'Grotesque' courses

Water hazard, sand trap and dense vegetation on the 13th hole at Ridgefield (Conn.) Golf Course— Photo by Don Williams

Water hazard, sand trap and dense vegetation on the 13th hole at Ridgefield (Conn.) Golf Course

— Photo by Don Williams

British golfer Harry Vardon at the 1913 U.S. Open, at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. The club had one of America’s earlier courses, and it remains one of the country’s most famous.

British golfer Harry Vardon at the 1913 U.S. Open, at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. The club had one of America’s earlier courses, and it remains one of the country’s most famous.

“You claim New England’s a pretty place? Think again. Oh, it’s fine for hiking or camping; it’s got all those swell bubbling brooks; it’s peaceful and clean and colorful. But, look, when it comes to something truly important, like the game of golf, these northeastern states can be downright grotesque.’’

Tim O’Brien, in “The Beholder’s Eye,’’ in New England: The Four Seasons (1980, edited and with photos by Arthur Griffin