Fortunately for local golfers, Cape Cod already has its share of fine, taxpayer-produced links, especially in the Mid-Cape (liberally defined), including two in Brewster, two in Dennis, three in Yarmouth, and the pride of Harwich, Cranberry Valley.
Besides the fact that Cranberry Valley uses the image of an old cranberry scoop as its logo, the course seems older than its years. Though only opened in 1974, it has the feel of a classic, kind of a wider, flatter, woodsier Bass River, which is to say that the design, by Geoffrey Cornish and William Robinson, has shades of the greats, namely Stanley Thompson and Donald Ross.
Cranberry Valley is one of the 240 courses designed by Cornish, and its 18th hole is one of the all-time favorite 18 holes of his design, according to his essay in the New England Journal of Golf: “This stout finishing hole, which measures some 530 yards, is a double-dogleg par-5 that requires two mighty blows to reach the two corners.”
Cornish’s assessment is true, but he neglects to mention that, even after two mighty blows, you would still need an accurate pitch to a spacious but deceptively difficult green. The flowers that surround the green can make this final approach seem festive or funereal, depending.
Cranberry Valley is all about Cape Cod, from the pines to the bogs to the kettle holes and to the friendly staff with their ready supply of “curbside manner,” from the cashier to the starter to the cart guys, and to anyone else who might happen into your path. Printed in capital letters under the rules on the back of the scorecard is this motto: “When you tee it up, the course is yours. Enjoy it!”
The Director of Golf, Dennis Hoye, sets the example for all this community good cheer. By nature, Dennis is a nice guy, but he also understands the business well enough to know how important these touchy-feely impressions can be to the golfing public. With so many courses around, no one can afford to rest on their laurels, he said in a recent interview. “You have to provide a better product, do things better, be a little more friendly.”
Providing a better product is exactly why the town authorized the renovation projects of the last two years. First on the list of improvements was the installation of a modern watering system. The number of sprinkler heads on the course now tops 2,600 and the entire system is computer controlled. This allows the course superintendent to water precisely when and where it is needed. The results are greatly improved conditions and a more challenging venue since the rough is thicker. Consequently there is an increased demand on the tee ball to stay in the fairway.
On top of his attention to Cranberry Valley’s 1,100 resident members, Hoye also works to capture a golf market with a destination range that extends from Cape Cod to Maine, with Plymouth presenting a particular competitive concern because of its position between Boston and the Cape.
Additionally, Hoye has made Cranberry Valley more kid-friendly than your average municipal by allowing school teams to call it home, by welcoming the junior set (ages 8-18) with lessons and tee-times, and by offering a helping hand to those who might limp in with a problem swing. It’s a good facility for this sort of thing, too, with its spacious driving range just steps from the parking lot and practice areas that invite the needy.
Consistent with improving the Cranberry Valley golf experience additional monies were appropriated to rebuild and expand the driving range. New practice areas were created for bunker shots and chipping areas were added. The range is probably the best in the Mid- Cape area. Junior clinics are held there and the public is invited to use the facility even if they do not play the course.
In the fall of last year the final phase of the course improvements was the rebuilding of the bunkers throughout the golf course. Each one was shaped to its original design and others were added. The course continues to have that Cape Cod feel but can now handle the new “power game” that technology in club and ball design has given today’s players. Each hole has been visually enhanced with these new bunkers.
Shawn Fernandez has the course in very good shape - a sentiment shared by the members with whom we were matched, a husband and wife team that plays here and in Naples when they’re down that way. Also of note is Cranberry Valley’s spanking new clubhouse and snack bar.
The starting hole is one of the half-dozen doglegs here. It’s a right sweeping par-4 that measures 379 from the tips and 308 from the whites and bends 143 yards short of the green. There’s a bunker in the nook and trees all over that don’t look too penal - until you’re in them and can’t go forward. If you’re thinking, “Hey, I’ll just slice one long over onto the No. 9 fairway as a short-cut maneuver,” don’t. There’s no way anyone could get a ball back over the trees and onto the baby-pear-shaped green.
No. 2 is a great hole on which to regain your composure, for you get three chances to whack the ball long on this par-5 that’s 508 from the tips (459 for me). There’s no real trouble that should prevent you from getting on in regulation, which is nice. It’s almost dead straight, and the bunkers don’t get hazardous until you’re in wedge range.
