Southwick Thrives as a Recreational Community

They called it the Woods O’Cross.

That’s the name that was affixed to a recent event at Motocross 338 in Southwick, a.k.a. ‘the Wick.’ And as that name suggests, it’s a race that takes participants onto the vaunted track behind American Legion Post 338 on Powdermill Road, and also into the woods nearby.

“It was really well received; we were amazed at how many people came out for it; the feedback was phenomenal, so we’re going to another one this month and another at the end of the year,” said Rick Johnson, who, with his son, Keith, is now coordinating events at the Wick, which has, for most of the past 50 years, been a destination as well as a driving force, literally and figuratively, in the local economy.

The Ranch Golf Club has become a draw for players across the state and beyond.

The venue now hosts more than 40 events each year, capped by the Nationals, the three-day event that has become a tradition in Southwick, with dates that are circled by many business owners in town because the population of people in town swells from roughly 9,000 people to more than 30,000.

The nationals will be in July this year, said Johnson adding that, because Southwick doesn’t have any hotels, attendees must stay in surrounding communities. But many other types of businesses in town see and feel the surge, he said.

“You need to have a passion for it. If you handle it properly, you’ll pay the bills and make a few bucks. But you’re never going to retire in the Bahamas and drive a Lamborghini.”

The Wick is one of many recreation and hospitality-related businesses that give Southwick its unique flavor. People come here to eat — there are many restaurants and institutions such as Mrs. Murphy’s Donuts in town — and to play.

They do so at the Congamond Lakes (North, Middle, and South) which offer boating, fishing, swimming, and lakeside dining, and also at several parks, the Wick, and two golf courses (there used to be three), including The Ranch Golf Club.

Now celebrating its 25th year, the Ranch, on Sunnyside Road, is a higher-end course that was designed to be a destination layout that would draw players from across the state and beyond, and a sought-after venue for weddings and other events.

And it has become just that, said Nick Tamburini, the Ranch’s general manager and former golf professional. He told BusinessWest that the club has enjoyed a solid run on both sides of the ledger, with golf continuing to ride a COVID-induced wave of new interest and renewed interest, and events bouncing back from the turmoil prompted by COVID.

On the golf side, the course, among the best and most challenging in this part of New England, continues to draw players from well beyond Western Mass., while maintaining a steady local membership.

“We have a ton of non-local play,” said Tamburini. “Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we’ll get players who say, ‘I drove an hour and a half,’ or ‘I drove two hours;’ ‘I’m coming from the Cape,’ ‘I’m coming from New London.’ Obviously, we get a lot of play from Hartford and from Worcester. Once the member play ends, there’s not a lot of play on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from people in Southwick or Westfield; it’s people coming from all over.”

“You have to try things like this; you have to freshen things up and give people new things to do.”

Some of these players will make the Ranch part of a Western Mass. golf trip, with Crumpin Fox in Bernardson and Taconic in Williamstown among the other stops, he went on. But many are coming just to play the Ranch, which has received good reviews over the years, and continues to draw both first timers to the venue and repeat customers.

On the events side, the venue continues to draw a solid mix of gatherings, and its barn has become increasingly popular with couples planning weddings, as we’ll see.

For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, we take an in-depth look at Southwick and the some of the institutions that help create its recreational quality.

On the Right Track

When asked about the business of motocross, Johnson paused for a minute, searching for the right words.
“I’ve been in business all my life — I’ve been in the footwear business and was president of New Balance for Kids,” he explained as he set the tone. “Motocross is not kind of business that you get into thinking it’s going to lucrative to the point where you’re dancing naked in the streets.

“You need to have a passion for it,” he went on. “If you handle it properly, you’ll pay the bills and make a few bucks. But you’re never going to retire in the Bahamas and drive a Lamborghini.” 

Passion is something the Johnsons brought with them as they helped resurrect motocross in Southwick after a few years of decline more than a decade ago.

But they brought some other traits as well, including imagination and a willingness to try new things to keep the product fresh and bring more people to the track — meaning competitors and spectators alike.

Which brings us back to the Woods O’Cross.

“It brings in not just the motocrosser, but the trail rider as well — you get a good mix of people, and they had a great time,” Johnson explained, adding that this was the first new event that organizers have run, and it drew close to 600 participants. And it was followed up a few weeks later by another new offering — a Massachusetts state championship.

“We’ve been racing since the ’70s, and we never realized that Massachusetts never had a motocross state champion,” he said, adding that the Wick rectified this with an event that drew good crowds and hundreds of competitors to the track.

“You have to try things like this; you have to freshen things up and give people new things to do,” he explained, adding that the Wick has a full slate of events on tap for the year.

The Johnsons brought another trait to this venture — a willingness to re-invest in the facilities and continually upgrade the facility, known hills and overall stern challenge.

Indeed, over the years, they’re added a new scoring tower, a new starting line, new irrigation lines to water the track and make it safer for riders, and more.

“We’re the only national track in the Northeast, and we have a reputation, and we have a commitment to maintain the highest level that we can,” he explained. “When you are national caliber and you’re on NBC television (for the nationals), you can’t slack off, you have to make sure you do it the best you can.”

Round Numbers

“Barns are in … people want old, rustic, charm.”

With that, Tamburini started to explain why the Ranch has been doing well on the events side of the operation’s ledger, specifically weddings.

Indeed, couples are looking for different kinds of venues these days, and barns have become a popular choice. The Ranch has two of them — extensively renovated — that date back to the late 1800s; one houses the pro shop and restaurant/pub, and the other is used for functions.

“We’ve had the same number of rounds every year since COVID, which is good. COVID created a boom, and we were worried that we couldn’t maintain those numbers, but we have; it’s been really good.”

This trend, coupled with a resurgence in gatherings following COVID has helped the Ranch put more events on the calendar, he noted.

“We’re not the busiest venue in Western Mass., but we do between 40 and 50 weddings a year, on average, and probably the same number of other events, like retirement parties, baby showers, and bridal showers.” 

Tamburini said the Ranch benefits from strong, hands-on ownership — Pete and Korby Clark and a partner living in the Boston area — and a team that has remained intact for the past several years, a rarity in this business.

“We’ve had the same superintendent, the same event coordinator, the same front-of-house manager, the same chef,” he said, adding that this continuity helps the operation provide consistent, high-quality services, from the course to the event facilities. “At a golf course, that’s extremely rare; I’ve been around a little bit, and I know that’s hard to keep the same people for an extended period of time in our industry.”

As for the course itself, while it’s pricey — $125 for 18 holes and a cart, peak season, among the highest fares in this part of the state — it continues to be a strong draw, and because it’s semi-private (although Tamburini doesn’t like that phrase) it’s more playable that private venues such as GreatHorse and Longmeadow.

“We’re a public golf course,” he said, adding that players can book tee times all seven days of the week, although there are often tournaments on Mondays and early Saturday morning is reserved for members.

Overall, golf enjoyed a surge from COVID because so many other activities were put on ice, and the Ranch, like many venues, has been able to maintain the momentum generated by that unique moment in time.

“We’ve had the same number of rounds every year since COVID, which is good,” he noted. “COVID created a boom, and we were worried that we couldn’t maintain those numbers, but we have; it’s been really good.”

And many businesses in this recreational community can say the same thing.