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If it
wasn't for a bolt of lightning, the
Stavros family might still be
getting up early to milk the cows.
In the 1920's James Stavros and James Thanos ran a dairy farm on
the scenic strip of land overlooking
the salt marsh on the Essex Coast,
but when the barn caught on fire in
the storm of 1930, the livestock was
lost and the farm was destroyed.
Left with a wide stretch of land and
not much to do with it, Stavros and
Thanos asked Eugene "Skip" Wogan,
then the pro at Essex County Club in
Manchester to design a golf course
on the land. Wogan studied under the
pre-eminent course designer at the
time, Donald Ross.
"It was as if
Donald Ross designed the course."
said George Stavros Sr. who began
working at the golf course full time
in 1953.
From the ashes of the dairy farm, James Stavros (George's Uncle)
and James Thanos opened Cape Ann
Golf Course in 1931, in the height
of the depression. And with that, a
life of early mornings, long hours
and little time off during the warm
weather months was set in motion for
future generations. In many ways, a
family's life of running a golf
course is like farming, right down
to the resilience of the weather.
Instead of the cows, they now rely
on fairway mowers to help keep the
grass short. In 1945 Stavros bought
out Thanos and the Stavros Family
has been in charge ever since.
Today at Cape Ann, it's George's son Jim who runs
the course. George serves as the
patriarch after handing over the
keys to the next generation. The
course itself is 9 holes and
features a number of water holes
overlooking the Essex River. Our 4th
hole dog leg left that sits atop the
hill is best known for the view. The
view overlooks the Essex salt
marshes, the Essex river and the
backside of Cranes Beach. It was
recognized in North Shore Golf
Magazine article
"Dream 18"
The par 3 7th hole which is only
reachable by hitting over the marsh
was also recognized in North Shore
Golf Magazines
"Top hardest
holes on the North Shore."
Cape Ann Golf Course has been visited by some
notable people. Of them was famous
writer John Updike who was seen
playing the course every now and
then.
He has mentioned the course in an
essay he wrote called
This
Crowded Life. He also wrote two
pieces about the golf course; one
called The Big Bad Boom
which can be found in his book
titled Golf Dreams and the
other one called
The Golf Course
Owner. The Big Bad Boom
describes the 4th and 7th holes and
The Golf Course Owner was
written in honor of late Golf Course
owner James Stavros. In the piece
Updike doesn't use James's name,
instead he refers to him as Harry.
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CAPE ANN GOLF COURSE |
|
HOLE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
OUT |
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WHITE |
342 |
364 |
169 |
414 |
336 |
278 |
197 |
385 |
341 |
2826 |
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PAR |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
34 |
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HCP |
7 |
5 |
15 |
1 |
9 |
11 |
13 |
3 |
17 |
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RED |
248 |
274 |
169 |
311 |
262 |
273 |
96 |
253 |
326 |
2212 |
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PAR |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
34 |
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|
HOLE |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
IN |
Total |
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BLUE |
357 |
379 |
181 |
462 |
346 |
289 |
258 |
410 |
354 |
3036 |
5862 |
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PAR |
4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
35 |
69 |
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HCP |
8 |
6 |
16 |
14 |
12 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
18 |
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RED |
248 |
274 |
169 |
311 |
262 |
273 |
96 |
253 |
326 |
2212 |
4424 |
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PAR |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
34 |
68 |
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Massachusetts Golf Association COURSE & SLOPE RATINGS
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| Cape Ann Golf Course |
Course Rating |
Slope Rating |
| BLUE |
68.3 |
119 |
| WHITE |
68.3 |
119 |
| RED |
65.2 |
113 |
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USGA RULES
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USGA rules govern for areas defined by white, red, and yellow stakes.
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LOCAL RULES
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USGA
rules
govern
for
areas
defined
by
white(OB),
red
(lateral)
and
yellow
(hazard)
stakes.
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GENERAL RULES
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No more than four players per group. Be sure groups ahead are out of range
before playing. Players making the turn for the back nine will alternate with
players starting the front nine.
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