On The Historic Golf Links

 

READY FOR A ROUND. Golfers at the Lake Morey Country Club check in to play around 1940. The course was established about 1910-1912 as part of the adjacent resort at the south end of Lake Morey. Over the years it has been the site of the Vermont Open and other tournaments. (courtesy photo)

Bob and Linda Stoddard of North Haverhill created the Blackmount Country Club nine-hole golf course from their farm pastures on Clark Pond Road.  It open in 1996 after three years of planning and construction.  Since then, the couple has been Blackmount's greenskeepers, clubhouse operators and tournament or organizers. (JO photo by Larry Coffin)

Journal Opinion , August 28, 2024

Locally, there have been ten golf courses established over the years; some public, others private. Some were closely connected with tourism, others representing community residents.  There were both designer courses and some just pastures that doubled as links.  Of the ten, seven have closed, their fairways no longer discernable. Only Bradford Golf Club, Lake Morey Country Club and Blackmount Country Club still operate.

The first part of this column deals with six of the closed courses as described in a 2008 column entitled “Lost Golf Courses.”  It is followed by the history of the three remaining courses. Sources include local newspapers, town histories, Facebook entries, and personal interviews. 

 In 1900, the Pike Manufacturing Company established a nine-hole course on Pike’s Back Bay Road. It was one of many company-sponsored activities reflecting the interests of company president E. Bertram Pike.

 It was described as little more than a cow pasture without a clubhouse or formal name. The greens were set off with split rail fences.  About 1925, the course fell into disrepair.

Pike’s interest was also reflected in the establishment of Piermont’s Lake Tarleton Club in 1909. Between 1911 and 1916, a nine-hole course was laid out by the renowned Scottish golf course architect Donald J. Ross. In the mid-1930s, Ross added an additional nine holes for a complete eighteen.

Available for the guests of the Lake Tarleton resort, the course was sometimes open to the public. It was described as “a PGA-type course” with wide fairways along Route 25C.

Local youth joined caddies from Boston who came for the summer. Sometimes, while playing after-hours, the caddies would share the fairways with bears. 

When the resort closed in the early 1970’s, the course began to revert to nature and soon vanished.

While most of these golf courses could be described as scenic, the Mt. Moosilauke Golf Course on the Carriage Road in Warren was majestic. Established for the guests of the Mt. Moosilauke Inn in the early 1900s, its nine holes rolled over the mountain’s foothills.

 It was described by locals as a “hilly course” and sometimes called “the St. Andrews of the Mountains,” in reference to the fabled Scottish course.

In 1953, the old inn burned and was replaced by a smaller building. The course was then opened to the public, but began to decline. In 1982, the property became part of the White Mountain National Forest, and both the inn and the course were closed.

The Wells-Woods Golf Club opened in Wells River in 1925.  This nine-hole course was created out of the cow pastures of two farms on Bible Hill. 

It was described as “a short informal course, just pasture land with New England rocks and lots of sand.” There were no real fairways and there were pastured cows. “You got a preferred lie if your ball landed in a cow patty.”   

The greens were surrounded by electric fences to keep out the cows.  Despite its rustic conditions, the course attracted many players and hosted competition between players from other courses. It closed in 1946 and today there is little evidence that this “sporty “course ever existed.

The course that was probably least well-known was Shanty Shane in Thetford. It was part of a family camp that opened in 1911.  Golf was played on the hills adjacent to the south end of Lake Fairlee off Robinson Hill Road.  It was “a practice nine-hole golf course…popular despite the competition of the nearby model eighteen-hole course.”.

In the late 1940s, it was operated as the Lake Fairlee Club. Financially unsuccessful, it declined in the early 50s. 

In the early 1960s, the Bonnie Oakes Resort established a nine-hole golf course along the west side of Maurice Robert Memorial  Road at the north end of Lake Morey.

 “It was a tough little course with narrow, short fairways and small greens. Lots of ball hunting. The sixth hole was straight up a hill, the flag invisible from the tee. The lake view from that green was beautiful.”

In 1977, the resort was sold and the course fell into disrepair. By 1983 it was closed.

The fairways and greens of these six courses are barely evident to those who know of their existence.  They have reverted to meadow grass, brush or lawns for homes.

Since the original six were listed in 2008, another local course has closed.  The Hanover Country Club was laid out in the 1890s. In 1899, Dartmouth College acquired the course and, in 1920 added a second nine holes. 

In 2020, the college closed the course, citing financial concerns.  In the four years since the carefully- manicured course has begun to revert to more natural undergrowth. 

 Despite the closure of these seven courses, the passion for the game has not abated.  For many the challenge of golf has transferred to the three local courses that currently exist. What follows is a description of those courses’ formative years.

The first newspaper mentions of what was to become the Lake Morey Country Club was in 1910.  It was proposed  to be  part of the new Kaulin Inn at the south end of Lake Morey and scheduled to open the following season. The site had previously been farmland. In 1895, it had been the site of the annual encampment of the Vermont Guard.

The original nine holes occupied the area now used for holes #1 to #6 and #18. Susan Avery’s historical sketch mentioned: ”Hand sythes (sic) and a one-horse three-gang mower combination accomplished the maintenance duties.”

 In 1926, the course advertised its plan to “enlarge into an ideal eighteen-hole course.” The back nine holes were added in 1929.

 From the beginning, the course catered to summer lake visitors and was advertised as a major attraction to the Inn.

