SCORE: 7.9
Bass River Video Review Here
Value : 7.7
Condition : 7.9
Atmosphere : 8.2
Overview:
If you ask Cam where you can find me in the summer, it will immediately be “The Cape” in a sarcastic tone. But he’s not wrong - crossing over the Sagamore gives me life, and shutting down the cottage in November sends shivers down my spine. However, until this past summer, my Cape golf knowledge lacked any depth beyond the few classics like Captains, Cranberry, and good ol’ Paul Harney. Little did I know, Cape Cod is home to 27 public golf courses. Could you name them all? Because I certainly can’t…. And I do this for a living… kind of.
Big Divots prides ourselves on finding the best courses in the eyes of the common man, and that goes beyond the stimpmeter of the greens and the price tag on the round. Today’s course highlight embodies all of what Divots represents and is now one of our highest ranked public courses - Bass River Golf Course in Yarmouth, MA.
Conditions:
This place sets up right perfect for me - you can blow it anywhere off the tee and still have a chance to make par. This is one of two public courses (alongside Highland Links) with water views on the entire Cape and you don’t want to miss it. Three par 5’s and only one par 3 on the front 9 gives you a scoreable par 38 to kick it off, only to be followed by a challenging yet scenic par 34 back side. The routing of holes has changed around several times over the last few decades but the signature par 3 15th hole is undoubtedly one of my favorite holes in New England. 160 yards playing the full number with wind whipping off the River right in the teeth. Doesn’t get better than that. The course brought on Marc Mimmo from Hyannisport to take the reins on the grounds and he made immense changes in his short tenure by growing out the fescue and giving the course more character.
Value:
Another reason this place received a high score is the value - you’re shelling out $95 for 18 with a cart ($70 to walk) on the weekends in the summer. In a world where courses are gouging golfers for $150+ and stacking tee times every 8 minutes, this was a breath of fresh air.
Atmosphere:
Make sure you stay for the post game here - the (wooden) deck on the backside of the pro shop hosts one of the top 19th holes in New England where you have views of boats cruising up and down Bass River parallel to that gorgeous 15th hole. We truly appreciate a course and staff that take pride in what they do day in and day out, and that is evident across the board at BR.
Whether you make a day trip over the winter for the $50 greens fees (yes they’re open almost year round), or you book your tee time for your annual Cape trip with the family, you won’t want to miss this gem.