^TM

Golf, Tennis and a Whole Lot More:

Life at Ocean Edge Resort

By Joyce Dalton

It seems almost un-American to reach middle age and beyond and be forced to admit I’d never held a golf club. That is, until a trip to Cape Cod’s Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club pushed me, at long last, into the main stream, or swing, of life in the U.S.

No doubt, John, the resort’s pro, held out no more hope than I did, but he didn’t let on and got into the most basic of basics as if this fumbling beginner was on a sure course to the Master’s. Feet apart, knees bent, lean forward from the waist, left thumb just to right of club’s brand name, right hand overlapping left, right thumb just to left of brand name, club and arms pointed straight down, swing back, elbows bent, thumbs pointed skyward, follow through, eyes on the ball. Not so hard, though keeping my eyes on the ball seemed to defy logic, since, naturally, I wanted to see if I was swinging the club correctly. Still, to my amazement, and probably to John’s, the club made contact with the ball a good percentage of the time and many of those connects even sent it up and straight ahead, albeit not as far as I might have liked. For that first hour’s lesson, I stayed rooted to one spot, repeating the swing over and over until the basket of balls was empty.

Although time and my fledgling skills didn’t allow further familiarity with the 18-hole, par-72 championship course, designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva, I left exhilarated, eager to seek out a driving range near my home and convinced golf was a national passion for good reason.

Golf may be part of Ocean Edge’s name, but it’s far from the resort’s only sporting claim to fame. My trip was timed for a major two-day annual event --- the Adidas Tennis Smash. Exhibition matches featuring past and present giants of the tennis world are the main draw, but a junior clinic, a celebrity golf pro-am, and a gala reception, dinner and auction of tennis memorabilia attract their fair share of sports lovers, as well.

For many years, tennis pro Tim Gullikson operated a summer clinic at Ocean Edge with such familiar names as Mary Joe Fernandez and Aaron Krickstein training with him at the resort. On the professional circuit, Gullikson won 16 doubles titles, including 10 with his twin brother, Tom. While coaching Pete Sampras, Tim was diagnosed with brain cancer; before eventually succumbing to the disease, he, along with his brother, established the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, a non-profit organization which helps tumor patients and their families. Tennis Smash proceeds are donated to this foundation.

It wasn’t just the July heat that raced the crowd’s pulse at the exhibition matches I attended. After all, where else could a tennis fan watch such legendary champions as Rod Laver, the only player ever to win the Grand Slam twice (Wimbledon, plus the Australian, French, and U.S. Opens all in the same year); Stefan Edberg, winner of six Grand Slam events and ranked number one in the world in 1990 and 1991, and Stan Smith, number one ranked player in the early ‘70s and winner of 39 singles and 61 doubles titles? Add to this roster, Tom Gullikson and present-day pros Meghann Shaughnessy and Jan-Michael Gambill and it becomes clear that memorable tennis was the order of the day. Following the matches, all players signed autographs and posed for photos with abundant smiles and good humor. Jaguar is also an annual sponsor of the event and I can vouch that its collection of gorgeous vehicles posed for photos with equal good grace (and less movement).

The 2003 Tennis Smash is scheduled for July 14-15. Rod Laver, Tom Gullikson and Jan-Michael Gambill will be joined by Martina Hingis, the world’s number one female singles player for a total of 209 weeks and holder of 40 singles titles. At age 16, Hingis was the youngest singles winner of a Grand Slam event in the 20th century. This year’s dinner and auction will be hosted by Brett Haber of CBS Sports. And of course, all those Jaguars will be sitting around.

With a 700-foot stretch of private beachfront on Cape Cod Bay, two heated indoor pools, four outdoor pools (one heated) and two toddler pools, Ocean Edge doesn’t neglect water enthusiasts. Other sports options include basketball, volleyball, biking, croquet, softball, billiards, kite flying and various board games. A 26-mile trail, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passes through the resort’s property and ambles along the seacoast and through Nickerson State Park. Not surprisingly, it proves a popular choice for walkers, bikers, joggers and rollerbladers. Two fitness centers offer cardiovascular and weight training equipment, saunas and whirlpools.

Between June and September, special children’s adventure programs operate on a daily basis. A friend and I joined one such activity, a nature walk along the beach. Though quite a few decades separated us from the pail-toting youngsters, we stuck with it long enough to appreciate the leader’s knowledge of such things as hermit crabs and periwinkle snails and her ability to relate to her young charges. During the summer months, a series of events designed for the whole family are offered, including concerts and dinner by the Arbor pool, sand castle building, croquet and bocce on the front lawn, a Reef Café family dinner followed by a beach bonfire and marshmallow roasting, and beaded hair braiding and face painting at the Bay Pines pool.

