Blackstone National Golf Club

I played Blackstone National for the first time yesterday. It was a very enjoyable round. The course was in very good shape with firm fairways (especially given all the recent rain) and playable but penal rough. The greens were firm. They are not superfast but ran true and were very puttable. The greens are mostly large and have some good contours and tiers. The sand in the bunkers was fine and consistent. There are several severe dogleg holes that i look forward to tackling again, now that I better understand them. Overall the course is hilly but not overly so, with seemingly more downhill holes than uphill. I will be back soon to play it again!

I’ve read that this place had lost its greens due to draught and that the fairways were in rough shape. I played there last weekend and the place was immaculate.

1) Unfriendly staff, no greeting of any kind and no assistance with bags;

2) Shop was filthy - carpets covered in debris early in the morning;

3) Cart GPS screens unplugged because it "uses too much battery";

4) Got absolutely showered in dirt and rocks by 2 maintenance carts going RIGHT by us with debris blowers, never stopping or waiting. RIGHT next to us. Still have dirt in my eyes 7 hours later. Face pelted with rocks.

Clothes covered in dirt. Unreal.

5) Major work being done with a large truck and a huge drill in the middle of the 9th fairway. No communication about it - just tee off and hope not to hit a worker? I guess?

6) Never seen worse fairways in all my years playing golf than on the back 9 here at Blackstone. See video. Total clown show.

7) They are robbing the public by charging $100 for 18 holes with a cart for this golf experience. This is as bad a round of golf as I have played in New England, and that includes the old "Nevergreen" in Newburyport.

Stay. Away.

The greens are in amazing shape and the grounds crew is doing an awesome job with all the new projects they have been working on this year.

I’ve been playing here for years, I thought after last year they would get it together but conditions are just as bad this year. Greens are non existent. They start people at 1 and 10, then book tee times in between so the course is always packed. We walked off the course the other day after playing 7 holes in 3 hours.

I planned on still using the range at the course as I live right down the road, but the 3 times I’ve tried the range has been closed for lessons, or had no balls.

The course is an excellent layout, maybe the best in the area.

The conditions are the worst in the area. It’s to bad that such a nice layout is paired up with the worst greens/tee box conditions in possibly the state.

To watch this course go downhill is such a shame.

It’s not even enjoyable to play this course anymore.

How they even charge the public the prices they do for some of the worst conditions in the state is an embarrassment.

Some greens (all dirt) should probably be closed and deemed unplayable at this point.

I’m a member and as much as I’ve supported the course all these years, I can not and would not recommend this for anyone to pay and play.

The league players complain on a weekly basis of such poor conditions. Hoping for conditions to change one day.

I have been playing here for a long time and I have never seen it in this bad of shape. This is the worst conditions I have ever played in Massachusetts. The whole course is burnt out to the point that the grass is gone in many spots. The 4th green is almost entirely dirt. 10% of the grass is left. Most greens are at least 25% dirt. The greens are as hard as concrete.

The major problem is this course isn't cheap. $90 with a cart on the weekends. This course used to be in better shape but it has always been run horribly. Tee times almost never run on time because they insist on doing split tees every day. Our tee time was at 1:40 on a Friday afternoon and we walked off the 18 green at 7:05. Pace has always been bad here.

I would make this a 0 star review because the staff is the worst I have ever dealt with. The kids in the proshop are great and the restaurant staff are good but the golf staff on the course is a joke. The starter is always completely clueless.

The worst part is the general manager of the course was in the group behind us. He couldn't have been more rude. While we were waiting for the group on the tee before the 4th hole they hit a ball into us that bounce off the tire of our cart. No one yelled fore and when they drove over to us they were as rude as possible as we laughed it off and showed them where the balled ended up. The hit into us a couple times but then on the downhill 17th hole they hit a ball that rolled 15 yards passed us. This was a 5+ hour round so they knew we would still be right over the crest of the hill. Also if you have been the GM for his long you know exactly how that hole plays and that you should wait a little extra before teeing off.

If you are in Central Mass I would suggest you play anywhere else. This is the worst golf experience you could possibly have.

Honestly I can't believe how poor the conditions were today. I play this course a lot but It has been about 6 weeks since I've played here.

There is clearly no watering whatsoever. Fairways, tee boxes, and greens are completely dead. Greens are legitimately all dirt.

This is one of the best layouts for public courses in MA. THE MANAGEMENT IS DOING A HORRENDOUS JOB. PUTTING ZERO MONEY INTO THE COURSE. YOU RUINED IT!

charging 90 bucks for this? I'll play anywhere else before this again.

They've lost their greens completely. Over half of the greens were no longer grass, dirt and mud mixed in. Further, it seems clear they have no strategy to recover them right now. We counted over 30 different areas where they had placed a pin on the greens signifying true lack of care. Sad because the layout was actually very fun and challenging. The course could be great and an enjoyable time.

Course was in terrible shape. Layout is nice. Greens like concrete/mud. Someone is doing a very poor job with maintenance.

I don’t know why but they’ve lost most of their greens and some of the tee boxes. Poor conditions all around. It’s really too bad. Hope they can figure things out for next year!

Starting on a good note, the greens were in great shape, quick and very undulating, they were fun to putt. Consistency varied on a couple but overall great greens. On the other hand, the course has a issues that could be corrected relatively easily I believe.

Frustrating issues:

- A cart was required and cost $$20/person and had a GPS in them which seemed to be a good feature. Unfortunately, the GPS was consistently off between 10 - 15 yards longer than the actually distance, so it was useless after the first couple of holes. The course has lot of blind tee shots into small landing areas. If you have a sharp dog leg at least provide line of site to the landing area or have the GPS on the cart that is accurate.

