(NOTE: This is the seventh installment in a weekly series featuring some of the toughest golf holes across Hampshire County. The series will run each Saturday in print throughout the summer.)

GRANBY — Westover Golf Course hosted a qualifier on Wednesday for the 2024 Massachusetts Mid-Am Championship – a great opportunity to show the rest of the state the terrific quality of its course.

Head golf professional Bill Kubinski understood the significance with being recognized as a Mass Golf Association event host.

“It’s great. It’s a feather in all of our caps,” Kubinski said. “The maintenance staff, the people in the clubhouse, we’re all grateful. To be selected, besides your course being a challenge, it’s gotta be in pretty good shape. There are almost 400 golf courses in the state, so it’s nice to get recognized by the MGA.”

Westover plays 6,685 yards from the tips. The two aspects of the course that stand out to golfers are the putting surfaces and the fact that it’s relatively inexpensive to play — especially considering the condition.

The greens at Westover are in great shape, that’s what Kubinski hears the most compliments about. Throw in the $50 rate for 18 holes with a cart, it’s tough to find a course in the area with a better “bang for your buck” deal.

“The greens roll true,” Kubinski said. “We get told by the players that they’re always so smooth. And certainly the value is something we hear a lot. It’s one of the more inexpensive courses in the area, and it’s easy to access. We don’t have a ton of events, really, so the general public has the opportunity to play a lot. We try and limit the number of events we do to ensure the public has access to play.”

Nearby Westover Air Reserve Base adds a unique feature to the course as well. Golfers can look up to find several military planes or helicopters flying over them throughout their round. Kubinski, who has been at Westover since 2000, was even lucky enough to see Air Force One on a few instances.

“It’s really neat,” Kubinski said of the flyovers, which you can really see from the 11th and 12th holes. “It’s not as busy as it used to be, like it was when I started here in 2000. After [September 11, 2001], they were going in and out of here 24/7. It’s a little quieter now. But I’ve been here 25 years, and I’ve had the privilege to see Air Force One two or three times.”

The sixth is No. 1 handicap for a reason

The sixth hole at Westover is certainly the toughest. It says so on the scorecard, and it plays that way on the course.

No. 6, a 425-yard par 4, starts with a narrow tee shot. The fairway is tight, and continues to get tighter the closer to the hole you get. It is accompanied by two tree lines that feature booming pines. Even if you pipe a driver down the middle to the 150 marker, the second shot in is still difficult because you can’t get a clear view of the green.

That green, by the way, has one huge bunker on each side of it, and the surface is about as undulating as it gets. It slopes hard from left to right, so if you end up on the left side of the green, it’s nearly impossible to stop the ball close to the hole. Almost every time it will buzz by it and leave you plenty of work coming back.

“It’s an uphill, long par 4,” Kubinski said. “It’s narrow with a tree line on both sides, and the green is very difficult. It’s a two-tiered, split-down-the-middle green that’s also pitched from back to front. I think it’s a combination of length, narrow fairway, long rough, tree lines. It’s probably our hardest for sure.”

In order to have a chance at par, you need a straight shot off the tee. The hole is too long and the green is too tough to waste a stroke punching out from the trees.

Short is the place to miss on the approach. Long or left is dead.

“Off the tee, you definitely need a driver,” Kubinski said. “Keeping it up the right side is important to give yourself a good angle in. And with the approach, you need to be on the front side of the green, for sure.”

The 10th can offer quite the scene

Picture the 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. If you haven’t seen it, look it up. The crowd makes it quite a hostile environment.

Well, the par-3 10th hole at Westover gives off similar vibes.

The tee box is right behind the clubhouse (you can drive around or even walk through when you make the turn), and those sitting inside enjoying a beverage have a perfect vantage point to watch. Oftentimes they’ll knock on the window to throw off those playing, according to Kubinski.

While there may not be as many people watching, those sitting on the Adirondack chairs or hanging out under the tent right next to the tee box are pretty much the equivalent for an average golfer.

After all of the theatrics, you have to execute a 175-yard iron shot from the tee box. Oh, and it’s over a pond as well. The green is tucked and surrounded by several trees and slopes hard from left to right as well as front to back. Being below the hole is essential.

The combination of spectators and picturesque layout makes it the featured hole at Westover Golf Course.

“Hole 10, the par 3, it used to be the picture on the front of the scorecard,” Kubinski said. “The pond in front and trees around the green make it a nice-looking hole, but the biggest thing is the tee box is right outside the back of the clubhouse. So there’s a lot of tomfoolery going on, a lot of people inside tapping on the windows. It makes for an unusual experience and quite the atmosphere.”

Garrett Cote is a Daily Hampshire Gazette sports reporter. He can be reached at gcote@gazettenet.com