A Diamond In The Rough | After years of uncertainty, the Shining Rock Golf Club in Northbridge is finally set to open
Undulating, bentgrass fairways, more than 250 feet of elevation changes and panoramic views of the Blackstone River Valley. These were the key elements of the Shining Rock Golf Club in Northbridge, a golf course development that would be open to the public and promised a championship golf experience on par with many of the local private clubs.
But that was seven years ago.
Later this month, however, after years of stalled construction, federal fines for environmental concerns, bank foreclosures, and a growing skepticism that the course and related residential developments would never be completed, the Shining Rock Golf Club is opening for play.
False Start
There are philosophies that will tell you that nothing good comes without a lot of hard work and the occasional obstacle to overcome.
Tim Gordon, the owner of Niblick Golf Inc., which recently took over management of the Shining Rock golf course, is putting in the hard work now. But in the years prior to his involvement with the project, the obstacles standing in the way of the original development were many.
“There was a point where they were insurmountable,” Gordon said.
Gordon’s career in golf course management grew out of an original focus on hospitality and hotel management at Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover. His transition to golf course management eventually led to a regional manager position for Arnold Palmer Golf Management, through which he managed four courses along the East Coast.
That experience eventually parlayed to Gordon starting his own company, and in 2000 that company, Niblick Golf Inc., began to manage the Hopkinton Country Club. In 2003, when the Shining Rock development was announced and construction of the course first began, Gordon watched eagerly and talked with then-owner Fred Ruland about managing the golf course on his behalf.
But Ruland’s company, Shining Rock Golf Community LLC, declared bankruptcy only a year later, which put everything into a tailspin.
“In 2003 the place was moving along and it seemed like everything was going to be okay,” Gordon said. “I don’t really know what the trigger was that put it into foreclosure.”
Enter Norwood Cooperative Bank.
When Shining Rock Golf Community LLC declared bankruptcy, its lender, Norwood Cooperative Bank, foreclosed on the property. According to Gordon, the bank also acquired all of the undeveloped housing lots and roads, not to mention an unfinished golf course on which only five holes were complete.
But Gordon also says that because the entire development was part of an approved residential subdivision by the town of Northbridge and because the parcels of land for condominiums, townhouses and home lots could not be released until the golf course was complete, the bank was forced to finish the golf course before it could try to sell it.
Construction on the course stretched on for three more years. And during those years, according to a Boston Globe article, the development was fined twice by the Department of Environmental Protection (once in 2004 and again in 2006) for “construction work that took place without required permits or violated sewer and wetlands regulations.” All told, those fines amounted to $60,000, according to the Globe.
During that time, a number of prospective suitors — including Blue Granite Development Corp. in Northbridge — lined up to buy the property once the construction was finished, but those attempted sales stalled after the initial purchase agreements were drafted and signed.
Announcements occasionally were made over the past years stating that the development had changed hands, but Gordon says that up until Liberty Golf LLC of Tewksbury purchased the property and closed the deal in November of last year, Norwood Savings Bank remained the only owner of the property.
Christopher Dixon, president of Norwood Cooperative Bank, declined to comment for this story.
A Change Of Plans
With the golf course completed, a new owner and management company in place, and the golfing season set to begin, the seven-year-long dream of Shining Rock is almost realized. But Gordon and his team are making significant alterations to the original proposal that was drafted at the beginning of the decade.
For starters, a modest 3,500-square-foot golf clubhouse is replacing the originally proposed 30,000-square-foot clubhouse that also was to include a banquet facility.
“We believe it’s a better business plan to move carefully right now and to take a deliberate, step-by-step approach to open the golf course and get it ready for the season and build a facility that can be successful, instead of taking on a multi-million dollar overhead on an unknown,” Gordon said.
And while he says that some of the existing residents of the community are disappointed that the grand plans of 2003 are not being realized at this time, the town of Northbridge itself is pleased with the direction the development is headed.
“The planning office regards the opening of the golf course as a positive for the town and the overall status of the residential subdivision development,” said R. Gary Bechtholdt II, Northbridge’s town planner. “It is encouraging to see, after years of setbacks and delay, Norwood Cooperative Bank was able to manage the project to point where the golf course was sold and the remaining townhouse parcel and house lots are in position to be constructed and the subdivision completed.”
Gordon also has a strategy in place to keep Shining Rock successful, even despite a market that has seen a precipitous drop off in demand for new golf courses.
Because his company manages the members-only Hopkinton Country Club, Gordon has structured the membership package there to allow those members access to Shining Rock, as well.
Also, because he’s scaled back the plans for the development, he says he can set the prices for golf at a very competitive rate. For example, greens fees with a golf cart at peak times, like Saturday mornings, will cost only $70, which Gordon believes will give Shining Rock an edge, especially as comparable courses in the area are charging $100 for what he believes will be a very similar experience.
Now, Gordon is just waiting for the golfing season to begin. He believes that by the middle of the summer, all of the pieces will be in place to start construction of seven additional townhouse/condominium buildings. On top of that, 11 more housing lots should open up for development around that time, as well.
“This was complicated and emotionally charged at the town level. But I’m hopeful that we’ll show good faith to the town that we’re going to hire locally and spend locally and that we’re going to be successful,” Gordon said. “The next piece of this will be opening the business and that will show people that we’re for real and, contrary to the past failed attempts, that we’re really doing this.”
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