Golf at Tekoa began in 1890 on Western Avenue as a publicly accessible four-hole course; a clubhouse followed in 1911 on land then associated with Westfield State. In 1923, the owners retained Donald Ross to rebuild the course to nine holes. The club’s historical summary states that five Ross holes are still part of the present 18—identified as 2, 3, 4, 14 and 15—with their “features…still remain[ing] true” despite later upgrades.
A major change arrived in 1961, when Geoffrey Cornish was commissioned to redesign and expand Tekoa to a full 18 holes. Cornish “left five of Ross’s original holes and added 13” new ones; construction was executed by Conlin Construction. This expansion shifted the course onto additional acreage on the east side of Route 20 and established much of the modern routing rhythm.
Subsequent modernization is documented in the club’s timeline: in 2006 Tekoa added “approximately 400 yards” and executed a complete bunker renovation, with the explicit goal of “theming up the Ross and Cornish holes” so the course felt visually coherent; in 2009 new ownership initiated ongoing clubhouse and site improvements.
Independent research has added texture—and some tension—to the above chronology. Golf historian Anthony Pioppi published a 2010 field study noting that a Ross nine opened in 1923, that four of the original holes (1–3, 9) lay west of Route 20 and were later lost when state acquisition created today’s college campus, and that the surviving Ross holes on the present course could be identified via old plans and on-site features. His narrative includes a 1936 visit from A.W. Tillinghast—then consulting for the PGA—in which Tillinghast advised Tekoa to soften selected Ross greens (especially the present 2nd), and he records on-site evidence consistent with some smoothing at that target. Where Pioppi’s hole numbering (citing 4–8 as extant) conflicts with the club’s official identification (2, 3, 4, 14, 15), the discrepancy almost certainly reflects differing conventions about how the old nine maps onto today’s 18; the club’s statement is taken here as controlling unless superseded by primary plan overlays.
Unique Design Characteristics
The Ross corridors (2, 3, 4, 14, 15). These holes present the most compact ground and the crispest green-to-tee transitions on the property. No. 2 (a mid-length par four) asks for a shaped tee ball to open a direct look into a modest, slightly perched green—exactly the kind of precision-first demand Pioppi noted when comparing Ross plan drawings to present targets. No. 3 and No. 4 continue the theme with fairway bunkers that bite diagonally into preferred lines and approach zones; at No. 4 the second shot is particularly angle-sensitive, with a flanking bunker tightening the run-in, a feature the club has emphasized in its course history. The 14th and 15th—on the current back nine but part of the original Ross cluster—retain lively internal contours and green-edge drop-offs that punish timid approaches and reward confident trajectory. (Pioppi’s 2010 notes record that the present 2nd appears to have been softened relative to Ross’s drawn two-ridge interior, consistent with Tillinghast’s 1936 “blending” advice.)
Cornish’s additions (1961). Across much of the remaining 13 holes the scale opens slightly: fairways are broader, carries less exacting, and yardage accumulates via staged landing areas rather than single heroic shots. On the back-nine approach to the house, Cornish’s sequencing builds scoring swing with a reachable par five followed by a stout two-shotter and a risk–reward closer whose fairway bunkers are visible from the tee after the 2006 visibility-oriented bunker rebuild. The intent—documented by the club—was to make the course feel of a piece while acknowledging its two-era makeup.
Greens and mowing lines. Several of the Ross greens retain perimeter interest rather than large modern tiers; recoveries tend to be along the short-grass collars where edges fall away to fairway height. The 2006 project restored bunker visibility from the tee, and with the added yardage (about 400 yards total) the present card plays at 6,438 yards / par 71 from the Blue tees.
Historical Significance
Tekoa is instructive within Ross’s Massachusetts portfolio as a small, early-1920s nine that later had to accommodate state land takings and a mid-century expansion. Unlike nearby, more celebrated Ross venues, Tekoa’s evolution showcases how a community course preserved a subset of Ross holes amid substantial alteration and then re-harmonized them in 1961 and again in 2006. The course’s history also intersects with national architectural figures: A.W. Tillinghast’s 1936 PGA consulting tour stopped here, leaving documentary evidence of green-contour “blending” advice; Geoffrey Cornish’s redesign is a case study in scaling a property to 18 while honoring a handful of inherited Ross corridors. Locally, Tekoa’s lineage—from a four-hole 1890 beginning to a present-day public 18—has made it one of western Massachusetts’s longest-tenured golf grounds.
Current Condition / Integrity
How much Ross remains. The club explicitly identifies five surviving Ross holes in the present 18 (2, 3, 4, 14, 15). Their greensites and approach bunkering retain a discernibly earlier idiom than the surrounding Cornish work, even after the 2006 project that refreshed edges and added yardage. Pioppi’s archival walk suggests that some Ross interiors—notably the current 2nd—were softened after 1936, but there is no evidence of wholesale pad relocations for these five.
Major renovations and their impact.
• 1961 (Cornish): expansion to 18, leaving five Ross holes and adding 13 new holes; modernized corridor scale; established the basic routing used today.
• 2006 (club project): bunker renovation to enhance visibility and unify styles; ~400 yards added across the course; aimed to “theme up” Ross and Cornish holes for consistency.
• Ongoing (2009–present): site and clubhouse upgrades; routine course refinements.
Preserved vs. altered/lost.
Preserved: the five Ross corridors and their green pads; the angle-driven bunkering patterns on those holes; compact transitions and match-play tempo within the Ross cluster.
Altered: green interiors on at least one Ross hole (current 2nd) likely blended per 1936 guidance; bunker construction and lines refreshed in 2006; overall yardage increased.
Lost/relocated: the original Ross holes 1–3 and 9 west of Route 20 (now college grounds), per field research and oral histories; their loss drove the 1961 east-side expansion.
Today’s setup. The official scorecard shows par 71 and 6,438 yards from the Blue tees (71.2/124), with White 5,917, Gold 5,597, and Red 5,204; the hole diagram confirms the distribution of par and the modern sequencing that interleaves Ross and Cornish stretches.
Sources & Notes
Tekoa Country Club — “The History of Tekoa Country Club.” Club’s official history page: 1890 four-hole origin; 1911 clubhouse; 1923 Donald Ross nine; five Ross holes “still remain intact today,” listed as 2, 3, 4, 14, 15; 1961 Geoffrey Cornish expansion leaving five Ross holes and adding 13; 2006 bunker renovation and ~400-yard yardage increase; ongoing improvements after 2009.
Tekoa Country Club — Scorecard (PDF). Official yardages/pars/ratings (Blue 6,438 yards, par 71), and cover credit “Donald Ross, 1923 — Course Architect.”
Tekoa Country Club
Anthony Pioppi, “Rediscovering Tekoa Country Club’s Original 9th Green,” blog post, Dec. 9, 2010. Field documentation of the 1923 Ross nine; assertion that original holes 1–3 and 9 west of Route 20 were lost to state acquisition; identification of surviving Ross holes on today’s course; transcription of A.W. Tillinghast’s 1936 PGA consultant advice to “blend” greens, with specific notes regarding the present 2nd green; commentary on the Cornish expansion and on-site archeology.