Shaker Hills Golf Club

Great course. Far better with the new ownership. I highly recommend it for all. From the tips it is a low handicap gem… Blues are a great challenge for the members and the like…

The course is fine (although Red Tail is not far away and a much better track, with range balls included), but I showed up with 3 players instead of 4 because our fourth had some emergency work stuff that came up and they blackballed me and don’t allow me to book tee times online anymore because I had a no-​show. Keep in mind — we had no one playing before or after us for several tee times, so it wasn’t like the place was packed. That’s insane.

Played yesterday (Sunday afternoon). Course is in great shape, but the greens are really bad. I understand there’s a lot of traffic between Friday and Sunday. But does anyone fix a ball mark? The greens were fast but very bad, they need to be rolled. Putting was almost impossible as there was no true roll. Also, the holes where beat up, do they change the pin placements? One other thing, the ranger was a real in pain in the Ass. He came over and scolded us for driving in the rough to look for our ball. Really, we were very cautious of were we where. Not sure I’ll play there again.

We were so pleased with how Shaker Hills managed our wedding. The level of detail to service for a function that size was just fantastic.
The food was very good, and reasonably priced.
Joann coordinated our event and was awesome.
Staff there made sure we had hors d’œuvre while pictures were being taken –that was HUGE.
That’s the level of detail I’m referring to.
We would definitely recommend them for a wedding or event.

Played on Sunday 8÷11÷13− For $ 88
There is plenty of Fungus kill around the collars of the greens leaving to many sandy lies if you are chipping. Also the tee boxes are no up to past standards– the grounds crew opting for smaller placements, my guess to limit damage– but it is not working. Shaker is once again running into it’s problem of over pricing with Red Tail and Butterbrook in their competitve space.
I’ve played this course 70 or more times in my life– I consider it one of my favorites but those days are in the past. Our group got «marshalled» when a faster group (with two juniors who where playing from forward tees) was in front of us and we where not being pushed from behind! The group behind us was one full hole behind us. We where greeted on the trun with a «forecaddy» to «help» us play holes 10 – 12. Needless to say I made the «forecaddy» tend the pins, since all he was doing to watching our tee shots and make us uncomforatable. We where being «nannied» so it still took us 4:30 to play– BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THIS COURSE PLAYS IN WITH THE CART RULE, HAZARDS AND VERY FAST GREENS.
While some of the «new» changes are nice– Shaker, sorry to say you still have the same problems you’ve always had. Except you have someone with a new wallet paying the bills.

5:30 to play on a Friday afternoon. Not a ranger in site. The course has too many blind tee shots. It creates a waiting game on a majority of the tee boxes and eliminates the opportunity for a four hour round.
No reason to play again.

Great course, very challenging. Played on a Friday afternoon and I was very impressed with the wide open fairways and challenging pin positions. Very good for a golfer who plays public courses and wants to play a course that makes you think about how to play every shot.

I have to say I really enjoyed this golf course. It has recently been renovated (last few years) and it is in great shape.
I’ll also preface my review by saying that I played it directly after the greens were aerated. The layout is very challenging and fun. The greens are in good condition, despite being aerated. There are a few great holes which really challenge you.
The facilities at this place are also nice. They have a great putting green with a bunch of undulations. I haven’t checked out the driving range but it’s nice that they have one. The clubhouse is newly renovated with a great bar area. If I lived closer I would definitely join.
Prices are a bit on the high side, especially since I have to drive so far out of the city to get here, but if you can find a deal somewhere or play at off hours it’s worth it.

I don’t understand all the negative reviews. I found the course to be in very good shape from tee to green. There was just one green that had a couple of carried over frost caused bare spots. But they were minor. Yes there were a few odd brown spots here and there, and if you went off fairway, which I did a bit, you could have to contend with roots and large rocky areas. Keep it in play you you are rewarded with lush perfectly cut fairways. Minus that one green, all others were very well maintained.
The course is long, even from the whites, and exceptionally so if you play from the blues or golds. I would say it was of average difficulty, but not so much where a «hacker» would find it completely unenjoyable.
There are a few holes where you hit to blind areas. We had great help from a ranger who after noting we had never played the course, took time to give us some course management tips on these holes.
The one negative is the price. Weekend 18 hole play with cart was a whopping $ 89, which is not in line with most area public courses.
It was a fun round of golf. I would play again, when I have a few extra bucks.

Hands down this is EASILY my worst golf experience.
When we tee’d off, there was absolutely no one on the first hole. By that I mean, NO ONE. Yet, before we can even finish the first hole, the Ranger was ALREADY telling us to increase our speed. Rangers are on every course and their jobs are to enforce pace of play so everyone can enjoy their experience — I can certainty understand and respect that but, have you ever had a Ranger be with your group for EVERY SINGLE SHOT on the front 9? Not only is it insulting, its demeaning.
Golf is not a game where you enforce speed — rather, you encourage «ready» play. The only time a group should expect to see a Ranger is if they have lost a hole or more on the group ahead of them — not force them to catch up to a group that started more than 15 minutes before them. Due to the Ranger forcing us to play extremely fast, by the time I made the turn, I was mentally and physically DONE and hit a grand total of 3 shots for the entire back 9. Basically, I paid $ 90.00 to play Soccer — not Golf.
I have been playing golf for a good 10+ yrs and have only had this type of experience one other time. The other time was in Florida at a course called Southern Dunes. The difference is, after having been insulted by the course Rangers’ relentless and needless presence, the manager at least had the common courtesy to refund my entire round.
In the case of Shaker Hills, after being so humiliated by the experience thru the first 9 holes, while still on the course, I went to their website to vent my frustrations. Before we could get thru the next hole, the assistance manager had come to speak with us. You would think, a course rated 5 Stars, would display the same courtesy as I had been given at Southern Dunes but instead, the assistant manager handed me a coupon for 10% off my next visit — WITH A FOURSOME!!! That unfortunately, only added insult to injury.
I have played courses such as Falcons Fire in Florida and Passaconway in New Hampshire that have great layouts but also have a great staff to match. Too bad Shaker Hills has a great layout but, utterly fail in terms of customer service/​experience.

