By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
From Chambers Bay to Streamsong to Granite Links overlooking the Boston skyline, dozens of facilities have earned nationwide prestige for building golf courses on top of former industrial sites, landfills, and other non-golf entities.
What you may not know is that before all of those courses came into existence, The Links 9-hole course at Bayberry Hills Golf Course was opened in 1999 on a former landfill site tucked just south of the Mid-Cape Highway (Route 6) in the Town of Yarmouth. With the rolling hills largely devoid of trees and fescue whipping in the constant Cape Cod breeze, it offers the ideal setting for a links-style public course in the mid-Cape region.
Following a year-long, multi-million dollar project that was approved by the town in Fall 2023, Bayberry finally re-opened The Links last month after completing a master plan that began in the new year to improve playability and address drainage issues. Course architect Tim Gerrish and his group Gardner + Gerrish Landscape Architects collaborated with Turco Golf Inc. and the Town of Yarmouth to deliver a new and improved 9-hole layout that compliments the 18-hole championship course and driving range carved out of the woods. The 18-hole course is serving as this week’s host of the Mass Junior Amateur Championship and Mass Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship, both Powered By KOHR Golf.
“It’s a cool little contrast that we have going for us,” said Scott Gilmore, the golf course superintendent for the past seven years. “It’s a good way to utilize land. Most towns do a solar farm, but they decided here to do a golf course, and now it’s hopefully a very beneficial one that people enjoy playing. We’ve seen a noticeable spike since we did the work.”
Given that The Links course is built on a landfill, there was previously no natural subsurface drainage. Therefore, the transformation began beneath the surface with a complete overhaul of the irrigation system and drainage, which has yielded reinvigorated, lush greens. These drainage improvements take access to water from the golfing areas to the four catch basins on each corner of the site.
“The course would be down for days because of how wet it was,” Gilmore said. “That was a major reason to do the work, and everything else needed at the same time. It was easier to just shut the whole place down.”
After opening with a par-3 playing to a large green, the next few holes feature a series of par-4 doglegs. The fourth hole, previously not a favorite among the course’s regulars, has been dramatically redesigned. According to Gilmore, the teams raised the hole by 20 and 30 feet on the right side. This hole also saw forward tees added, bunker removal, and expansion of the green area.
As part of environmental sustainability efforts, the team installed a direct transfer line to take wastewater directly from the treatment plant to the irrigation pond. This allows the entire facility to utilize reclaimed water.
To book a tee time at The Links, Bayberry Hills, or Bass River, CLICK HERE
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With a community made up of over 130,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
