Natick’s KOHR Golf on target with practice & training focus

September 29, 2022 by admin Leave a Comment

This is a guest post from Wellesley resident Robert Dwyer, who will be writing for us occasionally about local golf options. He also blogs about wine at The Wellesley Wine Press.

Back in the day if you wanted to go hit some golf balls you’d head over to the Natick Golf Center, park in the lot behind Ziti’s restaurant, and drive a golf cart up to the range. The conditions left a bit to be desired, but kids enjoyed the ride in the golf cart and it was nearby.

I always wondered though: What if someone took the place over and spiffed it up?

Enter KOHR Golf.

When you visit now, the site will be familiar but it’s been enhanced to become not only a great driving range but one of the top practice facilities in the region.

We recently met with KOHR Golf Co-General Manager Nathan Boroyan who walked us through improvements made since they took over. Along with a heightened interest in golf related to COVID, business has been booming.

“I’d say, pre-pandemic, 150-200 buckets was a good day. Post-pandemic, we like to see 250-300 buckets during full operating hours (Summer, 9am-9pm). During great stretches the past couple of summers, we routinely sell over 300 per day. Our best day on record happened last June when we sold 505.” Boroyan said.

Driving Range

Typical driving ranges have a few yardage markers in a pasture-like field which tends to encourage hitting balls as far as possible.

At KOHR the setup encourages more target-oriented practice because you’re hitting into dozens of greens with bunkers and pins so you can really get a feel for how well your shots are holding.

The net effect is that practice at KOHR tends to translate to game improvement because you’re practicing the wide variety of shots required in a round of golf.

Trackman Range

New for 2022 is Trackman Range that allows golfers to track the distance, speed, and flight characteristics of their shots. It boasts similar technology to that used on the PGA Tour and in golf simulators–but rather than installing dedicated devices in each bay they’ve managed to figure out how to measure flight data through trackers at various locations on the range.

Ball flight data is relayed to your smartphone depending on which bay you’re hitting from which enables accurate measurement of carry and total distances of each club and more. Games like “Bullseye” make target-oriented practice fun for kids and adults alike.

Best of all Trackman Range is complimentary for all guests.

Membership

Customers who find themselves addicted to hitting buckets of balls might find a membership beneficial. Two levels are offered.

A Season Pass includes unlimited range balls and access to the putting green. The break-even point is around two or three buckets a week, but I’ve found I hit more buckets each time I’m there and go more often with a Season Pass.

The Club Membership adds access to a private short-game area with two manicured, bunkered greens designed to enable practicing a wide variety of shots. Driving range guests might not even realize this area exists, but check it out next time you’re there hitting balls.

Instruction

Depending on when you visit, you might not realize the extent of training that occurs at the facility.

Kids clinics and camps are offered, and for serious juniors a year-round KOHR Golf Academy is available.

Adults can improve their game through private lessons or small group clinics. Nine instructors are available.

Coming Soon

Golf has become a year-round endeavor in the Northeast thanks to indoor simulators.

They’re building out five indoor practice bays to enable instruction during colder months. Boroyan said “The goal is to open this winter,” with space initially reserved for Academy golfers and private lessons. Stay tuned for more on that front as winter approaches.

KOHR Golf

218 Speen St., Natick, Mass.

888-622-5647

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Campaign launched to fund Wellesley track & field lights, team rooms, sound system

September 23, 2022 by Bob Brown 5 Comments

The Wellesley Field Fund has begun its campaign to raise $1.5M for getting lights, team rooms, and a modern sound system installed at the high school track and field. That amount of private fundraising would be designed to cover construction and material costs that have been on the rise from earlier estimates for the project closer to $1M.

A Natural Resources Commission vote over the summer in favor of allowing lights, after years of discussion and debate in town, has paved the way for fundraising to begin.

Some $1.3M was raised via roughly a thousand donors in 2015-2016 to pay for resurfacing the Wellesley High track and installing a larger artificial turf field. Familiar faces from that fundraising effort are back, and the campaign is led by Jerry Nigro, a Wellesley resident who is active in coaching youth sports and is the boys’ lacrosse rep for the town’s Playing Fields Task Force. Donations would be tax deductible, as the fund’s fiscal sponsor is local non-profit Community Investors.

Wellesley Field Fund organizers aim to hit their fundraising goal by Nov. 1 (or by Thanksgiving at the latest), as the town won’t permit construction to begin until funds are secured.

Specifically, the money would be used for:

● Team rooms: Locker rooms and bathrooms for home and away teams.
● Lighting: Aimed at providing safety for athletes and spectators during games and practices at dusk or night, and allowing for more people to attend events. The dark sky-compliant lights would be designed to limit their impact on the surrounding area.
● Sound system: Speakers mounted to direct sound to the immediate track & field area.

(Funding for a combo bathroom and concession stand facility would largely be covered by money appropriated at the 2018 Annual Town Meeting.)

