Worcester Country Club called it a “restoration celebration” weekend and even held a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
On Friday, May 31, general manager Troy Sprister, club president Jim Collins and former club presidents Dr. Phil Lahey, Tim McDonnell and Michael Kelleher spoke at the club about the $3.7 million restoration of the 18-hole private course to what Donald Ross had in mind when he designed it in 1913.
Afterward, Collins, Lahey, McDonnell and Kelleher stepped outside to conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then a buffet was held for members.
The following night, Shrewsbury High graduate Cara Brindisi, a 2022 contestant on NBC’s “The Voice,” performed between the first tee and 18th green while members had a picnic buffet. The next day, a family BBQ was held at the club pool.
Sprister said the restoration was “overwhelmingly positive” among members.
“We had skeptics all along, as you will,” he said, “but now that they’re getting out to play the course, they’re saying it was worth every penny, it was worth sacrificing holes last fall to get it into this condition.”
“The reaction has been excited, appreciative and just lucky to be here to play this golf course every day,” head pro Andy Lane said. “It’s reached a whole other level that I think a lot of people were hoping for, but it’s reached a level that many folks had no idea how good it was going to be.”
The restoration by noted golf course architect Gil Hanse began last Aug. 1, forcing various holes to be closed over the next several months while work was done. By mid-November, only the first hole was open. So some members played it several times with several golf balls.
On March 29, 14 were open, and on May 14, all 18 holes were open, about nine years after the restoration plans had begun. The restoration was completed on time and under budget, thanks to the hard work of superintendent Adam Moore and his staff, who were presented gifts by Sprister.
McDonnell said the wait was worth it.
“Absolutely,” he said, “because we’ve got a beautiful golf course. It needed it.”
McDonnell said Hanse told him the course had “good bones,” but it needed some work. The bunkers had lost their shape, and the course was too long for the average golfer.
Forward tees were built to make the course more playable for those who don’t hit the ball far, and back tees were constructed for those who do.
The 11th green was lowered to its original height, and Lane said some of the club’s better players consider it to be the course’s best green now.
Greens and fairways were expanded to their original size. Bunkers were renovated and added.
“I think it’s a home run,” Collins said later. “This Gil Hanse plan restoration really has worked out well and has brought back some of the true characteristics that Donald Ross envisioned for this place. We didn’t fully appreciate it until now that we’ve had a chance to play it and experience it firsthand.”
Collin thinks Ross would have appreciated the restoration.
“I think he would be so proud of our not only wanting to preserve his vision,” Collins said, “but also what we’ve done with it and how it has evolved a little bit to keep up with today’s standards.”
Worcester CC hosted the 1925 U.S. Open, the inaugural Ryder Cup in 1927 and the 1960 U.S. Women’s Open.
Sherri Cotter, a member of the ladies golf committee, called the restoration “gorgeous” even though the bunkers come more into play for her now.
“There are a handful of holes where I have to really think about what club I’m going to pick now,” she said. “It’s going to be more fun this year. It makes it a little more interesting, for sure.”
All that remains for the restoration is reconstructing the seventh tee, but that must wait until the ponds are dredged in the fall or winter.
Lahey credited Art Fitzgerald for luring Hanse to Worcester CC after he convinced him to restore Whitinsville Golf Club.
Mass. Open starts Monday at Willowbend
Plenty of golfers from Central Mass. are scheduled to be among the 156 who will tee off in the 114th Mass. Open at Willowbend in Mashpee beginning on Monday.
Ricky Stimets, an amateur from Worcester CC, will be in the field after sharing fifth place in the Mass. Open last year at TPC Boston, the highest finish by anyone from Central Mass.
The father-son combination of Fran and Owen Quinn, both also playing out of Worcester CC, are scheduled to play. Fran received a sponsor exemption to play this weekend in the American Family Insurance Championship, the PGA Tour Champions event in Madison, Wisconsin, so he’ll have to catch a flight to make his 8:58 a.m. tee time on Monday.
The Quinn family from Northborough accounts for the last three golfers from Central Mass. to win the Mass. Open. Fran won it in 1990, his brother Kevin, then an amateur, won it in 1999, and Brian won it in 2003. Before them, Worcester native Paul Harney, a six-time PGA Tour champion, won the last of his five Mass. Open championships in 1977.
Among the others from Central Mass. who are scheduled to play at Willowbend this week are the past two Worcester County Amateur champions, Weston Jones, who plays out of Charter Oak CC in Hudson, and Sean Magarian, who plays out of Pleasant Valley CC in Sutton. Jack Tobin, an amateur from Marlboro CC who tied for 14th last year, and Brendan Hester, who turned pro last fall and plays out of PV, will play as well.
Harney graduated from Holy Cross, and several others with ties to HC will tee off at Willowbend: Frank Dully (class of 1989), Christian Emmerich (2023), Owen Egan (2025), Matt Williams (2026), Ben Snyder (2026), Ryan Scollins (2027) and Kyle Gallo (assistant HC golf coach and 2011 Mass. Open champ).
“The Mass Open is the most important golf tournament in the state of Massachusetts each year,” HC director of men’s and women’s golf Steve Napoli said, “and the fact that a number of our players qualified this year along with our assistant coach and an alum is a big step forward for us.”
Northeast Amateur tees off June 19
Stimets is also scheduled to tee off in the Northeast Amateur Invitational beginning Wednesday, June 19, at Wannamoisett CC in Rumford, Rhode Island.
Stimets, 33, was invited because he is the reigning Mass Golf Player of the Year. The former Wachusett Regional standout regained his amateur status in 2019 after playing professionally for 4½ years.
Defending champion Nicholas Dunlap won’t be back at Wannamoisett because he turned pro. Dunlap won the U.S. Amateur last August and then captured the American Express, a PGA Tour event, in January on a sponsor exemption. He became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson won the Tucson Open in 1991. The following week, Dunlap turned pro during his sophomore year at the University of Alabama.
Jackson Koivun and Gordon Sargent lead this year’s field of 92 players. Koivun led Auburn to its first NCAA championship and became the only player to win the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top Division 1 player, the Ben Hogan Award as amateur of the year and the Phil Mickelson Award as the top freshman in the same year.
Sargent, a three-time All-American at Vanderbilt, also should contend. He became the first player to earn a full PGA Tour card at the PGA Tour University Accelerated program, but chose to return to college for his senior year.
Winners in the Northeast Amateur’s 62-year history have included such big names as Ben Crenshaw, John Cook, Hal Sutton, David Duval, Luke Donald, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa. Scottie Scheffler played in it four times, and Tiger Woods and Justin Rose teed off in the event once each, but they didn’t win.
The field will be limited to 92 players for the 62nd Northeast Amateur that will be contested June 19-22. The low 60 and ties will make the cut after 36 holes.
Spectators are welcome, and admission is free. Visit NortheastAmateur.com for scoring updates through the tournament.
Donald Ross designed Wannamoisett in 1914, the year after he designed Worcester CC. Wannamoisett, host of the 1931 PGA Championship, plays to a par of 69.
Ideas welcome
You can suggest story ideas for this golf column by reaching me at the email listed below. Comments are also welcome.
—Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @BillDoyle15.
