Nantucket's Beckoning Fairways
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
With Memorial Day upon us, islanders turn to the green, green fairways of the Nantucket links. Of Nantucket's four golf courses, two of them are open during the summer for public play: Miacomet Golf Course and the venerable Siasconset Golf Course - each of which, coincidentally, are hewn from former farmland. Miacomet once housed the pastures of Ralph Marble's Somerset Farm; the older 'Sconset Golf Course was the site of the Bloomingdale Farm in the 1800s. 'Sconset The oldest course on Nantucket, and one of the first 100 public golf courses built in the United States, the 'Sconset Golf Course was designed by Alex Findlay and first opened in 1894. Once the island's only course, it originally boasted 18 holes. These were pared back to 9 during World War II. Except for some modifications on the second hole and the addition of a par-three fourth hole that was built to accommodate the design of the adjoining Nantucket Golf Club, the holes are pretty much the same as they've been since 1894.

The land has been in the Coffin family for centuries, and groundskeeper and course superintendent Henry Coffin will keep tradition alive when he opens the course for play this Saturday at 8 a.m. At $30 a round, the greens fees are a veritable bargain anywhere. Seasonal club memberships are also available for $500.

PHOTOS BY ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent The Siasconset Golf Course (top) has remained in the Coffin family for centuries and opens this weekend under the watchful eye of expert greens keeper Henry Coffin. Fescues line the fairways of the Miacomet Golf Course (below), which features some of Nantucket's more challenging holes.

A wet spring has brought lushness to the links at 'Sconset, but Coffin hopes this season is not a repeat of last year, the wettest spring in recent memory. The sixth fairway water hazard can become a small pond when the rains persist.

Coffin says the greens he's been meticulously restoring for the past two years are in noticeably better shape. "I've been working on the greens since the first of April," he said. "They're a lot better this year than last year."

More than any other course on Nantucket, the 'Sconset Golf Course was laid out to fit the landscape, and playing a leisurely nine here is like stepping back in time. Notable holes include the par-five fourth, "the old rattler," that finishes off at the clubhouse and the par-three seventh, that runs downhill past the the 1800s-era barn that was a caddy shack at one time.

Miacomet

It's hard to believe that this fall will mark the fourth anniversary of the new nine at Miacomet, an effort that was eleven years in the making. The first nine holes were laid out in the 1960s, but these, too, have been recently upgraded, giving golfers of all stripes a superb 18-hole experience.

Ralph and Sylvia Marble's former farm is now owned by the Nantucket Land Bank, and the preservation of the property ensures that the pastime of golf will endure on the island's south shore. Although membership in the club is limited, the course remains open as the island's only public 18-hole course.

Summer fees are $95 for 18-holes and $56 for nine. After 4 p.m., greens fees drop to $40 for as many holes as you can get in. Nantucket residents can purchase a resident card for $280 that entitles them to a free 18-hole round and subsequent greens fees of $67 for 18-holes and $36.40 for nine. Fees are lowered in general after October 15 to $67 for 18 and $36.40 for nine. Tee times are not typically required during the week, but once summer hits, tee times are a necessity.

The new nine intermingle with the original holes laid out by Marble and former Nantucket High School athletic director Dick Coffin. As Coffin told Nancy Anne Newhouse in 2003, "We staked out where the first tee is and walked what we thought was 350 yards and drove a second stake in."

The course retains the charm of the original layout, but with all the trimmings (and trappings) of its updated, and professional, additions. Miacomet has what Nantucket golf is all about - a heathland-style design and natural appearance. It stays open year-round, winter weather permitting, but blossoms in full glory in the spring, summer and fall.

For those who haven't played the course in a few years, the old number seven hole, a long par-five with water hazard protecting the green, is now number 14 in the new layout. The new signature hole may well be the par-three eighth, the "well hole," with the 1700s-era well all too often in play on errant drives.

Miacomet also boasts the island's only public driving range.

So, dust off the woods and scrape last year's divots from your irons. The tees, fairways and greens at both

public golf courses are waiting. I