Bidding farewell to Beaver Brook’s greens, fairways

WILLIAMSBURG — Beaver Brook Golf Course is officially going wild.

Beginning Wednesday, manicured greens and fairways will give way to native plants as part of a process of “rewilding” the 250-acre course into a public access natural habitat, offering the community open space and a flood mitigation strategy.

Hilltown Land Trust and the Trustees of Reservations, which are purchasing the property, have been ironing out closing details before the final transaction, which has been estimated at $1.5 million to cover the purchase of the property as well as associated legal fees.

Officials with the organizations, both dedicated to land conservation, said they would comment further after the sale is finalized.

The course, which has three ponds and two brooks, was opened in 1960 and its last day functioning as a golf course was Tuesday. In 2018, Christopher Duval, who is also owner of CRD Metalworks, and his wife, Roseana Duval, purchased the golf course, and both declined to comment on the sale.

Last round

Golfers took their last shots on the nine-hole public golf course on the border between Northampton and Williamsburg early this week, and are feeling bittersweet about the move.

“On the one hand, I support the idea of it becoming an open space, but I’ll be sorry to no longer see it as a golf course” said Terry Culhane who has been in Williamsburg since the 1960s.

“Pine Grove (in Northampton) is gone. Hickory Ridge over in Amherst is gone. Now this is gone,” he said. “And there’s still places to play, but I’m kind of sorry to see all the options narrow down.”

Based on a trip to Hickory Ridge, which was acquired by the town of Amherst in 2022 and has since been rewilded with solar panels and trails, Culhane also gave an idea into what Beaver Brook will be like after rewilding takes effect.

“I went to Hickory Ridge to go on a walk with a friend recently, and they’ve been letting that grow out for two to three years now,” he said. “I’ve probably played Hickory Ridge 50 times, but you’re walking around like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. Was it over here?’ — it’s completely disorienting.”

Dalton Dudkewitz, who lives 200 feet from the front door of the clubhouse, will not only miss having a putting green and nine-hole course in his backyard, but also what for him became a community outlet since he moved to town two years ago.

“It’s sad because I was living in Philly for 10 years, and I met my fiancee there, and we moved up here,” the Delaware native said, adding that, “Obviously, I didn’t know anybody — we’re like 600 miles from home.

“It’s sad because it was fun for me to always come out and play every day. Working remote, I would play like three holes during lunch,” he said.

Dudkewitz began playing in a league with owner Chris Duval, which gave him a foot in the door into community life built around golf and trips to the clubhouse’s bar.

And aside from a league he said he has also met between 20 and 30 people just playing one on ones that turn into a conversation.

“I’ll go to Worthington or Ledges, and they’re cool, but it’s not the same as walking out into your backyard and even just being able to hit chips for five minutes while you’re waiting for dinner to finish in the oven,” he said. “It’s been a cool and unique experience.”

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.