Final Round: A History of the Southwick Country Club
On June 14, 1931, the Southwick Country Club opened to the public as a nine-hole course along College Highway in Southwick, Massachusetts, on land that had once been part of Luzerne Fowler’s tobacco farm—a transformation arranged by Fowler’s son, Raymond. Designed by local golf professional Dan Sutton, the course featured more long holes than any other public course in the region, offering a challenging layout that quickly attracted attention. It was the fourth course Sutton had designed in the area, further cementing his influence on the development of golf in western Massachusetts.
The Southwick Country Club remained a popular destination for golfers even as new competition emerged, including the opening of the Hilltop Trail Golf Course, a nine-hole layout near Sodom Mountain, which welcomed its first players on June 10, 1933.
The club’s future, however, was shaped by a turning point following the death of Luzerne Fowler in 1932. Just a year later, Westfield Savings Bank foreclosed on Fowler’s 122-acre farm, the land on which the Southwick Country Club stood. (Fowler had built an attractive, modern home on the property in 1914 to replace his family's timeworn farmhouse.)
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| Fowler's House |
On April 26, 1934, Sutton purchased the course, made it semi-public, and renamed it the College Highway Country Club. He transformed the Fowler house on the property into a clubhouse. He also lengthened two holes by removing a large tobacco barn that was near the 8th green. By 1936, Sutton had further expanded the amenities, installing a shower, a bathroom, and men's lockers—modern conveniences for the time. A season membership to join the club was $15.
In 1937, plans were set in motion to expand the course with an additional nine holes on the opposite side of the road. In 1939, a driving range was added. In 1940, two holes opened, replacing earlier ones deemed too dangerous to play when the course became crowded. Progress was gradual, and by 1948, three of the new holes were ready for play at the newly named Southwick Golf Club. The 10th hole, stretching 525 yards, became the longest on the course. To make this possible, Sutton undertook a significant engineering feat—he diverted a brook, relocating it 150 yards, and reshaped the surrounding landscape to remove a steep hill, sparing golfers a difficult climb. Remarkably, Sutton built much of the new addition by himself.
The full nine-hole expansion across the street was completed and opened to the public in 1949.
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| Advertisement c.1936 |
The new layout offered everything expected of a quality golf course: ample length, generous greens, well-kept fairways, scenic beauty, and a few charming quirks along the way. Sutton transformed once-untamed trees and swamp into a fairyland for golfers.
Among the highlights were three memorable dogleg holes—12, 13, and 16. On the 12th, a towering tree served as a natural hazard, standing proudly straight ahead from the tee before the fairway bent left toward the green. Sutton refused to cut it down, believing the tree was too beautiful to sacrifice, and in doing so, gave the hole both character and challenge.
Sutton transformed one of Fowler's old tobacco barns into a modern pro shop and snack bar, enhancing the club’s amenities for players and visitors alike. New men’s locker rooms, showers, and restroom facilities were added, reflecting Sutton’s ongoing commitment to improving the course. He also beautified the land near the barn into a parking lot.
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| Southwick (College Highway) Country Club |
In 1965, the clubhouse received a fresh redesign, breathing new life into the space. That same year, the fairway on the 18th hole was reworked to make the finishing hole more challenging and memorable. Overall, the course’s total yardage increased by approximately 650 yards, further elevating the playing experience on the expanded 18-hole layout.
Years earlier, however, the course faced an entirely different challenge—World War II. In 1943, as the United States Office of Price Administration (OPA) enforced gas rationing and a ban on pleasure driving to conserve fuel and rubber for the war effort, golfers from Westfield could still reach the College Highway Country Club by bus, which passed directly through Southwick. To further accommodate players, the club offered free storage for golf clubs, making it possible for golfers to continue enjoying the game despite wartime restrictions. In addition, servicemen and women were welcomed to play the course free of charge, a small gesture of appreciation during the difficult years of the war.
By the 1960s, as life returned to normal and recreational golf gained popularity, new competition emerged in the local golf scene. The highly rated Edgewood Country Club opened in Southwick in 1963 to rave reviews, quickly establishing itself as a standout in the region's golf scene. The course debuted with nine holes and expanded to a full 18-hole layout by 1964. Marketed as the “Golfer’s Dream Course,” Edgewood became known for its challenging design, with one enthusiastic reviewer proudly declaring that it wasn’t built for “sissies or patty-cakers.” The club also featured a driving range for both practice and professional instruction, adding to its growing appeal.
Edgewood soon became the talk of local golf circles—much as the Southwick Country Club had been when it first opened back in 1931. In response to the rising competition, the Southwick Country Club made significant improvements of its own. In 1965, the club introduced new tees and larger greens and removed many of the trees that had lined the fairways, opening up the course and enhancing playability.