Wellesley School Committee member Linda Chow shared an update on the project at that town body’s Sept. 13 meeting shortly after the 23-minute mark of the Wellesley Media recording. The School Committee in February of 2021 agreed to explore lighting and team rooms as a package.

“As a committee we had decided early on that because the town had already so generously committed to rebuilding two new elementary schools we did not feel that we wanted to go back to the town and ask for funding for this particular project. That was a very conscious decision we made to privately fundraise,” she said.

Chow emphasized that the committee itself cannot do the private fundraising and that’s where the Field Fund comes in. The Fund will provide regular updates to the public and School Committee.

Cost estimates presented at Sept. 13 School Committee meeting by Linda Chow

Looking ahead, each of these projects will need to make their way through various town groups, including the Design Review Board, Wetlands Protection Committee (bathrooms had done this), and Zoning Board of Appeals. The Field Fund is hopeful most approvals can be secured by early winter. The fact that Phase I of the project included permitting for stormwater and utility connections, envisioning team rooms and bathrooms, that should smooth the process.

Once funded, the installation of the lights and sound system could be completed within 6 months, while the completion of team rooms would likely take 9-12 months, according to the Field Fund.

track and field sunsest — Wellesley track in field over the summer

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Wellesley Turkey Trot registration opens

September 23, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

It’s not too soon to think about Thanksgiving—registration for the Wellesley Turkey Trot has opened online. The 5K race, which raises funds for local charity partners, begins at 8am on Thanksgiving day in Linden Square.

You can run the race, which courses through Wellesley Square and the Wellesley College campus on its way back to Linden Square, as an individual or as part of a team. The deadline to get a race t-shirt is Oct. 31.

In addition to the 5K, there’s a 1-mile race for kids 10 and under at 8:45am (limited to 300 participants).

Race organizer Kate Maul tells us there will be new award categories this year for the popular community event.

“Because the Turkey Trot is a Wellesley race, I thought it might be nice to find a way to recognize the many young (and not so young) people who return to Wellesley for Thanksgiving, and the Turkey Trot is part of their tradition,” she says. This will include prizes for high school students and alums, both as individuals and in various team configurations.

The annual Turkey Trot was founded by the late Carol Chaoui, who is honored with a plaque near the race start/finish.

Wellesley sports: Football team car wash; Middle schooler wins ninja championship; High school soccer teams playing where Revs & Pats play

September 13, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Wellesley, Mass., sports news:

Football team car wash

The Wellesley High School football team is hosting a car wash fundraiser on both Sunday Sept. 18 from 10:30am-2pm and Sunday, Oct. 2 from noon-4pm. The events take place at 62 Linden St. (Linden Store) and car washes cost $20 per vehicle.

Middle schooler wins ninja championship

Daniel Woods, an 8th grader at Wellesley Middle School, has won the Ultimate Ninja Athletic Association World Series Championship in the 13-14 year old division. The event was held in Las Vegas over the summer.

Woods has been competing in ninja obstacle course competitions for seven years and for many years has performed obstacle training at Action Athletics and youth athletic training at Train Boston, both in Wellesley. He currently trains at Vitality Obstacle Fitness in Fall River. Qualifying for the World Series required the teen to compete and succeed in local and regional competitions.

Woods has quite a track record: He also won the World Ninja Association Championship when he was 8 in the 7-8 year old division (in Detroit). The versatile athlete was also on the TV show “American Ninja Warrior Jr.” Season #2 and placed 3rd when he was 10 (in LA).

daniel woods — Daniel Woods ready to start his winning run in Vegas

High school soccer teams to play where Revs & Pats play

The Wellesley High School Varsity Girls and Boys Soccer teams will be playing vs. Natick High at the same stadium where the New England Revolution and New England Patriots play in Foxborough come Sunday, Oct. 2.

Tickets are available online.

Wellesley sports news: Kuong wins women’s senior amateur golf title—again; Barefoot soccer returns; Wellesley High seeks assistant XC coaches; Ex-Wellesley resident playing pro lax

August 30, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Wellesley, Mass., sports news:

Kuong wins women’s senior amateur golf title—again

Congrats to Wellesley’s Pam Kuong on winning the Massachusetts Women’s Senior Amateur Championship golf title for the third straight time (there was no 2021 tourney).

According to Mass Golf, the Charles River Country Club member won by three strokes, with rounds of 75 and 73 at the Shaker Hills Country Club in Harvard, Mass.

Kuong led most of the way, but said she surprised herself by having such a strong showing in the wake of two knee replacements and the challenges of a new job (a longtime Bank of America executive, she moved to Santander Bank earlier this year). “I haven’t been playing as much, so this is unexpected I would say,” Kuong said, according to Mass Golf.

A versatile athlete, Kuong played soccer and softball as well as swam at Wellesley High School, and continued as a three-sport athlete in college. She’s gone on to teach many kids to swim as a coach as well. And now her golf accomplishments speak for themselves.