Activities, however impressive, won’t draw too many guests if the accommodations and dining aren’t up to par. No need to worry on that count at Ocean Edge. Set on 429 acres in the historic town of Brewster, Massachusetts, the property originally was known as the Nickerson Estate and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1890, Samuel and Matilda Nickerson built a grand home called Fieldstone Hall, which became the scene of many lavish social events. In 1906, fire destroyed the house and two weeks later, the Nickerson’s only child died. Six years later, the son’s widow rebuilt Fieldstone Hall, retaining elements of the original structure, but incorporating Renaissance Revival and Gothic touches. Many feel the home most closely resembles an English country manor. Today, it is the main building of Ocean Edge and is called, appropriately, The Mansion.

A definite sense of arrival greets guests as they pass by a guarded entry and along the vast sweeping expanse of groomed and flower-filled lawn to The Mansion. This “lord of the manor” feeling continued throughout my stay, as guards invariably gave a snappy salute as my car, with its tag verifying that I “belonged,” passed their stand.

With paneling, a hand-carved two-tiered Italian oak staircase, marble and carved wood Edwardian fireplaces, leaded glass windows, glistening chandeliers, sterling silver wall sconces and spacious terraces, The Mansion is a fitting setting for the reception desk, the property’s premier restaurant, an English-style pub and seven meeting rooms. Three larger conference rooms are located in the nearby Carriage House, which, intriguingly, is said to be haunted by Adie, the original owner’s daughter-in-law. The elevator, for example, has been known to go up and down mysteriously.

While 90 guest rooms are housed in The Mansion, some 200 one-bedroom villas and 41 two- and three-bedrooms villas are scattered around the property in cluster “villages.” Architecturally speaking, each village has its own unique style and often, its own pool and tennis center. Some accommodations are in individual houses, though most are in pastel colored dwellings with up to four units. Each unit claims a private patio or balcony and overlooks well-groomed grounds or the golf course. Top of the line are three-bedroom accommodations fronting Cape Cod Bay. All guest dwellings are furnished similarly, with such minor exceptions as artwork or New England quilts versus comforters. A free shuttle bus constantly makes a circuit of the property.

My villa, part of Arbor Village, contained four units, two up and two down, and was situated along the 16th hole of the golf course, an easy walk from the clubhouse and the casual Reef Café, a good breakfast spot. Early morning and late afternoon, in particular, saw walkers and joggers (some pushing baby carriages) utilizing the tree-lined paths. The interior of my short-term home seemed designed for comfort and relaxation, exactly what one seeks at a resort.

White wood and blue fabrics lent a summery, seaside air to rooms far more spacious than those found in most big-city apartments. An anchor labeled S.S. Nickerson and pretty framed beach scenes hung on living room walls while a mirror over the desk was framed in shells and starfish. Small wooden paddles hung in the bedroom and the headboard’s pattern resembled waves, or at least, I thought so. Even the bath sported an unusual wood and plaster wall hanging in a starfish design and the toiletries, Dorothy Prentice’s Sweet Sea Grass Collection, were far too tempting to leave behind. A counter and bar stools (white with blue cushions, of course) separated the living room from the kitchen. The latter was fully equipped from dishwasher and microwave to detergent and measuring spoons. However, with a choice of four on site restaurants, not to mention the possibilities in the town of Brewster, about the only thing I used from the kitchen was a water glass.

With the freshest of local produce and seafood, plus aged prime beef, tender lamb chops, homemade stocks and seasonings from Ocean Edge’s herb garden, the Ocean Grill offers a variety of tempting a la carte choices. For breakfast and lunch, guests can opt for the abundant buffet. The restaurant’s wine list has been honored with Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Situated in The Mansion, the Ocean Grill offers views of Cope Cod Bay.

Also in The Mansion, Bayzo’s Pub, an English-style tavern, offers light meals in a comfortable, casual setting. The resort’s newest eatery, Linx, is part of the golf clubhouse and has tables both indoors and on an open terrace. Don’t miss its clambake night when overflowing platters of lobster, clams, spare ribs, corn on the cob and salads are filled and refilled until diners finally call a halt. Offering indoor and poolside seating, the Reef Café has a Caribbean ambience and a menu featuring seafood, homemade soups and chowders, sandwiches and salads. Those traveling with children can take advantage of Parents’ Night Out, available three evenings per week, when kids can enjoy pizza, games and movies at the EdgeVenture children’s clubhouse under the supervision of resort staff.

Even though there’s no lack of things to do at Ocean Edge, most guests will want to take in some area attractions and the concierge staff stands ready to help with suggestions and reservations. In addition to the many shops, antique stores and art galleries, some special excursions include:

Provincetown, perched on the tip end of the Cape but less than an hour’s drive from the resort, is famed for its art galleries, summer theater, whale watching, and diverse lifestyles. In the 1800s, some 700 fishing and whaling vessels called here.

