MGA: Massachusetts Golf Association Illustration Illustration

News Release

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2000

The Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA) today announced the formal establishment of the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame to be located at the entrance to the new Tournament Players Club (TPC) of Boston site in Norton, Mass. The land donation was made by FleetBoston, a partner in the TPC development group.

The donation of approximately two acres of land in the Great Woods area off of Route 140 in Norton will provide for a headquarters building of approximately 12,000 square feet to house the governing bodies of Massachusetts amateur golf and the Golf Hall of Fame. The new Golf Hall of Fame, to be underwritten by the MGA, will include unique collections, memorabilia and exhibits and preserve a rich legacy that includes such golf legends as Francis Ouimet, Donald Ross, Pat Bradley and Fred Corcoran, the first executive director of the MGA. It is expected that the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame will open to the public in 2002.

The new TPC course is being developed by the TPC of Boston at Great Woods, LLC, a partnership consisting of the PGA TOUR, FleetBoston Financial and Connell Limited Partnership. Scheduled for completion in 2002, the corporate-member club will be situated on a 400-acre tract and feature a course designed by Arnold Palmer with a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse. Permits for the project are expected this month, and construction is scheduled to begin around July 1st. The TPC of Boston corporate concept is unique to New England. Corporate memberships, which range in price from $70,000 to $135,000, depending on number of designees, allow members to send unaccompanied customers/guests to the TPC of Boston as well as the TPC network of 21 courses nationwide (which will grow to 31 by 2002). To date, 100 memberships have been sold, representing 125 members. The design concepts take into full consideration the accommodations needed by both players and fans in hosting a major professional event, a likely possibility.

"The establishment of a golf hall of fame is desperately needed and long overdue, considering the great legacy of Massachusetts golf and the many people that have contributed to the game’s vitality," commented Tom Landry, executive director of the MGA. "We are very grateful for the land to create The Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame, as well as a place for all of our golf organizations to unite under one roof for the betterment of the game."

In addition to the MGA, the other Massachusetts and New England golf organizations to be housed in the new building include the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts (WGAM), the New England Golf Association (NEGA), Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England (GCSANE), the New England Chapter of the Golf Course Owners Association (NEGCOA), the Alliance of Massachusetts Golf Organizations (AMGO) and the Hickory Shafts.

The Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame will be open to the general public. The MGA will meet with various collectors to determine what kinds of memorabilia and golf artifacts will be part of the museum. The future Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame inductees will be elected by a board of 30 members, and will likely include individuals such as Ouimet, Ross, and Bradley in its inaugural class.

"We at FleetBoston see this donation of land as another effort in our long history of supporting golf for everyone in Massachusetts -- from inner-city children to the Senior PGA TOUR," commented Peter Manning, vice chairman of FleetBoston Financial.

In addition, Fleet is donating 175 acres adjacent open land to two non-profit conservation trusts: the Land Preservation Society of Norton, Mass., and the Natural Resources Trust of Mansfield, Mass.