The Meadow At Peabody

Esthetically this is a very pretty course. Well maintained for a municipal course. It will challenge you and you should give it a play. Long balls hitters will have to keep it straight.

Extremely hilly and just isn’t my cup of tee. If you’re a walker, this is not your course. I prefer more level courses that have been designed to challenge you without the extreme elevation changes that this course has. It seems the designers just followed the course of the land (if I‘m correct, it was a former landfill(dump). Never know it by the looks of it. If you watch golf on TV, you will never see tournaments played on courses like this.

There are many blind tees and on many occasions you won’t see where your ball goes. Don’t play it alone if it’s your first time. You really need to play with someone who is familiar with the course. As much as I don’t care for this type of course, I do want to give it another try.

I recently played this course for the first time and did so from the blue tees (6200 yds and it plays longer than that). My first encounter was with the staff who were very friendly and helpful. My second encounter was with the rough. It's 4-5 inches worth of thick, gnarled nastiness and very difficult to locate a ball in. But I hesitate to place blame for where my ball was not meant to be. There is very little water and only occasional sand traps on the course. But the rough is more than adequate as an ever-present hazard.

The fairways were in very good condition and the greens were outstanding. If I could find anything negative at all to say about the conditioning it would not be in reference to the maintenance crew but to golfers who don't repair ball marks.

The scenery on the course is decent. It’s mostly meadow and woodland with occasional views of some of the northern burbs from the points of elevation. There are also no houses on the course. That always wins additional aesthetic points in my book.

As one who prefers walking to riding, I started my round in typical fashion but was having doubts as I trudged up the hill to #4. I soon found there to be considerable elevation change throughout the course and when I next play, I will likely use a cart as I was dragging by #18 in mid-70s weather. Despite the elevation changes, I thought the line of sights to target areas were fair. When unclear, there were typically yardage markers indicating the distance to landing areas.

In summary, on conditioning and value, I think this course gets the nod in the North Shore area. I was pleasantly surprised with both. I paid $40 for a non-resident green fee. A cart is $15 more if you want one.

One thing the course is in dire need of is drinking water. The starter gave me a bottle as I started (perhaps in sympathy as to what I was about to encounter), but there was no other availability throughout the course.

This is my favorite public course on the North Shore. It is priced fairly for the area. Going as a single can be tough at times, but they do their best to get you out. Maintenance does a great job with the fairways and greens. My only problem is the rough, it is extremely thick. Asthetically pleasing course. The back nine plays more difficult than the front.