Golf in New Bedford

Who said golf was a rich man's game? We didn't. It was a filthy, lying cyber-bully.

A family-friendly atmosphere at the Airport Golf Fun Center lets guests of any age unwind with games of mini-golf or hone their skills with long shots on the driving range. Putt past obstacles, undulating turf, and ball-swiping seagulls on the 18-hole mini-golf course. Beautifully landscaped, the course winds past a plethora of ponds, water falls, and baffling water rises. Golfers can also refine regular-sized skills on a short game practice area outfitted with a putting green, sand trap, and purse-lipped fans. The 45-stall range lets clubsmen unsheathe drivers for full-fledged shots from tee-boxes dressed with real grass or artificial turf.

Golfers across the handicap spectrum practice bogey-thwarting skills at Natick Golf Learning Center, where PGA- and LPGA-certified pros preside over a multifaceted outdoor practice facility. The center’s outdoor driving range offers 75 artificial and natural-grass hitting mats; two chipping greens, a putting green, and a practice bunker let players practice their finesse shots. During daily lessons, the pros enlist video analysis and other teaching aids to help pupils tackle new skills or correct recent on-course weaknesses.

The Cape Cod Country Club has been in operation under various names since 1928; today, it continues to offer challenging greens and formidable fairways to all levels of golfers. During their 18 holes of golf (up to a $57 value on summer weekends and holidays), iron-wielders will swing and slice their way down sprawling slopes and beguiling bends as they quest toward Horton Smith–esque levels of links luster. Golfers can get a dogleg up on the competition, including the ghosts of past putters whose spirits will not be at ease until they conquer the tricky eighth green, with the club's course strategy or try to outdrive their drive in an electric-golf-cart rental, included in this deal (a $17 value).

Staffed by experienced coaches and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the three laws of golfing robotics, GolfTEC’s motion sensors and high-speed cameras monitor swings and break down each individual’s form on a high-definition video display to get results. Sensors chirp with approval whenever they detect the perfect stroke or an especially witty golfing joke. GolfTEC’s certified personal coaches will point out flaws and strengths while providing golfers with tips on how to permanently improve their game from tee to green through a detailed, diagnostic gameplan.

Pembroke Country Club’s green, foliage-packed 6,532-yard course is known for its well-maintained landscaping, its challenging par 5 holes, and its sensual Jacuzzi water hazards. After warming up on the straight-shot first hole, you might find yourself sucker-punched by the well-bunkered third’s undulating green, leftward water hazard, and punishing par 3. If you thrive on challenge, attempt to go where eagles dare with the sharply dog-legged 561-yard 13th hole or the pond-sloping greens on the 11th. Navigating the extensive grounds in the included golf cart will keep fatigue to a minimum. To improve their odds of overcoming the course’s steepest obstacles, perfectionists can hone their wrist action at the practice area. Stock up on a last-minute package of golf tees at Pembroke's pro shop, as well as a replica of the golf clubs that Jimi Hendrix rebelliously set on fire at the Monterey Country Club.