Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course

This is one of 2 state owned golf courses. Sadly, the Commonwealth has let us down. It is in a beautifully scenic track near Wellsley with a nice design. The course is in sadly very rough shape. They must not have spent much on repair and maintenance, AT least 60% of the greens were completely wiped out with more bare ground and sand than green. Putting is impossible. The staff were kind and helpful and the state should provide far more resources so that this potential treasure can be properly cared for

Pro's:
-$14 golf within 10min from Waltham just near the hiway on ramp.
-scenic charles river nearby with wildlife
-fairly straightforward coarse with par 4s and 5s abode
-driving range provide opportunity to grab non range balls while playing the course
-brought my lady and she walked and hit every now and then
-clientelle is rich folk so expect to see non broken tee's just hanging in the tee box. snagged about 8

Con's
Putting Greens are in very rough shape. Pay the $15 for location and proximity but do not expect the greens to be in playable gametime (play for money)condition.

I'm serious this course should not be charging money. It should be free. Just like a playground for the kids.

Booked Leo J Martin for a round today and paid for 18 w/a cart. When I got there I was told there were no carts available because "they were busy". When I said I'd wait for the next cart to come back to the shed the starter said "those are reserved". This is my 5th time here this summer & it's clear that the employees dislike having to deal w/GolfNow reservations, but this was a 1st time I was denied the cart I paid for.

Leo J Martin is a very badly maintained municipal course w/greens that are basically unputtable but you put up w/it (& the rude staff) because it's convenient, close by and relatively cheap. To waste a fall Saturday going there prepaid & being told "sorry, no cart for you" really sucks. As I was leaving the foursome scheduled behind me were diving over to the 1st tee in their carts.

Couldn't get a tee time on a gorgeous Friday and thought we would see how bad this place could be.

The greens are something to behold and like nothing I have ever seen. First of all, at least two from what I remember were temporary greens cut into the fairway, as the real green was simply a pile of dirt. Most but not all (including the temporary greens) appeared to have been aerated recently and were covered with sand--not sure if this helped or hurt. But even the layer of sand could not hide the issues. They simply all need to be dug up and re-sodded: there are massive bare patches of dirt throughout to the point where there are only small areas of "grass" for the pins (only sometimes, and even then, the "grass" is in awful shape--bare/bumpy/sandy/weeds). The fairways and tee boxes are not quite as bad but significantly below average (mostly crabgrass). The rough looked like a normal golf course in many places, but definitely some areas where it was sparse.

All that being said, it was one of the more enjoyable rounds I have played in some time. Part of this was likely due to the fact that twosome a friend and I were paired with dropped off after nine, and we essentially had the back nine to ourselves. Also, we looked at the reviews ahead of time and knew what we were getting ourselves into and tried to make the most of it. $30 for 18 walking does not seem awful despite the fact that you are not really putting (another review that said you can leave the putter at home is accurate). But the state of the greens (again, the majority of which are packed dirt, with some patches of dying grass, and in our case, covered in loose sand) makes it hard to take the round seriously and lends in some ways being fun if you can get over how ridiculous it is.

But most importantly, I loved the majority of the design of the property and the routing of the holes. The review that said Donald Ross is rolling over in his grave perfectly sums it up. There are remnants of--and potential for--and truly great golf course here: cool doglegs, interesting elevation changes, and some great Ross bunkering and green shaping. When combined with the pretty massive scale of the property on the back nine and the view of the Charles (including an awesome footbridge), I thought this was well worth the $30 despite the greens. Just have to imagine that you are experiencing golf in its purest form like on a field maintained by goats in Scotland, though I think even goats could get greens into better shape than these....

This course was terrible don't go here. You must be 21 to take a cart and walking was brutal because the layout sucks. The greens were non existent, they were all dirt and weeds. Save your money!

It is a sin that the state has ignored the upkeep of the most important part of this historic coarse. Apparently no one has paid any attention to the greens. I would gladly volenteer to help with the upkeep of this historical Donald Ross coarse. Finally the greens were cut. What grass there is, the trimmings were left all over the greens. Hopefully the future wii be better.

This is a random field with weeds growing in it everywhere and holes and flags cut out. It's like a golf course died and you're playing on its corpse.

If you like playing in greens that are 80 percent dirt and just overall poorly maintained courses, this is perfect for you. Being behind a group of five eighty-year-olds who play in slow mo' is the cherry on top of the pie.

Most of the "greens" are at least half dead grass/sand with patches of weeds. If you're looking to just work on your tee box shots this is better than the range. If you want to work on your short game, golf anywhere else.