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Golf committee approves Audubon-project scope and orders RFP; neighbors press for fixes to wayward balls
Summary
The Town of Southborough golf committee approved the scope of an Audubon-related consultant RFP and directed staff to have conservation write the formal RFP; committee members prioritized rebuilding the 5th, 8th and 3rd tee boxes and heard from a neighbor who said roughly 500 balls per season hit a nearby house, prompting continued review of design options.
The Town of Southborough Golf Committee approved a project scope for an Audubon-related consultant to draft a formal request for proposals and discussed course maintenance priorities and neighborhood safety concerns at its July 14 meeting.
Freddie, appearing for the management/operations side, told the committee that the group needs to approve a drafted scope so Melissa in conservation can convert it into a legally formatted RFP. "What I need is what we were have been asking for, I don't know, 2, 3 meetings ago, is the committee needs to approve that scope," Freddie said. He added that conservation staff would prepare the RFP language and circulate it to consultants.
Committee members moved and indicated approval of the scope. One committee speaker stated, "Approving the scope of the Audubon project, say I, and I approve." Freddie said the RFP would be sent to at least three consultants and that the committee would review proposals and bring a recommended consultant back to the committee before signing any contract.
On course maintenance, the committee agreed to prioritize work on the 5th and 8th tee boxes (with the 3rd as the next priority). Members cited preliminary cost estimates of roughly $20,000–$30,000 per tee depending on size, producing an approximate total of $80,000–$120,000 for the three tees. The chair said the management company would identify an architect and return with a recommendation and an estimated fee for design and bid documents.
During public comment, a neighbor who said they live on Latusquamma urged the committee to address repeated wayward balls from the 7th tee. The speaker said the household at "House 30 on Latusquamma" had counted what the resident described as "upwards of 500 a season," and recounted property damage including a shattered sunroof and dents to cars. "I think in particular, and the owners of this house have done a good job of, like, counting balls, and it's, like, upwards of 500 a season," the resident said.
Committee members discussed potential remedies, including reorienting the hole or moving the tee/green to change the aiming point, adding trees or fencing in targeted locations, and having the architect review options as design work proceeds. Members acknowledged that dramatic changes would alter play and that a complete solution may be complicated; they agreed to keep the issue on future agendas and to seek architect input when the design consultant is selected.
Next steps: conservation staff will draft the RFP from the approved scope and circulate it to consultants; the committee will solicit proposals, review candidate consultants with the management team and return to the committee for final selection and contract approval. The committee also added the wayward-ball problem to future agendas and will ask the selected architect to evaluate site-specific design fixes.
Reporting note: several numeric amounts in the meeting (per‑tee cost ranges and neighborhood ball counts) were given as approximate by speakers.
