The Dedham Country and Polo Club origin dates back to 1887, when George Nickerson hosted a gathering with William F. Weld, Frederic J. Stimson, Samuel D. Warren, and Herbert Maynard. Looking over the host’s sprawling property in Dedham, the group decided it was the perfect place to play polo. It was a novel idea, as few in New England had seen or played polo at that time. In August of that year, the Dedham Polo Club was officially formed with each member contributing an initiation fee of $86.14.
As the Dedham Polo Club grew, so did the interests of its members. In 1893, a golf links was planned, and soon a 9-hole course, designed by Alex Findlay, was built on the property of General Stephen Weld in Dedham. In 1897, the Dedham Golf Club was formed as an offshoot of the Dedham Polo Club, and the clubs shared many of the same members. The Dedham Golf Club existed until 1901.
On December 13, 1901, the Norfolk Country Club was incorporated, consisting of many members of the then-defunct Dedham Golf Club, as well as members of the thriving Dedham Polo Club. Like many of its peers at the time, the Norfolk Country Club established trap shooting as a club activity, a program that continues to run to this day. In 1902, the Norfolk Country Club signed a three-year lease for two parcels of land consisting of 83 acres of land in Dedham and Westwood — the current location of the Dedham Country and Polo Club.
As a result of a merger between the Dedham Polo Club and the Norfolk Country Club in 1910, the Dedham Country and Polo Club was officially formed. Tennis courts are first referenced in club documents in 1912. Then, in 1914, the Board voted to hire Donald Ross to design a 9-hole golf course. Sadly, on New Year’s Eve 1917, the club house burned down and given the financial constraints brought on by WWI, Dedham had no clubhouse for several years.
Eventually, the Board decided to expand the membership by officially reincorporating in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (May 10, 1920) “for the purpose of encouraging athletic exercises, outdoor and indoor sports and pastimes of all kinds, including particularly, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, pony polo and other equestrian sports, the game of golf and the game of tennis; and for the establishment and maintenance of club quarters and grounds in connection with the same, and, for social purposes.”
In 1922, the clubhouse opened in its current location, and it remains the heart of the club today.
Golf: The first 9-hole golf course on the Club’s current property was designed by Donald Ross, with further designs implemented by Herbert Fowler; however, it was Seth Raynor, the most daring and bold of the golf architects, who completed DCPC’s first 18-hole course between 1923 and 1925, with the design of current course holes six through fifteen. Modifications have been made to the golf course over the years, including a significant renovation in 2017, but the course remains true to Raynor’s intent, and it continues to challenge golfers to this day.
Racquets: Although the addition of new tennis courts in 1937 initially caused an uproar (the courts were built on what had been the parking area for planes for the Harvard Flying Club, which used the polo field as a landing strip), DCPC now has one of the largest and most vibrant racquets programs in the Massachusetts. The first indoor tennis facility, with its radial arch design, was built in 1961; the second indoor facility, also with two clay courts, was erected in 1991. By 2002, the club had removed the 1937 outdoor courts and replaced them with four new clay courts and a viewing pavilion, completing the club’s facilities. An important part of DCPC’s racquets program is platform tennis, or “paddle”, as it is affectionately known. Paddle first came to DCPC in 1969 with the construction of two courts. As the sport gained popularity, the club expanded its facilities to include a warming hut (originally in 1972 and a new one in 1994) and two additional courts (one in 1976 and one in 2015) all of which has contribute to the Club’s robust and successful paddle program. Rounding out the racquets program is pickleball, which officially came to DCPC in 2018.
Aquatics: DCPC installed its first swimming pool in 1949. Instead of concrete, the pool was made from the steel hulls of two WWII surplus landing craft, which were welded together. Immediately popular with families, the pool area was expanded over the years and a new pool facility, with locker rooms and a lifeguard station, was built in 2002.
Audubon Sanctuary: Known for its natural beauty, the DCPC golf course is a “
Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” through the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. The course has long been a haven to birds, dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, when a member first installed bird boxes on it. In the 1990s, inspired by Audubon guidelines, bird nesting boxes (made by a member), were reintroduced to the property. Eastern Bluebird appeared at DCPC for the first time in 1995, the same year that DCPC became involved with the Audubon program (link PR). Members who were avid bird watchers soon began offering bird walks in the 1990s, and a new DCPC tradition was born.
Other Activities: The club has grown over the years, and, in addition to golf and racquets, offers a wide range of activities both indoors and out. Members may partake in an array of social events, organized games of Bridge and Man Jong, and winter sports such as ice skating, hockey, sledding, and cross-country skiing. The Club’s trap shooting program remains active, making it the second oldest continually running trap shooting club in the country.
Today, DCPC is a premier, family-centered country club that encompasses 167 acres of rolling, rural terrain, anchored by the central clubhouse and the Raynor-designed golf course, the only one in Massachusetts. And, while polo is no longer a club activity, DCPC still hosts exhibition matches to honor its rich and storied past.