Whaling City Golf Course At New Bedford

I was raised in New Bedford and played this course back in the 1980’s. Never realized Donald Ross created this gem. Went back home from Texas to visit family and friends and made time to play this one with my son and nephews over Labor Day weekend. The course was in great shape and really enjoyed it again. I highly recommend playing this course. Kudos to the entire staff at the whale for their work.

Pro shop is a joke. The Grey haired woman working the counter is about as friendly as an angry bulldog. Course is very wet with poor drainage in many of the fairways

If you like to hit the big clubs this is the place to go and you will need all the other clubs too.

Played this course over the years but have " never seen as nice as it is now ".. WOW my

opinion worth the visit , beautiful . October 1st 2020

I haven’t played The Whale in sometime, but gave it a play today after hearing the conditions have improved. The new management grow up certainly delivered. The greens were all in great shape and rolled true/consistent. Fairways and rough were all in great shape. Bunkers were not soft sand and were tricky to get out of, but were consistent. It was refreshing to see this course back in great shape. The clubhouse still needs a lot of work, but has the bones of a building that could easily be renovated. Overall, I’ll definitely be back again.

For the last bunch of years the "whale" was miserable to play. It was not given the respect and care the course needed. After all this is a Donald Ross (front nine) gem. I can say after playing there yesterday 6/2/19 that is no longer the case. It finally had the right management. You can clearly see improvements in all area's. On the course, greens were much better that last fall. There are some that need some growth for the bare spots but you can see they are improving. The bunkers were edged, bridges in better shape, and even new signage, ball washers, and even drinking water on course. The clubhouse has been spiffed up. As much as possible considering the building was falling apart. Even seen golf carts that appear to be newer. Not the junks of the past. I look forward to playing it again to see how much more has been done...

Excellent layout

It’s quite improved from last year

Saw lots of wildlife

Deer snakes turtles rabbits muskrats

Birds

Hope it doesn’t become a business park,

Where will the animals go?

This was the first time I played Whaling City this year. I had played it late last summer. The first three greens are a marked improvement over last year. The rest of the greens are fine. There are all kinds of signs around the course of the hard work that is being done. The folks running the course deserve a lot of credit. They inherited a mess and the Improvement is very noticeable. This is a genuine Donald Ross course and must be supported.

You cannot beat the friendly staff that greet you and are more than accommodating. My son decided to join me as he attends school nearby. BJ and Sue were great...we got to enjoy a rare afternoon. Course was really feeling the affects of the monsoon like New England spring but everything was pretty much at near peak season form. If we ever get some heat and don't have severe drought as with some seasons...this place will be able to get back to five stars. The layout and difficulty potential are superior. as with any Donald Ross layout. From the tips this an extremely difficult track as we played up since my son had not played in over a year and balls were not rolling out...it plays long from even the men's tee marker. Greens are fast and sloping but very true. Thank you for a great experience...would love to be back ASAP.

Course wasn’t in good condition. Fairways were dead. Lots of crab grass. Greens had disease. Ran good in some spots but very spotty. Not an easy course and didn’t find it very fun. Played the front 9 in 1 hour and a half. Get to the 10th tee and they must have let a foursome out. Played the back 9 in over two hours. Not a great experience. Wouldn’t reccomend.

This is a fun layout and it is challenging. Staff is friendly and pace of play was good as we played 18 in 4 hrs & 10 min. Only complaint is there were no water stations anywhere on the course.

New management, the groomers are working hard to get the course back in shape. Not crowded. Needs some renovations but great for play. very long and lots of space.

nice d ross course i liked it and played in the 80's the woman they paired me with was a pain in the neck though

I hadn't played Whaling City in a few years. I used to play it fairly often and always considered it one of the most difficult courses around - and it still is. For those of you who don't know, Whaling City has a long and storied past, most of which I do not know. I know that the course was allowed to deteriorate by the city of New Bedford several years ago and then was taken over by a series of managers who did their best to keep it going. It's now being run by a married couple who pay the city of New Bedford for the right to maintain and make a go of the course. Trust me, they are not getting rich and this has got to be a labor of love. Both perform all the required duties from running the pro-shop to cutting the grass. The grounds staff is small consisting of young and very polite teenagers as far as I can tell.

