Golf in Wells Beach Station

Merriland Farm's par 3 course winds through fields of blueberry and raspberry, adding color and character to the 200-year-old working farm. At just 841 yards, the short course presents holes that range in distance from the 63-yard seventh up to the 119-yard third. Farm owner and course designer Jim Morrison makes up for the lack of overall distance by punishing errant shots with such hidden hazards as a brush-filled gully on hole two and a pond on hole eight, which players must avoid by selecting the right club or waiting for the next drought. The bucolic landscape also features a driving range with flagstick markers for golfers to warm up at.

Lauded by Yankee Magazine and featured on the Food Network, the on-site café got its start as a roadside stand from which Julie Morrison sold her delicious pies and jams. Visitors relax amid the comfy environs of the dining room or breathe in the fresh farm air on the outdoor patio.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 27 course
• Total length of 841 yards
• One tee box per hole

Apple Hill Golf Club entices golfers of all abilities with a 27-hole tapestry weaved into rolling, New Hampshire woodlands. The club’s 18-hole course meanders across 6,184 yards of wide, bermuda grass fairways and bentgrass greens flanked by ponds that come into play on more than half of the holes. Those looking to hone their short game can tee it up on the nine-hole, par 3 course, an 800-yard layout that duffers can complete in an efficient 45 minutes, enabling them to squeeze in a session before dark or in time to drop off their 9-iron at soccer practice.

During the summer, PGA professional Steve Lundquist utilizes the multifaceted grounds to host a junior golf academy, which grants pupils free play on the par 3 course throughout the season. Along with a wide selection of clubs, balls, clothes, and shoes available for purchase, the club’s pro shop curbs appetites with fresh sandwiches, drinks, and hot dogs that can be braided together to form fully functional putters.

Championship Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70 course
• Length of 6,184 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 68.6 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 124 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options

With five distinct courses etched into the New England countryside, Sterling Golf Management promotes pin-hunting recreation for Boston-area golfers of all abilities. The longest and most difficult of the four, The Shattuck Golf Club's 18-hole course kicks off with a 409-yard par 4 where players hack their way toward a green that is visually wreathed by the rising red rocks of Mount Monadnock, setting the tone for a scenic, 6,764-yard round. Groves of trees ensconce the fairways and barter over carbon dioxide at Norwood Country Club's recently renovated course, a relatively flat layout characterized by smallish greens and flanked by a lighted driving range. Designed in 1921 in the Donald Ross tradition is Maynard Golf Course, a picturesque par 70, 9-hole course with a full-service clubhouse. The same sylvan makeup returns at Newton Commonwealth's course, where lush tree lines cast shadows over a creek as it snakes across the fairways of seven holes. Rounding out the grassy quartet, Chelmsford's nine-hole course takes golfers careening across 2,467 yards of narrow fairways, placing straight drives or skilled golf ball pilots at a premium.

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).

At Groton Pool & Golf Center, the summer sun shines on a nine-hole course and the winter chill ushers players into a studio featuring two golf simulators, facilitating year-round recreation. The outdoor course challenges golfers with small greens and an open, links-style layout that measures 3,025 yards from the back tees. A driving range allows golfers to practice their swings or short-range bicycle kicks before each round. For swing-honing sessions under any weather conditions, clubbers can tee off into the immense screens of golf simulators, which digitally recreate more than 30 world-famous courses.

Placid waters await alternative recreation at the Center’s Olympic-sized outdoor pool, which features six lap lanes and ample deck space. The pool caters to both aquatic exercise and those who simply want to relax and take in views of the adjacent golf course.