Beverly Golf & Tennis Club

Signature Setup

Beverly Golf & Tennis Club is a Donald Ross design that opened in 1910, built by the United Shoe Machinery Corporation — at the time the city's largest employer — for its workforce on the North Shore of Massachusetts. It is a public, par-70 layout of 6,276 yards from the back tees, with a course rating of 70.6 and a slope of 123. The front nine measures 3,206 yards and the back 3,031. This is short-by-modern-standards Ross golf: the defense isn't length, it's small greens, elevation change, and proximity to Massachusetts Bay weather. The signature one-shotter is the par-3 6th, the longest one-shot hole on the card at 194 yards from the blue tees.

Hole-by-Hole Wind & Playing Lines

The single most important variable here is the sea breeze off Massachusetts Bay, which on summer afternoons typically swings to the SE/ESE and stiffens. That changes club selection more than the yardage book suggests.

• 6th (par 3, 194y blue / 159 white / 149 red): In a calm morning this is a mid-iron. Once the bay breeze fills in from the SE, the same hole eats an extra club to a club-and-a-half — bring the 194-yard tee shot in lower and let it release rather than flying it.
• Into-wind par-4s (back nine): I couldn't confirm Beverly's official stroke-index card online, so I'll be straight about it — I'm flagging the wind-exposed par-4s as the toughest, not a published #1 handicap. Into the afternoon SE flow these play 1.5–2 clubs longer; club up off the tee, not just on the approach.
• Downwind holes: Where the same breeze is at your back, Ross's firm, front-to-back greens get hard to hold — land it short and run it on.

Green & Fairway Characteristics

The greens are classic small Ross targets — bentgrass/poa surfaces that favor an approach below the hole. Miss long and you're chipping back down a tilted green. At 6,276 yards with a slope of only 123, scoring lives entirely on the short game and on respecting pin position relative to the wind. Fairways are tree-lined New England parkland; the front nine (3,206y) plays slightly longer than the back (3,031y), so don't burn your driver budget early.

Seasonal Weather Pattern

This is North Shore Massachusetts — a genuine four-season course that generally runs April through late November and closes for winter snow. I haven't played Beverly in peak August, so the sea-breeze timing here is drawn from NOAA New England coastal normals, not my own card. April mornings commonly sit in the 40s°F with stiff, raw onshore wind; July–August highs reach the low 80s°F but the bay breeze usually develops by early-to-mid afternoon, dropping coastal temps several degrees versus inland. October is the local sweet spot: crisp 45–55°F mornings, calmer air before the breeze, and firm turf.

Local Play Tips

Treat the bay breeze as a clock, not a surprise. On most summer days the air is calmest at sunrise and the SE sea breeze fills in through midday — so an early tee time isn't just cooler, it's two clubs easier on the exposed holes. Walk it; the Ross routing and modest 6,276-yard length make this a comfortable walking course, and you'll read the wind better on foot than from a cart.

Pre-Round Weather Workflow

Before you tee off, run the course through the 7-day G-Score and check windExposure: 1) Confirm tee time is morning if the forecast shows a strong afternoon SE/ESE sea breeze. 2) Note wind direction — into-wind days mean clubbing up on the 6th and the exposed par-4s. 3) Check the overnight low; sub-50°F mornings firm the greens and shorten carry. 4) In shoulder season (April / November), watch frost-delay risk. Let the G-Score pick your window, then play the wind the card can't show you.