Canaan Country Club Wentworth Hills Country Club Heather Hill Country Club Cold Spring Country Club Crystal Lake Golf Club Laurel Lane Country Club Newton Commonwealth GC Blackstone National Golf Club

By John Torsiello

When Joseph Quattrocchi took a glance at Canaan Country Club in northwest Connecticut he knew he had found what he was looking for.

“Someone approached me about wanting to create a club,” said the Canaan resident and owner of a classic auto restoration business in New York State. “I liked the idea and started looking around at land, saw the country club, thought it was very interesting and said, `Let’s think about this.’ I knew it was for sale. I liked the idea that it had an existing restaurant and the building had good bones so we started negotiations to buy the property.”

Canaan Country Club, a nine-hole course built in 1931, sits on slightly more than 200 acres with several holes bordering the scenic Blackberry River. The course plays 2,941 yards from the back tees and plays to a par of 35. Two of the par-trees, the third and eighth holes, are very challenging, each playing around 185 yards. The tee shots on both must be well struck to reach elevated greens. Perhaps the best hole on the course is the 380-yard par-four sixth. It demands a well placed tee shot that steers clear of wetlands to the right and pine trees on the left, and then it’s across a small stream to a putting surface sloped from back to front.

Quattrocchi has ambitious plans for the property. In fact, he’s already been busy making changes to the restaurant, which was renamed the Belted Cow Farmhouse Tavern offering lunch and dinner menus and libations.

“I took a flyer and figured that we would get the deal done, so we renovated the bathrooms in the clubhouse and made some changes to the dining area. I didn’t want to just use a large space we have in the building strictly for banquets and other events. So we installed booth seating and set up moveable partitions to separate it from the larger event pace and give it a cozy feeling. When we do have a larger event, we simply take the hanging partitions away and open the room up to allow for more people.”

On the renaming of the restaurant, Quattrocchi said, “The Belted Cow is a breed we felt was appropriate for the rural area where the club is located. We put pictures of belted cows on the walls inside the restaurant to give it a unique feel and reflect the name.”

The Belted Galloway is a traditional Scottish breed of beef cattle. It derives from the Galloway cattle of the Galloway region of south-western Scotland.

The new owner also set up an expanded outdoor dining area in front of the clubhouse that has been popular with golfers and guests. The driveway into the property was also repaved.

“We don’t need to get a lot more people to the course,” said Quattrocchi. “We we do want is for people to experience a restaurant that is different than the old one. We will get the place rocking and rolling.”

He also has plans for the golf course that includes drainage work to several of the holes. The course’s sand bunkers are also being repaired or renovated. And work is and will be done around the edges of the course to remove dead trees and perhaps open views of the Blackberry River that rolls alongside he second hole and past the third tee box.

Canaan Country Club’s course is open seven days a week until November, weather permitting, and is located a half mile south of the junction of routes 7 and 44.

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We know golfing is fun. The ownership at Wentworth Hills Country Club in Plainville, Ma. is intent on making it even more enjoyable.

The club has purchased a new fleet of “Shark” golf carts that allows players to remain in contact with the clubhouse throughout a round. They can order food and refreshments while playing the front nine and pick up orders at the turn. In addition, the carts offer yardages and golfers can even watch video tips from Greg Norman between their own shots.

The club has a unique “challenge” that gets golfers who ante up $5 or $10 on top of their greens fees a shot at a $10,000 or $20,000 prize if they make a hole-in-one on the par-three 17th hole.

And, the club has developed an app for cell phones that make the user a member of the “Wentworth Hills community” once they get the app. Individuals are notified of discounts on greens fees and other promotions and specials. A map of the course and yardages are automatically available on the user’s phone when accessing the app. ”We are trying to keep up with the younger generation that is so into technology,” said one of the club’s owners, Constant Poholek. “The hole-inone challenge is a game within the game and money we receive helps out charitable causes. We are trying to do things to make golf even more fun and keep people coming back.”

The club also continues its popular “cigar nights” where players get a round of nine holes, a cigar and dinner for a reasonable fee that changes according to the dinner provided by the club.

Wentworth Hills is a fun course to play, offering classic risk/reward holes that dare low-handicappers to “go for it,” while allowing for alternate routes to the green for less experienced golfers. The varied natural topography here features rolling, treelined fairways, large, receptive greens, ponds and lakes protecting holes, and 60 strategically-placed bunkers.

