By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
You don’t stumble onto a municipal golf course in mid-January by accident. You’re there because Mother Nature pressed pause on winter, and the temptation to play was too strong to pass up.
I’ll never forget the first time discovering my local muni while house hunting back in 2019. You drive past a pair of sunken soccer fields, and then the course gives you a quick peek through the trees. The road bends and it disappears again, just long enough to make you wonder if you imagined it or mistook it for someone’s backyard décor.
A few houses later, the land opens up wide and exposed behind a fence, confirming what you hoped it was all along. Then comes the turn onto Fisher Street, and the sign makes it official.
This is John F. Parker Municipal Golf Course in Taunton, a place I’ve long frequented at the end of workdays when I wasn’t quite ready to go home.
On this midweek winter afternoon, the parking lot wasn’t empty. Not even close. There are solos, duos, and a rowdy foursome finishing up the long par-3 ninth, their voices carrying across the course, the trees stripped bare for winter. It’s one of the few public courses around with a coin-operated, grass-surface driving range, though the winter-closure sign is already posted.
No one seems concerned by that. It’s in the mid-50s, and that’s about the same number of courses through the Commonwealth that managed to open for business this week, not just the coastal regulars (Bass River, Presidents, etc.)
Inside the clubhouse, a simple white structure with a sharply pitched roof, a few guys lean against tables, enjoying a post-round pint while talking playoff football. The counter doubles as a bar top, and here you pay the greens fee: Twenty bucks. Cash only.
“Looks like it’s just today and tomorrow,” the man behind the counter says as I hand him a crisp 20, nodding toward the forecast. I tell him I think I can finish before dark, maybe even come back tomorrow. He pauses, perhaps mistaking me for saying I’ll just finish the round tomorrow (clearly, I know that’s not how it works). He instead says politely, “I think you’ll finish.”
This isn’t exactly the winter I remember growing up, when snow often blanketed the ground from December through February. I used to think winter golfers were like Everest climbers, pleading for that one weather window for the green light to ascend. Those opportunities for golfers feel more common now and are certainly welcome for those like me who feel too cooped up indoors. So, I decided today’s the perfect day to scrape together whatever golf balls I have on hand and head over.
The first tee is dead straight, the bar window behind it. I still found one of the few trees on the left edge of the layout, chili-dip the next shot, but follow it up with a solid mid-iron up to the green and escape without too much damage. Peeking over at the neighboring 8th tee, I spotted a pair in light jackets, hardly in need of layers.
Formerly Bristol County Golf Course and Herring Run Golf Course, the course was renamed in the late 20th century for John F. Parker, the longtime Taunton mayor who also served as a state senator. A handful of standout locals have called this place home, including Nate Davis, a U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier with city open titles in both Taunton and Brockton, and Casey Mills another top competitor in statewide events. It’s a reminder that for all its accessibility, this is still a serious golf course where many locals have developed their games.
But it was even more striking that the course was operating at just about full capacity with carts rolling and no temporary greens. The putting surfaces had two pre-selected cups cut into most of them, only one occupied with a flagstick. The ground isn’t frozen solid, more like what you’d see in March than mid-winter.
Since Keyes Golf took over operations a few years ago the place feels especially cared for, and hosts plenty of golf events through the year, including the Taunton Jr. Open.
The second hole is well-designed but one of the toughest challenges. Playing left to right and up close to the top of the property, the fairway is bisected by a narrow creek, presenting an uphill approach to a back-to-front sloped green guarded by a bunker on the right.
The third hole yielded my best drive of the day, straight down the hill and inside 100 yards. Five offers a similar opportunity with a blind downhill tee shot, except I found a tree and a deflated party balloon tangled in its branches. Headlights from the day’s final stragglers flashed in the distance, and I began thinking about my own exit.
After a quick dash through the 6th and 7th, daylight really became dim. Parker has quite a bit of land movement, and the penultimate hole bends 90 degrees left around the abutting properties. After knocking one out to where it bends, I misjudged the approach distance and ended up flying the green with my ball ricocheting off the back fence. Eventually I knock it in before moving to the 9th, a 200-yard par-3 that is about as wide as golf holes come anywhere you’ll find.
My first two shots don’t yield much, but my third is a nice gentle chip, leading to a simple 5-footer to close it out.
I took one last look out over the course, feeling accomplished after convincing myself not to walk off early, even though my aim wasn’t exactly dialed in this time.
Regardless, I packed up the push cart, tossed the clubs in the car, and lingered for a bit until the streetlights finally flashed on, indicating it was time to head back inside for now.
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