Cape Cod Country Club (Falmouth, MA)

The  “Volcano” hole alone is worth the greens fee at Cape Cod Country Club!  The small green stares down from atop the hill, falloffs on every side, demanding your most accurate shot. It’s a classic Devereux Emmet hole and one that I believe would not be built today. The golden age of architecture had so many cool ideas often pushing the boundaries between fair and unfair. It is this untethered approach that makes me love playing these gems. 

CCCC was designed by Devereux Emmet and Alfred Tull in 1928. It is routed over bold landforms and big elevation changes. Some of the greens are incredibly wild in their location. (The opening hole is 30-40 feet on a little shelf!) The course only plays at 6,175 yards yet it stubbornly yields low scores. Much of this can be attributed to its staunch par threes including the 257 yard twelth! Talk about half pars! One will probably make four here and then make a four on the reachable 449 yard par five thirteenth. 

(The 449 yard par five thirteenth is reachable in two especially if you turn it over and the ball tumbles down the hill. As this view shows, balls that stay on the hill have this incredible shot to the green. Fail to make carry and the ball can run all the way back down. What an absolute thrill this half par is!) 

(This is a close up of the 360 yard par four fourteenth “Volcano” hole. Note left, long, and right have long grass waiting any shot not hit accurately. The two locals I played with purposely hit short in the fairway and took their chances from there.) 

(The 190 yard par three fifteenth is all carry. Check out the bunkers 20-40 yards short of the green. They see a lot of action. The green is slightly higher than the tee and plays a tad longer.) 

Why the course doesn’t get more love and is relatively unknown is beyond me. I suspect it’s yardage holds it back from the major publications. The last three holes don’t do it any favors either. Both seventeen and eighteen are sub 300 yard par fours. Residents of Cape Cod know it’s worth. It hosts the Cape Cod Senior Open every year. (It held the USGA Massachusetts Open in 1955,1956,1957) If you’re in the area, I highly recommend playing a round. I give it a solid 5 (good)(worth driving an hour to play). 

(I played the back nine with a retired Air Force vet and a retired Coast Guard vet. They were both very gracious to allow the starter to pair me up with them as they made the turn. Some good conversations about the upcoming NFL season, how the “Dead Sox” are playing, and good old fashioned life made it a great nine holes. I birdied 11 and bogeyed 12&16 for a 36.) 

(The 407 yard par four tenth.) 

(Believe it or not, there’s talks of turning this property into a solar farm. The Fried Egg had a write up about it last month, and I’m hoping that the uptick in golf will give the citizens of Falmouth a new appreciation for the gem they possess in their town.)