The course, while playing just over 6,200 yards from the tips, has a slope of 128 and a rating equal to its par of 71. The track places emphasis on proper club selection and accurate approach shots to the putting surfaces.

Wentworth Hills is located between Boston and Providence and only minutes from Route 495, which makes it an ideal destination for golfers from the Metro Boston area to Federal Hill in Providence.

With 27 holes of golf, Heather Hill Country Club in Plainville, Ma., makes for a full day of golfing fun. The club offers one regulation 18-hole course and one nine-hole course.

The North Course (nine holes) has a few hills that can cause uneven lies. The fairways are narrow, and the greens are small. The South Course (18 holes) has many more hills than the North Course, but doesn’t have a lot of sand bunkers. The fairways are wide open, but most are tree lined, so you just can’t spray it around and get away with it. The greens are large, and water hazards come into play on three holes.

The 18-hole course plays around 6,000 yards from the tips and has a mix of short- and medium-length par-fours, tricky par-threes, and two par-fives that can reached in two shots by big hitters. One of those par-fives is the 478yard third that is very straightforward with few hazards complicating matters, although there are two bunkers near the putting surface. The seventh and eighth are solid back-to-back par-threes, playing almost 200 yards and 180 respectively.

The back side has three short par-fours that allow you a real chance at birdie, the 334-yard 13th, the 317-yard 14th, and the final hole, a 317-yarder. Number 12 is a good par-five that plays 516 yards from the tips, with the hole doglegging to the right, which may demand a precise layup shot to set up a wedge approach.

The nine-hole layout measures 3,368 yards from the tips. It begins with a 157-yard par-three, with the toughest stretch of holes coming at three through five. The third, a par-four, plays 400 yards, while the fourth is a challenging 500-yard par-five.

The club has a restaurant and bar for after-round enjoyment.

Designed to bring world class golf to Western Massachusetts, Cold Spring Country Club, is an 18-hole semi-private course located about midway between Springfield and Worcester in scenic Belchertown, Ma. Designed by Mary Armstrong, completed in 2010 and opened for play in 2012, Cold Spring Country Club is an up-and-coming par 71 golf course, with its 6,521 yards set on rolling hills that boast of breathtaking vistas in nearly every direction. Each hole has up to 5 sets of tees, enabling golfers of all levels to play an exciting mix of six par 3s, seven par 4s and five par 5s.

It all starts with a tough 216-yard parthree. From the highest tee box on the course, enjoy a complete panoramic view of Central Massachusetts facing south. Normally you will need one less club because of the steep drop, but watch the wind here. If constant prevailing winds are in player’s face it will require one or two more clubs. The trees on either side of the tee box will keep players honest, by making them hit down the chute. But there’s lots of wide open room the rest of the way.

The par-five 495-yard seventh hole plays right to left off the tee and with a good tee shot a player can get home in two. The best shot is a driver with a big draw to a large landing area. Just beware of the bunkers on the right side. How well you score depends on your 3rd shot into the green. You will need to pick which side of the green to shoot for--choose right or left depending on the placement of the pin. There are unique double approaches created by a large “bump” that protects the center of the green. The 18th is a nice finisher, a 386-yard par-four that plays quite a bit longer. There is plenty of room off the tee with fairway bunkers on the left. If you play from the back tees you must hit a good drive, with the tee shot taking you over Roaring Brook, and your second shot is severely uphill to a very well-bunkered green with a false front.

Since 1960, Crystal Lake Golf Club in Haverhill, Ma. has been one of the premiere public golf courses in the Merrimack Valley, located only 35 minutes from downtown Boston.

The course offers some of the finest rolling bent grass greens in the area, lush wide fairways, light rough, manicured bunkers, rolling tree-lined terrain, and a well-thought out design by Geoffrey Cornish of Cornish Golf Designs. Crystal Lake provides a fun, yet challenging round of golf that will be played under four and half hours on weekends. Every club in your bag will be used and a memorable golf experience is guaranteed.

The club is also known as one of the best priced courses for the value in New England, with a caring staff, and a proactive membership program, including a “fun” tournament event calendar.

