Sea Breezes

Hidden away in the depths of Cape Ann, the scenic Rockport Golf Club is a spot for commuters and locals alike

By Barry Scanlon

On certain days, you can almost hear the waves crashing. That’s how close Rockport Golf Club is to the Atlantic Ocean.

High above the course, which was established in 1914, sits a clubhouse that when it was constructed featured a glassed porch facing Thatcher Island. Spectacular views of the ocean are available from this vantage point.

Rockport Golf Club has always been associated with the ocean. But too much water - like the kind that sat on fairways when the club’s drainage system failed - provided frustration for golfers at this Cape Ann nine-hole layout, peaking in 2004 when club officials banned the use of carts on the course for 40 days because the course was too wet.

“Some of the drainage could have dated back to the early days of the golf club,” says Steve Clayton, Rockport’s head pro since 1990. “It certainly was sloppy out there. People who relied on golf carts couldn’t play. But that seems to be a problem we’ve put in the past.”

That’s because the course underwent a comprehensive drainage program last year.

The first and ninth holes usually stayed fairly dry, but extensive rain caused sopping conditions on the other holes. In the past, Rockport GC would try to open April 1 but, invariably, it would be a couple more weeks before the course dried out enough to let golfers onto the fairways. Carts, meanwhile, would generally be barred until May 1. This year, however, the course opened on April 1 and carts were allowed on opening day, much to the satisfaction of the 300 or so members.

“The only drawback through the years has been the drainage,” says Skip Munroe, who began caddying at the club in 1960 before becoming a member in 1970. “Now we’ve got it pretty well under control. It’s worked out super.”

The new drainage project got its first true test in May when the area was flooded with more than 10 inches of rain. Clayton said that if it wasn’t for the new system the course would have likely been closed for weeks. Instead it opened just days after the rain finally halted.

Due to the scarcity of Cape Ann courses, Rockport GC’s membership has remained strong through the years.

“They’re not just coming from Gloucester and Rockport. We have a few (members) from Arlington, Topsfield, Belmont,” Clayton added.

The number of rounds was significantly down last year, a dip experienced by many courses in Massachusetts. Although it’s semi-private, the club is owned by Rockport Golf Club Inc., shareholders, a group that includes several current members. It is open to the public on weekdays (golfers need to call a day in advance for tee times) and weekends (after 3 p.m., if there are no tournaments). A yearly membership costs $1,200, after an initiation fee of $1,600. There is a waiting list of 50 to become a member.

For the men, from the blue tees, the course has a slope of 121 and measures 5,938 yards for 18 holes, so length is not the obstacle to posting a strong score. The red tees measure 5,434 yards.

“It’s not an overly difficult golf course. The greens are deceptive. They look flat, but there’s a lot of subtle breaks” Clayton explains. “It’s deceiving. On the surface, [putting] looks easy, but there’s a lot of intricacies that make it more difficult”

On a couple of holes, spraying a tee shot won’t lead to major problems. By and large, errant tee shots can be recovered from due to the fact that the course isn’t heavily tree lined. “You can hit your drive on another fairway and recover and make a birdie or par,” Clayton says.

The signature hole may be the seventh, a 136-yard par-3 that is protected by three interconnected ponds that were installed in the ’60s. The ocean winds make this par-70 course play much tougher.

“The biggest thing about Rockport is the wind, especially the Northeast wind off the ocean, and that’s the most prevalent wind,” says Munroe. “It could make a four or five shot difference if it’s blowing. When it blows it’s sometimes 20-25 miles per hour and it gets nasty.”

Case in point: One day, a golfer may be hitting a wedge to reach the seventh green. The next day, when the wind is whipping, a 4-iron may be needed.

In the 92-year history of the course, two golfers stand supreme. Peter Bruni, who passed away after a battle with cancer in May at the age of 55, was known for playing without socks and for winning 10 club titles from 1970-91. The well-liked left-hander was Rockport CC’s course superintendent in the mid-1980s before moving on to Essex County Club where he was the assistant super for 15 years. On the women’s side, Marjorie Curtis won 26 club titles, including 18 in a row during one stretch. Now in her 80s, Curtis, whose last club title came in 1991, stopped playing golf in 2004.

Current club champ Jeff Hobbs set the course record of 63 in 2003. Hobbs birdied the first four holes en route to an eight-birdie, one-bogey effort.

Clayton credits Bill Yanakakis, in his third year as Rockport’s superintendent, with much of the course’s revitalization. Then known as Rockport Country Club, the club was laid out in 1915 by Eugene Wogan, who was the pro at Essex County Club. It was one of the first courses in the North Shore to open its doors. A general contractor named George W. Harvey was the driving force behind the project, which required extensive removal of stone walls and large rocks. When it first opened, the club was home to a wealthy crowd of Boston and New York residents.

“Original plans called for the course to go all the way to the ocean. They just never did it,” says Munroe, who’s fascinated with the history of the course, like when Francis Ouimet played a round at the club in 1935 or the time the Detroit Tigers stayed there during a visit to play the Boston Red Sox.

Records show that the clubhouse offered several rooms for travelers to stay in. A tennis court, long dismantled, was built on the grounds to give the country club crowd another athletic option. But after the original owners went bankrupt in 1935 - the stock market crash of 1929 crippled the club - the course was given its current name.