Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course

Couldn't get a tee time on a gorgeous Friday and thought we would see how bad this place could be.

The greens are something to behold and like nothing I have ever seen. First of all, at least two from what I remember were temporary greens cut into the fairway, as the real green was simply a pile of dirt. Most but not all (including the temporary greens) appeared to have been aerated recently and were covered with sand--not sure if this helped or hurt. But even the layer of sand could not hide the issues. They simply all need to be dug up and re-sodded: there are massive bare patches of dirt throughout to the point where there are only small areas of "grass" for the pins (only sometimes, and even then, the "grass" is in awful shape--bare/bumpy/sandy/weeds). The fairways and tee boxes are not quite as bad but significantly below average (mostly crabgrass). The rough looked like a normal golf course in many places, but definitely some areas where it was sparse.

All that being said, it was one of the more enjoyable rounds I have played in some time. Part of this was likely due to the fact that twosome a friend and I were paired with dropped off after nine, and we essentially had the back nine to ourselves. Also, we looked at the reviews ahead of time and knew what we were getting ourselves into and tried to make the most of it. $30 for 18 walking does not seem awful despite the fact that you are not really putting (another review that said you can leave the putter at home is accurate). But the state of the greens (again, the majority of which are packed dirt, with some patches of dying grass, and in our case, covered in loose sand) makes it hard to take the round seriously and lends in some ways being fun if you can get over how ridiculous it is.

But most importantly, I loved the majority of the design of the property and the routing of the holes. The review that said Donald Ross is rolling over in his grave perfectly sums it up. There are remnants of--and potential for--and truly great golf course here: cool doglegs, interesting elevation changes, and some great Ross bunkering and green shaping. When combined with the pretty massive scale of the property on the back nine and the view of the Charles (including an awesome footbridge), I thought this was well worth the $30 despite the greens. Just have to imagine that you are experiencing golf in its purest form like on a field maintained by goats in Scotland, though I think even goats could get greens into better shape than these....

This course was terrible don't go here. You must be 21 to take a cart and walking was brutal because the layout sucks. The greens were non existent, they were all dirt and weeds. Save your money!

It is a sin that the state has ignored the upkeep of the most important part of this historic coarse. Apparently no one has paid any attention to the greens. I would gladly volenteer to help with the upkeep of this historical Donald Ross coarse. Finally the greens were cut. What grass there is, the trimmings were left all over the greens. Hopefully the future wii be better.

No grass only weeds and packed dirt...now let me tell you about the fairways. LOL I joke, but no, seriously, only weeds grow here. The staff is friendly but they never leave the "clubhouse" and I wonder if there's even a grounds crew anymore. This place went to the pits because one man running the show embezzled state funds instead of putting them toward the course many years ago and it never has recovered, nor will it ever. It is such a shame because anyone will appreciate that the layout here is really, really cool. However, when the greens are longer but less healthy than your personal home's lawn, the act off putting makes you regret ever stepping foot on the property: putting is just useless. Also, putting is made more useless by the "bunkers" of dead, bare or sandy ground patches all over most of the greens.

...bottom line is this course just isn't even fun anymore, even when one understands what to expect and has metered said expectations.

If you have to decide between this and Ponkapoag, this is still better because Ponky is no different as far as course conditions and their staff is just downright angry.

I used to play in the Monday Night League there, and I loved playing with those guys: the only way to have fun at Leo is to understand what Leo is before you start playing. It is one of the many Dog Tracks still left in Massachusetts, long after Dog Tracks were closed due to illegalities in MA...help me figure that one out.

IDK, man: play here, don't play here, but could someone PLEASE get the State positively involved in fixing this place? Write to your state rep, I guess. Cheers, folks. Good luck out there; be good or be good at it.

This is a random field with weeds growing in it everywhere and holes and flags cut out. It's like a golf course died and you're playing on its corpse.

If you like playing in greens that are 80 percent dirt and just overall poorly maintained courses, this is perfect for you. Being behind a group of five eighty-year-olds who play in slow mo' is the cherry on top of the pie.

Most of the "greens" are at least half dead grass/sand with patches of weeds. If you're looking to just work on your tee box shots this is better than the range. If you want to work on your short game, golf anywhere else.

extremely poor greens ever play in my golf life before !!! never play again !!!

Your right, it’s not the best course with the most polished greens but you suck at golf anyway and you playing on a nice course with perfect greens would have just about the same score if you played here. The staff are super friendly, it’s easy to get on and play, there’s a driving range, it was like 33 bucks on a weekend for 18, the course is huge and challenging-allowing you to practice all aspects of your game minus putting but like I said you suck either way. Go and have fun.

Couldn’t even put at any hole, this place is horribly maintained grass was too long and carts were outrageously noisy.

It’s a shame how neglected this course is. I played here many times before when I was in my 20s and since then it’s a dump. Most of the greens are not puttable. Weeds, dirt and sand not much green.

The only positive is the staff is still friendly.

The course does not maintain its greens. Some greens were the equivalent of a sand filled desert. It was not even real golf

First and formost the greens are in terrible condition. There are actual bunkers on the putting surface, takes the fun out of playing. The fair ways are in decent shape, tee boxes need some work as well but definitely the greens need to be fixed ASAP. I would not recommend playing here, unless it's your plan Z.