Brae Burn’s golf ground predated Ross—six holes were laid out by Henry and Frank Day on family land in the 1890s, expanded to nine in 1897 and to 18 by 1903—but the club turned to Donald Ross to re-shape the course for championship use in 1912. The club’s own history and Ross page record that he “redesigned the first Brae Burn 18-hole course in 1912,” establishing the routing that would soon carry major events. He returned a decade later as the club prepared for national championships, and after the 1919 U.S. Open he revised the course again in 1928 specifically for the U.S. Amateur. Contemporary accounts and later club histories credit that 1928 visit with “tightening” the course and adding a new back tee on the home hole—the “Jones Tee”—to stiffen the finish.
Ross’s intent at Brae Burn can be read in what he changed between those two visits: he preserved the broad, craggy front-nine corridors that tumble across rock-strewn New England terrain while sharpening approach demands into elevated, exacting green sites; for the 1928 Amateur, he further strengthened driving and approach angles on late holes to withstand elite match play (the club and LINKS Magazine both single out the 18th tee addition as emblematic of that goal). There is no evidence that Ross returned after 1928; post-war alterations were undertaken by others (see “Current condition / integrity”).
Unique design characteristics (hole-specific)
Ross’s 1912 routing remains the spine of the Championship Course. The front nine rises quickly into a rugged stretch from No. 2 through No. 8, where short grass and contour do most of the defending. No. 2 plays to a two-tiered, elevated green ringed by bunkers; being on the correct tier is essential, a hallmark of how Ross asked for precision at Brae Burn rather than raw distance. No. 3 repeats the “elevated plus contour” theme, its “diabolical” green dotted with subtle mounds that can turn a center-of-green target into a three-putt if the approach misses its landing pad.
The first one-shotter, No. 6, is short but exacting—prevailing wind in the face, a green textured with small mounds and valleys—a frequent Ross trick here to make modest yardage play stout. The celebrated No. 8 is a long par-3 over a brow to a green set just beyond the crest, deep bunkers left and a steep fall to the right. Its severity was on full display in the 1919 U.S. Open, when a competitor took 18 on the hole—a tournament footnote that also hints at how little back-tee length, and how much green-site guile, drove Ross’s challenge at Brae Burn.
On the back nine, Ross leans more on accumulated tension than raw spectacle. No. 10 uses deep fairway bunkers to narrow the landing and guards a two-tier green; No. 11 (today a long par 4/5) uses a contoured landing and a hazardous right flank to squeeze approaches; No. 12 is classic Brae Burn: elevated surface falling back-to-front with a central valley and deep, white-faced bunkers. The course’s most demanding one-shotter, No. 17, runs well over 200 yards to a target split by a trench, a feature that fractures the putting surface and forces exact yardage control.
Ross’s late-round tightening culminates at No. 18, where the “Jones Tee” he added in 1928 stretched the drive through a narrow chute and heightened the stakes for an approach into a green fronted by fall-off and deep bunkers. The clearest surviving expressions of Ross’s hand today are the routing corridors and many original green sites (see USGA note on integrity below). Holes 2–3–6–8 on the outward side and 12–17–18 on the inward side present that continuity most explicitly: each exhibits the original corridors and green platforms described in club materials, and each still reads like the problems Ross set here—distance is secondary to controlling angles, tiers, and run-offs on elevated targets.
Historical significance
Brae Burn’s Ross revisions bracket two keystone championships that anchor its place in his portfolio. The 1919 U.S. Open—awarded to the club with Ross’s 1912 work in the ground—produced Walter Hagen’s playoff win and cemented the course’s national reputation. A decade later, after Ross’s 1928 strengthening, Bobby Jones captured the U.S. Amateur here; a plaque on the 18th tee memorializes that week and, by extension, the back-tee addition Ross built to make the finish bite.
Brae Burn has also been one of New England’s most reliable championship hosts across a century: U.S. Women’s Amateur (1906, 1975, 1997) and Curtis Cup (1958, 1970) are in its ledger; Massachusetts Amateur has been staged here more than ten times, beginning in 1906 and as recently as 2021. In the modern era the 2024 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur returned the club to the national stage, and the U.S. Women’s Amateur is scheduled for 2028, making Brae Burn—along with the Country Club of Buffalo—one of the few venues to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Amateur, and Curtis Cup. Among contemporary raters, GOLF.com’s state list places Brae Burn among Massachusetts’s best, reflecting how its Ross canvas remains competitive in a deep regional field.
