Oak n' Spruce Resort
South Lee, Massachusetts
South Lee, Massachusetts
The disc golf course at Oak n' Spruce Resort was designed and installed by disc golf founder Ed Headrick in the summer of 1977. It was one of the first three permanent Mach I pole hole courses in New England (the others being Sunridge Development in NH and Beaver Brook Campground in ME).
Steve Hartwell, Davis Johnson and others from the Boston area discovered the course in the early 1980s. The standard charge for non-resort guests to play the course was $15, but we were often able to talk our way into a discount. During one visit in the late 1980s, Steve noticed that holes #1-4 were missing. Upon inquiring, he discovered that the course was being taken down in order to erect more buildings. Steve asked if the poleholes could be purchased and a price of $500 was agreed to. After consulting with other NEFAites, Steve teamed up with Dave Johnson and Greg Black to buy the poleholes from the resort for NEFA. We rented a U-Haul, hauled them back to Greg's back yard, where they sat until T. M. Dyer bought a trailer to be able to transport them.
This "portable disc golf course" was used for many a NEFA tournament. T. M. would bring his trailer to the tournament site (Borderland State Park in Massachusetts, Cranbury Park in Connecticut and Miantonomi Park in Rhode Island were early beneficiaries) bright and early on a Saturday, a team of volunteers would bang holes in the ground to anchor the holes, tees would be marked, and three rounds of disc golf would be played. Before sunset, the process was reversed and the poleholes returned to T. M.'s trailer.
Once permanent polehole courses began to emerge, the course was installed permanently in Cranbury Park for a time. It would be interesting to find out where they are today.
Steve Hartwell, Davis Johnson and others from the Boston area discovered the course in the early 1980s. The standard charge for non-resort guests to play the course was $15, but we were often able to talk our way into a discount. During one visit in the late 1980s, Steve noticed that holes #1-4 were missing. Upon inquiring, he discovered that the course was being taken down in order to erect more buildings. Steve asked if the poleholes could be purchased and a price of $500 was agreed to. After consulting with other NEFAites, Steve teamed up with Dave Johnson and Greg Black to buy the poleholes from the resort for NEFA. We rented a U-Haul, hauled them back to Greg's back yard, where they sat until T. M. Dyer bought a trailer to be able to transport them.
This "portable disc golf course" was used for many a NEFA tournament. T. M. would bring his trailer to the tournament site (Borderland State Park in Massachusetts, Cranbury Park in Connecticut and Miantonomi Park in Rhode Island were early beneficiaries) bright and early on a Saturday, a team of volunteers would bang holes in the ground to anchor the holes, tees would be marked, and three rounds of disc golf would be played. Before sunset, the process was reversed and the poleholes returned to T. M.'s trailer.
Once permanent polehole courses began to emerge, the course was installed permanently in Cranbury Park for a time. It would be interesting to find out where they are today.
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Newspaper Announcement - August 27, 1977
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Photographs
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The Berkshire Eagle, August 27, 1977, page 9 - from Newspapers.com
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Hole #1, Casual Round with Davis Johnson, mid-1980s
Hole #4, Steve Hartwell's Bachelor Party Event, October 5, 1984
Steve & Joy Hartwell and Greg Black loading up the Oak n' Spruce poleholes, late 1980s
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