Deep in the forests of MetroWest, along one of the backcountry roads criss-crossing the commonwealth, a yellow house hides a gem of golf history.
It’s the hub of the Stow Acres Country Club, which sits about halfway between Worcester and Boston. Even on a sleepy Friday, the club is alive: A small fleet of golf carts carrying mostly middle-aged men hums around the hives of two 18-hole courses. The distant thwack of clubs making contact hangs gently in the air.
Stow Acres has seen a lot of golf in its time. But just about a hundred years ago, it went by another name: Mapledale.
The Mapledale Country Club was the brainchild of Robert Hawkins. He was pioneer in the game of golf as the first Black person in Massachusetts to run a country club, according to local golf enthusiasts.
“I think a lot of people in Stow — maybe many of them — still don’t know who Robert Hawkins is,” said Stacen Goldman, the co-chair of Rediscover Mapledale, a group trying to preserve the legacy and impact of a man who was crucial to the game.
Part of that effort is on the green this week at Stow Acres, in the form of the first ever Robert H. Hawkins Memorial Golf Tournament.
Black Americans’ long history with golf
It’s easy to think of golf as the quintessential “country club sport.” That is, a game that has historically been the realm of the white and wealthy. But that is too a narrow view, historians say.
“There is this perception that African Americans and golf are a new partnership,” said Robert Bellinger, a historian who worked with Rediscover Mapledale. “Especially after the rise of Tiger Woods and then some of the recent history from the ‘40s and ‘50s. And looking at it as, ‘OK, this is something new.’ But what the research has shown is that’s not quite accurate.”
Black Americans have long had a connection with golf, a bond the deepened as the game began to grow in the United States in the late 19th century.
George Grant, who is maybe best known as the first Black member of Harvard’s faculty, also invented the golf tee. In 1896, John Shippen Jr. became the first American-born professional golfer and the first pro Black golfer when he competed in the second U.S. Open. And countless other Black golfers, caddies and employees at courses were integral to the game.
"There is this perception that African Americans and golf are a new partnership ... but what the research has shown is that’s not quite accurate."Robert Bellinger, historian with Rediscover Mapledale
But there were serious limitations. In 1916, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America was formed. It was racially segregated, as were many courses Black players had access to.
That’s the environment Robert Hawkins stepped into when he became involved with golf.
A Massachusetts golf visionary
Born in 1888 in Adams, Hawkins started off as a caddie. Eventually, he would become the first Black golf club manager in New England at the Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland.
But his eyes were set on bigger goals. And in 1926, he purchased the land in Stow to create Mapledale.
Hawkins installed a nine-hole course, but his vision went beyond just the game.
According to Bellinger, Hawkins thoughtfully built Mapledale to be a country club with all the amenities — and a haven welcoming to Black people. As far as the Rediscover Mapledale researchers can tell, Hawkins was the first Black person in the country who built, owned and operated their own country club.
“He was envisioning something that hadn’t really existed,” Bellinger said.
Mapledale quickly became a sanctuary for Black golfers at a time when it was desperately needed.
In 1925, what became known as the United Golfers Association was formed by Black golfers. Hawkins was a co-founder of the group, and the first three UGA national championships were held at Mapledale. This gave Black golfers a way to claim a national championship.
The UGA eventually disbanded but Tarek DeLavallade reformed the group in 2020 with an emphasis on making a national group for Black golfers, creating more opportunities in all aspects of the game.
He said the original UGA was a game-changer for many golfers.
“Because a lot if it was built out of frustration,” DeLavallade said. “And when people keep telling you, 'No, you can’t,' 'you shouldn’t,' or 'you don’t deserve to … enjoy something that you do,' then a fire gets in your gut.”
That fire, he said, ignited in others, too. A fire that helped build a legacy that’s still felt today.
A treasure in plain sight
Like many great treasures, Mapledale almost became lost to time.
The onset of the Great Depression led to hard times for many, including Hawkins. He sold the club in 1929 and lived a relatively quiet life for the rest of his days, the memory of Mapledale fading with him. The Boston Globe obituary for Hawkins in 1973 failed to even mention his historic and trailblazing golf course.
But work by local historians in recent years has helped resurrect Hawkins’ story at a crucial time.
The year 2026 will mark the 100th anniversary of Mapledale and Stow Acres, which sits on the golf course Hawkins created.
Stow Acres hopes to honor that milestone properly. That starts with this year’s Robert H. Hawkins Memorial Golf Tournament, which they hope will grow over the years, bringing more awareness to Hawkins and his work.
”And perhaps the memorial tournament will become a big event and will begin to attract golfers from all over the country like the UGA did and help put this history on the front page again.” Bellinger said.
Rediscover Mapledale co-chair Stacen Goldman said it’s crucial for Stow to unearth the hidden treasure of Mapledale.
“Our sort of local identity was built on this story, and somehow nobody knows it,” Goldman said. “But it’s also just a really important national story. This was something that was happening at a time that professional sports were segregated and access to sport was limited. ... No matter whether you’re Black or you’re white, no matter where you come from, you should be so thankful that people were able to do this and to create a richer, full, better history of America than what you might think.”
