These are the two premium public courses in Plymouth, three miles apart, and golfers argue about them constantly. Short version: Pinehills is 36 holes and $140 midweek. Waverly Oaks is one course and $110 midweek. Pinehills is the resort day out. Waverly is the better value and the quieter round.
Pinehills
- Two courses: Jones and Nicklaus
- $140 midweek, $175 weekend (peak)
- Slope 137 / 135, both past 7,100 yds
- Cart and range balls included
- Books online 10 days out
- Busier, polished resort feel
Waverly Oaks
- One championship course, Brian Silva
- $110 midweek, $145 weekend (peak)
- Slope 130, 7,114 yds
- Cart and range balls included
- Books online 7 days out
- Quieter, cheaper, event-heavy weekends
The courses
Pinehills has two. The Jones course is a Rees Jones design, 7,175 yards to a rating of 75.4 and a slope of 137. The Nicklaus course, from the Jack Nicklaus II team, plays 7,243 yards to a slope of 135. Both wind through sandy, rolling Plymouth pine barrens with real elevation change. They cost the same, so you pick by mood.
Waverly Oaks is one course, a Brian Silva design that opened in 1998 and made Golf Magazine's top 100 public list the next year. It plays 7,114 yards to a slope of 130 and a rating of 73.5. Silva also built Red Tail and Shaker Hills, so if you know that style you know Waverly.
What it costs
| Pinehills | Waverly Oaks | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday (peak) | $140 | $110 |
| Weekend (peak) | $175 | $145 |
| Twilight | $100 / $115 | $90 / $110 |
| Cart + range | Included | Included |
| Courses | Two (36 holes) | One (18 holes) |
Waverly is $30 cheaper midweek for a course that plays nearly as long and nearly as hard. Peak season runs early May through mid-October at both. Shoulder-season rates drop into the $90 to $115 range at each. Neither publishes a 9-hole rate, so plan on the full 18.
The real difference: crowds and booking
Pinehills feels like a resort. Two courses, a big clubhouse, a busy first tee, and a steady stream of groups and outings. It is the polished experience, and it is usually more crowded. Booking is online only, 10 days in advance starting at midnight. Same-day slots are phone only. A limited number of weekend times can be booked from February, but they require full payment up front.
Waverly is quieter and cheaper, and it plays like a member course on a Tuesday. The catch is the weekend. Waverly is a heavy wedding and outing venue, and Saturday and Sunday mornings get blocked for groups. Those blocks often show as no availability rather than sold out, so the online sheet looks thinner than what the shop can actually fit you into. Tee times open 7 days out.
Which one to play
Bring a group that wants variety, amenities, and the marquee names, and pay for Pinehills. Two courses means everyone gets a round they will talk about. Want the better value, a quieter round, and one genuinely strong Silva layout, and Waverly wins, especially midweek. For a single-digit player chasing a test, Waverly midweek is the pick. Both are worth the 45-minute drive from Boston. For where each lands against the rest of the region, see the best public courses breakdown.
The friction is the weekend. Pinehills opens its sheet at midnight 10 days out and prepays its best weekend times back in February, while Waverly hides its Saturday mornings behind event blocks that never show as open online. Text Carl the date and the course you want. He tracks the Pinehills release, calls the Waverly shop to surface the times the sheet does not show, and comes back with a real slot at whichever one fits your morning.