Changes are intended to alleviate some of the bottlenecks and safety issues that pop up when the courses get crowded.
Management at two public golf courses on Nantucket Island — including one that’s scheduled to host the upcoming U.S. Mid-Amateur — wants to upgrade the properties, in order to help deal with the stress caused by increased use.
With the increased amount of play the two courses have seen over the last year, the changes are intended to alleviate some of the bottlenecks and safety issues that pop up when the courses get crowded, Nantucket Golf Management president Al Costa said.
NGM, which oversees the daily operation of Miacomet Golf Course and Siasconset Golf Course, both owned by the Nantucket Land Bank, has proposed changes to the tune of $500,000 each.
Miacomet is slated to co-host the U.S. Mid-Amateur in late September with Sankaty Head Golf Club, which is also on the island. Also, Miacomet was No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Massachusetts list.
The course is a favorite of Sophia Popov, winner of the 2020 Women’s British Open. It’s a course she has played hundreds of times, ever since she was a girl just learning the game.
“I remember it as a nine-hole course and us using our push carts. It’s just incredible how different it looks now,” said Popov, whose grandparents own a home in Tom Nevers, and growing up she would spend time on Nantucket every summer. “It’s one of the nicest public golf courses in the world.”
Land Bank commissioners on Wednesday did not vote on the proposal but asked NGM to go back to the drawing board with Land Bank environmental coordinator Rachel Freeman to propose an updated plan that takes into account all the nearby environmental restrictions.
NGM vice president Sean Oberly stressed that plans are in the beginning stages, and ultimately it is the Land Bank who will make the final call. The Land Bank contracts course management to NGM.
“This isn’t going to be approved any time soon,” Oberly said. “Now we have to work with the Land Bank to see what we can do and what we can’t do. If this is a five-phase plan, we are in phase 0.25.”
Based on the initial proposal, Siasconset Golf Course would see the most significant changes. The second hole, a dogleg par-five, would be straightened, the third hole would be lengthened to a par-four, and the sixth hole would be changed to a par-three and turn away from Milestone Road.
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Currently, there is a danger of golfers hitting drives so close to the road, Costa said. He knows of at least two times a tee-shot has hit a car driving on Milestone Road, he said. The seventh hole would be also be changed from a par-3 to a par-4.
The initial plan also mentions widening the fairways and enlarging the greens to make the nine-hole course easier for beginners, and reordering the holes, making what is currently the fifth and sixth holes the eighth and ninth holes. In turn, holes seven, eight and nine would become five, six and seven.
At Miacomet, plans call for expanding the driving range, widening the first hole to improve the pace of play, and moving the 18th green farther from the clubhouse for safety reasons. There is also a recommendation to install a second practice putting green to alleviate some of the wear and tear on the original one.
If approved, Oberly said he expects the changes at Siasconset Golf Course and the extension of the Miacomet driving range to be first up, because they are the most needed.
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