By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
DEVENS, Massachusetts – Just as a freight train crawled slowly in our direction on the first hole at Red Tail Golf Club, we’d already hit our first shots, and both of us had flown the green. First swings of the year tend to go that way.
It didn’t really matter. We were back outside, not on a simulator or limited to a range mat, keeping score (sort of), playing with people we actually wanted to be out there with.
That’s what Red Tail Golf Club’s Masters Par-3 contest has quickly become. Ninety-three players showed up Wednesday, two more than the Masters field at Augusta this week, and about a 20% jump from its inaugural run in 2025.
The inspiration, according to head golf professional Dillon Malcolmson, was found on The Chain, the 19-hole short course at Florida’s Streamsong Resort.
From there, the goal was simple: bring that same feel back to Red Tail during Masters week.
On Wednesday, each hole was converted into a par-3, with yardages that keep things accessible. Out on the course, that idea plays out exactly how it was intended. Yardages are kept in check, with hardly anybody reaching for hybrids or woods. It’s wedges and short irons all day, with just enough slope, bunker, and movement to keep you paying attention and maybe a shot at a hole-in-one.
Even lunch fit the theme, a hot dog, club sandwich, chips, and a couple drinks, rang up for about $15.
“It’s a fun event. No pressure, it’s truly just hanging out with the people with your group and playing it much differently,” Malcolmson said.
Knowing the Masters Par-3 Contest is as much about who you play with as how you play, I invited a lifelong family friend, John Kosciak, a heralded MLB scout for 40 years who this year who is now a Mass Golf member through joining Hopedale Country Club in Central Mass.
John and I have a similar approach to the game, serious enough to want to hit good shots and improve, but relaxed enough to laugh when things go a bit sideways. John frequently asked me to film his swing to send to his coach, Adam Bazalgette, who has made numerous appearances on the Golf Channel. Most of those requests didn’t survive the result. “Delete that one,” became a recurring line.
Designed by Brian Silva, Red Tail moves through a rugged stretch of land near Fort Devens, with elevation changes and sharp fall-offs that can still punish a slightly off shot. Even in a par-3 setup, you have to think hard about club selection and pick your target.
Every so often, you’re reminded what the land used to be. Barracks once lined the middle of the property where holes 7 through 10 now sit, and traces of that history still show up. There’s the old watch tower by the regular 18th tee box and inside, a framed photo within the clubhouse of a uniformed Francis Ouimet giving lessons to fellow soldiers on the fort.
The second hole, Tanks Crossing, another nod to the property’s military past, was one of the more memorable setups of the day. The tee sat up in an unusual spot along a cart path, with massive bunkers carved into the hillside below. It’s not a spot you’d ever be in during a regular round, according to Malcolmson, but from up there, it’s quite the view.
I managed to catch the front edge and two-putt from about 20 feet for par, while John matched with his own par save from about double the distance.
We both found a rhythm after that, hitting greens on a few of the middle holes, including the fifth, the longest of the day at around 135 yards, and the first one where taking a full swing was advised.
With the pin tucked in the back, playing over a valley with a large bunker complex guarding the left side, it played a bit longer. I hit one that never really got more than a few feet off the ground, but had enough legs to hit the front of the green. From there, though, it turned into the all-to-familiar 3-putt.
Not every hole played conventionally. By the time we reached seven, a temporary green had been set up in the middle of the fairway, and things got a little squirrely again. I hit it long with a 7-iron, and John didn’t hesitate. “Delete that one.”
Unfortunately, such was the case when it came to the four holes with a closest to the pin contest: 1, 9, 16, and 18, as none of us came close to hitting the marks needed to take home a prize. But for the most part par was in play on just about every hole.
You could hear it all afternoon, the laughs echoing through the trees, from one group to the next. Without having to worry about good cart management off the tee, plus a sizable gap with the groups behind us, it allowed for more conversation and a few extra practice strokes to try to figure out the greens in this early-season form.
And while the vast waste bunkers on 16 and 17 that await on the closing stretch are part of the adventure during a normal round, neither of us had to deal with them thanks to tees pushed well forward. Probably for the best.
The ultimate verdict for us, and I’m sure is true for everybody reading is we all need work on our short game. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with it in the process.
“It’s probably the event I look most forward to,” Malcolmson said. “A lot of us do because it marks the beginning of the golf season: The Masters is here, and warm weather is around the corner.”
Congrats to the closest to the pin and low score winners:
Closest To The Pin
#1 6′ Dennis Wills
#9 26″ Gary Niles
#16 3′ Jim Shaughnessy
#18 2′ Jeff Priest
Men’s Division
Ty Shelnutt (-1)
Ollie Kline (+1)
Dan Ligth (+6)
Women’s Division
Kim Dickinson (+12)
Haley William (+14)
Jean Silk (+15)
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