Recent rains did a number on the greens and surrounding fringe. Repairs are underway, but this is a setback for Shaker.
My recent round there took 5.5 hours, playing behind some company outing. The rangers didn’t seem concerned with the miserable pace of play. Disappointing.

Wow, this course is in bad shape right now, especially the greens. They basically are in the kind of shape they were under the old ownership. The fairways could be helped by not being so tightly mown and by having lazy/​rude golfers repair/​fill-​in their divots. The bunkers need sand and should be prepped better in the morning by the grounds crew. Many of the tee boxes are rough, too.
Yeah, it’s August and the course has seen a lot of play, but if you’re going to promote yourself as THE public course to play, you have to deliver better. Right now, not worth either the $ 75 published green fees or $ 55 from
. Played a muni in PA recently for $ 35 and it was in much better shape. Post-​round nachos were much better, too.
Better tracts in the area.

Saturday July 27 — we just finished a week of very wet weather and some heavy downpours. This was after a long heat wave. The course took a pounding and showed the effects of some heavy flooding and run off. There was damage to the front of many greens which looked like fresh hydro-​seed covering mud.
Cart paths only which is really tough on this layout, which made us wonder why don’t courses discount when they force us to cart paths only? It’s a major pain in the ass and makes playing harder.
Pace of play was like municipal golf (5hrs.) and not resort like.

Love to see Shaker back on its feet, if not its toes. The new management has poured their time and money into bringing back into the course.
— New clubhouse is fantastic especially the restaurant and the lookout balcony.
— New range.
— New 18^th closing hole.
— Course conditions are refreshed and in prime condition. Money was definitely spent getting the grounds in great condition.
— Staff is courteous and friendly.
— Pace of play is monitored well.
— Price is spot on for weekday and weekend play.
Best course Northwest of Boston.

Course itself had some great features and a host of disappointing features which I was surprised at for how the course is billed.
First off, they hit the nail on the head on service, layout, course design, the greens, and in general what I’d say is a laid back atmosphere.
Where they really lost me, though, was in the course conditioning. I know I was there early, but I’ve also played a few other courses in the Boston area and Shaker hills just doesn’t have anywhere near the same course conditions as the other Boston area upscale courses. I think this comes down to the little things BUT the expensive things such as fertilizers and watering… both are big expenses for a golf course.
They were clearly lacking here — a lot of brown patchy grass, poorly managed cart policies (look, you can enforce the 90 degree rule, from the cart tracks all over the fairways it is a free-​for-​all), uneven tee boxes, and cart paths looking like they’re well…20+ years old.
Fact remains the course was built in 1991 if I recall, and it’s basically showing it’s age.

Closed down… sadly for them, not surprised… Very sad, because the area is beautiful…

Course was in really great shape. A pretty challenging course hidden away in the woods. Greens were very fast today, and fairways had plenty of bounce to them.
Price-​wise, it’s a little expensive, ($ 85) but you get every bit of quality for your dime. Carts are included and range balls.
There were some improvements being made while we were there. Possibly another snack shack?
Staff was friendly, and the starter was chatty. On a few holes there is a player-​assistant to help spot your ball.
A must-​play every year in New England.

Last fall I purchased a discount certificate from a local area radio station for my husband and my son. It was for Shaker Hills Golf Club. When they arrived to play, even though they were paying separately, they were allowed to use only one of the two certificates. Since the certificate had an expiration date of May 22, 2010, they agreed to use the other certificate this spring. My husband made a tee time for May 19. When he made the tee time he explained he had the certificate and was told that was fine. When he arrived he was told they no longer accept the certificate regardless of the expiration date.
The place where the certificate was purchased immediately made restitution. I also left a message for the son of the general manager at Shaker Hills who took four days to return my call. I explained that the money for the certificate had been returned and he seemed to think that made things all right. When I attempted to explain my husband had taken a vacation day he would not otherwise have used had the person he spoke to on the phone told him the certificate would not be accepted, Joe didn’t seem to think this was a problem at all.
To me this is nothing more than bait and switch. They knew my husband had the certificate and told him on the phone it would be fine. Once he arrived they then chose to tell him he could not use the certificate. When I tried to explain repeatedly that my husband had lost a vacation day, the general manager hung up on me.

A great public option not too far outside of Boston. You get a true upscale experience for a reasonable rate. Alcohol seems to be tolerated on the course, if that’s a concern. It’s a pretty tight course, so you need to keep your ball in play — might be worth keeping the driver in the bag on a few holes, or at least bring a few extra balls with you!

Course played beautifully late in the season. Leaf removal could have been a little better and a lot of the out of bounds areas are in my view too close to play. There are some holes where missing the fairway by a few feet will leave you digging through logs and rusty barbed wire.
That said, it really is a beautiful place and the grounds are upscale for a public course.
In response to an earlier review, it appears that alcohol is now allowed on the course. It’s at least sold at the turn and nobody bothered us taking it onto the back nine. Their hot dogs, by the way, are outstanding. Don’t know what it is but they are something special after nine holes.