As the school year begins, the potential development of an 18-hole “destination” golf course-a gift of Board Chair Herbert Kohler ‘57-remains a major topic in the agenda of Choate’s Board of Trustees and a matter of controversy within the community.
Last year, the trustees first considered formally the building a new golf course on the upper campus’s eastern edge. According to Richard Saltz, Choate’s Chief Financial Officer, the Board of Trustees is still in the “information gathering stage.” The potential problems with the golf course are threefold according to those close to the project.
First, there is the issue of the land. Choate has more than enough land to support a golf course, but the proposed site includes substantial tracts of wetlands. According to Mr. Saltz, Choate has hired a surveyor to help “minimize any environmental impact (on these wetlands) while building a world class golf course.” Wetlands make the building and government approval processes more difficult. Choate has only mapped out the area and is trying to “design a course within the wetlands,” according to Saltz. The ecological importance of the wetlands will become an important factor in whether or not the board continues with the project.
Second, there is the issue of finding the funding to pay for the golf course. According to Daniel Courcey, Development and Alumni Relations director, Choate will not be actively fundraising for the golf course. Instead, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Herbert Kohler, Jr., previously proposed donating ten million dollars for the project. Mr. Kohler will be choosing the golf course architect-in all likelihood Pete Dye, the designer of many championship courses in the U.S. and world. According to one source, the idea of golf course funding outside of Mr. Kohler’s donation was the subject of intense debate this past August during the Board of Trustees’ executive session.
Third, there is the issue of opposition to the golf course. A growing group of environmentally active students and faculty oppose the golf course. Ian Morris, a member of the science department, opposes the building of a golf course on the Choate campus. Mr. Morris, who generally likes the sport of golf, believes that the golf course would be tremendously hard on the environment.
Even though the golf course has come under fire from multiple sources, a golf course would have some benefits for the school and the community. The Board will decide whether or not to finish its information gathering stage at its next meeting in November, Choate and Mr. Kohler have hired two golf course construction firms to build an economic model to see if the golf course would be profitable to the school. As Mr. Saltz explained, “None of the Board members are in the golf business.” Both firms’ data showed that a profit could be generated by a Choate golf course. The size and use of these profits will also be discussed by the Board in October.
Choate administrators have also talked to other independent boarding schools, including Taft and Hotchkiss, about their experiences with golf courses. “None of them (boarding schools) say that it (golf course) is a bad thing,” reported Mr. Saltz. Although other schools’ golf courses are set up differently than Choate’s planned setup, Mr. Saltz believes that the golf course could be successful at Choate.
The golf team doesn’t have its own home course; instead the team travels to one of the local Wallingford courses. The Wallingford courses don’t allow Choate to play matches there on Saturdays, making the golf team Choate’s most frequent travelers. The golf team traveled to seventeen out of seventeen matches in locations such as Northfield Mt. Hermon School and Deerfield Academy.
The golf course would also provide another reason for alumni to return to Choate and visit the school. For some students who are golfers not skilled enough to make one of the Choate teams, the proposed golf course would give them the opportunity to play on a world-class course.
