By: Richard Rapp
WILLIAMSTOWN, Massachusetts (August 18, 2026) – A long eagle putt on the par-5 15th at Waubeeka put Matthew Michaud (South Shore) on the mountaintop at 4-under. From there, with Galen Fowles (Northampton Country Club) already in the clubhouse at 3-under, it was a matter of steering it home at even par or better, which is easier said than done on those windy mountain passes.
Michaud grinded out the final stretch with a series of steely par saves to secure the 2026 Massachusetts Amateur Public Links Championship, firing back to back round of 69 to finish at 4-under.
Playing seven groups ahead of Michaud, Fowles had mounted a mighty charge on the back nine to put pressure on the leaders. He holed an eagle putt on the 15th, then hit his tee shot on the par-3 16th three feet beyond the hole and spun it back to quite literally one centimeter. His high arcing second shot into the par-5 17th went right over the flagstick and settled 6 feet beyond the hole. His eagle bid just barely slid by the edge, leaving Fowles to settle for a 4-under three-hole stretch that put him in first alone. But his approach into the 18th came up short in the bunker, leading to a costly bogey.
Shortly thereafter, Michaud holed his eagle putt to retake the solo lead. “I only had like 165, 170 in. Kind of a crazy putt, but I got lucky and I made one. I hadn’t made a lot before that today, so it was good. Kind of got me right in it.”
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At that point, Michaud looked at the live leaderboard for the last time. The task at hand was clear.
Michaud’s tee shot on the 16th was just a step long into the back rough, but chipping down a severe slope to a pin that was perched on a narrow plateau, anything but a deft touch would have led to 20 feet of run-out. You couldn’t have underhand tossed it more gently than Michaud wedged it, as he let it trundle out to four feet.
The par-5, dogleg left 17th calls for a blind, downhill tee shot. A long delay due to a player returning to the tee from the group ahead left Michaud with plenty of time to think. “I wish I hadn’t seen that there was an 11 on this hole yesterday,” he muttered as he waited. His tee ball looked good from the box, but found a fairway bunker up the left side. Unable to go for a green that much of the field reached in two, he played out to the fairway, leaving 150 yards for his third.
Michaud’s approach flew the green, but he hit yet another beautiful chip to inside three feet, and cleaned up the par. One more to go. He elected to hit iron off the tee of the short par-4 finisher, leaving 100 yards from the center of the fairway. With the juices flowing and little interest in getting cute with a pin tucked behind a front greenside bunker, Michaud hit a sensible shot to the back of the green. Sensible, but still a demanding two-putt from 30 feet. His birdie bid came up about 4 feet short, leaving one more nervy one for the win.
Michaud wasn’t just bidding to become the 45th Massachusetts APL champion, the guy who grew up playing at South Shore Country Club in Hingham was putting for the first win of his life. It looked a touch left off the face, but caught the left edge of the hole, spun a quarter turn around the cup, and dropped in.
“There were some maybe a little nervy shots from time to time. There was a couple delicate chips…some nervy putts at the end for sure.”
The win capped a tremendous two days at Waubeeka in the Berkshires, where all of the quirks and character of public golf were on full display.
“I love public golf, it’s what I do. There’s a lot of good players out here, and it can kind of get lost that there’s a lot of good public golf with the Am and things like that. So it was great to be here with everyone and you know, show that public golf can really get it done.”
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Located just a few miles from the New York/Massachusetts border, Waubeeka winds amid the dense pines of the Berkshires. The course was laid out in 1966 by architect Colonel Roland Armacost. The tract was originally farm land owned by Mr. and Mrs. Linwood Rhodes and an additional parcel owned by Edward Wylde.
In 2008 the course was purchased by Jim Goff, son of Taconic Golf Club Professional Rudy Goff. Jim was an avid golfer who graduated from Yale as a member of golf team as captain. After purchasing the course, Goff renovated the 13th hole, making it an Ode To Yale’s 10th hole.
After Mr. Goff passed, the course was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes’ great-great-great-grandsons, Chris and Peter Kapiloff in 2023.