Our trip brought a new and wonderful experience --- a couple of hours exploring the dunes just out of town with Art’s Dune Tours. Our guide’s dad, Art Costa, started such excursions back in the 1930s, which predated the area’s incorporation into our national park system by some 30 years. Early settlers had deforested the region, which meant that the dunes shifted approximately 200 ft. per year. Now, vegetation such as beach heather, scrub oak and pine, beach plums, berries and grasses, variously called beach, compass or dune grass, prevent erosion. We breathed deeply, the better to take in the perfume of rose hip blossoms. This plant, we learned, was in great demand by early seamen, as its natural vitamin C helped fight scurvy. On the fauna side, we noted piping plovers and a nesting tern. Dramatically perched atop and alongside the mounds of sand, 18 wooden dune shacks built by writers and artists in the ‘30s and ‘40s seem in equal parts, forlorn and eerily lovely. On the National Register of Historic Places, 10 are still occupied by the original squatters and four are controlled by a trust composed of a group of artists and provide housing for those awarded “artist in residence” status. When a dwelling becomes available, it’s sold by “pen,” not dollars, meaning one bids for a 15-year lease by writing an essay.

Another day’s short drive led to the town of Chatham where we boarded a boat called Rip Ryder for a seal watch. About 1,200 Atlantic gray seals have found the bay an ideal environment with wide expanses of flat beaches, few predators (except for the occasional white shark, the seals are the area’s largest animals), and plenty of sand lances (which some call “sand eels,” though according to Adam, our guide, they’re not eels) to feed upon. The seals take in 10% of their body weight per day, so that’s a lot of sand lances. While they’re not adverse to eating fish, seals must expend about as much energy catching them as they gain by eating. Sand lances, on the other hand, basically just swim into the seals’ open mouths, leaving the animals ample time to just hang out on the beaches checking out the females. “A pretty decent life style,” our guide declared.

Though I suspect we didn’t see 1,200, a goodly number of seals enjoyed the aquatic life around our boat and about as far as the eye could see. We learned that males are flat-headed, females cone-shaped, that heads-up is a restful position as they’re naturally buoyant that way plus it allows a good vantage point for investigating newcomers in the area, like us. Altogether, it was a great way to spend a few hours.

At no extra charge, the boat will drop people off at South Beach for picnicking, swimming, fishing, or just lazing around, then pick them up at a designated time. South Beach claims both a surf side and a protected bay side. The company also runs bird watching trips to Monomoy Island, called by some birders the “avian hotspot of the Northeast,” and a Monomoy wildlife refuge cruise led by a marine biologist.

Between seals, dunes, the Tennis Smash, my first ever golf lesson, great food, and a villa I’d be quite happy to call home, I left Ocean Edge reluctantly, but rather overwhelmed by the number of vacation highs we managed to fit into a few short days. Next time, who knows? With a few more lessons, I might even be ready for clubs, a golf cart and a caddy of my own.

Contact Information

Ocean Edge Resort &Golf Club. 508/896-9000 or 800/343-6074. E-mail: reserve@oceanedge.com. Web: www.oceanedge.com. Daily per room rates run between $225 and $1,195 in summer and $115 to $800 other seasons, depending on room category. Weekly rates range from $1,200 to $4,100.

Two special packages are available for the Tennis Smash: the “Champ” includes four nights accommodations for up to two adults and two children, breakfast daily, welcome amenity, a Junior Tennis Clinic, invitations for two to the Gala Reception, four reserved seats for the matches, Parents’ Night Out children’s dinner for the Reception evening, autographs and pictures with the tennis pros, a picnic basket, unlimited tennis court time, four one-hour tennis lessons, dinner for four at Linx and four tickets for whale watching; cost is $2,227. A “Deuce” package for two adults, no children, runs $1,999 and includes all of the above except events especially for children, plus two tickets for the high speed ferry to Nantucket and two tickets for the Cape Playhouse. Check the resort web site or www.tennissmash.net.

Ocean Edge offers many other special packages with several focusing on golf. It is also a popular venue for weddings. Check the web site or contact the resort for further information.

Art’s Dune Tours operate from mid-April until the end of October. Excursions average one hour 30 minutes and include a “Sunrise Spectacular” and a “Sunset Clambake.” Price run $40 to $50 per person. 508/487-1950 or 800/894-1951. www.artsdunetours.com.

Rio Ryder Seal Cruises operate from April 1 to the end of October. 508/945-5450. E-mail: keithlincoln@attbi.com. Web: www.monomoyislandferry.com.

Images by Joyce Dalton

Back to TravelLady Magazine