By Gary Larrabee
Special to The Sun
TYNGSBORO — The whispers began within the Greater Boston golf community a little less than three years ago, soon after Vesper Country Club had completed a $2 million project to rebuild its 18 green complexes — putting surfaces, bunkers, chipping areas, mounding and all.
The whispers have now turned into legitimate conversation and justifiably so. Vesper, a club established in 1875, is ready to host a national championship, the authoritative voices say. It would be the first in the history of Merrimack Valley/Greater Lowell golf — a history that goes back more than a century.
An invitation has not yet been extended by the Vesper membership to the United States Golf Association
The 18th green at Vesper CC, with the Grand Ballroom function facility in the background. SUN/BOB WHITAKER
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(USGA), the nation’s governing body that conducts 13 national championships annually. But after staging a successful sectional qualifying round for this year’s U.S. Senior Open, the possibility is very real.
“The membership is very pleased,” Vesper president Tom Thornton said of not only the greens project, but also of the extensive drainage work, complete overhaul of the irrigation system and an aggressive tree removal initiative that have taken place over the last several years.
“All undertaken,” Thornton, an executive at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and a Lowell resident, “to reestablish Vesper as one of the great classic courses in New England, if not the country.”
GolfWeek magazine seems to agree. In its most recent
“100 Best Classic Courses” listing, compiled by Brad Klein, Vesper, a 177-acre property bordered by the Merrimack River and intersected by Pawtucket Boulevard, ranked No. 99, one spot better than its debut on the ranking a year previous.
A formal vote of the 300-member club could come at its annual meeting in November, assuming Thornton and his executive committee board are in favor of inviting the USGA. A boost could come from prominent Vesper member Paul Burke, current president of the Mass. Golf Association and a frequent official at USGA qualifying events, if he gives thumbs up.
“The course is more than worthy,” Thornton states. “But it remains to be determined if the members will vote in favor of inviting the USGA.”
Assuming the vote favors such an initiative, and that the USGA accepts, it will then be a matter of the two sides determining what championship to hold and drawing up a contract.
It’s no secret Vesper would like to host a U.S. Women’s Open or a U.S. Senior Open. Salem Country Club in Peabody, venue for the 2001 Senior Open, has formally invited the USGA to return to its Donald Ross-designed course (Ross also designed Vesper’s course) for the 2017 Senior Open.
The USGA, which does not release financials for its three major championships has not yet acted on the invitation.
A Senior Open could create a profit for the host club of between $1 and $2 million, assuming all other pieces of the puzzle (i.e. successful sales of corporate tents, tournament merchandise, etc.) fall into place. Reportedly, hosting the U.S. Women’s Open is a money-losing proposition for the host club.
The only major upfront cost for a club that is awarded a USGA championship is the hiring of a professional management staff to oversee the business end of the event.
“Hosting either a Women’s Open or Senior Open is a challenging undertaking,” says Oliver Cook, who served as chairman for the 1984 Women’s Open and 2001 Senior Open, both at Salem CC. “But the bottom line for each event — the dividends delivered to the community — are significant. Moreover, it’s a tremendous source of pride for the membership and creates a unique esprit de corps within the club.”
The ’84 Women’s Open generated more than $10 million in economic impact on the North Shore, the 2001 Senior Open more than $25 million. Either championship, if hosted by Vesper, could guarantee the immediate region a major windfall in the multi-millions of dollars, based on what spectators (approximately 15,000 per day over the four days of the tournament proper), support staff and the players would spend.
Logistics one drawback
Logistics would be challenging. Half the course is on an island surrounded by the Merrimack River. There is only one small bridge that provides motor vehicle access to the property. Parking off-site is required for an average 5,000 cars per day during tournament week.
The club needs to expand its current practice range or build a new one that can accommodate 35 -40 players at a time. There is adequate room for corporate tents, a major source of revenue for the club.
Salem was the last Massachusetts course to host a major USGA championship. The Country Club of New Hampshire was the site of last month’s USGA Junior. The Country Club in Brookline last hosted the 1988 U.S. Open and 1999 Ryder Cup and will be venue next year for the U.S. Amateur, which attracts a few thousand people, at most, on a given day of competition.
The only big-time tournament contested in the Bay State on an annual basis is the PGA Tour’s Deutsche Bank Championship, held over the Labor Day weekend at the Tournament Players Club of Boston in Norton.
All other PGA, Champions Tour and LPGA events once held in the state have long since left the area.
As others have said about the USGA and its venue selection process, “When the USGA finds a site they love for one of their championships, they always find a way to make the tournament work.”
Thornton and Greater Lowell should find out in short order whether Vesper can make a USGA event work on their spectacular property.
Do you think Vesper should host a USGA event? Click into the comments section of this article on lowellsun.com and let us know.