Wyckoff Country Club on Easthampton Road posts a 2026 walk-up rate of $35 for 18 holes on a weekday and $40 on a weekend, plus a cart if you take one. When the golf season ends on Sunday, November 1, the course closes for good. Owner Cesar Ruiz has also canceled every event booked for November 2 or later.
What's left nearby is more than enough golf. The pricing works differently, though. Wyckoff charged everyone the same posted rate. The two town-owned 18-hole courses closest in name and reputation, Chicopee Country Club and Ledges in South Hadley, price their rounds by residency, and a Holyoke address puts you in the higher tier at both.
Two weekends left, and the kitchen has already closed
As of this Thursday, two weekends remain: October 24 and 25, then October 31 and November 1. Wyckoff's daily-fees page still lists its 2026 rates. For nine holes, that's $20 on weekdays and $25 on weekends, plus carts. The same page links to online tee-time booking. With this many golfers wanting one last round, call ahead before you count on a weekend slot.
If your plan was a final burger after the round, change it. The club's dining page says Heritage Greens Kitchen & Bar is "Closed For The Season, See You Next Year." That line was written before anyone knew there wouldn't be a next year. Anyone who booked the banquet hall for a holiday party or a winter shower should already be looking for another room. Those dates fall after November 2, so they're among the canceled events.
The news reached some golfers on the course. WWLP 22News talked with Josh Hawkins of Amherst, who said, "I found out while I was playing a round of golf, so that was even more sad."
What closes with it
Sources disagree on Wyckoff's age. The club's own website says it was founded in 1898 and originally designed by Donald Ross. A 2025 MassLive report says the course was built in 1933 and partly redesigned in 1968, when interstate construction took some of its land. MassLive describes it as a 6,100-yard, par-69 layout. The two dates may describe different milestones. Either way, the club has been around for generations.
Ownership has changed quickly lately. MassLive reports that the family of longtime owner Clarence "Clarky" E. Wojtowicz sold the club in 2019 to a group of William VanZandt, his wife Beth, and Charlie and William Arment. That group sold to Ruiz in early 2025. The Daily Hampshire Gazette put the purchase at $2.8 million. Ruiz first saw the property as a fit with his plans for a Holyoke sports complex and Volleyball Hall of Fame. Within weeks, that project moved to Whiting Farms Road, and he said Wyckoff would stay an 18-hole course.
He did put money into it. Speaking to The Reminder, Ruiz described what the course was like when he took it over:
"This is a property that was in decline for many years, and we made significant investments to upgrade the golf course and make our banquet hall and restaurant vibrant, after many years of dormancy."
He told The Reminder that his planning weighed what he called an over-saturation of golf in the region and the growth of virtual golf. "There still are plenty of golf opportunities in the region," he said, "but there are not enough homes to serve our local population."
The math on the next tee time
Ruiz is right that there are plenty of courses. Here's how the posted weekday 18-hole rates compare with Wyckoff's $35.
| Course | Location | Type | Posted weekday 18-hole rate | Rate for a Holyoke golfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyckoff Country Club | 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke | Semiprivate, closing Nov. 1 | $35 walk-up, cart extra | $35 |
| Chicopee Country Club | 1290 Burnett Road, Chicopee | Municipal | $33 resident, $41 nonresident | $41 |
| Ledges Golf Club | South Hadley | Town-built | $42 walking, $64 with cart, nonresident | $42 walking |
| Southampton Country Club | 329 College Highway, Southampton | Public | $29 walking, $48 with cart | $29 walking |
| Mill Valley Golf Links | 380 Mill Valley Road, Belchertown | 18 holes, par 71 | $30 walking, $45 riding, year not stated | $30 walking |
Chicopee's 2026 rate sheet shows the residency tier clearly. Chicopee residents pay $33 on a weekday, and the standard nonresident rate is $41, with separate lower rates for seniors, military golfers and juniors. That $8 gap is the cost of a Holyoke address, and it puts the round $6 above what Wyckoff posted. Ledges is the South Hadley course the town bought in 1996 and opened in August 2001. Its 2026 rates list $42 for nonresidents to walk 18 on a weekday.
The lower prices in the table come from Southampton Country Club and Mill Valley. Southampton's rates page is headed "2026 Daily Rates" and lists $29 walking. The page's timestamp is much older, though, so confirm by phone. Mill Valley's site shows $30 walking for 18 holes but doesn't say what year that price is for, while it already advertises 2027 memberships.
If you played Wyckoff a few times a month, then, your cost depends on which way you drive. Toward Chicopee or South Hadley, every round costs more than it did on Easthampton Road. The other two courses on the list come in under Wyckoff's rate, if their posted prices hold.
Inside the city line, and the courses that aren't options
Holyoke still has golf. Holyoke Country Club at 2 Country Club Road is open to the public. It's a nine-hole course that can be played as 18 from alternate tees. Its site lists 2026 full memberships but no daily greens fee, so call the pro shop for walk-up pricing. For a former Wyckoff regular who wants to stay in the city, it's the obvious first call, and the alternate tees keep an 18-hole round possible.
Two other nearby names are easy to mix up. Westover Golf Course calls itself a municipal course in Ludlow. Its homepage, updated October 6, says 2027 golf pass rates will be out in the coming weeks, which matters to anyone deciding where to buy a season pass next spring. The Orchards Golf Club at 18 Silverwood Terrace in South Hadley calls itself a family club where golf is for members and their guests, so it isn't a walk-up option.
What the 110 acres are slated to become
The plan for the land explains why the closure came so quickly. The property is already zoned residential, and no zone change is needed. Ruiz says the land can fit 126 single-family homes on lots of at least 20,000 square feet, and he is looking for a home developer. Reported acreage varies: 110 acres in this month's announcement, 109 in MassLive's 2025 coverage, and 120 in the Gazette's. Paul Robbins, who speaks for Ruiz, told The Reminder there's no timeline yet. Engineering work, including a traffic study, is still underway.
Route 141 is where residents' concerns are focused. Ward 7 City Councilor Meg McGrath-Smith told WWLP 22News she has heard "reactions on both sides" and that people are raising traffic and environmental concerns. "Folks are concerned about traffic on 141, I am as well," she said. She added that the traffic study may show improvements to 141 are needed before a new neighborhood can be built off it. The proposal will go through the city's review process and the Planning Board. Because it fits current zoning, McGrath-Smith told The Reminder, the City Council's role could be limited to things like accepting new roads as public ways. The Reminder also reported that an interdepartmental meeting on the plan, closed to the public, was scheduled for October 15.
If you own a home along Route 141 or the streets near Easthampton Road, you may have questions about what a new 126-home neighborhood next door could mean for your property. Suzi Buzzee follows proposals like this one as they move through review, and she's happy to walk you through where your home stands today. Get your free home valuation, and she'll keep you posted as the Wyckoff plan takes shape.