Acquired by Sterling Golf Management in 2018, Crystal Lake Golf Club continues to provide guests and members with a unique and affordable golf experience.

Situated near Crystal Lake, the course features a multitude of challenging yet approachable holes for all types of players. Take the fifth for instance. The par-five plays around 500 yards from the tips and bends ever so softly to the right, which makes going for the green in two shots risky.

The 18th is a very reachable-intwo 448-yard par five where birdie, or perhaps even an eagle, can really bring your round to a delightful conclusion.

When golfers visit Laurel Lane Country Club in West Kingston, R.I. they will not only enjoy a challenging layout they will be playing at what owner Joe Videtta believes is the only totally solar powered golf club in New England, and maybe the Northeast.

Videtta, who owns the course with his brother Mike, installed a solar farm on about an acre of property the course sits on. The farm, which houses 14 solar arrays near the course’s eighth, ninth and 11th holes, were purchased from All Earth Renewables, a Vermontbased firm, and installed by general contractor Anthony Barrow. The units came on line last fall and power the entire golf course, from the pump station that controls irrigation to the clubhouse.

“Laurel Lane is located on about 180 acres, so it was an ideal location to install a solar farm,” said Joe Videtta, who also owns Country Club and Country View Golf Club in Rhode Island and Pine Ridge Country Club in Massachusetts. “We already had an electrical source near the pump station, which cut down on the total cost,” which was half a million dollars.

The cost of the solar farm will be offset somewhat by Federal tax credits, depreciation, and a Rhode Island program that allows for the owner of a property to finance 100 percent of such a project.

One unique aspect of the solar panels is that they are not fixed but can rotate to follow the sun. Videtta said this type of farm is between 30 to 40 percent more efficient than fixed solar panel arrays. The field is about 40,000 square feet in size. “We had to change the location of the eighth tee to accommodate the farm.”

Videtta commented, “We are saving on our energy costs and the system is warranted for 25 years. Everyone thinks it is very cool and when they know that ownership if doing something with the environment in mind that are pleased. In fact, I have had golfers come up to tell me how happy they are that we did this.”

The project has been so successful that Videtta Golf Management is even more committed to changing the way we receive our energy. Plans are for a solar farm to be set up at Country View Golf Club in Harrisville.

“We are already planning for Country View,” said Videtta. “We are excited about bringing that course on line with solar power as well.”

For more information about Videtta Golf Management or any of its courses (all members of Golfing Magazine’s Course Play Stimulus Program), visit

508-892-9188.

Newton Commonwealth Golf Course in Newton, Ma. is an exceptionally groomed course located just minutes from downtown Boston.

The year 1997 marked the centennial anniversary of the club, which was redesigned in 1920 by the renowned architect, Donald Ross. The layout offers a short, but challenging round of golf, featuring quick greens and relatively narrow fairways. Course management is essential, as many a big hitter has discovered, with water and sand bunkers scattered about.

The course has benefited from constant upgrades and beautification under the management of Sterling Golf. Several tees have been rebuilt and landscaped, bunkers have been renovated, and a recent addition to the clubhouse has added changing rooms with showers and increased the seating capacity for outings. French doors on this addition overlook a new stone-tiled patio with outdoor seating for patrons who wish to relax after a round.

The par-five 18th at Blackstone National Golf Club in Sutton. Ma, is a favorite for anyone who has played it. The hole measures just 485 yards from the tips, but it’s loaded with all kinds of trouble if you wander.

The tee shot must be true to find a landing area protected by wetlands and woods. Big hitters can reach the putting surface in two shots after a strong drive, but the approach is uphill and there are a number of deep bunkers guarding the putting surface. The smart play is to lay up in front of the green and knock the ball onto the putting surface with a wedge.

The 18th is a solid finisher and just one indication of the thoughtful approach Rees Jones put into the layout. The course is tucked into the wooded countryside of the Blackstone Valley area of southeastern part of the Bay State.

One of the sweetest aspects of the track is that while it is challenging for the best players, Jones incorporated only a few forced carries, which makes it playable for mid- and even high-handicappers. Ample fairways allow a player to stay in the hole even after a less than perfect tee shot. There is bunkering guarding the rather large greens, so it is important to choose the proper club to find the target.