Golf Historians “Horrified” Donald Ross’ Metacomet to be Developed, Surprised Faxon Is Part of It
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Some of the top golf historians in the country are voicing “surprise” and “horror” that Metacomet Golf Course is poised to be sold a developer and bulldozed into a development.
“I am extremely surprised and horrified that a Donald Ross course could be lost this way, and that a player of Brad Faxon’s reputation could be any part of it," said golf historian Chris Buie in an interview with GoLocalProv.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBuie is arguably the leading expert on Ross and the author of the 2017 book, “The Life and Times of Donald Ross.”
Ross designed or redesigned approximately 400 golf courses and is ranked as one of the greatest course designers in golf history.
“You lose a Donald Ross course and you don’t get it back,” said Buie.
Golf historian Tony Parker told GoLocal that he knows of only one other time recently of a Ross course being developed into housing.
“There was a Donald Ross course in St. Augustine, Florida called the Ponce de Leon Golf Course, built in 1916. It was sold by the county in 2003 I think for redevelopment. There is now a subdivision named Madeira on the property," said Parker.
About 60 of the courses have been lost over the past 120 years, but none of the experts could remember a scenario like this that involved a top-level PGA golfer.
Donald Ross' Metacomet Course in Limbo
As GoLocal reported on Monday, an email was sent late last week to Metacomet club members from Faxon and other members of the management team at Metacomet Golf Club that said the club may be sold due to difficult financial times to an unnamed developer.
“We would like to inform the Membership that we have entered discussions toward the possible sale of the Club property,” says the email signed by Faxon, Steve Napoli, Brendan VanDeventer, Tim Fay and Karl Augenstein.
“It is probably not a surprise to our members that our first calendar year was financially difficult, with our losses higher than in the Club’s two prior years,” according to the email.
“Our high hopes and primary intent were to grow the Club’s Membership to levels necessary to support the club with minimal 'Outside' play and to maintain the Club as a private club. Based on the golf dynamics of the club and the state, and the downward trends of the golf industry, in general we do not see a path toward our ability to do that as a private or even semi-private club," said the email.
Golf was first played at the club in 1901 and the closure would be a blow to Rhode Island's golf heritage, as the course was designed by Ross.
“Since our November meeting, we have been approached by several development groups interested in acquiring the property, one of which we have chosen to proceed with. Part of the discussion involves this group potentially keeping the course open for the balance of the golf season as a public course. Based on the current discussions, if this transaction were to be completed, it would likely be finalized by the end of June or July of this year,” according to the email.
According to leading golf magazines:
Golf Advisor: "Ross, who grew up in Scotland, has more than 400 golf course designs to his credit. As one of the preeminent golf course architects of the early 20th century, he designed such notable courses as Oakland Hills Country Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Seminole Golf Club and Inverness Club. But Pinehurst No. 2, which will host the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open in 2014, is widely considered to be his legacy. The course recently underwent an extensive renovation by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and reopened to rave reviews...this gem is characterized by the trademark humpback greens that even give elite golfers fits."
Golf Digest ranked Ross as tied for third as "Greatest Golf Course Designer," with 8 Courses in the Top 100.
"Donald Ross might just be the grandfather of American golf. After serving as an apprentice to Old Tom Morris, Ross lent his skills to hundreds of U.S. courses at the turn of the 20th Century."
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