Tip Top Shoes

Shaker Hills staying on top with upscale rivals

HARVARD  —  Halfway to Shaker Hills Golf Club last Monday my playing partner realized he had forgotten his golf shoes, so we turned around and his teenage daughter met us along the way to save time. She brought the shoes, but we noticed that she had a near flat tire and we changed it for her. To be honest, my playing partner changed it while I admired his quick work.

We arrived an hour late for our tee time, but we had called the course and they told us not to worry, that the tee sheet that morning had openings and they’d fit us in whenever we arrived. They had our twosome tee off in front of a foursome so we wouldn’t be held up.

All the trouble of getting to Shaker Hills that day was worth it because the Brian Silva design is one of the best layouts in the region and the course was in tip-top shape with the exception of a few spots in some fairways that director of golf Michael Herrick said were still recovering from last year’s drought.

When the par-71 Shaker Hills opened 20 years ago on July 4, it was one of the few upscale public golf courses in the region, but others have popped up through the years. Red Tail, another Silva design in Devens, is less than 10 minutes away, so Shaker Hills is trying to rediscover its niche.

“When I first started here in ’99,” Herrick said, “there was no Pinehills, there was no Granite Links, there was no Red Tail, no Butter Brook. As each of these courses open, they take 8-10 golfers a day from you and that starts to add up real quick.”

Corporate golf is down, so Shaker Hills has cut its prices to attract more members and daily-fee golfers. This month, Shaker Hills lowered the cost of a greens fee, cart and range balls from $75 to $69 weekdays before 2 p.m., to $59 from 2-4 p.m. and to $40 after 4 p.m. In addition, the club charges its top weekend and holiday price of $85 for greens fee, cart and range balls only until 11 a.m. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., it’s $69, from 1-4 p.m., it’s $59 and after 4 p.m., it’s $45. Also this year, Shaker decided to charge the weekday rate on Fridays instead of the weekend rate and charge $60 to walk weekdays before 2, but few walk.

“We’re really trying to figure out,” Herrick said, “what’s the key to getting the course full again.

Words to live by! RT : Last top tip: remember to wear comfy shoes – it’s hard to smile if your feet hurt!

RT : Last top tip: remember to wear comfy shoes – it’s hard to smile if your feet hurt!

Top tip for the day... NEVER run in slipper shoes, for whatever the reason.

RT : Last top tip: remember to wear comfy shoes – it’s hard to smile if your feet hurt!

Last top tip: remember to wear comfy shoes – it’s hard to smile if your feet hurt!

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