Pam Kuong with the trophy (Photo by David Colt, Golf Photographer)

Barefoot soccer returns

The annual round-the-clock barefoot soccer event, which raises funds that support a group fighting the spread of AIDS in Africa, sort of snuck up on us this year. Guess that’s what happens when players go barefoot on the grass. But we came across it late on Friday night on the way home from another event.

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Wellesley High seeks assistant XC coaches

Wellesley High School Athletic Director John Brown says the school is looking for assistant boys and girls cross country coaches this fall.

Ex-Wellesley resident playing pro lax

Congrats to Zach Geddes, formerly of Wellesley, for being selected by the defending champion Chaos Lacrosse Club in the first round of the Premiere Lacrosse League draft this past May.

The All-American midfielder played collegiately at Georgetown University. Before that, he played club lacrosse and at private school.

While not playing lacrosse, Geddes is now working in the private equity field.

Geddes’ team, Chaos, is next scheduled to play at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Sept. 3

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Welcome another Boston Swell-tic to town

August 19, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Boston Celtics continue to flock to Wellesley for homes not too far away from the Garden and about 20 minutes from the Auerbach Center practice facility: Newly acquired point guard Malcolm Brogdon is the latest according to our sources.

Who can afford to live in Wellesley these days? People who make $22M-plus per year is who.

#NewProfilePic What do y’all think? pic.twitter.com/E5t1oyO5sM

— Malcolm Brogdon (@MalcolmBrogdon7) July 12, 2022

Brogdon is the latest in a line-up of Celtics officials or players that live or have lived in town. Current residents include Celtics executive and former coach Brad Stevens, and star forward Jaylen Brown. Ray Allen, Danny Ainge, and Gordon Hayward have been among past residents.

We’ll refrain from pinpointing Brogdon’s address, but he’s purchased a newly built home that replaced a 195os model formerly owned by an elected town official.

The 7,300-plus sq. ft. home features 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms (5 full), and a nice yard.

If the University of Virginia alum gets a hankering to shoot around, we’ve got a hoop that you’re welcome to use, Malcolm.

The 6-foot, 5-inch player, entering his seventh National Basketball League season, started his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, then spent the last three seasons with the Indiana Pacers.

An Atlanta native, Brodgon reportedly bought a $5M mansion in that city at the start of the year.

Welcome to Wellesley, and good luck with the Celts!

Beyond Wellesley: How to avoid the crowds at Narragansett Beach

July 29, 2022 by Duncan Brown Leave a Comment

Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island is one of the more enjoyable beaches near Wellesley. It’s a bit of a drive, taking around an hour and a half to get there, but the water is warm, the waves are notable, and the beach itself isn’t rocky like many in New England. The downside of all this is that everyone else knows just how good a beach it is, too. When the Swellesley Report made a trip down to Narragansett a few summers ago, we found ourselves among throngs of beachgoers, leaving little space on either side of our beach blanket. A 20-minute walk down to the narrow, less visited end of the beach revealed some interesting intel. Savvy beach goers were arriving at the least populated part of the beach in kayaks. How could we get in on this beach hack?

A quick conversation with one of these in-the-know visitors revealed the existence of Narrow River Kayaks, a rental agency that launches on its namesake river, which empties through the “Narrows” and into the Atlantic Ocean at the far end of Narragansett Beach. You can rent kayaks, paddle boards, and canoes, with the option of renting for 2 hours, 4 hours, or full day.

Some also plop their own kayaks or canoes into the river near bridges along the route.

We decided to check out Narrow River’s service this year and rented two tandem kayaks for four hours, which cost $60 per kayak ($85 for a full day). Customer parking is free at the launch, and there is room on the kayaks for a large cooler filled with lunch, snacks, and drinks. The distance from the launch to the beach was about a mile, which took 30 or 40 minutes of casual paddling (tides can shorten or lengthen the trip). Once at the beach we pulled our boats up and enjoyed what we were looking for—a bit of separation from the packed section of beach that serves the car-driving crowd. Despite our more remote location, we were within a 15-20 minute walk to the bathrooms. No lifeguards at this narrow end of the beach, but if we had so chosen, we could have walked to the nearest guarded area of the beach within ten minutes.

Normally, entrance to the beach is $12 per person, and parking in the non-resident lot is $15/day on the weekends. Those spots don’t stick around for long. If you don’t mind walking, there is free parking on the seawall. Paying for food, parking passes, and admission can quickly add up with a big group, and if you’re protective of your personal space you’ll have to do a lot of walking before you get to the wide open beach.

kayak narragansett — Uncrowded section of Narragansett Beach.

The river itself is nice to paddle down. We had the company of motorboats, but the drivers were respectful of smaller vessels.

The water is clear and shallow, and banks are covered in reeds, making for a picturesque trip to the beach. Ospreys nest along the river, and we got to see a nest on our way down, as well as a few of the large birds of prey in flight. White egrets dot the marshy areas below.

If you want a scenic paddle, along with some extra seclusion on a nice beach, we recommend following our lead on this beach trip.