Local records and club communications indicate that Donald Ross planned and built the original nine holes at Athol in 1929. Contemporary coverage from the local press places Ross’s work firmly in that year, and a club historian has stated the club retains “the original paperwork and dimensions” for that nine, although those documents are not publicly accessible. No evidence has surfaced of an earlier opening in 1920 beyond unsourced directory entries, and the Donald Ross Society’s internal listings were updated in recent years to reflect 1929 rather than 1920. In the absence of released plans or correspondence from the Tufts Archives, 1929 remains the best-documented opening date.
Ross’s intent on this particular ground can be inferred from surviving features and club testimony. According to the club historian, Ross concentrated the golf on the higher, right-hand (Pleasant Street) hillside, where the terrain allowed elevated green pads with flanking bunkers and “fake front” (false-front) entries. The course’s “original number eight”—now signed as the eleventh—was cited as a signature hole in that early routing, featuring a split-level green and a demanding approach that punished shots landing short. The historian also noted that “the original layout…is more or less still there,” which suggests the Ross corridors remained largely intact during later expansion, even as sequencing changed. Primary sources that would clarify exact green drawings, construction notes, or Ross’s own hole-by-hole commentary have not been published.
Ellinwood expanded to eighteen holes mid-century. Geoffrey Cornish designed the additional nine, but sources disagree on the year the second phase opened: several local and regional accounts state 1965, while the club’s scorecard page currently describes the change as occurring in 1969. The modern course weaves the Cornish holes between the Ross corridors rather than presenting them as a separate loop. No documentation has surfaced that Ross returned to Athol after 1929 or that he prepared an eighteen-hole scheme; if such a plan exists it has not been made public by the club or the archives.
Unique Design Characteristics
The clearest traceable Ross elements appear on the hillside holes cited by the club historian: elevated greens defended by bunkers and false fronts, with approaches that play a half-club longer when the wind tumbles down the slope. The present eleventh (original eighth) is the most explicit survivor described by the club: a split-level target that rejects timid approaches and demands precise depth control. The Ross greens here are not planar; putts often break on subtle interior tilts after an initial, more obvious fall from front to back.
A second locus of Ross character emerges at the current fifth and surrounding corridors, where the ground tilts toward a low pond and then rises to an elevated putting surface with a pronounced false front. A Mass Golf course feature, written from on-site observation and with input from the club’s board vice president, describes the fifth as a volatile short par five: the tee ball can tumble forward off a downhill “chute,” but the uphill second must find a perched green that sheds balls from its front apron. That “kick-out” behavior and the green’s right-to-left interior contour are both consistent with the club’s description of its older Ross surfaces. While the fifth’s exact attribution by hole number is not documented, its green form and the surrounding landforms closely mirror the characteristics the club assigns to its Ross work.
Finally, the long par-three tenth—about 205 yards from the back markers on the current scorecard—plays across a subtle shoulder to a firm target, forcing a flighted shot that lands deep. Regional coverage has characterized it as a “brutal” test even for stronger players. Whether that hole is Ross or Cornish is not stated in publicly available material; the length itself suggests mid-century tendencies, but without hole-by-hole attributions from the club or architect files, the safest course is to treat the tenth as part of the integrated, two-era sequence.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s Massachusetts portfolio, Ellinwood stands out not for national rankings but for survival and continuity in the North Quabbin region. Local histories note that Ross also worked nearby at Winchendon and Petersham—courses that no longer exist—leaving Ellinwood as the accessible (semi-private) example of his work in this part of the state. The nine-to-eighteen evolution in Athol also documents a common pattern in New England: an early Ross core augmented by Geoffrey Cornish in the 1960s, then interleaved so that the older strategic asks are encountered multiple times in the round rather than confined to an “old nine.” Though not a championship venue, Ellinwood has regularly hosted regional and inter-club play, including a Massachusetts Golf Women’s Spring Cup Match stop in 2018, reinforcing its standing as a community course with a preserved Ross backbone.
Current Condition / Integrity
As of the 2020s, nine Ross holes remain in play, though the numbering differs from 1929 and the Ross and Cornish segments are intermixed. The club’s own description emphasizes that those original corridors largely persist and that Ross’s elevated, bunkered greens with false-front entries continue to define approach play on several holes—most explicitly at today’s eleventh. The present course plays to roughly 6,207 yards at par 71 from the back tees. The fifth’s green complex—a perched target with a steep front apron—illustrates the sort of hazard-free but exacting defenses still found on the hillside.
Two caveats on integrity and chronology are necessary. First, sources conflict on the year Cornish’s nine opened (1965 vs. 1969). Because the club’s scorecard page presently says 1969 while several local newspapers and regional features say 1965, that discrepancy should be reconciled against primary documents such as board minutes, construction contracts, or opening-day press notices before any definitive dating is published. Second, a few public tee-time and directory sites list later architects (Bill Robinson; Mark Mungeam) in connection with Ellinwood. Those mentions likely reflect periodic consulting, bunker or tee work, or general course advice common to busy public-access clubs; no detailed scope, dates, or plan sets are publicly available. Until the club releases project files or the architects publish case studies, such attributions should be treated as unverified.
The net effect is that Ellinwood presents as an integrated two-era course in which the Ross DNA is still visible: elevated green sites with surrounding sand, front aprons that repel indifferent approaches, and sequences that use the property’s slope to influence stance and run-out. Ongoing maintenance-level improvements (cart paths, drainage) are noted anecdotally in local coverage, but no large-scale “restoration” has been documented in public sources.
Sources & Notes
Ellinwood Country Club — Scorecard page (club site). Confirms Ross authorship of the original nine and states that the 18 holes are now interspersed between Ross and Cornish; page text presently says the expansion occurred in 1969. Also serves as the course scorecard link referenced in the summary table.
Athol Daily News, “Ellinwood CC celebrating 90th anniversary” (Mar. 8, 2019). Local history feature noting Ross’s role in 1929 and the later addition of nine more holes.
Athol Daily News, “Famous golf course designer left his mark on Ellinwood in Athol” (Nov. 18, 2020). Interview with club historian Glenn Mallet: original nine built in 1929; original paperwork said to be on file; description of Pleasant Street hillside containing 13 holes with nine by Ross; identification of the present 11th as the original 8th with a split-level green; notes on elevated greens and false fronts; states the second nine was built in 1965.
The Greenfield Recorder, “Returning to Ellinwood Country Club — a place of memories” (June 6, 2025). Restates the 1929 Ross nine and a 1965 Cornish addition in a regional retrospective.
Mass Golf, “Seven of the Shortest Par 5s at Public Golf Courses in Massachusetts” (2024). On-site description of Ellinwood’s current fifth: downhill tee shot, pond at right, elevated green with a false front and strong internal tilt; includes commentary from a club board vice president. Helpful for present-day feature characterization.
GolfClubAtlas discussion, “Re-understanding Ross.” Community thread noting a Donald Ross Society directory update that changed Ellinwood’s entry from 1920 to 1929 and that Ellinwood was not listed in Ross’s 1930 booklet. Cited only to flag the existence of directory-date revisions; not treated as a primary source.
Disputed/Uncertain Points Requiring Verification
Later Architect Involvement. Third-party listings attribute work to Bill Robinson and Mark Mungeam, but no dates, plans, or club announcements are public. Treat as unverified until the club or architects publish scope and years.