The best fried chicken in golf? This muni makes a legitimate claim

The course next door.

That’s how Brookline Golf Course has long been known. There is, after all, no ignoring its location. The municipal layout in the Massachusetts town of the same name sits beside a luminous neighbor: The Country Club, a storied venue that has hosted four U.S. Opens.

A chain-link fence divides the two properties, but the distance between them runs far deeper than that — one is a private playground of immense prestige, the other a humble workhorse of public-access golf. During both the 1988 and 2022 U.S. Opens, Brookline Golf Course was pressed into service as a parking lot.

But the muni has an impressive pedigree of its own. Designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleeck, it was the stomping grounds of Francis Ouimet. Best known for winning the 1913 U.S. Open, Ouimet also caddied at this very course back when it went by the name Putterham Meadows. A statue of him and his famous 10-year-old caddie from that Open win, Eddie Lowery, stands outside the clubhouse today.

These days, though, one of the course’s biggest attractions is inside that clubhouse: the food.

The Hemlock Grill has developed a following that extends well beyond golfers, drawing locals who come strictly for the menu. And the menu’s undisputed star is the fried chicken sandwich — named the best fried chicken in Boston by Boston Magazine. Not best at a golf course. Best in the city, period, beating out traditional restaurants across the board.

The creation of chef Alex Saenz — who is of Peruvian descent but grew up steeped in the cooking traditions of the Carolinas — the sandwich starts with a quick dunk in buttermilk. Not a lengthy marinade, just enough to keep the chicken tender. It’s then coated in a boldly seasoned spice blend, fried for precisely seven minutes until deeply crisp, and served on a pillowy potato bun with pickles.

The result is crunchy, juicy, and balanced, with just enough heat to keep you reaching for another bite.

Watch the video above to see how Saenz makes it. Turns out the course next door serves an irresistible main course, too.