place. The design, the layout, the architecture of both the golf course and the community is well planned and carefully thought out. The golf course majestically winds through the property, which is on 625 acres of land. The golf course comprises 155 acres, residential development 270 acres and there is 300 acres set aside for conservation land. If it looks like a park and feel like a park then it must be a park right? Well not exactly but living and or playing golf here sure has to be close. There a few places in New England that are golf course developments that I have ever visited that have such a relaxed and unhurried feeling about them, more like a resort then a community.
The Bay Club is one of only 66 golf courses worldwide and the only club in Massachusetts to earn Audubon’s International Silver Designation. Course architects Brad Faxon and Brad Booth set out to build something special here and what they did was even one step further. The Bay Club is a wonderfully designed golf facility that has a great flow to it. The course is cut between tall pines and open space and gives you a great sense of playing the game on a course that has been here for decades. There are many similarities to the TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts. You can see Faxon’s influence at both facilities. The generous distance between holes provides excellent separation between groups and often a feeling that you are out here alone with nature and your game.
Course and grounds superintendent Jon O’Connor has done a wonderful job at bringing a sense of maturity to the landscape throughout this entire property. Conditions are pristine from tee to green and beyond everywhere you look. The course sits framed by tall pines, fescue grasses and white shell cart paths with great views from every hole. The course is designed with very strategic bunkering on almost all holes lined with beautiful white sand often times bordered with high flanks and framed by fescue grasses. The course General Manager Craig Fleming and Head Golf Professional Greg Yeomans gave us a quick review of the facility before we set out to play. The Club has a great practice facility second to none with a short game area right adjacent to the Golf House Restaurant and the first tee.
This Championship 18 hole layout will give you all your looking for from the beginner to advanced player. The course is a par 71 rated 74.5 from the back with a slope rating of 133. There are 4 sets of tee boxes from 5244 yards at the red tees to 7016 yards from the back. We played the back tee boxes, which play about 200 yards shorter on the front then the back nine. The first hole is a 373-yard par four dogleg right well bunkered on the corner and around the green a good starting hole. The 2nd and 3rd hole are both straight away par fours but both are over 440 yards and require a good drive to get home in two. The 4th is a good par three straight away at 195 yards. The 5th hole plays at 387 yards again pretty straight away but placement off the tee is important because of slight side hills.
Your first par 5 is the 6th hole and it plays at 562 yards and is a dog leg right, hard to get home in two here, unless you are Jess Houston the 2007 Mass Amateur Champion and one of Bay State Golf’s contributing writers, he hit a choke down three wood out of a thick rough to the green. The 7th and 8th holes are well bunkered all the way down the fairway, placement is key. The 9th finishes you off on the front with a long par 3 at 226 yards and into the wind, a great hole.
The back nine plays just a little longer but starts you off with a short par 4 on the 10th, followed by a par five at 528 yards. The next hole the shortest par three on the course is 169 yards and the 18th handicap. The 13th is a 403-yard par four dogleg right again, followed by another long par 3 at 233 yards. The 15th is the courses longest par 5 at 556 yards a slight dogleg left. The finishing three holes at The Bay Club are all long par fours at 410,487 and 445, all three are great golf holes.
This course, its design, and the conditions throughout were absolutely a pleasure to play. The facility ranks with the best courses in New England that we have ever played, The development has all the residential amenities that you could ask for and more, Golf, Dinning, a Racquet Sports facility, Fitness Center with Pool and Spa and planned clubhouse. For information on The Bay Club and homes on the property you may contact The sales office at 508-758-9543 or visit www.bayclubmatt.com
