Laurence Lambrecht
Laurence Lambrecht
.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.853.suffix/1765227384927.jpeg)
Laurence Lambrecht
Laurence Lambrecht
Laurence Lambrecht
Laurence Lambrecht
Derek Duncan
Eastward Ho!
Chatham, MA • Private
Overview
This is Herbert Fowler's most engaging 18-hole design. Routed on an isthmus in the Atlantic on Cape Cod, with each nine looping out and back along the ocean’s edge, the course’s rugged topography was splendidly used to pose challenges in stance, lie and depth perception. It’s golf’s equivalent of a spine-tingling, neck-twisting roller coaster ride along a waterfront. If you come upon a flat lie at Eastward Ho!, it’s likely a tee box, a fact that can put some golfers off who lack a sense of humor and appreciation for links golf. Keith Foster’s renovation in the early 2000s made giant strides in uncovering the spectacular landscape through serious tree removal, and in 2024 Kyle Franz took Eastward Ho! over the finish line by opening up the remaining sightlines, expanding fairways so the ball runs as much laterally as propels forward, reclaimed over 28,000 square feet of green surface, and introduced open sandscapes that hide cart paths and alleviate the search for balls in the fescue roughs. The most striking change is the expansion of the front of the green at the par-3 fourth hole to create a staggering Biarritz putting surface, one of the most majestic in the world.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked since 2013.
Previous ranking: 102nd.
2025-'26 ranking (highest): 101st.
Best in State: Ranked inside the top 5, 1997, 2009. Ranked seventh, 2015-'26. Ranked ninth, 2011-'14. Ranked inside the top 10, 1989-'91, 1995, 1999-2003. Ranked inside the top 15, 2007.
2025-'26 ranking (and previous): 7th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Eastward Ho! - 5/4/2026 It's hard to beat a bright blue day in Chatham, Massachusetts regardless of your plans, but a chance to play Eastward Ho! on one of those picture-perfect days is something entirely different. Two out-and-back nines nestled between Little Pleasant Bay and Crows Pond, with a view of the water on nearly every hole, Eastward Ho! did not disappoint on Character or Aesthetics when I first played it in 2022, and Kyle Franz's 2024 restoration has only sharpened both. Where Keith Foster's work two decades ago excavated the property from the trees, Franz has finished the job: sightlines are fully open, more than 28,000 square feet of green surface has been recaptured, and new sand scrapes replacing formal rough and hidden cart paths finally give the course the beach-like texture the site always promised but never quite delivered. From the first tee on the highest ground, the waves of turf still roll out ahead exactly as before, but the whole property now reads as a coherent, natural whole rather than a great routing fighting its own upkeep. A sporty 6,437 yards from the tips in 2022, the course now plays a touch longer off several new back tees, but the punch it packs still comes from the same blind shots, uncertainty, and wind - Franz was careful to restore, not soften, the Challenge. What has changed is how much more interesting the greens are once you get there, and how much more room there is to use the ground to get to them. Fairways were widened so the ball runs as much sideways as forward off the colossal contours, and the Shot Options have expanded meaningfully as a result. The signature transformation is the par-3 4th, where Franz uncovered a lost Fowler-era front section and turned the hole into a full Biarritz green, swale and all - what used to be a good short hole with a green that looked smaller than it played is now one of the most dramatic putting surfaces in the country, and it completely changes how the hole is attacked depending on the wind. The Layout Variety that stood out in 2022 - perched greens on 3, 5, and 12 next to benched, hollow-set greens on 1, 2, 6, 13, 14, 15, and 17 - is still the backbone of the round, but every one of those greens now has more usable surface and more subtle rejection and acceptance than before, particularly at 6, where a false front that used to feel like a hard stop now offers more ways to feed a ball onto the putting surface. The sand scrapes that replace the old fescue rough do double duty for Aesthetics and Conditioning: they look like they've always belonged on this sandy isthmus, and they've quietly swallowed up cart paths that used to intrude on holes like 9 and 14. Firm, fast turf still lets the ball run out on nearly every hole, and that old-school ground game is even more rewarding now that the fairways give more room to use it. Eastward Ho! was already a course that stuck in the mind for months and years, and the 2024 work has only deepened that. Holes like 6 still ask an impossible question off the tee - 455 yards away with two hills in between - and 14 still tempts the big miss left toward the hidden ravine, but the round now finishes with the added exclamation point of that new 4th green rattling around in the head. Franz's restoration didn't reinvent Fowler's routing; it removed the last of what was obscuring it and gave the greens room to do what the land around them was already doing. The course looks and plays like almost nothing else in the United States, and after this renovation, there's even less to compare it to. This is what a renovation should look like: strategy and Character sharpened rather than sanded down, and I'd have no hesitation ranking this among the best restorations I've evaluated."
