William J. Devine Golf Course at Franklin Park

Set within Frederick Law Olmsted’s Franklin Park in Boston, the William J. Devine Golf Course is an 18-hole municipal facility that today plays to a par 70 and 6,013 yards from the back tees. The setting is unmistakably urban-parkland: broad, open meadows punctuated by rock outcrops and pockets of mature trees, with the Franklin Park Zoo hard by the opening holes and Boston’s skyline peeking through on higher ground. The City of Boston operates the course as daily-fee public golf with a clubhouse that houses a grill and a rentable function room; on-site practice accommodations typically include putting and chipping areas. The course’s present character blends short, crafty par-4s on the front with a back nine that climbs into hillier terrain, adding elevation changes and two par-5 finishers. Visitors encounter partly blind tee shots, tilted landing zones, and several greens with pronounced contours. Recent municipal investments have focused on steady conditioning and targeted hole improvements directed by consulting architect Mark Mungeam, while the City posts current scorecards and tee-time access online, underscoring the course’s role as a widely used public amenity.