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A FEW YEARS BACK, a brand new- and most curious- appellation for a Mass Golf Member Club began appearing in the media: GreatHorse. One word. A capital "H" standing at attention in its center. Neither 'Golf Course' or 'Country Club' to help categorize it further. As it's turned out, GreatHorse - located in Hampden - has created a category of its own in the Bay State. The ownership group - the Antonacci family, led by the club's president Guy Antonacci (see page 23) - refers to it as a "lifestyle club" and there's a feeling of being on vacation somewhere exotic.

HAMPDEN — The 109th Massachusetts Open is returning to western Mass. The top tournament of Mass Golf, formerly Massachusetts Golf Association, gets underway Monday at GreatHorse. The three-day, 54-hole, stroke-play tournament is the first major tournament hosted by GreatHorse, which opened in 2016 after four years of rebuilding at the former Hampden Country Club. “To be able to host the state open is incredible,” said Guy Antonacci, president of GreatHorse. “I think we’re going to be the youngest facility to host a state open, so that means a lot.” Antonacci’s family, which owns USA Hauling and Recycling in Connecticut and has been in the horse business for 60 years, had been looking to purchase a golf course for 10 or 15 years.

If Nick Antonelli of North Andover or Chris Houston of Gilford, New Hampshire, have any questions about the palatial clubhouse, the 207 bunkers or anything else about at GreatHorse when they play in the 109th Massachusetts Open Championship this week, they can simply ask the other member of the threesome, Guy Antonacci

Ten years have passed since a Western Massachusetts golf course has hosted the Massachusetts Open, and many of the region's top professional and amateur golfers are in for a special week. GreatHorse in Hampden will host the highest profile championship of its four-year existence, continuing its upward trend since its post-auction reformation of the old Hampden Country Club.

HAMPDEN -- After purchasing the Hampden Country Club for $1.4 million back in January 2012, the Antonacci family knew that a few cosmetic adjustments were in order. But Guy Antonacci didn't expect it to change this much. What started as a few simple bunker renovations and similar tweaks in July 2012 quickly snowballed into a complete overhaul and total rebrand, amounting to a $55 million facelift that transformed the country club into GreatHorse -- the state-of-the-art facility that it is today.

Family-friendly and informal, GreatHorse Country Club, located in the small town of Hampden, Massachusetts, is a completely new concept of what a private golf club should be. GreatHorse is built around the idea of like-minded members enjoying a lifestyle club without the stuffiness of traditional clubs.

The owners of GreatHorse decided to build the club around the idea of like-minded members enjoying a lifestyle club without the stuffiness of traditional clubs. GreatHorse is a private club located in a small town where you and your family will feel completely at home in their opulent mountain retreat.

The name, GreatHorse, is an allusion to the iconic Leonardo da Vinci statue, “Gran Cavallo,” a work that was not completed until five centuries after his death. According to owner Guy Antonacci, “The name evokes a spirit of innovation and excellence in design and also speaks to our family’s long and storied history in the harness racing industry.” The Antonacci family has been in the harness racing business since 1965 and has one of the most respected breeding farms in the sport. Headquartered in Somers, Connecticut, the stable has won the Hambletonian Stakes five times, which is the harness racing equivalent to the Kentucky Derby.

John Flynn is extremely proud of Hampden — so proud he can’t help talking at length about the close-knit atmosphere he claims pervades every section of town. “The word that best describes Hampden is ‘community’; it’s a place where people care about their neighbors,” said the chair of the Board of Selectmen. “I talk to people all the time who tell me they were surprised to find their neighbors went out of their way to meet them and bring them food when they moved to our town. It still happens here because we are all about community.

If the Boston Business Journal’s list of the Toughest 18-Hole Golf Courses in Massachusetts looks a little less familiar this year, there is good reason for that. “Courses are re-rated on a regular basis. Because of that you’re likely going to see a lot of movement in the rankings from year to year,” explained Mark Gagne, the director of member services at the Massachusetts Golf Association, which ranked the courses for the BBJ based on the United States Golf Association’s men’s course ratings.