For the past 85 years, George Wright Golf Course in the Hyde Park section of Boston has offered a place for locals to escape the hustle and bustle of the city without actually having to leave the city.
But much like the hilly, 6,440-yard layout, it’s never been easy.
When Donald Ross initially designed the course in the late 1920s, he was doing it for the development of a private club. That club ended up being a casualty of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 before a shovel was in the ground.
It took the Works Progress Administration, a government program created as a result of the Great Depression, and Walter Irving Johnson, one of Ross’ assistants, to finish the job.
Even when opened, George Wright had its share of lean years. Dirt and clover would often be the primary surface in the fairways. Outside agencies were brought in to run the operation, and while they got it into a playable condition, big improvements were few and far between.