In 1934, the publication Golfing in Vermont, included the following description, “While not as hilly as some Vermont courses, it offers a variety of play. Greens (new in 1932) are excellent and fairways are wide and well kept.” Fee for public was $1.50 per day and free to inn guests.

 Mentions of the course in local newspapers prior to the 1950 were generally limited to accidents, airplane landings, hole-in-one accomplishments. and an occasional tournament.    

Until the late 1940s, golfers checked in at the Inn and then crossed the road to meet caddies and begin play.  When I caddied in the mid-1950s, a pro shop had been built adjacent to the first hole. By the early 1960s, caddies were replaced by golf carts.

 In 1947, after the lean depression and war years, the inn and course took on new life under the ownership of Frank Ward. Susan Avery mentioned, “Mr. Ward and his family, more than anyone before, deeded to the inn a color and zest for nearly a generation, relinquishing ownership in June ’72 to the Avery Family…”

Under Ward’s ownership, the golf course was the host to a number of tournaments.  About 1954, Ward was able to bring the Vermont Open to Lake Morey.  The Open had not been played  for three seasons with no course willing to host it.  In 1955, the Open offered a $1500 guaranteed purse, with Ward providing a portion of the funding. 

The Vermont Open has been an almost annual event at Lake Morey. Other tournaments have included the Women’s State Golf Day, a Caddie Golf Tournament, a Shrine Golf Tournament, and an annual two-man best ball tournament. 

By the mid-1970s,” the course featured new bunkers and tees” along with “updated course management, and a remodeled clubhouse.” The course continued to attract both tourists and local golfers to its challenging fairways and greens.

The Bradford Golf Course was created in 1926 when a group of local businessmen decided the community needed a golf course. The group purchased Doe Meadow and Bradford Hotel owner Bill Gale designed the nine-hole course.  The first year was deemed a success with “liberal patronage.”

In 1928, a season ticket could be purchased for $25 with playing privileges for a man and wife. A single ladies’ ticket was $15. For the first few years, maintenance was done largely by volunteers.

Initially, the first tee was on the back lawn of the hotel, now the area adjacent to the Bradford Post Office.  The first green was down over the hill, and holes #2 and 3 followed the bank on the west side of the course.  That layout continued until the new clubhouse was built in 1951. The holes were realigned with the old 7th hole becoming hole #1 along the east side of the course.  

During the years of the Great Depression, the course faced financial hardships. In 1940 seasonal membership fees had been reduced to $10 with single day charges of $1. Intertown competitions between teams from neighboring towns received front page coverage.

When the issue of abatement of local taxes came before voters heated discussions ensued.   During World War II only the greens were mowed because fuel was rationed. The fairways were hayed for local farmers and there were victory gardens near the sixth fairway. When it reopened in 1946, there was discussion on whether to continue the course’s operation.

The new field house was built in 1951 with much of the labor and materials being donated by Bradford Academy students, Community Club members and local businesses. In addition to serving as the golf clubhouse, the facilities were available for community and school use.

Dr. James Barton’s history of the course mentions the many adversities it has faced. To attract additional golfers, the annual fee was reduced to $9.99 in 1964. The course has always encounted flooding issues from the Waits River.  In 1973, the flood waters covered the clubhouse. The flood waters contained herbicides from nearby farms that killed much of the course’s grass. In 1998 the fourth tee was washed out.  Recent summer floods have caused the course to be temporarily closed.  

Despite these setbacks, trees have been planted, swampy areas have been filled in and, in 1990, the fourth hole was extended. Ponds have been added to create hazards. Barton summarized the Bradford course as “a very user-friendly course that can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities.”

Compared to Lake Morey and Bradford, Blackmount Country Club is a relative newcomer. The owners are Bob and Linda Stoddard of North Haverhill.  In 1993, despite never having been on a golf course, Bob decided to turn some of their farm’s pastures along Clark Pond Road into a nine-hole golf course and driving range.  Ideas came from books Stoddard read and some advice from a nephew who had course designing experience.

For the next four years, and even as the Stpddards milked 50 cows, the Blackmount course became a reality. It opened in the Fall of 1996. In 2001 a log-cabin style clubhouse and maintenance building  was added.  The Stoddards are the managers, greenkeepers, promoters, and clubhouse staff.

The nine-hole course was described as “a tree-lined tight course that offers a challenge to golfers of all abilities.” Recently, several fairways have been remodeled to create a more open challenge.  

From the first, the Stoddards have reached out to the community in the form of leagues and tournaments for local charities. The Playing for Clover 4-H Tournament began in 1996 and continued for 20 years. Tournaments were also held to benefit the West Newbury Firemen and the Cottage Hospital Auxiliary. Putting the extra effort into tournaments, Bob Stoddard said, was worth it because you cannot have a successful course without community support.

Beginning in 2001 a relationship was created between the course and the Woodsville High golf team. Members were allowed to play for free, a benefit that helped the team achieve state recognition.  Linda Stoddard said that a number of the early players are still active members of the club. 

Although there were earlier ideas for extending the course with an additional nine holes as well as having x-country skiing, neither have happened. Nine-holes fit the current members playing habits and sufficient snow is unreliable.

The Stoddards shared that they have about 130 members with growth in the last two years, including some younger players.  

While much of the golf season has passed, there is still plenty time to play golf before snowfall.  Even for high handicap golfers such as myself, a day on the course is better than a day off it.