Donations Coming in for Family Affected by Fire

A Wenham family has received gift cards and other donations after their home was damaged in a fire on Thursday morning.

Donations are coming in to help a Wenham family whose house was damaged in a fire on Thursday. A fire damaged a home next to Wenham Country Club on Thursday morning. The fire started in the kitchen, where the damage was the worst, and there was smoke damage throughout the house. “There have been people bringing in donations for them,” Wenham Fire Chief Bob Blanchard said. The family has two young boys, a 4-year-old and a younger boy. The husband works at Wenham Country Club and the wife works as a special education teacher in the Beverly schools, where co-workers at Ayers Elementary School have collected some donations for the family. Some Wenham firefighters gave the family gift cards to Target on Friday morning too, Blanchard said. “They…

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Wenham Fire Started in Kitchen, Nobody Injured

A fire damaged a Wenham home on Thursday morning.

A fire that damaged a Wenham home on Thursday morning started in the home’s kitchen, according to Fire Chief Bob Blanchard. It remains undetermined exactly how the fire started, but it is not considered suspicious, he said. Nobody was hurt. The fire at 92 Main St. was discovered at about 8:40 a.m. when the male homeowner returned home and discovered the smoke detectors going off and the home filled with smoke. He called the Fire Department. “There was heavy smoke and fire in the kitchen,” Blanchard said when firefighters first arrived. It was unknown how long the fire may have been burning before it was discovered, Blanchard said. “We had it under control pretty quickly,” he said. It took firefighters about a half hour to bring the fire …

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UPDATED: House Catches Fire Next to Wenham Country Club

A single family home next to Wenham Country Club on Main Street was damaged in a fire on Friday morning.

A house at 92 Main St., next to Wenham Country Club, caught fire on Thursday morning. Firefighters from Wenham Fire Department and an engine from Hamilton Fire Department knocked down the fire in about a half hour. It badly damaged the single story, ranch style home that sits along the driveway leading to the golf course, which is closed for the winter. There were no immediate reports of any injuries. A crew from Lyons Ambulance stood by at the fire. The home appeared to have sufferred significant damage but was not a total loss. A female resident was being consoled by Beverly Police Officer April Clarizia and a civilian man outside the home as firefighter worked. She appeared physically OK but was visibly distraught. Route 1A was closed …

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Summer's Back Nine

Wenham Country Club's 17th Has Toughest Second Shot

If you can't see the green you could be in trouble on the 17th hole at Wenham Country Club.

Hole: 17th Course: Wenham Country Club Location: Wenham Par: 4 Yards: 300 (blue tees); 290 (red) Out in the distance you see a hill. After that, nothing. Your obvious reaction is that you want to be on top of that hill so you know where to aim and what hazards are awaiting you. On the 17th hole at Wenham Country Club you better hope that is where you are on your second shot, or third shot for those who can’t drive 175-200 yards. Because what lies ahead is as dangerous as they come: a small green that has very little give for shots that aren’t near-perfect. The green is on a plateau. On the left the slope down is extreme, with a cart path between the bottom of the hill and woods. On the right there are trees and rocks that will make a chip …

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Summer's Back Nine

Wenham CC's 10th: One of the Longer Par 3s Anywhere

The weekly look at a fun, interesting, picturesque or difficult holes at local courses in Hamilton and Wenham takers readers to Wenham Country Club this week.

Hole: 10th Course: Wenham Country Club Location: Wenham Par: 3 (4 for women) Yards: 216 (white tees); 209 (red) All anyone wants on a par 3 is to have the chance to putt for birdie. And if that doesn’t happen I am sure no one would say “no” to carding a 3. Most times the par 3 is one of those rare times on a hole where you can pull out an iron and smack it onto the green. But usually when a hole is short in yardage it is difficult in hazards. For the 10th hole at Wenham Country Club, it has both – length and pitfalls. And to make matters worse, the 200-plus yards are actually longer because it is entirely uphill. The 216-yard distance makes it one of the longest par 3s around (the 209 yards for women make it a par 4 for them). But you …

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Summer's Back Nine

Wenham CC's Seventh Hole Reinvented Itself

This is the second look at nine fun, interesting, picturesque or difficult holes at local courses, continuing at the seventh hole at Wenham Country Club.

Hole: Seventh Course: Wenham Country Club Location: Wenham Par: 3 Yards: 229 (white); 142 (red) Wenham Country Club has seen three different centuries, opening in 1899. So it is not a surprise that some holes don’t look exactly as they did back when the clubs were rudimentary. The hope is always that the change will be for the better. In the case of the 7th hole at Wenham Country Club, a total reinvention of the tricky par 3 couldn’t have worked out better. About 10 years ago the now-153 yard hole was a straight-forward, no-hazards blip on an otherwise fun and at times challenging 18-hole course. But moving both the fairway and green to the right, with a big tree and sand trap in both the front right and back left of the green has made a …

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Former Myopia Assistant Pro Offers Groupon-Like Golf Deals

A former Myopia Hunt Club assistant pro launches a golf coupon website that offers golf course deals in your e-mail inbox.

While the economy is as uncertain as a 5 iron out of the woods, a former Myopia Hunt Club course assistant pro has helped create a new way for hackers and scratch golfers alike to save some green. Kevin O’Brien, who spent the summer of 2000 at the Hamilton course as an assistant pro through an internship at Ferris State University in Michigan, and his business partner, Brian Krause, launched Divoty.com at the start of the summer. Using the daily deal platform - similar to Groupon and LivingSocial - subscribers get a new savings every three or so days. It can be for greens fees, carts, rentals, food, apparel or anything golf-related. And the course or golf business sets the parameters – how long, how much of a discount and if it is only …

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