Ellinwood Country Club

Ellinwood Country Club occupies rolling terrain in Athol, a small town in north-central Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border. The course was designed by Donald Ross, the prolific Scottish-born architect whose American portfolio includes hundreds of layouts across New England and beyond. Ross worked extensively throughout Massachusetts during the early twentieth century, and Ellinwood reflects his characteristic approach to routing over natural landforms and creating strategic green complexes. The property features the kind of modest elevation changes and wooded corridors typical of the region's inland courses. Ross's design principles at venues of this scale generally emphasized playability for members while incorporating thoughtful bunkering and green contours that reward accurate approach shots. The greens likely display the subtle slopes and false fronts that became signatures of his work, requiring careful club selection and touch around the putting surfaces. Ellinwood serves as a traditional small-town country club, providing golf and social amenities for the local community in a part of Massachusetts known more for its rural character than resort destinations. The course represents the kind of enduring Ross design that has anchored regional golf for generations, offering a straightforward test shaped by the natural landscape rather than dramatic manufactured features. For golfers interested in Ross's work beyond his famous championship venues, Ellinwood provides an example of how his design sensibilities translated to more modest settings across New England.