NORTON, Massachusetts – Mass Golf today has officially revealed its schedule for its 18 championship events, including three signature statewide championships. These events showcase many of the standout amateur golfers of all ages and from every region of the Commonwealth at some of the most storied venues the state has to offer. With some automatic exemptions into USGA Championships being introduced this year, fields are expected to be as strong as ever.
This year, all three signature event venues will be hosting their respective championships for the first time. After hosting the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship last year, Willowbend will host some of the region’s best amateurs and professionals for the 114th Massachusetts Open from June 10-12. The 116th Massachusetts Amateur Championship takes place at the historic Framingham Country Club from July 8-12, which boasts one of the best golf rosters in the state. The 121st Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship, Mass Golf’s longest-running championship, will go as far west as ever, as the renowned Taconic Golf Club on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown will host from August 12-16.
In addition to the signature championships, several standout courses are being reintroduced to the schedule this year, including nine different courses on Cape Cod. Historic Woods Hole Golf Club and Cummaquid Golf Club are among the sites, while elsewhere, venues like Salem Country Club and Oak Hill Country Club are slated for the fall.
“From west to east, we’re so lucky to have a tremendous amount of support from our Mass Golf Member Clubs,” said Kevin Eldridge, Mass Golf’s Senior Director of Rules & Competitions. “We know the demand for all events is still growing and expanding. Being able to best accommodate that and continue to provide players with the best experience and opportunity to play some of the best courses across the state is always the No. 1 goal. And to be able to put some national exemptions on the table this year is going to make it even greater.”
The first wave of online registrations for the 2024 Mass Golf championships will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, February 29. Those events include the Four-Ball, Mixed Four-Ball for the Stone Cup, Senior Four-Ball, and Women’s Four-Ball for the Townshend Cup. The remaining event entries will be staggered throughout the year. For a full walkthrough of the registration process, CLICK HERE.
Taconic provides an outstanding combination of scenic beauty, a challenging layout, and superb playing conditions, setting up an incredible atmosphere for the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship. The course is home to the Williams College women’s golf team, currently the No. 2-ranked NCAA Division III program that won a national title in 2015. Emma Abramson, the reigning Massachusetts Women’s Stroke Play champion, is in her first year playing for Williams College.
Starting with “three men with three tomato cans” in 1896, a longer nine-hole course was laid out the following year. In 1927, Wayne Stiles of Stiles & Van Kleek, a Boston firm, was commissioned to design and construct an 18-hole course. In 2008, renowned golf course architect Gil Hanse was retained for a multi-million dollar renovation project, which was completed in the summer of 2009.
Taconic was originally slated to host the 2020 Mass Open, which was canceled due to COVID-19. The club’s most recent signature event was the 2016 Mass Amateur won by Brendan Hunter.
Framingham has hosted several Mass Golf championships and qualifiers since its founding in 1902, but the state amateur will take place at the famous city club along Route 9 for the first time in its storied history. Donald Ross helped restore the course in the early 1920s and is responsible for much of the current green undulations seen today. In 1960, the course expanded to its current 18-hole layout, as a second nine holes opened south of Parker Road with this project being supervised by architect William F. Mitchell, architect. In 1968, the front nine was again changed by adding two holes farther to the west allowing two fairways to become today’s practice area. Geoffrey Cornish was the architect for this project.
The club most recently hosted the 2022 Massachusetts Senior Amateur, the 2020 Ouimet Memorial Tournament, and the 2018 Massachusetts Girls’ Junior Amateur.
Matthew Naumec, who joined Framingham since regaining his amateur status, made a run to the final last year, coming up short against Ryan Downes, the young phenom committed to Vanderbilt University. Fellow Framingham members Ray Wright and John Salamone won the Mass Amateur in 1990 and 1991, respectively.
Willowbend offers 27 holes of championship golf on three meticulously maintained nines (Bay, Bog & Bend), the first two are being used for this year’s championship. The iconic 9th hole on the Bog course ends with the backdrop of a bucolic red barn and a cranberry bog harvested every fall. Each course has its own character, however, as The Bay requires restraint. The safe play is usually the wise one – golfers must know when to press and when to pay respect. The Bog requires heroics, as there are significant forced carries on six of the nine holes.
Ricky Stimets, won the 2023 Mass Mid-Amateur at Willowbend by 13 strokes, and following his low amateur (T5 overall) performance in the 2023 Mass Open, he may have a shot to contend once again this year.
2024 Championship Notes
| DATES | EVENT | HOST SITE |
|---|---|---|
| April 23 | Mixed Four-Ball | Granite Links Golf Club |
| June 5-6 | Women's Stroke Play Championship for the Baker Trophy | Cummaquid Golf Club |
| June 25-27 | New England Women's Amateur | Samoset Resort (ME) |
| July 1 | Women's Four-Ball Championship for the Townshend Cup | Marlborough Country Club |
| July 15 | Young Golfers' Amateur | North Hill Country Club |
| July 24-26 | Ouimet Memorial Tournament | Indian Pond Country Club & Woodland Golf Club |
| August 5-8 | Girls' Junior Amateur | Bass River Golf Course & Bayberry Hills Golf Course |
| August 12-16 | Mass Women's Amateur | Taconic Golf Club |
| TBA | Women's Senior Amateur | TBA |
| September 17-18 | Women's Mid-Amateur Championship for the Keyes Cup | Thorny Lea Golf Club |
| October 8-10 | Endicott Cup & Tri-State Matches | Woods Hole Golf Club |
| DATES | EVENT | HOST SITE |
|---|---|---|
| April 23 | Mixed Four-Ball | Granite Links Golf Club |
| May 8-9 | Four-Ball | The Club at New Seabury |
| May 13-May 14 | Senior Four-Ball | Country Club of New Bedford & Fall River Country Club |
| June 10-12 | Mass Open | Willowbend |
| July 8-12 | Mass Amateur | Framingham Country Club |
| July 15 | Young Golfers' Amateur | North Hill Country Club |
| July 24-26 | Ouimet Memorial Tournament | Indian Pond Country Club & Woodland Golf Club |
| July 30-31 | Amateur Public Links | Ledges Golf Club |
| August 5-8 | Junior Amateur | Bass River Golf Course & Bayberry Hills Golf Course |
| September 3-5 | Mid-Amateur | Cranberry Valley Golf Course |
| September 23-24 | Senior Amateur | Salem Country Club |
| September 30-October 1 | Super Senior Amateur | Oak Hill Country Club |
For the latest updates and news, visit MassGolf.org or follow Mass Golf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @PlayMassGolf.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 120,000 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.
