Vail's Grove Golf Club Celebrates 80th Annive r sary

Three of the owners of the club include (l-r) George Dean, Bill Coates, and George Tremblay. Photo by Eric Gross The Vail's Grove Golf Club is one of Putnam's best-kept secrets!

The club, located off Route 121 at the Southeast-North Salem town line, celebrates its 80th anniversary next month.

The semi-private club, founded in 1929 by the Vail family, was sold to a group of investors in 1981. Today, five local residents own the course— George Dean, George Tremblay, Bill Coates, Nancy Griffiths, and Arnie Ohrn.

The nine-hole course, commonly known as an executive course, has been called "unique" by its president. Dean, a resident of Carmel, described Vail's Grove as a "nice course to play with a great membership."

Tremblay agreed. "Vail's Grove not only plays well for golfers, but its beauty and layout are distinctive. While the course is small, it contains many challenges. Many of our golfers feel as though they have to brush up in school before returning to the links."

Coates described Vail's Grove as the "perfect course for most golfers. The overwhelming majority of golfers are not Tiger Woods. They are average golfers, and our course lets people play the game the way it should be played. Vail's Grove has stood the test of time."

Coates recalled the times when golfers returned to "remember their first hole in one or made that first par or birdie. It's a terrific course for the average golfer."

Robert S. Vail III, of Titusville, Florida, researched the Vail estate—a portion of which eventually became the golf course.

Brewster Historian Denis Castelli admitted much is not known about the golf club's proud past. He contacted Vail, who assisted the Courier with the historical significance of the area.

The Vail family period began with the acquisition by David Vail of 280 acres of land in 1843. David Vail was the great-grandfather of well-known Brewster residents Arthur Vail, Earle Vail, and C. Hubert Vail, who were involved with owning and managing Vail's Grove.

Robert Vail reports no available records of the first use of the lakefront property for recreation—property located across the road from the golf course. "Recollections of word-tomouth information passed down from previous generations reveal some data. Land north of the present Ramp No.2 was fenced off for farming. In warm weather, cows were milked in a small fenced-in enclosure near the cottage presently owned by Don DeVita. The milk was cooled in a spring. Fishermen referred to the shallow section of the lake as the 'milk spring flat,'" he said.

Information about the golf course or reservations can be made by calling Vail's Grove at 669-5721.