![]() He planted trees in the backyard of the property’s house, then replanted them on the course, with his family’s help. Field bought used farm equipment, including a front loader, and rebuilt those pieces before taking them to the land. was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. The process took a long time and was interrupted in 1977, when his oldest son Richard Jr. He purchased about 100 acres of run-down farmland in Plainfield Township in 1965, then spent 12 years figuring out what to do next.įield designed the first nine holes by himself, guided primarily by a 50-page course-construction book produced by the National Golf Foundation. In the 1960s, after becoming a pretty good player at Green Pond Country Club, Field decided he wanted to build his own golf course. “She stood there that day and said, ‘What would you do without this golf course?’ Dad said, ‘I’ll go build another one.’ And she said, ‘Oh, no you’re not.’ That was the one time she said, ‘That’s where I draw the line.'” “Mom agreed with everything,” said daughter Nancy Rose, manager of Sawmill. After the course’s second nine holes opened in 2001 (also on July 4), a developer offered the Fields $3 million for the property. ![]() Richard and Lorraine Field were partners in everything, from their fuel-oil business to raising their three kids to building their golf course. He also planted a memorial garden to his late wife Lorraine, who died in 2013. He graded the fairways, dredged the bunkers and built the greens.įield built a loft onto the property’s old farmhouse, carefully constructing around the existing chestnut beams, that serves as a banquet hall. Now 86, Field is on the course seven days a week, refining the property he opened in 1987. When it’s busy, regulars group themselves to reduce traffic. Sawmill does not take tee times, does not enforce cart-only hours and offers an open pricing structure: Pay one price, play all day.
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