Current condition / integrity
The routing and most original green sites remain largely intact, per the USGA’s 2024 championship materials, which also note two greens were tweaked in 2023 by architect Tyler Rae. The club and governing-body documents provide a clear chronology of later hands and their scope: in the 1960s, Geoffrey Cornish addressed drainage near holes 11 and 12; in 1985, Brian Silva restored selected greens and bunkers and modified others; in recent years, Gil Hanse has provided restoration and enhancement work (tree management, bunker and green-edge recapture consistent with the historic presentation); and Ron Forse has developed a master plan guiding that work.
Those efforts show on the ground today. You can still walk Ross’s 2–8 run over rugged ledges and play into his elevated, two-tiered targets (Nos. 2, 10, 12), but the course breathes more freely thanks to thinning and edge recapture; bunker forms are crisp yet sympathetic to the historic look; and green perimeters present more of the fall-offs and front contours Ross exploited for defense (e.g., the front of 18 and the valley through 12). The exceptions are localized: two greens adjusted in 2023, and Cornish’s mid-century work around 11–12 left a subsurface footprint even as visible surfaces have trended back toward the Ross presentation. In short, the skeleton is Ross, and the surfaces are a historically informed modern build, with attention to tournament set-ups that echo the 1919 and 1928 demands.
Sources & Notes
Brae Burn CC — “Our History.” Club timeline (foundation; early expansions; championship ledger) and confirmation of Ross’s 1912 and 1928 redesigns.
Brae Burn CC — “The Donald Ross Design.” Club’s summary of Ross’s two redesigns and note that Alex (Alec) Ross served as Brae Burn professional in 1907.
Brae Burn CC — “Course Tour.” Hole-by-hole descriptions used to identify specific features (elevated/tiered greens at 2, 3, 10, 12; deep bunkering at 10, 12, 18; 17’s divided green; long 8th with 1919 anecdote).
LINKS Magazine — “Classic Course: Brae Burn Country Club” (Ron Sirak). Narrative history citing Day brothers origins, Ross’s 1912 work, and his 1928 “Jones Tee” addition on 18; tournament context.
USGA — “Dripping With History, Brae Burn Adds New Chapter…” (2024 Women’s Mid-Am). Confirms routing and greens largely intact, notes two greens tweaked by Tyler Rae in 2023, and lists championship history (including 2028 Women’s Amateur return; plaque on 18).
Mass Golf — “113th Massachusetts Amateur Fact Sheet” (2021). Official set-up 6,816 yards / Par 72; course rating/slope; architects and scopes: Cornish (1960s drainage near 11–12); Silva (1985 green/bunker restoration/modification); Hanse (recent restoration/enhancement); Forse (master plan).
Wikipedia — “1919 U.S. Open (golf).” Championship host/course details and dates used to corroborate the 1919 event at Brae Burn (Hagen playoff).
Wikipedia — “1928 U.S. Amateur.” Notes Ross’s second redesign specifically for the Amateur and contemporary press commentary that the course had been “tightened up.”
Mass Golf — “10 Things to Know About Historic Brae Burn CC.” Concise club history; statement that the 1928 Ross layout “has kept its layout,” with only modest tee/green changes since.
GOLF.com — “Best Golf Courses in Massachusetts (2020/2021).” Places Brae Burn among the state’s top courses in panel rankings.
Disputed or uncertain points
Extent of Ross’s 1928 alterations. Sources agree Ross returned to prepare for the U.S. Amateur and added the 18th “Jones Tee”; contemporary press described the course as “tightened,” but a comprehensive hole-by-hole 1928 plan set is not publicly cited, so the full list of changes beyond lengthening and fine-tuning approaches remains partly inferential.
Degree of mid-century modification by Geoffrey Cornish. The 2021 Mass Golf fact sheet is explicit about drainage work near 11–12; other claims of broader 1960s alterations sometimes appear in secondary summaries without detailed documentation. This narrative limits Cornish’s scope to what Mass Golf specifies.
“Largely unchanged since 1928.” Club and Mass Golf materials stress routing continuity; however, 1985 Silva work, recent Hanse enhancements, and 2023 Tyler Rae tweaks mean that surfaces and some features are reconstructed to a historic intent rather than literally original fabric.