Townsend Capt'l buys Hamilton Farm for $51 million

BEDMINSTER, N.J. - Dennis Townsend, a self-described "golf nut," has purchased the ultra-exclusive Hamilton Farm Golf Club with the vision of building it into one of the top five-star country clubs in the nation. Townsend's real estate and investment firm, Townsend Capital, bought the property from cash-strapped Lucent Technologies for $51 million.

Lucent poured more than $40 million into the development of the facility, which sits on the former grounds of the James Cox Brady Estate. The club features two Hurdzan, Fry-designed 18-- hole courses, The Highlands and The Hickory. The Highlands is a 7,100 yard, par-72 layout and The Hickory is a 3,080 yard short course. Both layouts opened in early June.

"I wanted to get involved because this is already a very special place," said Townsend, "and I see the opportunity to make it even more special. To be associated with what I think could be considered in the same category as Augusta National and Pine Valley is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Townsend believes that the course will eventually play host to the U.S. Open or Ryder Cup. "The course is already getting these comparisons and it is a new course," he said. "Like fine wine, the course will continue to improve with age."

The club will offer five-star amenities. The Brady mansion has 10 suites, fine dining and will eventually have a spa and workout facility. The course will also be staffed by professional caddies that Townsend is planning to recruit from Scotland and Ireland. Hamilton Farm will accept a limited number of memberships that will start at about $250,000.

TRADITIONAL DESIGN

According to architect Dana Fry, Hamilton Farm is worthy of its exclusivity.

"I have worked in this business since 1983 when I started with Tom Fazio," said Fry, "and I have never worked on a better project than Hamilton Farm."

The courses ramble throughout the extensive estate past old guesthouses and dairy barns. Sitting in the middle of the property is the U.S. Equestrian Center.

"The panoramic views are unbelievable," Fry said. "And it has one of the great entrance drives in all of golf." The one-mile wooded drive winds through hills and the horse track and along the first and second holes and ends at the restored Brady mansion.

Hurdzan, Fry designed Hamilton Farm to look as though it had been there for years.

"When we get a great site where the topography fits so well, we want to move as little earth as possible. We want to make things look like they have always been there," said Fry.

To pull this off, Fry applied traditional touches, combining the styles of Stanley Thompson and Alister Mackenzie. "It is very traditional, old-style golf," he added. "The tees are square and rectangular and the bunkers have radical high flash sand with wild fescue noses coming in the back."

HANDWORK REQUIRED

Such touches required extensive handwork to construct, according to golf course builder Joe Neibur. "We did a lot of hand-work in the bunkers to get the fingers in there," he said. "And believe it or not, it was harder to build square tees."

The extra effort, however, was worth it, according to the club's head golf pro Jeff Purtell. "It is a mature property with mature trees," Purtell said. "When you drive through the gates you do not feel like you are in a new development because of the history and the old stables and the overall layout and style of the course."

Indeed, said Fry, looking down the 18th hole, one would be hard pressed not to think that the course wasn't 100 years old. "The back drop for the 18th hole is this huge, old, 30,000 square-- foot mansion," said Fry. "It is one of the most spectacular finishing holes in the world."

Copyright United Publications, Inc. Oct 2001
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