NORTHBOROUGH – Four generations of golf professionals have served the area community from the picturesque grounds of Juniper Hill Golf Course in Northborough.
Third generation, Dudley Darling has a vision to continue the tradition.
Juniper Hill celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2021, and Darling’s son Matthew recently joined the management team following his career as a lawyer in California.
In addition to multiple generations managing the golf course, Darling is seeing multiple generations of customers playing on the course.
“Golf is one of the few sports that grandparents can play with their grandchildren,” he said. “We have people come to play whose fathers brought them, and now they are bringing their kids and grandkids.”
Darling’s grandfather (who built the first 18 holes of the now 36-hole golf course) described Juniper Hill long ago as a golf factory.
“We teach people to play,” he said. “Some stay with us, and others move on to a country club.”
“A cross-section of golfers come here to play,” Darling continued, “from tradesmen and women to executives. It’s still predominantly a male sport, but we like seeing that more and more women are getting interested in golf.”
Golf is a rare sport in which participants can play while also being social. But Darling has seen some golfers take their game too seriously.
“Many life lessons can be learned through the game of golf, particularly integrity,” he said. “You can have a good game and not keep score, but you are also supposed to call penalties against yourself.”
In the spirit of giving back, Juniper Hill is well-known for hosting charitable events. A recent Stephen Jones Memorial Tournament, which raised money to buy beds for children, brought over 120 players to Juniper Hill.
For the sixth year, the course will also host Golf Fights Cancer in August, which is a marathon golf fundraiser in which participants of all levels of ability play 100 holes of golf to raise funds to fight cancer and raise cancer awareness.
With summer’s arrival, the Golf Teaching Center at Juniper Hill offers its golf camps for kids.
“We introduce kids to the game and watch the kids grow up right here,” Darling said.
“It’s cool to see that this may become their home course.”
Ultimately, Darling said that he likes to see people of all ages enjoying themselves at Juniper Hill. People come out from dawn to dusk to play.
“We want people to have fun,” he said. “I always say to golfers, ‘Thank you for coming out today and have fun today.’”
Learn more about Juniper Hill Golf Course at http://juniperhillgc.com or call 508-393-2444.
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