PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts (September 16, 2025) – Low scores were a hot commodity at the inaugural Net Four-Ball Championship at Waverly Oaks Golf Club.
On Tuesday, Mass Golf debuted the Net Four-Ball Championship, reviving an idea last seen two decades ago. From 2000–2003, the “MGA Net Team Championship” provided a similar competitive outlet for mid-to-higher handicap players until it was discontinued.
This new event, which featured 192 players (96 sides) selected based on a random lottery, has brought back that concept with a fresh approach. Each team features two male Mass Golf members at least 21 years old with Handicap Indexes between 8.1–18.0, playing at 85% of their 12-month low index.
In the morning shotgun, Michael Sonnendecker (George Wright Golf Course) and Phillip Harder (DW Field Golf Course) and Dave Schafer (The Tour) and Michael Regan (The Tour) set the pace with the leading scorer of 8-under-par 64.
Until the morning players finished, the top spot had been shared by several teams, including Regan and Schafer. However, Harder and Sonnendecker surged into the lead, closing their round with three gross birdies in the final six holes, all contributed by Harder.
“It was fun, a little nervous at the beginning, but we ham-and-egged it really well in the last six holes,” Harder said after he and Sonnendecker made their Mass Golf Championship debut.
The duo first met as friends during their time at Northeastern University. Sonnendecker said he valued the chance to compete against players in his handicap range, but even more, he cherished the bond he shared with Harder, a friendship that stretched far beyond college and golf. After all, Harder’s wife had once played matchmaker for Sonnendecker and his now-wife, a reminder of just how intertwined their lives had become.
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With a score to chase in the afternoon, however, Peter Duquette (Juniper Hill Golf Course) and Josh Ducharme (Heritage Country Club) outlasted everybody, coming in at 9-under-par 63. Duquette and Ducharme met through work years ago and occasionally played golf, but this tournament was their first round together of the year. They had even joked about bringing a trophy of their own for good luck.
“This means everything. We never thought this was going to happen, especially in golf,” Duquette said after the victory. “We’re both pretty competitive people, so this was one that we really wanted to do.”
Duquette and Ducharme, who began their round on the par-5 13th, set the tone with three net birdies in their first four holes, making the likelihood of earning an actual trophy even greater.
Through nine holes, they were already halfway to their target at 4-under, and they climbed even higher when both sank birdies on the par-5 5th and par-4 9th, without receiving any strokes.
“I had 246 yards with a 3-wood, put it up to the left, and it came off the hill nicely with a nice two-putt for a birdie,” Ducharme said of his birdie on the 5th. “Getting a real natural birdie is huge for a tournament like this.”
Walking off the 10th green, just one shot shy of the outright lead, they exchanged the same words: “Let’s go win this thing.”
“He took the words out of my mouth. It’s kind of surreal, being as competitive as I am,” Ducharme said.
The pair proceeded to rip to great drives down the 11th fairway, with Duquette two-putting for net birdie and Ducharme saving par on the 12th to close out the victory.
Ducharme and Duquette have played in their fair share of championships, but they consider this one of their highest achievements in sports.
“Sporting-wise, this is up there,” Ducharme said. “With how many competitive teams are out here [96], this is pretty cool.”
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Designed by Brian Silva, the 18-hole championship layout at Waverly Oaks first opened to the public in 1998. Carved through more than 240 acres of rolling New England hills and valleys, the course is framed by lush woodlands and towering oaks, featuring expansive fairways, bold greens, strategic bunkering, and a 150-foot elevation change.
Waverly Oaks offers a wide variety of holes and green complexes, including the par-3 17th, known as “The Black Hole,” which presents one of the most intimidating shots on the course. Any tee shot that falls short of the bunkers—or drifts right—can quickly roll down the steep drop into the hazard below.
After a gentle opening on the 1st hole, golfers look forward to the consecutive par-5s on the 4th and 5th. The 369-yard 9th, nicknamed “Double Trouble,” is a classic risk-reward hole: players can lay up short of the water with an iron for a comfortable approach of roughly 150 yards, or challenge the narrow fairway with a driver. The closing stretch features a steep punchbowl green on the 15th, followed by a long downhill par-5 that sets up the demanding 17th.
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