Read More2026
Review
“terrific golf course. The wind will affect play every day. Amazing set of green complexes. A big defense of the holes. Every type of shot imaginable. Uphill, downhill, sidehill, blind shots. A course you could play every day and have completely different shots every day!"
Read More2026
Review
“Eastward Ho! is back and better than ever. New bunkers, added distance and strking sand scrapes accompany a still-spectacular piece of land on Cape Cod. One of the few links-like venues in America, Eastward Ho! presents a unique and fun experience with plenty of challenge."
Read More2025
Review
“Kyle Franz’s recent renovation added length, difficulty, and numerous new options in setting up the course - from the expanded greens to new tee boxes (and tee box placements) to bunkers that altered plan of attack from tee to green. (Punctuated by the course’s optional par four or par five setup for the 18th hole that now leads each day’s golfer to face the whims of that morning’s grounds crew in playing either a par 71 or 72 setup, just as original architect Herbert Fowler had intended.) The renovation also saw a return to an even more naturalistic look and feel to the course that both amplifies EH’s coastal setting while reintroducing waste areas and native grasses to the landscape. A standout change was expanding the green at the par-3 fourth hole to Fowler’s original intent, blending what was once fairway into a new Biarritz that presents numerous setup options."
Read More2025
Review
“Played Eastward Ho post renovation. Most of the work involved bunkers and expanded green surfaces. Both significantly improved the playability, visual character and challenge to the course. This is a delight to play. Rolling terrain with wide fairways invites all types of challenges with the lies. At least 5 blind shots to greens. Favorite hole #14 the Quarry hole. Par 3's all of high quality and varying lengths. Do not find many courses next to the ocean with this much elevation change. Conditioning was exceptional."
Read More2025
Review
“Brilliant golf course at Eastward Ho, now maxed out for firmness, length, and challenge with the recent Kyle Franz restoration/renovation. EH has some of the wildest land movement within its fairways on the East Coast, and some of the best ocean views as well. While it will always remain behind the top few courses in Mass, there will surely be some who rank EH #1 in the state!"
Read More2025
Review
“one of the most stunning courses in the country"
Read More2025
Review
“Dramatic Land Movement, firm and fast conditions. Ground game is huge. Scenery hard to mach"
Read More2025
Review
“The renovation came out beautifully. Several new green complexes made formerly boring holes into really intriguing greens (like hole 9 for example). the 4th green may have been a little over done but there are now more pinnable positions to play which should provide more variety for daily member play. We played into a e/ne wind which is unusual this time of year, so the most difficult holes also played into the wind. New tee boxes bring some length to the course which is needed when land-constrained by the ocean. Removal of all cart paths was a great move as well as some were in play or hogged land now occupied by fabulous new teeing areas (see 7 and 8). The playability of bunkers was inconsistent, some had too much sand, others too little...Balls that shouldn't plug (ricochets) did, which was unfair and not fun to the player. Balls at rest were also being blown off the green, and wind speeds were not terrible (10-15 mph). Aesthetically one of the best in the country and beautiful walk."
Read More2025
Review
“Recent changes have upped the level of this course again. It has a wonderfully natural feel"
Read More2025
