Taconic is mentioned in this blog as being the marquee public-access golf course in New England.

Check it out here: http://blogs.golf.com/trips/2012/01/new-york-vs-new-england-who-wins-the-golf-battle.html

by Brian McCallen

Seeking to complete your education as a golfer? An entire semester of advancement can be had in the course of a single round at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass.

This is especially true in the fall, when the forested peaks surrounding the course are ablaze with the colors of autumn.

According to the club’s website, “Of the 375 courses judged by the Boston Globe, Taconic was voted number one in scenic beauty in the state.” No argument there. For character, charm and jaw-dropping views, Taconic, a jewel-like layout walled in by the Berkshires in the state’s northwest corner, has few rivals in New England.

There is more. Located on the campus of Williams College, Taconic got its start in 1896, when “three men with three tomato cans” laid out a rudimentary course. In 1927, Wayne Stiles of Stiles & Van Kleek, a Boston firm, was brought in to expand and refine the course. Two years ago, Gil Hanse, a classicist with a light touch, completed a much-needed restoration of the original design. His nips and tucks have resulted in a near-flawless layout that now takes its place among the very best collegiate golf courses in the nation. (Among the vintage venues, Taconic in my opinion is second only to Yale).

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The October 2011 issue of Golf Digest magazine has named Taconic’s 19th hole as one of the top 19th holes in the world. Read More→

Our annual selection of the top 25 college golf courses

School pride is never stronger than during March Madness, especially if your alma mater is one of the 68 teams to make it to “the Dance,” the NCAA’s Men’s Division I Basketball Championship.

With the Final Four teams, Butler, Connecticut, Kentucky and VCU now set for April 2 and 4 in Houston, it’s time for our annual ranking of the top 25 college courses in the country.

Designed by some of the biggest names in architecture like C.B. Macdonald, Alister MacKenzie and Pete Dye, these courses provide practice sites and tournament venues for the varsity teams, and are a fantastic benefit for members of the school community, including students, staff and alumni.

None of this year’s Final Four teams have a course on the list, but click on the link below to see if your alma mater made the cut.

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Source: www.golf.com
Published: September 20, 2010

1. Taconic, Williamstown

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Source: www.golf.com
Published: June 1, 2010

41. Taconic Golf Club

See the entire list here.

Source: www.golf.com
Published: December 14, 2009
By: JOE PASSOV, Senior Editor

Gil Hanse has been quietly doing excellent work for 20 years, the last 16 of them as principal architect of Philadelphia-based Hanse Golf Course Design.

Although he has scored critical success with his work on courses like Rustic Canyon, Boston Golf Club, and TPC Boston, he’s hardly a household name, but make no mistake: Castle Stuart will change that, and should catapult him into the limelight and out of the shadows of Tom Doak.

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Source: www.nytimes.com
Published: August 30, 2009
By: BILL PENNINGTON

If you don’t make it all the way to Vermont for your fall golf excursion, you can find one of New England’s historic gems in Williamstown, Mass.: the Taconic Golf Club, owned by Williams College, has recently undergone a sparkling restoration.

The club has long been one of the respected collegiate courses. The site, first designed for golf in 1896, is noteworthy for the subtleties and the severity of its greens and the clever strategies required to play it effectively from the fairways and the tees.

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Source: www.golfclubatlas.com
Published: July 30, 2009

Many a visitor innocently remarks after his first round at Taconic, ‘My goodness, where has this Ross gem been hiding?’

Located inWilliamstown, Massachusetts, Taconic never fails toimpress the first time visitor. The only surprise is learning that Donald Ross had nothing to do withitbut rather full credit belongs to the little known New England design firm of Wayne Stiles & John Van Kleek.

Stiles, who was a low single figure amateur player, was a member at Brae Burn, a fine Ross courseoutside Boston. He played there countless times and bythe start of WWI,he was more interested in golf course design than in his Boston-based landscape profession. In 1924, he formed a partnership with John Van Kleek, another landscape professional. According to noted Stiles historian Gary Sherman, Stiles &Van Kleek builtmore than 60 courses between 1924 and 1932, mostly in New England (though Van Kleek was based in St.Petersburg, Florida).

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Source: www.epicgolf.com
Published: June 30, 2009

Taconic Golf Club, on the campus of Williams College, is consistently rated among the top college courses in the country, and is a regular fixture on any “Classic” Top 100 ranking. It’s hosted the U.S. Junior, Women’s, and Senior Amateur Championships, and the NCAA Championship on three occasions. No Williams student walks more than 20 minutes from his dorm to the first tee, and with rounds priced at less than $30 (the general public rate is $150), “getting out on The Taconic” a favorite pastime of resident Ephs.

Seven holes were laid out on the Taconic property in 1896, though the 17th green is one of the few remnants of that original layout. The course was overhauled in 1927 by the relatively unknown Golden Age firm of Wayne Stiles & John van Kleek and is widely considered to be their masterpiece. Gil Hanse was retained by the club in 2008 to restore some of Taconic’s original feel, and add a handful of fairway bunkers and new tee boxes.

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