Miacomet Golf Course, Nantucket, MA

Not much to add to the review below. Conditions excellent. Greens very fast. A far cry from the non-irrigated 9-holer of years past. Only complaint is that it’s now not very accessible price wise for the average Joe but then again nothing on this island is.

I played the course last weekend (10/20/12) and was VERY pleasantly surprised:

- first of all, it's utterly gorgeous - a links-style course right in the middle of Nantucket Island, has all the windswept seaside appeal of Highland Links (a very old, quaint 9-hole course overlooking the ocean in Truro, MA), but it's a real course - 6,800 yards from the tips (which I played) and 18 great holes, very sensibly laid out

- accessible but challenging - not an easy combo to achieve - I think the wide fairways and 4 very different tee box options are what do it - I love a course that's laid out in front of you - no surprises or blind shots here - the course requires that you place each shot, but it gives you a safe general area to aim for - you don't have to be overly precise, but you do need a plan, and you need to execute reasonably well - the course doesn't get penal unless you hit a truly bad shot, and then it's severe - tall island grasses like Pepple or Bethpage or St Andrews will gobble you up - but you really have to miss it to get there - I think this is just the right balance to strike - it makes the course accessible to weekend golfers, but still a real test for serious golfers
(and I for one appreciated the wide fairways - still had to hit it, but you could relax a little about it - I had a lot of fun playing this course because of that - seemed to make the course play a lot shorter, too - I was hitting short irons into a lot of the greens on long par 4s - with all that fairway I was rarely in the rough, and could swing away off the tees)

- excellent course conditions - the fairways were pristine, plush, perfectly cut, with just a slight spring - the tee boxes were perfectly flat (a pet peeve of mine if they're not), the first cut of rough was short and forgiving, but the second cut and the taller grasses were, as above, treacherous - and the greens were immaculate - very fast and very true and hardly a ball mark anywhere - truly in exceptional condition

- Howard Maurer, my favorite (living) golf course architect (no one compares with Tillinghast), who designed The Ledges in South Hadley, MA, and Shining Rock in Northbridge, 2 great courses, did the expansion and re-design of Miacomet, and his hand is very evident here- every single hole has its own personality, no throwaways, all memorable, all meant to fit your eye a certain way - I remain very much a fan - nothing seems like a greater waste to me than a serious, long, player's course in exemplary condition where nothing stands out about the holes - they just blur into each other, undistinguished, unmemorable, uninteresting - Maurer is the cure for that, and Miacomet is terrific - I wish there were more of his courses on the planet - he is the Pied Piper of municipal golf

- the only problems with Miacomet are the greens fees (I paid $40 for twilight, which is entirely reasonable, but earlier in the day you are looking at substantially more money), and the boat ride - Nantucket is out there --- but if you're on the island and play, this is where you want to be - Sankaty Head and Nantucket Golf Club are famous and private, but Miacomet is a real golf course for real people - don't miss it!