PEABODY — Salem Country Club, site of the 2017 US Senior Open, decided the best way to plan and prepare for next year’s tournament was to look back.

Way back, to when the course was built in 1926, under the watchful eye and creative genius of noted architect Donald Ross. His golf courses are known for their challenging greens, but over time, the ones at Salem had changed their shape. Some by a little, some by a lot. What had been greens of all sizes had morphed into similarly-sized circles, which NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller commented about during the 2001 US Senior Open, the last time Salem has held a major championship.

So the membership, with the approval of the US Golf Association, green-lighted a course restoration last fall, a $550,000 project that enlarged a majority of the 18 greens, and returned all of them to the specifications that Ross had initially built and always intended. Good weather for the duration of the work — which began on Oct. 6, 2015 and was completed on Nov. 20 — and a mild winter has allowed for quicker growth. Plus, the sod used for the expansion was generated on-site.

The project also included the removal of some 500 trees, restoring sight lines and changing the way some players will attack the golf course. But the new greens — actually Ross’s old greens — are the focus, and will give the world’s best golfers age 50 and over a much different look than the one they saw in 2001.

“We’re getting very, very positive reactions,’’ said John Shine, the greens chairman at Salem Country Club. “We’re seeing more pin placements, so some people say it’s like playing a new golf course.’’

Shine was speaking on Monday, when the club held a media day to outline the restoration work and generate interest in next year’s event, which will be the sixth USGA championship hosted by Salem. The others: 1932 US Women’s Amateur, 1954 US Women’s Open, 1977 US Senior Amateur, 1984 US Women’s Open, and 2001 US Senior Open.

With the help of longtime Salem greens superintendent Kip Tyler, the restoration work was led by Ron Forse, an accomplished course designer from Pennsylvania who has restored more than 50 Ross courses in his career.

Fortunately for Forse, the club had drawings, plans, and photographs from the time the course was initially completed, so finding the original outlines wasn’t guesswork. They knew exactly how each green had been built.

“The net result is a reinstitution of Ross’s original vision,’’ Forse said. “Everything out there that Ross wanted is now back.’’

The 2001 US Senior Open, won by Bruce Fleisher, marked the first time in tournament history that tickets sold out. A crowd of more than 125,000 is expected for next year’s event, with tickets going on sale in the coming weeks. Volunteer registration is now open at www.2017ussenioropen.com, and corporate hospitality packages are also available.

Full plate for Norfolk

A full field of 150 players is expected to compete in the Norfolk County Classic, a 36-hole stroke-play tournament scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Presidents Golf Course in Quincy. A number of former winners will be in the field, but defending champion Matt Parziale will not be. Parziale, who won last year’s Norfolk County Classic in a four-hole playoff over Herbie Aikens, will be teaming with Aikens and playing in the 2016 US Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Other teams with Massachusetts players include Ryan Riley (Easton) and Adam Rubin (Waltham), Benjamin Spitz (Boston) and David Spitz (Weymouth), Sean Fitzpatrick (East Walpole) and Michael Willock (Cohasset), Bobby Loguidice (Springfield) and David Smith (East Longmeadow), and John Kelly, also of East Longmeadow, who is partnering with Billy McDonald of West Hartford, Conn. . . . Over the same stretch of days (May 21-25), the US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship will be held at Streamsong Resort in Florida. Teams from Massachusetts include Susan Curtin (Westwood) and Pamela Kuong (Wellesley Hills), along with Julia Ford of Shrewsbury, who is partnering with Mariana Ocano of Guatemala . . . The newest class of inductees for the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame will be announced Tuesday at Worcester Country Club during a news conference with the Massachusetts Golf Association.

?The next step

Three amateurs from Massachusetts were among the 10 players advancing out of two US Open local qualifiers on Monday. With temperatures cooler than normal and the wind whipping, scores at both Longmeadow Country Club and Essex County Club were up considerably, with nobody shooting par or better.

Both local qualifying sites offered five spots into US Open sectional qualifying, which will be held at 10 sites around the country on June 6. Those advancing out of sectionals will play in the US Open June 16-19 at Oakmont Country Club.

At Longmeadow, Matthew Naumec of Wilbraham, who just completed his freshman season at Boston College, was medalist with a score of 2-over-par 72.

That was one stroke better than the other four qualifiers, all of whom survived a 6-for-4 playoff. Those shooting 73 and moving on to sectional qualifying were Andy Lesenski of Greenfield, Shawn Warren of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Joe Leavitt of Atkinson, N.H., and amateur Josh Nichols of Kernersville, N.C. Steven Burak of North Easton and Camiko Smith of Bermuda also shot 73.

At Essex County Club, Frank Dully, the head professional at Kernwood Country Club in Salem, paced the field with a 1-over-par 71.

James Imai, a 15-year-old amateur from Brookline, came in second after shooting 72. The final three qualifiers shot 74: amateur Matt Organisak of Sudbury, Ryan Baca of Sugar Land, Texas, and Troy Pare of Seekonk, who is the head professional at Ledgemont Country Club.

In the only other US local qualifier held in the area, May 9 at North Kingstown Golf Club in Rhode Island, amateur Kevin Silva of New Bedford was medalist with a 6-under-par 64.

Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeWhitmer.