By: Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
NORTON, Massachusetts (August 12, 2025) – Beloved by locals, respected by competitors, and deeply embedded into the city’s sports history, Boston’s two municipal golf courses have long been its great equalizers, open to anyone with a tee time and an interest in the game.
In 2028, those same fairways will once again test the state’s best amateur golfers, as George Wright and William J. Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park host Massachusetts’ premier amateur championships.
Mass Golf announced Tuesday that the 120th Massachusetts Amateur Championship will be contested at George Wright Golf Course, while the 125th Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship will take place at William J. Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park, marking the first time the storied events will return to the city since 2018. That summer was the inaugural year under the united Mass Golf banner following the merger of the Massachusetts Golf Association and the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts, a fitting prelude to this historic doubleheader.
The 2028 dates promise more than just championship-caliber golf. They will showcase significant course improvements, celebrate the Women’s Amateur’s 125th playing, and highlight Boston’s commitment to public golf as a vital part of its sports culture.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mass Golf back to our City golf courses for another exciting series of championship matches. This partnership builds on our promise to expand opportunities and create more exciting community events across Boston neighborhoods for our residents and families, and recognizes the caliber of the course design and maintenance that our City teams work so hard to provide,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “We look forward to bringing this historic competition to Franklin Park, one of the most iconic and beloved public spaces in Boston. I’m grateful to Mass Golf and our Parks and Recreation Department for bringing exciting world class events to our parks.”
Online: Future Sites | Women’s Amateur Home | Mass Amateur Amateur Home
An overhead view of William J. Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park, which will host the 2028 Massachusetts Women’s Amateur. (Teddy Doggett)
For Scott Allen, Head Golf Professional at George Wright for more than 20 years and the City of Boston’s Director of Golf, the championships are a proud homecoming.
“It was an honor to be able to do it,” Allen said of hosting in 2018. “It’s great to show off the course and what we’ve done. Now, we’ll be able to show how far we’ve come in the past decade.”
Opened in 1936, George Wright Golf Course is a Donald Ross design whose creation was nothing short of monumental: 60,000 pounds of dynamite, 72,000 cubic yards of topsoil, and 57,000 linear feet of drainage pipe were used to shape the rugged Hyde Park property.
Originally intended as a private club in the early 1930s, the project was rescued during the Great Depression through the federal Works Progress Administration, which employed over a thousand workers in its construction. After decades of neglect under outside management, the City of Boston resumed operations in the early 2000s and began a steady revitalization, restoring greens, overhauling irrigation, and adding new bunkers. The transformation culminated in 2018 when George Wright became the first municipal course to host the Massachusetts Amateur, won by Westwood native Patrick Frodigh.
Across town, William J. Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park is deeply rooted in Boston history. Designed into Frederick Law Olmsted’s 527-acre Franklin Park, the largest jewel of Boston’s famed “Emerald Necklace”, golf has been played here since 1896, making it one of the oldest public courses in the nation.
Franklin Park’s pastoral setting, puddingstone outcroppings, and broad fairways have long made it a gathering place for both competitive and casual golfers. The course has endured periods of neglect but has always been reclaimed by the community, most notably through the advocacy of the Franklin Park Coalition and the Franklin Park Golf Association. In recent years, major investment from the city has restored its status as a premier public facility.
Franklin Park has also undergone major tee and bunker renovations, with new complexes on holes 1, 4, and 7, plus extensive drainage work to improve overall playability.
“Since the city took it over, we’ve put money back into the course,” Allen said. “Franklin Park the last three years we’ve surpassed 51,000 rounds per year, and we’re on schedule to surpass that this year. Conditions at both courses couldn’t be better, fairways couldn’t be better. It’s a lot of long, hard work paying off.”
Shannon Johnson, who won the 2018 Mass Women’s Amateur, made it a milestone year as she later won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in the fall.
As fate would have it, 2028 also marks the year that nearby Brae Burn Country Club will host the U.S. Women’s Amateur, typically held the week before the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur.
“We’re honored to welcome Mass Golf back to George Wright and William J. Devine for the 2028 Massachusetts Women’s Amateur and Massachusetts Amateur Championship,” said Interim Commissioner of Boston Parks and Recreation Cathy Baker-Eclipse. “We’re proud of the hard work, care, and investments that keep these historic courses in top condition, and we’re excited to welcome the state’s best amateur golfers to experience their beauty and challenge.”
Anne Marie Tobin, a seven-time winner of the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship, struck the ceremonial first drive to kick off the 115th playing of the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship in 2018 at George Wright GC. (David Colt, file)
About Mass Golf
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged community.
With a community made up of over 140,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
