In Newport for the U.S. Senior Open? Here's some things to do while you're here.

Savana Dunning, Newport Daily News
·4 min read

With this year’s U.S. Senior Open taking place at Newport Country Club, the City of Newport can expect an influx of golf enthusiasts eager to explore all that the City by the Sea has to offer during the tournament.

For those interested in taking a break from the green around Aquidneck Island, here’s a list of some of the activities golf fans can do while here.

Take a drive down Ocean Avenue and get a glimpse of the action at Brenton Point

Newport Country Club, the setting for this year’s senior open, sits along a winding path down Aquidneck Island’s southern coastline called Ocean Avenue. The road is a must-do for many Newport vacationers as the street winds past sprawling mansions and major destinations, such as Fort Adams and Brenton Point State Park, the latter being so close to Newport Country Club that at certain angles, visitors might be able to get a peek at some of the action happening just up the road.

The park also features breathtaking views of the New England coastline and a seasonal stand offers kites for purchase.

Ben Kimball, left, USGA Senior Open Championship director, former Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, honorary chairman of the 2024 tournament, and USGA staffer Hank Thompson at Media Day on Tuesday in Newport.
Ben Kimball, left, USGA Senior Open Championship director, former Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, honorary chairman of the 2024 tournament, and USGA staffer Hank Thompson at Media Day on Tuesday in Newport.

Take in some golf-related history at the Newport mansions

While Newport Country Club itself has a prominent place in golf history as one of the first golf clubs in America and the setting for the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open, there are other historically significant places in the city with ties to the game, and more specifically, the club.

Among the founding members of Newport Country Club were siblings Cornelius Vanderbilt II, F.W. Vanderbilt and W.K. Vanderbilt, whose summer cottage “The Breakers” is the city’s most visited mansion museum. The Vanderbilts – alongside other notable names such as John Jacob Astor IV and Hermann Oelrichs – contributed to the $80,000 land purchase to buy the property Newport Country Club sits on.

Beautiful colors in the sky and surrounding the Newport Country Club at sunset in 2021.
Beautiful colors in the sky and surrounding the Newport Country Club at sunset in 2021.

Astor, who was one of the most famous passengers to have died aboard the R.S.S Titanic, was married in his Newport family summer home, Beechwood, just a year prior. While Beechwood is not a museum, it is viewable off Bellevue Avenue. The Olerichs’ summer home, the Rosecliff, is a museum managed by The Preservation Society of Newport, which also manages The Breakers.

Visit some other golf courses

There’s nothing quite like watching golf that will make you want to get out on that putting green yourself. Luckily, Aquidneck Island boasts several courses for those looking to practice their swing.

Newport National Golf Club in Middletown.
Newport National Golf Club in Middletown.

In Middletown, Newport National Golf Club’s 200-acre Orchard Course is one of the top-rated public access courses in New England. If Newport National’s rates are a little high, Green Valley Country Club, in Portsmouth, also offers tee times to the public for use of its 18-hole course, as does Montaup Country Club, up at the northern tip of Aquidneck Island.

Try your hand at indoor golf or mini golf

If you’ve got the itch to hit the links but your family or travel companions aren’t in the mood for a full 18 holes, Aquidneck Island has alternatives. Just 10 miles from Newport Country Club, in Portsmouth, is Newport Indoor Golf, which has five bays with simulated driving courses from across the globe.

The Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy, awarded to the winner of the U.S. Senior Open, is on display as Charlie Blanchard hits a shot during a kickoff event in 2020 at Newport Indoor Golf in Portsmouth.
The Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy, awarded to the winner of the U.S. Senior Open, is on display as Charlie Blanchard hits a shot during a kickoff event in 2020 at Newport Indoor Golf in Portsmouth.

Need something more friendly to the whole family? Newport Mini Golf in Middletown, which is a slightly shorter 7-mile drive from Newport Country Club, is an 18-hole course with nautical and pirate theming.

Check out the other popular sporting destinations in the city

Golf is not the only leisure activity the City of Newport has staked a claim on. In addition to the city’s most historical and famous summer cottages, Bellevue Avenue is home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a museum and tennis club that has been the backdrop for the Infosys Hall of Fame Open since 1976.

Further downtown, on Thames Street, is the National Sailing Hall of Fame, another sporting museum and hall of fame. Should it inspire the desire to pick up sailing as a new sport, Sail Newport offers sailboat rentals and lessons out of its headquarters in Fort Adams.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Things to do in Newport during the U.S. Senior Open: Mini golf, mansions