The upgrades didn’t stop there. In 1966, Southwick Country Club added a new pro shop, redecorated the clubhouse, and expanded the parking lot to accommodate its growing number of players and visitors. The following year, in 1967, construction began on an even larger pro shop and lounge, with the new $32,000 facility nearing completion by October.
The fully renovated and expanded clubhouse officially opened in 1968, doubling the size of the original structure. The design seamlessly blended new construction with a thoughtful renovation of the existing building, creating a spacious and contemporary gathering place that both honored the club’s heritage and catered to the evolving expectations of a new generation of golfers. The revamped clubhouse also introduced a new restaurant, fittingly named The Sand Traps, adding another layer of charm to the club’s revitalized identity.
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| Southwick Country Club |
Yet even as the club flourished and modernized over the decades, its story was not without controversy. Throughout its long history, Southwick Country Club occasionally found itself at the center of legal troubles and public scrutiny—episodes that reflected the social and legal norms of their time. One of the earliest such incidents occurred on August 7, 1941, when a district court judge fined the club $50 after a bartender entered a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of serving alcoholic beverages before 1:00 p.m. on a Sunday, in violation of Massachusetts blue laws. Because the bartender was acting within the scope of his employment, the club itself was held liable for permitting the offense on its licensed premises.
Legal troubles resurfaced several years later, on July 2, 1948, when Massachusetts State Police raided the Southwick Country Club and uncovered two illegal gambling devices—a ten-cent slot machine and a nickel horse-race machine—further entangling the club in regulatory violations.
Concerns over compliance continued into the early 1950s. Following a report of violations from the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Southwick's Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to suspend the club’s liquor license for three days in August 1951.
That same year, the club faced legal challenges of a different nature. On September 9, 1951, a woman from Connecticut was struck in the eye by a golf ball while on the course. In 1953, she sought $25,000 in damages from the club, and she also filed suit against the player responsible for the errant shot.
Tragedy struck again in 1967, during construction of the club’s new pro shop and lounge, when a worker was killed after a trench behind the course collapsed on him—an incident that cast a shadow over the otherwise significant facility upgrade.
More than a decade later, in 1979, the club once again made headlines—this time not for legal troubles but for an ambitious proposal that signaled a dramatic shift from its quiet golfing tradition. Plans were presented to the town’s review board on August 7, calling for an $8 million sports and entertainment complex featuring a quarter-mile greyhound racetrack with seating for 3,300 spectators, parking for 2,000 cars, and a dog kennel. The project was backed by 12 investors, eight of whom were residents of Southwick. Across the street, on the site of the existing clubhouse, developers envisioned a motel, tennis courts, a racquetball court, a bowling alley, and a nine-hole golf course—an expansive reimagining of the property that stirred both excitement and controversy within the community.
A few years later, in 1983, the club found itself at the center of a more modest but still contentious issue when it sought approval from the Southwick Board of Selectmen to allow beer sales outside, near the ninth hole. At the time, the club’s liquor license limited alcohol sales to the clubhouse. Selectmen Chairwoman Vivian Brown immediately opposed the request, warning that such a change “would open a can of worms.”
Club representatives countered that the proposal was legitimate, practical, and logical, pointing out that players would still be able to purchase beer—whether inside the clubhouse or outside by the course. Chairwoman Brown remained steadfast, insisting, “I don’t like to see it outside. You’re asking for trouble.” When the club emphasized the difference between “a social situation” and business practicality, Brown responded bluntly, “I don’t see why people have to drink anyway.”
Despite her objections, on June 15, 1983, the Board of Selectmen approved the club’s request, marking a small but notable change in the club’s operations.
On September 21, 1980, the elegant Sandtraps Restaurant & Lounge opened at the Southwick Country Club, adding an upscale dining option to the club’s offerings. By 1981, a plate of baked stuffed scallops—one of the restaurant’s signature dishes—was priced at $7.95, reflecting both its quality and the era’s dining trends.
However, just a few years later, on the morning of April 16, 1984, Sandtraps faced an abrupt setback. At approximately 11:30 a.m., agents from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, assisted by the Southwick Police Department and the Hampden County District Attorney's Office, arrived to close the restaurant for nonpayment of taxes. They seized the restaurant’s assets, including its liquor license, furniture, and bar fixtures. One of the owners downplayed the incident, calling it a simple misunderstanding.
The seizure did not affect the operation of the Southwick Country Club itself, and within 24 hours, Sandtraps was authorized to reopen, allowing the restaurant to resume business with minimal disruption. (The restaurant changed names several times over the years, operating as Boccaccio's around 1987, the Country Squire in 1989, Candlewood Inn in 1994, and others.)
