Headline: Paul Harney Golf Course Celebrates 50th Anniversary in 2017 By Remembering the Legacy of Massachusetts Golf Hall of Famer Paul Harney

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2017

Paul Harney's legacy will be showcased more than even in 2017 as the Paul Harney Golf Course celebrates its 50th anniversary.

East Falmouth, MA — The year was 1967. Brewer won the Masters, Nicklaus took the U.S. Open title and somewhere off Route 151 in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, another golfer was cementing his own name in history.

Worcester’s Paul Harney, who had just completed his fourth career top-10 finish at Augusta days earlier, was opening the doors to his own golf course – one that would hold his namesake and remain family owned and operated to this day.

But unlike the other golf courses on busy Cape Cod, Harney’s intentions were different. Limited to only 65 acres of land for the 18-hole course, he took an uncommon approach to the design – an approach that many nowadays have mimicked to increase participation in our game.     

Not only was Paul Harney an avid golfer, and a great one no less, but he was a visionary – someone who saw golf differently than most at the time.

Harney, a Holy Cross graduate, won all but four matches at the collegiate level before enjoying a successful stint as a full-time PGA Tour player, club professional, and later a part-time Tour player and full-time owner-operator of Paul Harney Golf Club.

But according to his daughter, Erin Harney Abbott, having his own keys to a golf club was a dream come true.

“I think his entire life he wanted to own a golf course” said Harney Abbott, who’s first memory at the family course was packaging golf tees, 15 per bag, with her five siblings. “He had a vision that if people could play more quickly and not spend the entire day on the golf course, especially people that were just learning and older people, they could play and feel good about their game. He was kind of a visionary in that they are doing a lot of that now with the PGA.”

Harney's incredible impact on the sport was forever etched in Massachusetts history when he was inducted into the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame. He was part of a second class inducted in 2014 that represented amateur and professionals whose careers spanned more than 100 years and featured Ted Bishop, The Curtis Sisters (Margaret & Harriot), Joanne Goodwin, Bob Toski and Fred Wright.

CLICK HERE to view Harney's induction video.

Harney's vision was one of the reasons that in its first year of operation, the cups on each green at Paul Harney Golf Club were more than double the regulated size – a method he hoped would “incorporate more people to be able to shoot a score that they could say, “Hey, that’s not too bad.’”

Fifty years later, visitors to the public club can still find the same charm that Paul, a five-time Massachusetts Open champion, envisioned decades earlier, even if the cups have been moved back to regulation size.

To honor its namesake and its semi centennial, Paul Harney Golf Club will be celebrating its 50th anniversary by hosting an array of events throughout the year that tie into the legacy of its founder, who passed away in 2011, and continues the tradition of providing affordable golf to as many people as possible.

While some plans are still in the developmental stages, one that Harney Abbott has circled on the calendar is April 26 – the day dubbed “Rollback Wednesday,” a day where Paul Harney Golf Club will lower their green fees to $4– the same price that a round of golf would have set you back in 1967.

“I think it is going to be a really good day because we’ve already had a lot of people call in about it,” added Harney Abbott, who has spent the majority of her life working various roles at the club, including the last decade as general manager. “This stays consistent with what [Paul’s] vision was and to bring it forward. I just want to honor his memory because he was very special, not only as a golfer, but as a person.”

In addition to the reduced prices that the club will be offering on Wednesday, April 26, plans are in the works to organize a golf tournament specifically to celebrate 50 years, with hopes of adding one later in the summer specifically for juniors – a way to honor one of Paul’s true passions for the game – pushing a lot of youth into the game.

Many of its vendors have joined in on the celebrations for the upcoming year and the club will be holding a season-long drawing that includes prizes such as US Open and US Senior Open tickets.

For more information on the “Rollback Wednesday” event or any of the celebrations taking place at Paul Harney Golf Club this season for the 50th anniversary, visit https://www.paulharneygolfcourse.com/.