4th of July: Stay and play Cape Cod golf

July 1, 11:05 AMBoston Golf ExaminerEmily Kay

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(Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey)

So, you want to spend the 4th of July weekend on Cape Cod golf courses. Then get in your car and start driving. Now. Don’t pack; you can buy your golf gear and rain suits when you get there. Seriously, leave immediately.

Ah, too late. You missed your chance to beat everyone else down to the Cape, especially since online weather services are hinting at glorious, “partly cloudy” conditions for Saturday and Sunday. But perhaps you’re a local who knows the back roads. Or you travel at 3 a.m. 

Or, it may be different this year and you'll find traffic more manageable on the weekend that kicks off the real start of summer. Both the economy and non-stop monsoons may intimidate other New England golfers from heading down the Cape.

In summers past, you’d also be out of luck if you hadn’t yet made lodging reservations or booked tee times. But you can probably wait until you arrive on the Cape to do so this year. If that makes you a little nervous, however, here are some stay and play ideas for the long weekend.

So many courses, so little time. Even with stop-and-go gridlock or uncertain weather, playing Cape Cod golf can be a spiritual experience. Most Cape courses are in terrific shape, with hard and fast fairways and luscious putting surfaces.

So, how to choose among the almost 50 courses on the Upper, Mid-, Lower, and Outer Cape, and the islands? You might wish to target public-access tracks that have earned shout-outs from popular golf publications.

Golfweek ranks the par-72 Cape Cod National Golf Club (Brewster) third among Massachusetts daily-fee and resort courses in 2009. The course (6,954 yards from the tips, 5,047 from the front tees) is wicked private but non-members can play if they stay at Brewster’s Wequasset Resort & Golf Club  (a mere $525 per night for a first-floor room). Go ahead and splurge on a one-bedroom suite for a tidy $2,800. Oh, and golf is extra, at $140 per round. What recession?

Real deals. For Cape Cod golfers living in the real world, Heritage House (Hyannis) offers play-and-stay packages starting at about $160 and guarantees tee times at several Cape Cod golf courses. Among them is the 7,029-/5,798-yard, par-72 Dennis Pines Golf Course, which Golfweek ranks number 10 on its public-access list. With plenty of room at the inn this year, chances are you can work out a package deal to your liking. 

The par-71 Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds Golf Course (6,479/5,122 yards) has hosted several major tournaments and earned a spot on Golf Digest’s best-places-to-play list. What the heck -- for an $800 membership fee for year-round Cape Cod golf, you might want to move to the Upper Cape town and join the club.

Click here for a complete list of Cape Cod golf courses participating in Heritage House’s golf packages. You can also google “Cape Cod golf packages” and choose from a slew of “unlimited golf” and stay-and-play options. Read the fine print, though, because some of the specials are invalid during holiday periods.

If you check in Friday night and stay two nights at the Best Western Blue Rock Resort (South Yarmouth), you’ll get an extra round of golf at the par-54 Blue Rock Golf Course. For $150 per person, you can play par-3 golf Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the recipient of Cape Cod Golf Report's Golden Sprinkler Award, which honors golf courses that offer outstanding conditions and service. You also get breakfast and lunch.

The islands. If you want to pack up your sticks and ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard (45 minutes from Woods Hole), the 6,798-/5,004-yard, par-72 Farm Neck Golf Club ranks fourth on Golfweek’s public-access roster. But you’re on your own for lodging since the island gem offers no package deals.

If you know a member, then it's worth the 135-minute ferry ride from Hyannis to Nantucket to play Sankaty Head Golf Club -- number 91 on Golfweek’s top-100 list of classic U.S. courses. There are obviously no golf packages available, but the 6,623-/5,563-yard, par-72 course is open to the public in the off-season (October through May), so you may want to return in the fall.

Happy driving -- on and off the course. 

For information about other New England play-and-stay options, check out Boston Golf Examiner’s Memorial Day golf destinations.