Page 9 - BusinessWest May 11, 2026

“You have to
try things like
this; you have to
freshen things up
and give people
new things to do.”
challenging in this part of New England, con-
tinues to draw players from well beyond West-
ern Mass., while maintaining a steady local
membership.
“We have a ton of non-local play,” said Tambu-
rini. “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.”
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 cou-
ples 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 institu-
tions 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 busi-
ness 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.
The Ranch Golf Club has become a draw for players across
the state and beyond.
Staff Photo
“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
Southwick
Continued on page 11 >>
Balise Honda’s all-new facility is
NOW OPEN
Balise Honda
400 Riverdale St, West Springfield, MA 01089
(413) 306-3034 | BaliseHonda.com
Business W est << COMMUNTIY SPOTLIGHT >>
MAY 11, 2026
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