Most people get this wrong, so here it is up front: the two courses at Pinehills cost exactly the same. There's no Nicklaus premium. Pinehills runs one rate card for the property and it moves with the season, not with which architect you pick. Right now it's $140 Monday through Thursday and $175 Friday through Sunday, either course, cart and range balls included. Which means the only question is which layout suits your game. Your wallet doesn't get a vote. The tradeoff is the drive: 40 minutes south of Boston on Route 3, in Plymouth. That's the honest version of why Pinehills Golf Club sits at the top of the list for best golf day trips from Boston.
What it costs
Pinehills prices by season. From May 2 through October 18, which covers the whole of the real golf season, it is $140 Monday through Thursday and $175 Friday through Sunday. After 2:30pm the rate drops to $100 midweek and $115 on weekends. In the shoulder windows the whole card comes down: $100 weekday and $115 weekend from late March through May 1, and $95 weekday and $105 weekend from October 19 to close.
Every rate includes a cart and range balls, which matters more here than at most courses because the practice facility is on grass tees and is genuinely good. Rental clubs are $75 a set. If you have flexibility, the shoulder-season weekday at $100 is the same golf course for forty dollars less, and early October in Plymouth is a better time to play it than July anyway.
The Jones Course
The Jones Course is the Rees Jones design. The fairways are wide. Off the tee, there's room to miss. That's not a knock on the design — Rees Jones built the layout to be demanding around the greens, not punishing from the tee. The greens roll true. They're not slick, but they hold a consistent speed throughout the round.
This is the right starting point for most golfers at Pinehills. Mid-to-high handicappers get a fair track. Better players get a course that rewards good iron play and accurate approach work. If you've never played Pinehills before, start here.
The Nicklaus Course
The routing is tighter. The Nicklaus Course demands more precision off the tee and the margin for error shrinks on approach shots. If you play to a single-digit handicap or want a genuine test, this is the one to book.
The old advice to “pay up for the Nicklaus” doesn't mean anything anymore, because you aren't paying up. Book the Nicklaus if you want the harder course, the Jones if you want the friendlier one. The actual value play is the after-2:30pm rate on either: $100 midweek, same golf course, thirty percent off. In July you've got plenty of light to finish. For a full comparison of where Pinehills sits in the state, the Red Tail Golf Club review covers the other course that competes for best public in Massachusetts.
What it costs (both courses)
- $140 Mon–Thu / $175 Fri–Sun in peak season
- $100–115 after 2:30pm
- $100–115 in spring, $95–105 in late fall
- Cart and range balls included
- Same price on Jones and Nicklaus
Which course
- Jones: wide fairways, forgiving off the tee
- Jones: best first visit, mid-to-high handicaps
- Nicklaus: tighter routing, more demanding
- Nicklaus: best for single-digit handicaps
- Price is not the deciding factor
The practice facility
Every green fee at Pinehills includes the practice facility. No separate charge. The driving range runs on grass tees. There's a chipping area, a sand trap for bunker practice, and a putting green.
Most standalone ranges near Boston charge $20 to $25 for a bucket on mats. Getting grass tees, a bunker, and a chipping area as part of the round fee is not standard. If you arrive 30 minutes early and warm up properly, you're already ahead of what most Boston-area courses offer at this price point.
Getting there from Boston
Pinehills is at 54 Clubhouse Dr, Plymouth, MA. Route 3 south the whole way. The drive runs 35 to 45 minutes depending on where you're starting and what time you leave.
Mid-week works best, and not just for traffic. Route 3 carries Cape Cod traffic on weekends, and southbound on a Friday afternoon adds 20 to 30 minutes — and Friday is also when the rate jumps from $140 to $175. A weekday morning tee time saves you both the delay and the thirty-five dollars.
Is it worth the drive?
Yes, with a caveat about when. At the peak $140 weekday rate, Pinehills holds up against any public course in Massachusetts; reviewers consistently put it in the top three in the state, and the grass-tee practice facility is included rather than bolted on. The conditioning is consistent through the season, not just peak summer, which matters for planning a trip that's 40 minutes away.
The best value on the property is the after-2:30pm rate: $100 on a weekday, either course. Same conditioning, same practice facility, forty dollars less. If you're making the drive anyway, consider booking the Jones in the morning and the Nicklaus in the afternoon on separate visits. Both courses are worth the trip, and they cost the same, so the debate is only about which to do first.
If you're weighing Pinehills against closer options, cheapest golf near Boston covers what the full range looks like at shorter distances.
Booking tips
Book at pinehillsgolf.com/rates-policies. Tee times are available online. Weekend morning slots on both courses book out fast — a week in advance is the safe target, two weeks for peak summer Saturdays.
If you make the drive regularly, Pinehills offers annual passes at pinehillsgolf.com/annual-passes. The math works once you're playing both courses multiple times per season.
Pinehills is worth the 40-minute drive. The issue is that planning a trip around one slot at one course still means checking pinehillsgolf.com, comparing it against what's available closer to the city, and figuring out whether the 20-odd courses between Boston and Plymouth have better value for your particular Saturday. Carl checks inventory across all of them — GolfNow, TeeOff, and direct booking — so you get the best available slot for what you actually want to spend, not just the one course you already know about.