I played a round of golf today at The Ranch in Southwick, MA, a golf course I try to return to at least once each season. Located just north of the Connecticut border and about 40 minutes from my home, the course spans former farmland within view of the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. I previously posted a review of The Ranch in this space; please click here to read the golf course review by my son Tim.
The course was in splendid condition today, the greens medium fast, which took away some of the terror of being above the hole on the large, sloping surfaces. With the course's workers out on the front nine aerating a few of the fairways, it is possible they did not get around to cutting the greens this morning. Nevertheless, the greens were as tricky as ever, to read and to putt. My friend Tim, who plays out of a private club in Connecticut, was impressed by The Ranch and, of course, like most first timers, amazed at the prospect of possibly reaching a 600 yard hole in two
The Ranch gets off to a rousing start, with a par five that can be reached in two easily if you dare to hit beyond the tree on the left to a small portion of fairway. From there, the carry to the green is about 200 yards, giving you a putt for eagle if you make it, or a drop on the near side of the pond if you don't.
shots. That would be the 16th hole, known as Ski Hill, which travels down
through a succession of hills and plateaus to a flat patch of fairway about 150 yards from the hole. The hole reminds me somewhat of the finishing two holes at Kapalua Plantation in Hawaii, which are more than 100 yards longer than their pars would suggest because they are severely downhill. The 16th is worth the price of admission at The Ranch.
That price of admission is as much as $100, cart with excellent GPS included, which puts The Ranch squarely in the "high-end" daily fee course category. This is a tough economy for such golf clubs in the northeast, but head golf professional Hope Kelley told me that the number of rounds so far this golf season are up from last year, which says something about the course's reputation locally and within a 90-minute radius. The course also has more than 200 members but only 60 or so are frequent players, a few of them from the attractive surrounding community of homes. The homes range in price from around $500,000 to just over $1 million; the larger, and more expensive of them have sweeping views down some of the steeply graded fairways of the golf course. Except for a section of six homes, the community is gated, yet it really doesn't need to be. Southwick still retains the feel of rural America, although those who choose to live inside The Ranch community will find Springfield, MA, an easy commute and Hartford, CT, just 45 minutes away.
An
acquaintance of mine recently listed for sale his large, beautiful home at The
Ranch (click on the photo for a larger view). The back deck of the house looks across the green at #11 and
down the fairway to the pond beyond.
It features 5
bedrooms and 5 ½ baths with some impressive and functional
touches, such as walk-in butler pantry in the custom kitchen, stone fireplace
on the lower level, and walkout from that level to the backyard, to sneak in a
few putts as the sun is going down.
The lavish master bedroom suite includes radiant heated tile floors in
the bath area.
My friend has listed the home at $938,850. If you are interested, click here to send me a note, and I will be pleased to put you in touch with his real estate agent. By the way, a full membership at The Ranch is just over $3,000 annually. The golf season runs from April into early November, time enough to play way more than 30 rounds, the break-even point given the green fees. That is a good deal at a very good golf course.