Cape Cod CC has bad night at Town Meeting

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FALMOUTH, MASS - On Monday evening, the Falmouth Town Meeting voted to push forward a solar project at Cape Cod Country Club that will most likely end the course’s nearly 100-year existence.

The inevitability of it came crashing down as the monitor posted the results of the vote for Article 12:

174 votes to 31 votes.

The balcony slowly emptied at 10:34 pm.

Weary and cold and defeated, supporters of the golf course sat through 2 hours of other Town Meeting business before a PureSky Energy presentation from lawyer Matthew Terry, the reading of a letter from David Friel by PureSky engineer Manjoor Vahora, and floor discussion.

The assistant town manager, Peter Johnson-Staub, put it quite clearly:

These two articles weren’t so much about the golf course, but about the future of the land. PureSky Energy wants to purchase the land from Friel Golf and give it back to Falmouth. They would then lease it for about 100k a year (Cape Cod CC pays 36k in taxes a year…).

If the Town Meeting voted against the gift of the land, PureSky Energy would own the land and could do whatever it wanted with it. That is most important at the end of the solar project’s life, which is estimated to be about 25-40 years.

There was one interesting caveat to the purchase of the land.

PureSky Energy is keeping the land that is currently the fourth hole. A parcel of about 7 acres. There was discussion about why that sliver of land wasn’t included in this gift. Some believe that it will be sold to a developer, and others wonder if it’s a little nest egg in case PureSky needs some extra funding because doubts were raised about the long-term financial viability of a company that might be closely tied to political policies.

Wendy Vogel posed a series of questions that PureSky couldn’t answer:

The questions were met with silence. PureSky circled back and tried answering them later on after formulating some thoughts, but still didn’t really tackle the worry about this project falling through.

It was clear from the beginning of the Town Meeting discussion that this wasn’t about the value of golf to the community or the need to save a golf course.

It’s a private owner selling to a buyer.

In Friel’s letter (which is included in full at the bottom of this post), he wrote, “Several people approached us with stories of a rich best friend who wanted to purchase the CCCC, or others who were going out to put a group together by the club; only once in 15 years was there a follow up conversation, and that was very short.”

It’s still mind-blowing that Friel has made no public appearances or made an effort to speak with members of the club. Leaving PureSky Energy and lawyers with the task of reading letters to the public.

Standing outside in the blistering cold, supporters of the golf course held signs and encouraged the Town Meeting voters to save the golf course.

“You should have bought it when you had the chance,” one woman said as she walked into the auditorium.

Owner David Friel had initiated this in 2019, and it all came together at a time when the world was grappling with a pandemic. And now it’s all happening as solar tax credits are coming to an end.

Timing is everything.

“Phil Friel would be rolling over in his grave,” one woman said during her public statement.

She also mentioned the Green Meadow GC sale to Target for $120 million. That building promised 2,000 new jobs. It is currently empty.

As the clock ticked toward 10:50 p.m., Richard Hamilton, presenting on behalf of the golf course, in one last-ditch Hail Mary effort, asked for two more minutes once his ten minutes had expired. He was the only one that entire night who was denied that request. A rousing “No” made it feel like either the Town Meeting members were tired of this topic or they were just tired.

During his presentation, Hamilton dug into some of the PureSky promises that have been made over the years, including how seamless the solar field will blend into the natural surroundings. The AI-generated images look lovely, but he drove to a PureSky project in Sandwich and showed some rather unsightly walls that didn’t seem to blend into anything and instead created an eyesore.

He also spoke about the Barnstable Land Trust’s deal with Cotuit Highground (another story for another day). The crux of it is that a family-owned golf course found a buyer who was willing, at least in the short term, to keep Cotuit a golf course.

There was a feeling that this solar project happened so fast and that the right questions weren’t asked at the right time. Losing green space in Hatchville was a sore subject, too.

“There’s not a lot of it left,” one woman said.

Some seemed anxious about the Colorado developer taking advantage of the town.

“The town should set aside money to make sure they have the expertise that they need to do those negotiations and perhaps oversee the project. PureSky has worked in a community-friendly way, but I think you need to trust and verify,” Peter Clarke said. “I hope we’re watching how the project is installed. The town needs to be sure to set aside the resources it needs to be a partner.”

Even as Article 14 was discussed, the same refrain was shared: This vote will not stop the solar project.

Article 14 was added to revisit a 2021 vote that made CCCC part of the solar overlay in Falmouth, but it didn’t matter. Overturning the vote would leave Falmouth open to more solar development due to a ruling in the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2022 that basically allows solar companies to build wherever they would like, unless a town has a big enough solar overlay put aside for those projects.

“It’s unlikely that the Attorney General's office is going to approve this, even if Article 14 is voted favorably by a town meeting,” Town Council Maura O’Keefe said.

The final two Article votes were done verbally. A simple “Yeah” or “Nay,” and it was done.

It seems Cape Cod CC was dealt its final blow, and now the trucks and bulldozers will roll into Hatchville to take away a golf course that Devereaux Emmet built 100 years ago without any big machines.

It’s unclear when that will happen. But with a July 4 deadline for tax credits, the silver lining would be that the course might still be open through some of next spring.

A golf course that weaves and winds through the land along water.

A property that once hosted musicians and entertainers on the edges of Coonmessett Pond.

A golf course that has seen generations of fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, grandparents, and grandchildren walk and talk and laugh while learning the values of life through a game.

Strangers have turned into friends over the course of 18 holes.

Now, it seems, no new memories will be made at Cape Cod CC.

Below is the letter that Majoor Vahora read at the Town Meeting on Nov. 17, 2025.

Dear Residents of Falmouth,

My name is David Friel, and I'd like to provide some context on how I decided to sell Cape Cod Country Club. My family has owned and operated Cape Cod Country Club for over forty years. Several years ago, around 2015 I began to think about selling the Cape Cod Country Club. I started researching possibilities and considered zoning matters and restrictions. I spoke to land specialists, engineers, professional developers, 40b experts, attorneys, the 300 Committee, and others.

I've been in the golf club business my entire life, so I knew what the property was worth as a golf course.

Several people approached us with stories of a rich best friend who wanted to purchase the CCCC, or others who were going out to put a group together by the club; only once in 15 years was there a follow-up conversation, and that was very short.

Large pieces of land and golf clubs are very difficult to sell.

In early 2020. Through a local attorney who we had been working with, I learned that there was a solar company developing a project in a nearby town. Our attorney set up a meeting, and we began to discuss the possibility of leasing our property to a solar company.

As we worked out the details, the company agreed to donate the land to the town shortly after the purchase was complete. I knew that the town of Falmouth likes to conserve land. I had some involvement when the 300 Committee put together the deal to purchase all the land around our property. I believe that a sustainable energy project where the town would own land, would have no noise, have no traffic, need no town services, and have a portion of the donated land preserved as conservation seemed like a win for everyone.

We're very proud of our stewardship of Cape Cod Country Club, we try to provide great quality, affordable golf to the public. We are extremely thankful to the team of professionals we have at Cape Cod Country Club, who make it all work. They are the hard-working and talented people behind our product.

Sincerely,

David Friel

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