Jim Kelly's Donnybrook Country Club opens - finally

With no knowledge of the ski industry, lumberman James W. Kelly began to build the Brodie Mountain Ski Resort in New Ashford in April 1964, and opened a full scale resort only eight months later.

Not only was it the first new ski area built in record time, Kelly's resort also was the first in the area to offer more than skiing as the new lodge boasted the 5,000-square-foot Blarney room with a cocktail lounge, restaurant and dance floor, all created in less than one year.

So when Kelly sold the Brodie ski business in late 1999 to Brian Fairbank, operator of nearby Jiminy Peak, and his partner Joe O'Donnell, the Boston culinary king, and decided to build a golf course on the several hundred acres he retained just south of the ski center, it was presumed the course would also be quickly finished.

That was back in 2000. The Donnybrook Country Club in Lanesboro did not officially open until yesterday . some nine years later.

Unlike his near zero ski experience, Kelly had become a golf enthusiast some 20 years earlier and had often played at Waubeeka Golf Links in Williamstown and Skyline in Lanesboro, as well as other area clubs, and also in Florida, where he and wife

But Brodie Mountain was built when there were few environmental regulations or concerns, and New Ashford and other small communities lacked many building codes. There were also few concerned citizens forming conservation clubs in those days.

But with this new venture, Kelly and sons Doug and Matt found restrictions and requirements from every quarter, from Lanesboro town officials to state guidelines.

Jim Kelly had planned to build 18 holes, with the first nine to be on the former Chadwick Farm on the west side of Route 7, which he had acquired some 25 years earlier and on which he had lived winters in the rugged stone house. The second nine was to be on the east side of the highway where Kelly had operated a ski touring center for several years.

The first phase included removing the thousands of glacier deposited boulders from the Chadwick land, but Kelly loved boulders and utilized them to build perhaps the biggest stone wall in Berkshire history, a gigantic edifice rising 10 or 12 feet and extending some 300 yards along what is now the ninth hole and visible to the awe and wonder of passing motorists for years.

Then came the construction of a hole or two a year, with Kelly and friends testing each one as it was completed. Finally, the front nine was finished some three years ago, and fairways and greens were mowed regularly, but Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency approval was lacking. Approval was finally granted this winter, and work was switched to catering to golfers, not regulators. (As this column was written Monday, an account of the opening will appear next week.)

The stone farmhouse serves as the pro shop, and also offers snacks and beer. Twenty-five new electric golf carts are available as the course offers hills and dales, as well as one hole over 600 yards long. Veteran golfers have acclaimed Donnybrook's playability as well as the scenic delights. They have also praised the course designer, none other than former ski tycoon James W. Kelly.

The Kellys and a handful of faithful employees did most of the work until a course building company from Cape Cod was hired to install an irrigation system and finish the seeding of fairways. George Wilkinson, with many years experience at Cranwell Resort and other golf courses, was named grounds superintendent four years ago.

Jim Kelly, now 73 but still a prodigious ball striker, has decided to let his back nine wait "indefinitely." He said, "It would be a shame not to enjoy the Donnybrook, while I can still handle the 608-yard third."

Dot Kelly does not play golf - she plays various musical instruments instead - but her handiwork can be seen in the furnishings in the stone farmhouse where she and Jim formerly wintered. They have a summer home at Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield where Jim, the former owner of the Brodie Indoor Tennis Club, built a tennis court before he became a slave to golf and golf course construction.

Williams, Stratton golf notes

At the Taconic Golf Club, which dates back to 1896, the Williams College women's golf team, which dates back only a few years, hosted the Williams Spring Invitational Saturday and Sunday.

Middlebury College won the event with a score of 671, with Williams second with 679, leading Amherst by 10 strokes and Mount Holyoke by 27 strokes. Individual winner was Hayley Milbourn of Amherst, with a score of 154. The Ephs' Anne O'Leary had 163 strokes for a tie for third. Williams Assistant Coach Kris Herman was waiting to see if her team qualified for the upcoming national championship.

Williams male golfers won the NESCAC championship at Trinity College over the weekend and will play in the NCAA championship at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., May 13-16. The Ephmen won with a total of 299 for a 13-stroke lead over Hamilton College.

Middlebury's George Baumann was the individual champ with a 144, for a one-stroke edge over two Williams freshmen, Drew Murray and John Killea.

This was the ninth NESCAC title and the 10th trip to the nationals, all under the direction of Coach Rick Pohle, director of golf at Taconic. Wife Kathy Pohle was the first coach of the Williams women.

Up at Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont, they call their instruction school the Stratton Golf University. It opens Saturday with a two-day all-inclusive program, with other sessions of varying length through September. The first golf school was headed by Arnold Palmer back in 1969.

The Stratton Golf Course consists of three nine-hole layouts, all designed by legendary architect Geoffrey Cornish of Amherst, who also did the courses at Mount Snow and Killington. For details on Stratton University, call 1-800-Stratton.