Source: VT Golf Magazine | Issue: Summer 1994 | Author: Mike Hassel-Shearer
Synopsis: This article is about the formation and history behind the St. Johnsbury golf club and how it has become the club we see today.
“There’s no place like home” applies to golfers and their golf courses. Our weekend forays down to our clubs are a comforting, unchanging routine. We play with friendly foes who report any downward movement in our handicaps before we have a chance to hide the evidence. The ever-gracious club professional compliments the twitch in our swing as a revolutionary concept in golfing mechanics. The starter knows the 9:28 foursome’s unchanging dialogue of verbal sparring that is more important than their practice swings for setting the round in motion. And of course, we all expect a members bounce whenever the ball, perchance, strays from the preferred line. But part of golf’s pleasure is to venture occasionally into the unfamiliar.
I enjoy stumbling and bumbling along for those rare and serendipitous finds. I relish the unexpected good fortune of finding a club where the emphasis is on the golf, and the friendly atmosphere oozing throughout the club makes me feel just like I am home. St. Johnsbury is just such a place. The members are kind hosts and warmly welcome visitors. You’ll find members who are proud of their course and eager to hear that the golf experience was a challenge.
Last year there was a decided difference to the course that rests on the border between New Hampshire and Vermont. After many years of planning, St. Johnsbury opened nine additional holes that blend naturally with the old. Though the new nine increase the number of golfers trying to beat Colonel Bogey, there are some drawbacks too. No longer will there be a second chance to stroke a perfect iron and land on the postage stamp fifth green. And only once in the round will the long hitters have a chance to reach the long bending over hill and dale sixth in two. But there are new opportunities on the back nine to boast about in the clubhouse before leaving for home.