No. 3 is one of those great Cape Cod holes that sticks in your mind forever. To say it’s a dogleg is to dim by faint praise, because this dog’s leg would have to be broken. The nearly 90-degree turn is guarded by a nasty little Siamese bunker. At 366-yards from the whites, this easy, downhill par-4 has more than its share of sucker shots, like the drive – don’t bother trying to fly the bunkers – and the approach, just get it on and don’t risk landing in the front-side bunker.
After the straight and simple par-3 at No. 4, with tees at 163, 166, 188 and 208, No. 5 brings you back to the dog pound. This time a leftie bends about halfway into its 400-yard length, meaning that, unless you have a nice, long draw/hook, your second shot will be about as long as your first. That’s okay, for again here it’s more important to stay on the course than to hit as long as you can. With the prevailing wind at your back and with the right pin placement, using three shots to get on is not such a bad play. It is the No. 1 handicap hole on the course.
No. 6 is a funky little par-4, at 314 from the whites, with midway bunkers on each flank. The green is better protected than most with two big bunkers in front. Since you probably can’t drive it, you’re hoping to pitch it close and tap in for birdie. Between the speed and the slope of the green, however, that is easier said than done.
No. 7 is a short and simple 3-par, 141 from the whites, 183 from the championship tees. The card says it’s the second easiest hole on the course, and I found that to be true. Bunkers guard the entire right side, but the left is open and the green is longer than it is wide, so keeping it on is not too difficult.
No. 8 is a monster, not so much for its distance (485 white/519 gold), but for its appearance. From the tee, the target might seem to be in Dennis, but once you’ve put it out into the fairway, things get easier. Trees right and left should pose no problems, and the only real fairway bunker to worry about is 103 yards before the green on the right side. After that, there’s a Hydra-headed sand trap front and left-center, but, unless you are huge and trying to get on in two, it probably won’t be in the way. Like a lot of the holes out here, you should be thinking “birdie” once you’ve hit your drive anywhere up the middle.
No. 9 is a classic beauty, with all the right curves, undulations, contours, bunker-placements, risks and rewards. Another dogleg par-4, this time to the left, it’s 397 from way back. (The club pro has been known to shortcut the intended route, but do you have any idea what it takes to become a PGA professional?) As always, the corner is bunker-protected, and so is the front of the green, this time with a kidney-shaped trap, so par is nice and not that hard from the middle.
Nos. 10 and 11 are two of the more adventurous back-to-back holes around. Water comes into play at Cranberry Valley on three holes, and these are two of them, although No. 10 is the more inviting of the ponds. At 336 from the whites, you look at this hole and say to yourself, “Gosh this game is easy.” But never take anything for granted, grasshopper, or you will drive your new ball into the magnetic pond on the right side that grabs everything within reach. No. 11 is a dogleg right where you drive over the water and into a valley, hopefully, leaving about 140 to a raised postage stamp with a border of sand and an envelope of woods. What’s different about this dogleg is that, instead of a bunker in the near corner, it’s got a forest. The worst thing you can do here is to fade one into the trees. The only exit is out the side.
What I like most about 11 is what I like most about Cranberry Valley – the interest level of your second shot. It seems like all of them are make-or-break affairs, and every one of them is different - if not in distance then in appearance, in shape, in the slope and size of the green that awaits.
Nos. 13-17 are more or less straight and offer a wide variety of distances, from hole to hole and from tee to tee. Two of them offer pars of 4 or 5, depending on the tee you’re hitting from. On No. 14, the tees go 335, 349, 439 and 484. On 16 the spread is only about 50 yards, from 402-455, but it’s narrow, hazardous, bumpy and the second hardest hole on the course.
No. 18, the Cornish Cranberry favorite, is one of those finishing holes architects like to design thinking the longer the hole, the better the chance of a close match turning. Like a lot of last holes, it’s about five football fields of fun, but in this case the fields are corner to corner instead of end to end. Ergo, not only is the tee shot blind to the green, but the next couple shots might be too. There it is! Just a chip and a putt, and away we go!
Cranberry Valley Golf Course