Miacomet Golf Course – Syndication Server

A U.S. Mid-Amateur on not one, but two stunning Nantucket courses? Yes, please.

A talented field of amateur golfers are making their way to Nantucket for the 2021 edition at Sankaty Head Golf Club.

The 2020 U.S. Mid-Amateur was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the talented field of amateur golfers have made their way to Nantucket, Massachusetts, for the 2021 edition at Sankaty Head Golf Club.

Back in 2019, Lukas Michel became the first international player to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Michel described that triumph as “massive,” and now he’s back in the field to defend and maybe once again claim the title for Australia.

All players in the field this week are 25 years or older and with a handicap index not exceeding 3.4. Players earned their way into the tournament by local qualifying or through a series of exemption categories.

Schedule

Participants will play two stoke-play rounds Sept. 25-26, one each at Sankaty Head and nearby Miacomet Golf Club.

The top 64 will then advance to a match-play bracket and all matches will be played at Sankaty Head. The final match is scheduled for Sept. 30 and will consist of 36 holes.

Golf courses

Miacomet Golf Club is Nantucket Island’s only public 18-hole golf course. It will be set up as a par 70, measuring in at 6,765 yards. Many of the fairways are generous off the tee, but a countless amount of bunkers and tall fescue await any off-target drive.

Much like Miacomet, Sankaty Head offers generous landing areas while fescue sits just a few steps off the short grass. Sankaty Head will measure in a shade shorter at 6,652 yards, but will also play as a par 70.

Sankaty light house behind the eighth green at Sankaty golf course. Jim Preston /Cape Cod Times

The views around this track are breathtaking, highlighted by the walk up 18 where the incredible clubhouse, American flag and Sankaty Head lighthouse are all visible. The ocean can also be seen through much of the routing, making this a perfect venue for the final 64.

Both courses are featured among Golfweek’s Best Courses in Massachusetts. Miacomet ranked second in best courses you can play, while Sankaty ranked 10th on the best private courses list.

Weather

The island of Nantucket has little protection from the wind. Combine that with a consistent tide crashing on shore and players will battle heavy gusts all week long.

Day	Conditions	Percent chance of rain	Wind & Direction
Saturday	Scattered Thunderstorms	54%	9 MPH (E)
Sunday	Mostly Sunny	24%	17 MPH (W)
Monday	Mostly Sunny	8%	20 MPH (W
Tuesday	Partly Cloudy	18%	16 MPH (WSW)
Wednesday	Scattered Thunderstorms	40%	15 MPH (NE)
Thursday	Partly Cloudy	24%	18 MPH (NNE)

Tee times

Stroke-play tee times will begin at 6:50 a.m. ET at both venues, with the last group teeing off at 1:30 p.m.

Sankaty light house behind the eighth green of Sankaty golf course. Jim Preston /Cape Cod Times

What’s at stake

The winner of next week’s U.S. Mid-Amateur will automatically receive an invitation to both the 2022 U.S. Open, and perhaps even better, the 2022 Masters.

Golfweek will have boots on the ground in Nantucket, so look forward to detailed coverage throughout next week.

A top Massachusetts course (and upcoming U.S. Mid-Am site) needs upgrades for ‘stress relief’

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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