Shuttered Massachusetts golf club set to reopen with renovated clubhouse, more future plans

HARDWICK, Massachusetts — A New Braintree man is working to breathe new life into a shuttered golf course in the Gilbertville section of town, which sits about an hour and a half west of Boston.

Kenneth Uracius, who owns Stone & Lime Historic Restoration Services and has hit just one golf ball in his lifetime, saw restoring the course as a way to make a difference in a small community like the one where he lives.

Hardwick Crossing Country Club — formerly Dunroamin Country Club — is slated to open in early July after ongoing major renovations are completed at the 262 Lower Road property.

His right-hand man, Dennis Jennette, said the golf course will employ 15 to 20 people and will be a year-round operation, with renovations being made to the clubhouse that include a U-shaped bar and space for entertainers to perform.

The first phase of the project is currently underway: the clubhouse interior is stripped to the studs and barely recognizable. Jennette said there was much thought put into getting the layout of the space just right.

The new configuration sets the stage for phase two, which includes a new, higher-end restaurant with American fare and where “you’ll be able to get a good steak,” said Jennette, who classified himself as a foodie.

A new kitchen will be installed and a chef — a person who has worked at an upscale Sturbridge-area restaurant — will begin crafting a menu once that’s in place.

The restaurant will have seating for around 13 tables of four, Jennette said.

The facility will also include a 3,600-square-foot banquet hall for weddings and other events. Jennette said a gazebo will be placed alongside the clubhouse for wedding ceremonies which, he noted, will offer amazing views of fall foliage.

Golf ‘a bonus’

While an uptick in golf in the post-pandemic world bodes well for the refurbished course, Jennette said Uracius isn’t throwing all his eggs in one basket. He sees the country club as a destination for dinner, some good music and a few drinks or perhaps a wedding or anniversary party. Those things will help sustain the business.

“The golf is a bonus,” he said.

Last summer, when Jennette and a small crew began working at the course, the grounds hadn’t been maintained — save for mowing the fairways to the same height one would mow a lawn. In some areas, things had grown over a lot.

“It was a hayfield,” Jennette said. “We baled some of it … and there was a lot of brush to cut.”

Trees have been felled and golfers will notice a slight retooling of the layout — though the second hole will still offer the best opportunity for a hole-in-one.

The driving range is gone — it’s covered in solar panels that were supposed to be part of a now-scrapped plan for a solar farm on the site. The putting green in front of the clubhouse remains, though the building itself will look very different with a new façade and, since Uracius is a fan of it, there will likely be granite as a prominent feature.

While the greens weren’t anything but a few weeks ago, a warm spell saw them springing to life with bristly crew cuts and looking as though they had been maintained all along. An avid golfer himself, Jennette said he’s eager to see players hitting the links.

Dunroamin closure

Tony, with his father, Frank Staiti, built the course over about four years, opening it in 1966. Back then, the clubhouse was a single-story, basement-like structure with locker rooms and a bar.

A pingpong table and pool table sat in a side room. Many years later, a second floor with views of the course was added with new restrooms, a small pro shop, a lounge area and kitchen.

A deck and the large banquet room, roughly finished, were also built.

Before it closed, Dunroamin was also home to the Quabbin Regional High School’s golf team, Ware High School’s team, and a team from the private Eagle Hill School.

Now, the course will be semi-private, that is, open to the public but also offering memberships. There will be leagues and perhaps the return of the well-known, crowd-drawing Calcutta tournament the Staitis hosted.

While locals will long call the place Dunroamin, and Jennette and his team had mulled keeping the name, they decided there were so many changes and upgrades, they had to baptize it in an homage to the railroad that runs through the course and call it Hardwick Crossing Country Club.

A mock-up of the new logo shows a train engine with the initials “HC” emblazoned on it.

Golfers have, since the course opened more than 50 years ago, used a crossing to get over the tracks and a tunnel to return to the front of the course and that won’t change, Jennette said.

Jennette said he has been lucky to have the expertise of Ludlow Country Club’s course superintendent Frank Kulig, as he has worked to bring the grounds to life.

Darren Palmer, who is married to Tony and Pat Staiti’s daughter, and who kept the grounds at Dunroamin before it closed and he moved on to Ludlow, has also been helping. Tony is consulting, as well.

Once it opens, the golf course will join several newer or reopening businesses in the area including The Whistle Stop restaurant, which was recently bought by Massachusetts Central Railroad. It is also slated to reopen this summer, and plans to add scenic train rides.

Also opening this spring is the Old Furnace General Store, which will offer convenience items and an ice cream stand.

Hardwick Selectmen learned this week that the new owner is exploring the possibility of offering kayak and canoe rentals for folks to launch from nearby Old Furnace Landing on the Ware River, as well.

That business is a stone’s thrown from Lone Birch Blossoms, a pick-your-own flower field that opened last summer.

And work has begun at a former mill at 94 Main St., where Hardwick Mill Greenery plans to open a 40,000- to 50,000-square-foot indoor marijuana cultivation and retail operation.

Jennette said he’s hopeful that the clubhouse will open in June, followed by the course in early July.