West Hartford’s award-winning public golf course first opened in 1924, and has been owned by the town since 1961. [Article updated Sept. 4, 2024]

By Ronni Newton

Rockledge Golf Club – aka “The Rock” – is one of the Town of West Hartford’s gems, and 2024 is the course’s centennial year.

While plans were in the works for a celebration on Friday, Sept. 6, that event has been canceled, Director of Leisure and Social Services Helen Rubino-Turco said Wednesday. “Due to busier than expected back-to-school schedules, the co-chairs and town staff have decided to cancel Friday’s celebration at Rockledge Golf Club. Full refunds will be issued,” she said.

The property that is now Rockledge – which literally sits upon a ledge of rock along the west side of South Main Street – was purchased by a Yale University student named Wilton W. (“Mike”) Sherman in 1913, and he planned to use the 120-acre property to raise cattle and stable his horses, according to the book “Celebrate! West Hartford,” an illustrated history of the town by Miriam Butterworth, Ellsworth Grant, and Richard Woodworth that was published in 2001. According to the historians’ book, and the Rockledge Golf Club website, Sherman operated his farm, known as “Sherman Acres,” until a group of sportsmen approached him just after World War I about the prospect of turning the property into a golf course.

Sherman Acres, courtesy Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society (we-ha.com file photo)

While that plan didn’t pan out – and according to “Celebrate! West Hartford” that group purchased the former Miller Farm just over the line in Bloomfield and built Tumble Brook Country Club – Sherman moved forward on his own after attempting to interest neighbors in investing in what he wanted to call the Webster Hill Country Club.

“In 1924, he opened a 14-hole golf course on the farm, and named the course Rockledge, due to the terrain,” the Rockledge website states. The clubhouse was originally on the east side of South Main Street – across the street from the course itself. Rockledge was enlarged to 18 holes in 1927, a new clubhouse was built in 1933, on the west side of the property, and Sherman hosted many tournaments at Rockledge until he passed away in 1959.

According to “Celebrate! West Hartford,” one of the most notable events on the course was the 1932 New England Open, which was held at Rockledge in 1932 and ended in a tie. “Former National Open Champion Paul Runyan won the playoff before the largest golf crowd ever assembled in West Hartford.”

After Sherman’s death, the Town of West Hartford purchased the clubhouse and the property for $1,225,000, and opened it as a municipal golf course in 1961. Rockledge is not only named a top public course by local publications, but has also been honored as one of Golf Digest’s“Best Places to Play.”

A new clubhouse was constructed in the late 1960s, and has been renovated over the years, most recently when the space was gutted and the deck was expanded in 2018, after the restaurant space was leased to the Beachland Group. They opened Rockledge Grille in July 2018.

Josh Moses took over as Rockledge Golf Club’s pro in early 2024, in time for the opening of the course for its 100th season.

Josh Moses is the pro at Rockledge Golf Club in West Hartford. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

“Why is ‘The Rock’ so special? Two reasons: Its people and the quality of the course,” said Joe Waxman, co-chair of Rockledge’s Centennial Celebration.

“The staff at the Rock are fantastic. From the superintendent of the greens/course, and his staff. All are friendly and dedicated to making the Rock one of the premier public courses in the state,” Waxman said.

“Joe said it best. It is a very special place,” agreed Sandy Gifford, the other co-chair of the celebration.

“Whether it is 9-hole league play, 18-hole men’s and women’s tournaments, hosting SNEWGA events, or even other golf league matches at Rockledge – there are so many ways people are enjoying this very well-maintained facility and staff, its public spaces, and sport at all levels,” added Gifford.

“We’re proud that our municipal golf course has earned its reputation as a premiere facility. That achievement is due to decades of excellent local leaders and town staff over the past 100 years who have valued recreation as an important amenity,” Rubino-Turco said. “We aim to carry on that legacy. The course is in great hands with Tim Nadeau and Josh Moses,” whom she said always go “above and beyond.”

Rockledge Grille. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

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