70 Worcester Business Journal • Book Of Lists 2016 www.wbjournal.com
Toughest golf courses
Ranked by slope rating and then USGA rating
Name
Slope
rating
USGA
rating
Par for
course
Public,
private or
semi-
private Golf pro Club manager
Year
founded
1
The International Golf Club/The Pines *
159 Ballville Road, Bolton 01740
978-779-6919 • www.theinternational.com
155.0 81.7 72 Semi-private Chris Kasheta Dan Weadock Jr. 1957
2
Charter Oak Country Club
394 Chestnut St., Hudson 01749
978-562-0800 • www.charteroakcc.com
140.0 73.2 71 Private
Jeffrey T.
Niejadlik
Laura Cunningham 2001
3
Blackstone National Golf Club
227 Putnam Hill Road, Sutton 01590
508-865-2111 x113 • www.bngc.net
139.0 74.6 72 Semi-private Patrick Beahn Matt Stephens 1999
4
The Haven Country Club **
369 Cross St., Boylston 01505
508-869-2000 • www.thehavencountryclub.com
138.0 73.9 72 Private Hal Jacobs Brian Dugan 1955
5
Wedgewood Pines Country Club
215 Harvard Road, Stow 01775
978-897-1790 • www.wedgewoodpines.com
138.0 73.6 71 Private Chris McMillan Brian Moffet 1997
6
Sterling National Country Club
33 Albright Road, Sterling 01564
978-422-0275 • www.sterlingcc.com
138.0 72.3 71 Private
Christopher
Hulme
Jeffrey Carroll 1991
7
Highfields Golf and Country Club
42 Magill Drive, Grafton 01519
508-839-1945 • www.highfieldsgolfcc.org
137.0 74.0 72 Public Roger Adams Beth Shropshire 2002
8
Cyprian Keyes Golf Club
284 E.Temple St., Boylston 01505
508-869-9900 • www.cypriankeyes.com
136.0 74.4 72 Public Scott Hickey David Frem 1997
9
Shaker Hills Country Club
146 Shaker Road, Harvard 01451
978-772-3330 • www.shakerhills.com
136.0 74.1 72 Public Jeffrey Friel JoAnn Upham 1991
10
Framingham Country Club
16 Gates St., Framingham 01702
508-872-9790 • www.framinghamcc.com
136.0 73.7 72 Private
Graham
Cunningham
Christopher Mitchell 1902
11
Blissful Meadows Golf Club
801 Chockalog Road, Uxbridge 01569
508-278-6110 • www.blissfulmeadows.com
136.0 73.4 72 Semi-private Joe Griffin Mark Laskowski 1992
12
Hopkinton Country Club
204 Saddle Hill Road, Hopkinton 01748
508-435-4630 • www.hopkintoncc.com
136.0 72.5 71 Private David Lane Tim Gordon 2002
13
Pleasant Valley Country Club
95 Armsby Road, Sutton 01590
508-865-4441 • www.pleasantvalleycc.com
135.0 73.3 72 Private Paul Parajeckas Beth Shropshire 1961
13
Shining Rock Golf Club
91 Clubhouse Lane, Northbridge 01532
508-234-0400 • www.shiningrock.com
135.0 73.3 72 Semi-private Lee Danielian Tim Gordon 2010
15
Red Tail Golf Course
15 Bulge Road, Devens 01432
978-772-3273 • www.redtailgolf.net
135.0 72.7 72 Public Jim Pavlik Jim Pavlik 2002
16
New England Country Club
180 Paine St., Bellingham 02019
508-883-2300 • www.newenglandcountryclub.com
135.0 70.9 71 Public Mark Copithorne Greg Barker 1990
17
Worcester Country Club
2 Rice St., Worcester 01606
508-853-8064 • www.worcestercc.org
134.0 72.8 70 Private Allan Belden Bill Shaw 1900
18
Gardner Municipal Golf Course
152 Eaton St., Gardner 01440
978-632-9703 • www.gardnergolfcourse.com
133.0 74.6 71 Public Daniel Berry Daniel Berry 1936
19
Franklin Country Club
672 E. Central St., Franklin 02038
508-528-6110 • www.franklincc.com
133.0 73.6 71 Private Anthony Maki Michael Luccini 1899
20
Maplegate Country Club
160 Maple St., Bellingham 02019
508-966-4040 • www.maplegate.com
133.0 72.4 72 Public Greg Dowdell Leonard French 1990
Source: Each club via survey, USGA Course Rating and Slope Database and course websites.
* Meeting facilities, restaurant and lodge are open to the public; golf facilities are semi-private.
** Formerly Mount Pleasant Country Club
- Compiled by: Stephanie R. Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Central Massachusetts' golf
course owners have responded to
changing tastes, focusing on the
whole experience rather than just
golf.
Back in the 1990s, big
companies would spend a
considerable amount of money on
corporate golf outings. Some
would hold four or five events a
year, bringing clients and
employees together for some
informal fun that may or may not
have led to business deals.
But things have changed,
Central Massachusetts golf course
owners said. Businesses are more
frugal when it comes to corporate
events, and people seem to be less
willing to spend hours a day
sealing a deal on the course. This
has forced course owners to come
up with alternate solutions when
it comes to attracting potential
clients.
"The key difference is for a lot of
golf courses we are all working
harder to generate the same
revenue we used to generate 10 or
15 years ago," said Dave Frem,
president of the New England Golf
Course Owners Association and
general manager of Cyprian Keyes
Golf Club in Boylston.
In the 1990s, during the dot-
com bubble, there was a lot of
excess, said Tim Gordon, president
of Niblick Golf, a course operator
that manages the Hopkinton
Country Club in Hopkinton, Shining
Rock Golf Club in Northbridge and
Glen Ellen Country Club in Millis.
Then, after the recession, frugality
became first a necessity and then
the cool thing to do.
"Corporations are much more
concerned about the way things
look," Gordon said. "If it looks
overly wasteful to spend money on
their customers, they shy away
from it."
In the early 2000s, Gordon said
there was a surge of business
coming from the nonprofit world,
and a portion of the corporate
business has started to come back
in the last year or so.
- Laura Finaldi
Golf course owners
focus on other
sources of revenue
The International Golf Club is home to
two championship golf courses.
