Crumpin- Fox Club, Bernardston, MA.
"Crumpin- Fox will someday be mentioned in the same breath with
Pinehurst and Pine Valley."
Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
Parmenter Road
Bernardston, Massachusetts.
Crumpin- Fox
Club was conceived
in 1969 as the
"field of
dreams" of
David Berelson
who engaged the
services of Roger
Rulewich of Robert
Trent Jones, Inc.
to locate a site
in the Franklin
County area of
Massachusetts
which would accommodate
a Pine Valley
type golf course.
The Bernardston
site was chosen.
The arduous task
of accumulating
the various parcels
of land and getting
the necessary
permits begun,
but the project
stalled and did
not take shape.
Due to financial
concerns, Mr.
Berelson was not
able to complete
the back nine
and eventually
sold the project
to Andy St. Hilaire
in 1977. A native
of Bernardston,
Mr. St. Hilaire
completed the
back nine holes
and built the
present clubhouse.
Although Andy
was a golfer of
admittedly low
persistence and
high scores, he
recognized the
potential excellence
of the design
and preserved
it until 1987
when he sold it
to his good friend
William A. Sandri,
whose house sat
perched atop the
hill above the
fifteenth hole.
 Mr.
Sandri re-enlisted
the help of Roger
Rulewich and began
acquiring parcels
of land needed
to finish the
course. Under
the direction
of Mr. Rulewich
the front nine
holes were built
along with extensive
renovations to
the existing back
nine holes, the
driving range
and the irrigation
system. Bent grass
fairways were
planted, and the
course re-opened
in June of 1990
as the realization
of the dreams
of David Berelson,
Andy St. Hilaire,
Roger Rulewich,
and Bill Sandri.
Unfortunately,
David Berelson
passed away in
1989 and was not
able to view his
masterpiece in
completion, and
Andy St. Hilaire
passed away shortly
thereafter, but
their memories
and devotion to
excellence live
on.
This course sit
in the middle
of the Pioneer
Valley on the
eastern edge of
the Berkshires
at the foot of
Vermont's Green
Mountain. The
course's interesting
name was derived
from Bernardston-based
Crump Soda Company
that was sold
in 1853 to Eli
Fox; thus becoming
the Crumpin-Fox
Soda Company.
Each hole on the
course has been
cut through thick
stands of trees
and sits in isolation
from every other.
Streams meander
through the grounds,
and an old red
barn and horse
farm adjoin one
hole on the front.
No two consecutive
holes run in the
same direction.
There's modestly
uphill holes,
dramatic downhill
par 3's, par 4's
both long and
short, and a memorable
collection of
par 5's. The most
memorable is #8,
a 592, par 5,
which starts from
an elevated tee
nestled deep in
the forest. Dark
woods impose themselves
on the right,
the fairway cants
modestly to the
left, and a massive
lake runs entirely
down the left
side of the hole.
The putting surface,
the largest on
the course, sits
on the other side
of the water.
"Golf Digest"
rated this course
as the 9th "Best
in State"
course for 1995-96.
In addition, "GOLF
Magazine"
rated it 57th
under the 1996
category of "Top
100 Courses You
Can Play in the
U.S." "GOLFWEEK"
rated the course
92nd among "America's
100 Best Modern
Courses"
for 1998 and 96th
for 1999. The
sister course
is Fox Hollow
Golf Club in Odessa
Florida, which
is just twenty
miles north of
Tampa. The Crumpin-Fox
Golf Institute
is located on
the premises.
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Robert
Trent Jones Golf Courses
