Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GOLF TOURNAMENTS
At least two of the major tours get within an hour of downtown Boston. Over Labor
Day weekend, the
PGA Tour
(www.pgatour.com) visits the Tournament Players Club
of Boston, which is actually in suburban Norton (
&
508/285-3200;
www.thetpcof
boston.com). The senior golfers on the
Champions Tour
(www.pgatour.com/s) swing
by in late June or July, landing at Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord (
&
978/610-
2700;
www.nashawtuc.com). The senior women on the
Legends Tour
(www.the
legendstour.com) stop at suburban Quincy's Granite Links Golf Club (
&
617/689-
1900;
www.granitelinksgolfclub.com) in August. Check ahead for exact dates and
other information on golf events, and to see whether the
LPGA
(www.lpga.com) tour-
nament circuit will return to eastern Massachusetts. The
Globe
and
Herald
regularly
list numerous amateur events for fun and charity.
HOCKEY
Tickets to see the
Boston Bruins,
one of the NHL's original six teams, are expensive
but worth it for hard-core fans. For information, call the TD Banknorth Garden
(
&
617/624-1000;
www.bostonbruins.com); for tickets, contact Ticketmaster
(
&
617/931-2000;
www.ticketmaster.com). To reach the Garden, take the MBTA
Green or Orange Line or commuter rail to North Station.
Note:
Spectators may not
bring any bags, including backpacks and briefcases, into the arena.
Budget-minded fans who don't have their hearts set on seeing a pro game will be
pleasantly surprised by the quality of local
college hockey
. Even for sold-out
games, standing-room tickets are usually available the night of the game. The local
teams regularly hit the national rankings; they include
Boston College,
Conte Forum,
Chestnut Hill (
&
617/552-GOBC;
www.bceagles.collegesports.com);
Boston Uni-
versity,
Agganis Arena, 928 Commonwealth Ave. (
&
617/353-3838;
www.bu.edu/
athletics);
Harvard University,
Bright Hockey Center, North Harvard Street, Allston
(
&
877/GO-HARVARD
or 617/495-2211; www.gocrimson.com); and
Northeast-
ern University,
Matthews Arena, St. Botolph Street (
&
617/373-4700;
www.gonu.
com). These four are the Beanpot schools, whose men's teams play a tradition-steeped
tournament on the first two Mondays of February at the TD Banknorth Garden.
Women's games don't normally sell out; the exception will be the
2009 NCAA Women's
Frozen Four
(national semifinals and finals), at Agganis arena on March 20 and 22.
HORSE RACING
Suffolk Downs
, 111 Waldemar Ave., East Boston (
&
617/567-3900;
www.
suffolkdowns.com), is one of the best-run smaller tracks in the country. The legendary
Seabiscuit raced here; a marker commemorates his storied career. In addition to exten-
sive simulcasting options day and night year-round, the live racing season runs from
May to November. The Massachusetts Handicap, or
MassCap,
is an important Breed-
ers' Cup prep race run in late September. General admission and weekend preferred
parking for live racing cost $2 each. General parking is free all week.
The day's entries appear in the
Globe
and
Herald.
The track is off Route 1A, about
2 miles north of Logan Airport. The MBTA Blue Line has a Suffolk Downs station;
wait for the shuttle bus or walk about 10 minutes to the track entrance.
THE MARATHON
Every year on Patriots Day—the third Monday in April—the
Boston Marathon
rules the roads from suburban Hopkinton to Copley Square in Boston. Cheering fans
