Project Notes
Great Horse GC, located on a 232-acre site, 11 miles east of Springfield, Mass., is a sterling example of why “renovation” or “restoration” don’t effectively describe much of our firm’s refurbishment work. The former Hampden CC has rather been “transformed”. Utterly. The new clubhouse looks out across the same Connecticut River Valley tableau. The routing still sports fully 225 feet of elevation change. But the golf course was completely reimagined by Silva & Johnson and reopened in 2015.
We’re going to turn the rest of this space over to journalist and architecture historian Brad Klein, who makes his home in same river valley: “That rarity in golf design: a layout that works vertically and horizontally. Long views of valleys and clubhouse are inspiring. Constant tacking of holes makes subtle demands on shotmaking and keeps golfers’ interest high without the slightest lag… Very impressive. Would not have thought this part of west-central Massachusetts could support such an upscale club. Should be a serious contender for top-100 Modern status [Golfweek] and certainly the strongest contemporary full-service club in central New England.”
