Bill Doyle
| Special to the Telegram & Gazette
Walden Golf Group of Jackson, N.J., has purchased Blackstone National Golf Club in Sutton from Michael Gordon, and Walden principal Steven Schorr said he plans to upgrade to the practice range, but he feels the 18-hole course is fine as it is.
“The course itself is in really beautiful shape,” Schorr said.
“We plan on continuing the legacy that Mike had there,” he continued. “Our goal is to make sure that people enjoy their golf experience, both from a course quality standpoint as well as customer satisfaction standpoint from an employee angle.”
The sale was finalized on Friday. Gordon had been the only owner of the club since the Rees Jones design opened in 1999. Gordon said Walden paid him $9.5 million for the club.
Schorr, a longtime real estate developer, said the plan is to keep Blackstone National as the name of the club and to continue to allow the public to play it.
“Blackstone National is an absolutely beautiful course,” Schorr said, “with a great clientele, a loyal following. Obviously, it has some great history and we really think it’s a beautiful course and has a great future.”
Schorr said Walden plans to add Toptracer technology and heated, covered bays to the driving range so golfers can hit balls year-round. Screens behind each bay will allow golfers to see the distance, height and ball speed of each shot. Schorr said the technology probably won’t be in place until 2027.
Gordon said some bunkers need to be upgraded as is the case every year, but the course should be ready to play otherwise. He said drainage and water supply should not be a problem.
Walden Golf Group purchased Stow Acres CC in Stow and Black Swan CC in Georgetown last month from Jack Swansburg and has bought eight clubs this year. The group owns 18 golf clubs in all and Schorr said his group plans to buy even more courses.
Walden bought the 18-hole South Course and nine of the 18 holes on the North Course at Stow Acres. The other nine holes were sold to a developer that will build housing.
“Stow, obviously, it has been historically a very good course,” Schorr said. “A great business there. Many, many people have golfed there and have enjoyed it.”
Schorr said Walden plans to address the conditioning problems that Stow Acres suffered from recently.
“We want to bring it back to its former glory,” he said.
Stow already has two-story bays with Toptracer technology on its range.
Pinnacle Golf Properties of Charlotte, N.C., manages several of Walden’s golf courses, but Schorr said Pinnacle will serve as a consultant at Blackstone National.
Gordon, 66, was a hands-on owner and he said he sold Blackstone National in order to end his lengthy commute to Sutton from his home in Manchester-by-the-Sea, to stop working long hours a week at the club and to spend more time with his family.
“I have four grandchildren and a great wife who has been putting up with me commuting,” Gordon said. “I commute 60 miles in each direction. So I’m not home a lot.”
Gordon began the permitting process for Blackstone National in 1995 and construction of the course started in 1997.
“I loved it for 30 years,” he said. “I was passionate about it.”
Business at Blackstone National picked up even more after a banquet facility called, “The Barn,” opened in 2020.
“Every day was an adventure,” Gordon said. “There was always some project we were going to do or some improvements we wanted to make.”
Gordon recalls when “golf was in the gutter” in his words during the difficult economic times in 2008 and 2009.
“I just didn’t know what tomorrow would bring,” he admitted. “So I’ve had my huge ups and my huge downs. I’m just lucky to be talking to you today on the huge upside.”
Gordon said his handicap jumped from an 11 to a 15 while he owned Blackstone National, but he plans to start playing more golf after selling the club.
Schorr said Walden doesn’t usually make staffing changes after buying a course. General manager Matt Stephens said he, director of golf Patrick Beahn and superintendent Stephen Lemieux all plan to remain at Blackstone. Stephens, 66, joined Blackstone as head pro in 2006 and became general manager in 2013.
“They asked me to stay on and I’m committed to helping them get out of the gate fast next year,” Stephens said of the new owners. “Then, we’ll see.”
Stephens said he recently drove Michael Brown, Walden managing director, around Blackstone.
“I’m happy for everybody,” Stephens said. “I’m happy that things ended the way they did for Michael Gordon and his family and as far as the new owners, they’re getting a beautiful golf course and as part of the purchase they’re getting a devoted staff and a very, very loyal customer base. So I think everybody’s winning here.”
Blackstone National is the latest golf club in Central Mass. to be sold. On Dec. 8, Alliance Golf of Farmington, Conn., purchased Shining Rock Golf Club in Northbridge from Joe Pasquale and Dan McLaughlin. Joshua McKim, Bryan Barrington and Albert Tomasso are founders and partners at Alliance Golf, which owns three other golf clubs, including Red Tail GC in Devens, and manages another club.
–Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net.
