Tom Fazio's Oaks Course doesn't play second fiddle at The International Golf Club & Resort outside Boston
BOLTON, Mass. -- With crippling rough and tips that stretch to 8,325 yards, the Pines Course at The International Golf Club & Resort rates as the most difficult course in America. By comparison, The Oaks Course delivers a more scenic and pleasant resort course feel.
The Oaks, which opened in 2001 roughly 45 miles west of Boston, began allowing public play after 9 a.m. each morning for the first time last year. Tom Fazio designed The Oaks on a wooded and rocky site. Its elevation changes create more dramatic theater than the flatter, private design of The Pines.
The Oaks Course's unique collection of five par 5s and five par 3s, coupled with GPS in the carts, makes lower scores possible. There are no water hazards to carry, just hairy-lipped bunkers to avoid.
Once word gets out that the Oaks is open to all, it could make a run at the nearby Red Tail Golf Club as Boston's premier public playground. Stay-and-play packages are available at the club's lodge on site.
The International is also home to a Rick Smith Golf Academy, a TaylorMade Performance Lab and the highly regarded Fireplace Room Restaurant.