- The flag sticks had one color flag (red). The issue having a broken GPS it was difficult to determine the pin placement (front, middle, or back),

- The fairways were pretty beat up which is surprising with the amount of rain the area had received.

Lastly, is it that difficult to have flat tee boxes? Superintendents, stand at the back to the tee box, if it slopes left or right fix it and make sure they are mowed and rolled. Nothing is worse then standing on a tee box and you have to hit with the ball either above your feet or below.

This should have been a review about fantastic conditions. Instead it is a review of a frustrating round. We were the VERY FIRST tee time of the day. When paying, I asked if I could walk. I was told that I had to take a cart because pace of play was a concern and it is a difficult walk. So I paid my $89. The money isn’t a problem for the quality of the conditions. I’ve played here before and do think it would be tough to walk it in 4 1/2, but I know I can do it. To be clear, I believe the expected pace of play for 18 holes is around 4 hours 30 minutes. We arrived early and got to warm up. We were sent to the first tee at precisely 7 am. My group has been distancing due to Covid and we did end up using 3 carts for our group. We played pretty well on the front and ended up being a few minutes ahead of the suggested pace. When we made the turn to #10 we ran into a multiple group back up. Our round ended up taking 5 hours and 10 minutes. If you don,’t feel like doing the math, the back nine took OVER 3 HOURS! We were the FIRST GROUP OFF THE FIRST TEE! This is not acceptable. I usually play multiple times a week, but one guy in my group only gets a weekend round. I expressed my displeasure to the starter. He said this never happens. I KNOW that is not true. We play early so we DON’T get stuck in five hour rounds. We had a guy leave after 15 because it was just too long waiting for EVERY SHOT. The starter said he doesn’t play on weekends for this reason. Well some of us don’t have that luxury. There should have been a ranger making sure the course is moving. I know they don’t care if I ever return, however, I am disappointed that I lost a great course to play from my rotation. You guys dropped the ball today. Also I certainly could have walked it in less than 5 hours. So thanks for making me take a cart I didn’t need.

As an early morning golfer, I look to play at a good pace. We had the VERY FIRST tee time of the day. I was planning on walking but was informed that carts were mandatory in order to keep a good pace of play. I’m absolutely fine with that. $89. They were doubling up in carts but my regular group has been being very cautious so they did allow us three carts in order to play. We played the front nine in just shy of 2 hours. Per the timer in the cart, we were 2 minutes AHEAD of allowed time. The problem came at the turn! We ran into two backed up 4somes on #10. Our round ended up being 5 hours and 10 minutes. If you don’t feel like doing the math, that’s 3 hour and 15 minute back nine. We waited on every tee and every fairway. It was impossible to keep loose. One of my group had to drive off after 15 knowing that we were going north of 5 hours for the round. I expressed my displeasure at the starters desk and was told this never happens. I do know that is NOT the case. He stated that’s why he doesn’t play on weekends. Well Presently I don’t have that luxury and regardless, judging that the cart keeps track of your pace of play, a ranger should have been correcting the problem. I should be writing a review of how wonderful the conditions were. Instead my ONLY day to golf was ruined by an overloaded tee sheet so they could grab a couple of extra bucks. I know Covid hurt everyone, but don’t compromise the guys who are supposedly setting the pace for the day. First group out should NEVER BE A FIVE HOUR ROUND!!!!! I’m sure they don’t care about losing a few players, I care about losing a quality course to play!

This is a Rees Jones layout. A sprawling 18 hole course winding through the hills of Worcester County. Each hole is unique and isolated from surrounding holes. Complimenting play is an outstanding, courteous Staff and a cozy, fireplaces restaurant.

Simply put, I found this course to have the most interesting layout., good conditions, and overall challenge (without being tricked up, if you know what I mean) of any course I’ve played in Massachusetts. The greens were fast and tough to hold, but not ridiculously so. The layout has many changes in elevation and doglegs, but not restrictively narrow, resulting in plenty of challenge for any level player.

As my partner claimed (and I agree), if you like Red Tail, you will love Blackstone. It is now my favorite and I can’t wait to get out there again.

I couldn't believe the conditions... the practice green is basically unusable (very soft and patches of dirt everywhere). There are also no pins in place to help see the holes when putting or chipping from any sort of distance. As for the driving range, it also appears to be poorly maintained. There was hardly any grass to hit off of and there are just a bunch of unmarked posts scattered up a steep hill (no greens or anything substantial to aim for). Many of the range balls were cracked as well. The course is in a little better shape than the practice facilities, but it's far from what it could/should be. I was told by an employee that the course was in such bad shape due to how hot it has been. But, it really wasn't a very hot summer, and it has been pretty cool for quite a while now. Other courses in the area didn't seem to be affected by the same weather. All in all, I was disappointed in what could be a great place.

This is a great golf course. You could tell it has gotten a TON of play this year. Greens rolled nicely but they are beat up. The fairways and tees were holding up much better than the greens. My only problem is the range doesn’t open until after the first 5-6 groups have gone out onto the course. I’m having a hard time understanding why the range doesn’t open 30 minutes before the course. It’s not like we got a cheaper rate. We paid the same amount and didn’t get full use of the facility. I’ll go back but it is a little disappointing.

Love Blackstone, the layout is awesome. The greens are starting to go and were very choppy throughout the round. Tee boxes and fairways were great.