Robert McNeil, ASGCA is scheduled to begin a master restoration and renovation plan of Milton Hoosic Club in Canton, Massachusetts, Golf Course Architecture reports. Milton Hoosic was established in 1891 by Willie Park Jr., making it one of the oldest golf clubs in the United States.
“According to club history, Willie Park was engaged by the board of (at the time) Hoosic-Whisick in 1916 to redesign what was a very informal layout developed in 1897,” said McNeil. “It is evident that Park left an imprint at Milton Hoosic.” “His crossing hazards can be found on the fifth and seventh as well as a lost crossing bunker on the ninth that can be seen as recently as a 1969 photograph. The routing of the golf course takes on a very natural flow with seemingly little earthmoving, with green locations positioned so as to take advantage of the given topography.”
McNeil’s master plan will identify the value of the many historic elements either still part of the course or that have been lost. “The work includes bunker renovation and restoration, establishing a comprehensive tee program to give the course maximum flexibility, a tree management program, plus recontouring and expansion of greens and fairways to bring back the original strategic lines on the course,” he said.
McNeil, ASGCA, has had past experience with course renovations in Massachusetts, with renovations done at Kernwood Country Club in Salem.