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| Sandtraps Entrance 1984 |
Negative press resurfaced in 1986, when a former owner of the Southwick Country Club was arrested after running a red light in Springfield—a routine traffic stop that quickly escalated into the largest cocaine seizure in that city’s history at the time. Police discovered a cache of drugs with an estimated street value between $1 million and $4 million (depending on the purity), along with a loaded and cocked 9mm pistol hidden beneath the driver’s seat. On August 30, 1988, a judge sentenced him to prison but granted a delay until January 1, 1989, allowing him to remain free for the expected birth of his child in December.
Though the scandal briefly made headlines, it was not crime but the slow erosion of time that ultimately delivered the final blow to the Southwick Country Club. The once-vibrant course—where generations had gathered to play, to celebrate, and to build community—fell victim to shifting tastes, economic pressures, and the quiet disappearance of small-town traditions. By late 2017, the Town of Southwick declined to exercise its right of first refusal to purchase the land. On February 22, 2018, the 122-acre property was sold to Fiore Realty Holdings for $1.9 million, paving the way for the Greens of Southwick, a residential development of 65 to 80 homes priced between $280,000 and $380,000—a project that would erase nearly a century of local history beneath fresh pavement and cul-de-sacs.
The club’s final chapter came to an unceremonious end on April 5, 2018, when its remaining assets—restaurant equipment, bar stools, mowers, ball washers, trophies, and even golf tees—were auctioned off, the last physical traces of nearly nine decades of community life scattered to the winds.
In November 2019, the once-iconic clubhouse was demolished, wiping away a piece of Southwick’s identity that had stood for generations. A handful of salvaged windows and architectural trim, repurposed by Reinspired Design of Southwick, allow fragments of the club to live on in new forms.
Today, the once-picturesque fairways and greens have been bulldozed and buried beneath rows of houses. What had stood for decades as a symbol of Southwick’s spirit, leisure, and community has been reduced to yet another subdivision—its history paved over, its legacy erased.
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Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes
Some sources say that the Southwick Country Club opened in the 1920s. One says 1922, another says 1926, and another says 1928 - (one even says 1918) after countless hours researching this - none of these seem correct as there is zero evidence backing those dates up. The only reliable AND verifiable source says 1931. Some of the confusion in the dates may be that people are confusing Fowler's retirement date. Fowler retired in 1920 and leased out portions of his farm. BUT it wasn't until 1931 that the golf course came to life.
There was talk about adding the additional nine holes in 1932, but for reasons unknown it didn't materialize. Doesn't appear to have been put on hold due to the Great Depression.
Fowler foreclosure - approximately 120 acres for $300,000 (1933). One of Fowler's barns burned before his death. It was full of tobacco. In 1929, Raymond Fowler's chicken incubator burned.
The Southwick Country Club was originally opened on a seasonal basis, but eventually opened year-round.
Bert Shaw (FROM????) made the first ever hole-in-one at the College Highway Country Club.
It seems like most hole-in-ones in the Southwick Country Club's history occurred on the 14th hole.
Starting circa 1940, the Southwick Country Club had live music and dancing. Shortly after the Fowler home clubhouse conversion the club started hosting corporate events and weddings. Some of the club's events had a strict dress code (jackets required in clubhouse).
It's unclear what the outcome of the eye injury lawsuit was.
Dan Sutton died in 1956. His widow died in 1965.
The Sutton Room at the Southwick Country Club opened circa 1964.
In 1964, you could get the rainbow trout dinner special - potato, vegetable, salad, hot rolls, beverage $1.25. Steamers were available for $0.99. In 1966, the Sunday buffet was $2.50 (tax and tip included).
Country Squire - 1989 French onion soup $3.25, fried squid $4.95, escargot $5.95, Fettuccini Alfredo $9.95, Primb rib $12.95 (10-ounce), roasted Long Island duck l'Orange $12.95. Country Squire was known for its quality homemade sauces. They also used liquor and wine a lot in their dishes.
Soft greens delayed the club's opening in 1970.
Shaker Farms Country Club in Westfield opened in 1955. It was designed by legendary architect Geoffrey S. Cornish.
The upscale Ranch Golf Club impacted the historic Southwick Country Club.
The Southwick Country Club's restaurant got caught up in a town-wide undercover police sting operation conducted by the Southwick Police Department in 1998. The restaurant was accused of selling alcohol to minors. (Edgewood Golf Course, Southwick Package Store, the Anchor Inn, and Quick Stop Package Store were also caught up in the sting).
A new irrigation system was installed in 2002.
Cocaine Bust: Police had arrested him for an outstanding warrant. They didn't find the cocaine until they got him to the police station. They may or may not have found an undisclosed amount of marijuana on him. The warrant was for a traffic violation (running a red light).
The former owner busted for cocaine was the same owner during the tax seizure. Negative publicity for the club.
Prices: 2005 - Special - Regular adult weekday golf, cart, lunch $28 per player.
A 2,340 square foot home at the Greens was listed for $575,000 in 2021. There appears to be a total of 63 lots. Like the Southwick Country Club, the Greens is split between College Highway 10/202.
