Course: Blackstone National Golf Club

Location: Sutton, MA

Date Played: July 20, 2007

Played By: Ross & Jason

Overall Rating: 90

Friendliness of Staff: 10
All of our encounters with the staff were perfect. They have a kid that takes your golf clubs from your car when you pull up and puts them on to your golf cart. The starter was very friendly and engaging in conversation. They have a guy that washes your club heads for you while you are putting out on the 18th green (don't find that too often). The guy in the pro shop was very friendly and was having an "amazing" day. So did we.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 8
They have a very large, undulating practice green that rolled just like the greens on the course. There is also a large practice range to hone in your shot before the round. They have a beautiful restaurant/bar area. The bathrooms here are large and well kept. There was a large tent set up for banquets. The pro shop was not too large, but had high end merchandise available. Before you start your round (or at the turn), you can stop at their snack shack to get refreshed.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 7
The hot dogs at the snack shack were really good. They were Kayem's 1/4-pounders and tasted yummy. The menu in the bar/restaurant was limited, with mostly everything being a meal. The burgers cost $9+, but they had a couple different varieties.

Fairway Conditions: 10
One word: MINT! These fairways were in perfect condition. Just like hitting off of carpeting, especially the 18th, where it doesn't get much better than that. Not a weed could be found in any fairways. The fairways were well colored, but the rough was browning in some places, likely due to the warm weather and constant mowing. This course obviously drains well too, as it rained heavily the night before and we could hardly notice.

Greens Conditions: 9
These greens were in great condition. They were cut short and rolled fast and true. They repaired well from approach shots. You can tell that most people repair their ball marks, and this course goes the extra mile by posting signs as you walk on to the green to "repair your ball mark plus one other." Most of the greens here are multiple tiered and challenging.

Scenery: 8
There are some amazing, beautiful views. You play a lot of shots from elevated fairways, down to the green. On the course, we saw many chipmunks, squirrels, even a woodchuck and a frog was hanging out with us on the third tee. The course is set back in to the woods, which is a great setting, with some of the cart paths being bridges built over wet land. In the fall, this course will be amazing with the color changing of leaves.

Difficulty of Course: 9
This is definitely not an easy course. There are many different tee shots that require you to use different clubs from the tee (from driver down to irons). The fairways are tight and if you go in to the woods, expect your ball to be out of play. The greens are tough, with many being multi-tiered. Expect to 3-putt every now and then. The bunkers are deep and well placed throughout the course. The rough is thick and can play with your mind on your approach shots. The course is 6,700 yards from the blues (7,000 from the tips). If you play straight and putt well, you can score in the low to mid 80's, but bring your A game if you want to break 80..

Value Received: 8
It's $100 to play 18, but well worth it. All of the golf carts have a very high-end GPS system, that allows you to do more than see the yardage, like requesting a new cart, request the ranger, and more! If you wanted to, you can use the GPS to track your score instead of using the card. Our GPS wasn't working at all, so we were quite disappointed. You can get bottled water throughout the course for $1 each, which is purchased on the honor system, with the proceeds benefiting a local charity. While you are finishing out on the 18th green, they have a guy that is cleaning your club heads for you. The only thing that didn't meet our expectation was that we figured they would have free tees or ball marks that they give to you for the round. This course is pricey to play, but your expectations are well met.

Speed of Play/Design of Course: 8
In terms of design, it really doesn't get much better than this. This course is designed by one of the top designers there is right now, Rees Jones. The holes are carved nicely in to the woods and they made much use out of the varying hills and mounds. When you start your round, they tell you that it should be 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete your round. On the front 9, the pace was pretty fast, but the we really backed up on the back 9. It seemed like we were waiting for the group in front of us, who was waiting for the group in front of them. The last 5 holes we spent a good amount of time waiting to hit our next shots. There is a ranger on the course, but we saw him on the second hole only, and not again afterwards. He definitely needs to be around more, pushing the slow groups along.

19th Hole: 8
The 19th hole is gorgeous. They had at least four beers on tap, including Sam Summer and Magic Hat #9. We sat on an outdoor patio overlooking the 18th green and watched a bunch of groups finish out their rounds. The indoor bar area was a bit smaller than expected, with only a few small round tables. The restaurant was also smaller than expected. Both were nicely decorated and had a good feel to being inside. They need to expand the restaurant and its menu to be more world class.

There is a beer cart on the course. +5

Comments:
This is one course that needs to be on your list of ones to play. It is definitely one of the best public courses around. They definitely get it when it comes to running a course, as the intangibles you receive here are top notch. One deal that we were told about, if you were to play here a few times, is that you can purchase a golf card for $150 that gets you 2 free rounds per year, a free round on your birthday, and buy-one get-one free deals twice a month. For the business man, that's a great deal to bring clients to the course and WOW them. Do yourself a favor and set a tee time to play here.