I've played a lot of Donald Ross courses in my life time and Whaling City has always struck me as one of his classics. I have often fantacized about what someone with cash and an appreciation of the layout could do. I have no doubt it could be turned into one of the top golfing venues in the Northeast. The layout as it currently exists (no one seems to be sure how faithfully it represent Ross’s original design) if better than most in the RI/SE MA area. And there is tons of unused landscape that could be used to add tees. Most of the greens are classic Ross with lots of subtle breaks. Most of the tees are located close to the previous green as was Ross’s habit. I suspect there once was lots of fescue but I don’t see it now. The ninth hole is what I consider typical Ross (there are others) and the 14th is unlike any I have ever seen anywhere. I played it with a drive up close to the junk, 7 iron to the far edge of the middle section and 6 iron to the green. Of course, it’s always tempting to skip the entire middle section if you feel lucky. I didn’t.

So, how was my round. Well first I should tell you that I got to play with Donald Ross. As a GolfNower, I had played several rounds with a fellow named Don but never knew his last name. When I checked in at the pro-shop for the round, I was told, with a smirk, that I’ve be playing with Donald Ross. And sure enough, the Don I knew turned out to be none other than Donald Ross who, I might add, shares my love of Donald Ross courses. The entire round, we discussed the typical Ross features as we encountered them.

So how is the course condition? It needs a lot of work but don’t judge the entire course by the first three holes which, for some reason have fallen into much more serious disrepair than the rest of the course. Many of the greens had recently been plugged. The first two greens were especially bad and will require resodding. There’s lots of crabgrass throughout the course. And the brush areas are as thick as you will see anywhere. Forget finding your ball in them. The bunkers are in surprisingly good shape. The sand it the best around; I haven’t had 3 sandies in a long time. The range is excellent with a good assortment of balls and grass tees. The new managers recently installed new carpeting in the dining area and I love the ancient bathroom tile with the golfing motif.

My conclusion is that I’ve got to play Whaling City more often for two reasons. First, it’s an outstanding layout even if it does beat me up. And second, the course and the people working their butts off to preserve it need to be supported. I don’t know how many more chances Whaling City will have to survive. But I do know that its loss will be a devastating blow to the legacy of THE Donald Ross. Please don’t be so inclined to pass on the opportunity to play this course. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever and that would be a crime. And be sure to throw some compliments to the staff. Considering they didn’t get control of the course until this past March and the condition it was in at the time, I think you will agree that they are doing an amazing job.

This course is a gem albeit slightly rough around the edges. Wide open fairways and large greens make it a perfect place for beginners. In very good condition overall. Typical Donald Ross design has players using every club in the bag. Easy on the wallet and usually wide open. Easy access of the highway. Grass driving range, oversized putting green and dedicated chipping green. Proshop/clubhouse is antiquated and in need of upgrade. Would definitely recommend.

Here's the deal . City of New Bedford turned over operations to Johnson Management . Management company pays the city for the rights to the course. City cashes their big check, no risk involved. Therefore management company puts NO money into maintaining course !!!! Course conditions are an embarrassment!!!!!!! Traps , unranked , full of rocks !! They don't have enough staff..so only SOME of the greens get cut daily. Diseased greens, fairways were totally burnt out...Nothing but awful, tight lies on the fairway. Place SUCKS !!

Little to no attention to the golfing experience.

Grounds, Greens ok.

Staff attitude, poor/unprofessional

I would not recommend this course to any of my associates. Ever.

I was subsequently informed that the Management Company has taken the course to new depths.

They should be ashamed of themselves and the people of New Bedford should be angry.

Pete