Swampland Transformed Into Norwood Country Club Golf Course-August 29, 1975

Following a massive, self-directed engineering and construction effort, the new Norwood Country Club is scheduled to open for play today. Located on land adjacent to Route 1 and the Norwood Airport purchased in 1973 from the Foley family, the regulation golf course represents a triumph over difficult terrain by builder, contractor, designer, and engineer Frank Simoni.

When commercial golf course builders and contractors balked at the project, deeming the deep peat swampland too hazardous and costly, Simoni came out of retirement to oversee the undertaking himself. Handling the engineering and layout of the fairways, greens, tees, and ponds personally, Simoni utilized specialized dragline cranes operating on floating mats and “floating” bulldozers to clear debris, cut trees, dig ponds, and bury undesirable material.

Course Specifications and Future Amenities

The completed layout is a tree-lined, flat par-70 course featuring two par-5 holes, four par-3 holes, and twelve par-4 holes. To transform the site, crews brought in 100,000 cubic yards of fill, laid more than three miles of irrigation pipe, spread 80 tons of lime and 20 tons of fertilizer, and planted five tons of special grass seed.

Even before opening day, strong local demand resulted in five leagues securing reserved playing times. While the course opens today, several auxiliary facilities remain under construction:

• Clubhouse and Pro Shop: Expected to be completed in a few weeks, featuring a fully licensed “19th hole.”
• Restaurant: Simoni is currently negotiating with Red Coach Grill to manage a full-service restaurant on the premises equipped with a function room.
• Driving Range & Pitch-and-Putt: Slated to open later this year, with the entire integrated complex fully operational by next year.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger