You’ve just crossed the Bourne Bridge when it hits you. Off with the tie; off with the Johnston & Murphys, on with the sandals. You’re on Cape Cod off the southeast coast of Massachusetts, the land of lobster, clams, salty sea air, sunsets, endless beaches and crying gulls. Once you hit the Cape, you just feel different.

Take that guy sitting on the deck of the Summer Shanty on Bass River sipping a cup of Joe, wearing a faded T-shirt, jeans, and a tattered Boston Red Sox hat. Local? Nope. Most days he juggles clients as creative director of a big-time ad agency in Boston. Not today. Today he’s chilling out after playing golf with his buddies at Bass River Golf Course, an old Donald Ross track nearby.
He’s living the good life.

With 43 courses in a relatively small area, on Cape Cod you can stay in one place and play a different course each day — good courses with carries over salt marshes, elevations and ponds, not to mention magnificent vistas. Good prices too, with packages like the one from Heritage House Hotel, where room, golf and breakfast start at $69.

From the well-groomed Cape Cod National, a private track in Chatham to historic Highland Golf Links in Truro, these courses incorporate wetlands, pine-covered hills and grassy dunes that have been sculptured into an array of golf holes by such architects as Donald Ross, Jack Nicklaus, Brian Silva and Geoffrey Cornish.

More than $8 million was spent to upgrade the aging Ocean Edge Course, a Brian Silva design. The Nicklaus Design Group reshaped the greens, replanted fairways with bentgrass, added bunkers and lengthened the track to 7,011 yards. Carries over water can be dramatic, like No. 14, which throws everything at you — bunkers, wind, wetlands and water. You’ll want to play it, but to do so you’ll have to be a member or guest of Ocean Edge.

Still there are close to 30 excellent tracks accessible to the public. Take the pair of Silva’s Captain’s courses, Port and Starboard, owned by the Town of Brewster. Fairway bunkers are well-placed to catch errant shots and plenty of greenside bunkers and tree-lined fairways increase the challenge. Each course has one sharp dogleg, but for the most part, the holes run pretty straight and true.

Bayberry Hills Golf Course in West Yarmouth, designed by Silva and Cornish, is a tough track for short hitters, but the course has four tee boxes to even out the odds. And Cranberry Valley in Harwich runs through — you got it — cranberry bogs.

And just because Blue Rock is a 3-par course doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a serious play. Another Cornish design, it’s a little gem with water, elevation changes aand wetlands.

The Dennis Highlands Golf Course is known for its no-nonsense approach, generous undulating, multi-tiered greens and open fairways. The back nine is longer by 400 yards and flatter than the front with some killer holes, while Olde Barnstable and Hyannis Golf Club are well-loved Cape treasures offering incredible deals with green fees and cart around $50.

And anyone coming to the Cape must play Highland Golf Links in Truro, one of American golf’s most historic courses and the oldest on the Cape (1892). Perched along the windswept bluffs on the eastern shores of the Atlantic with the iconic lighthouse and weathered pro shop as a backdrop, it’s defined by deep natural rough, Scotch broom, dunes, grasses, craggy rocks and shots through narrow gorse-like protected openings. You’ll expect bagpipes to shrill just over the hill.

For a change of pace, catch a movie at the Wellfleet Drive-in. It’s a real deal, with double features on Fridays and Saturdays.
Looking for that perfect place to stay? Overlooking Cape Cod Bay in Brewster, Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club has 335 rooms, suites and multi-bedroom villas set on more than 429 acres. Besides the golf, there’s a fitness center, spa, indoor and outdoor pools, private beach and four restaurants to choose from.

And although it might sound like a quirky freefall stunt, The Corsair and Cross Rip oceanfront resort in Dennisport has heart along with extra large rooms, sitting areas and efficiency kitchens. Beds and linens are surprisingly luxurious for a motel-style hotel.
Bayside Resort, centrally located in West Yarmouth makes a good base for golfers on a tear. There’s an outdoor pool, pub, fitness center, beach and 128 rooms.

Clarion Inn in South Yarmouth gives you an efficient, no-nonsense place to stay with two pools, free breakfast and WiFi.
And then there’s Cape cuisine, which seldom disappoints.
Clancy’s of Dennisport, a waterfront restaurant and quarter century landmark is the place to come for lobster, raw bar and other seafood specialties.

The proprietors of Oyster Company Raw Bar & Grille in Dennisport grow their own oysters and use a lot of local ingredients in their dishes.

The aforementioned Summer Shanty at the Bass River Marina is a laid-back place with an airy porch overlooking the water. Nothing fancy, just good food and drink. Try the lobster rolls and hit the live music weekends.