Highground Golf Course

30 & 31 Crocker’s Neck Road, Cotuit

Background:

Since its founding in the 1950s, the Highground Golf Course has become a cherished part of Cotuit, where the community has gathered for decades. This nine-hole course, complete with a clubhouse in a historic 1800s farmhouse, has hosted countless birthday celebrations, memorial services, and family outings. In the winter, the course’s hills transform into a beloved sledding spot. Recognizing the property's deep significance and open space value, Barnstable Land Trust (BLT) has long aimed to secure it from future development. With strong community support, we now have the opportunity to preserve this property, ensuring its continued use as a place for recreation and reflection for years to come.

Rachel Jones

The Opportunity:

The Highground Golf Course recently became available for purchase, creating a unique chance for BLT to safeguard an important parcel of Barnstable’s green space. Spanning 9.6 acres with an additional one-acre parcel for parking, the property offers recreational, scenic, and community benefits, and the potential to support the health of local ecosystems, including water quality in nearby Popponesset and Shoestring Bays. BLT has reached an agreement with the Heher family, the current owners, to purchase the property, including a short-term lease-back arrangement to allow continued golf operations while we plan for long-term use.

Conservation and Community Value:

Highground presents the opportunity for a different kind of conservation value than a typical land acquisition project: As undeveloped land dwindles, projects like this, including golf courses and cranberry bogs, represent an emerging conservation category focused on protecting recreational and gathering spaces for public benefit and the potential for future restoration.

Highground Golf Course offers important conservation and community value. As a shared open space, it provides year-round recreational opportunities and a place to gather, enhancing social connection and well-being for residents and visitors alike.

Conservation of this land will:

  • Protect local biodiversity

  • Preserve a community gathering place

  • Support water quality in the nearby Shoestring and Popponesset Bays

  • Protect the property from becoming a 5-lot subdivision

Vision for the Property:

BLT envisions Highground as a resource for both recreation and conservation, blending its history with forward-thinking environmental stewardship. In the short term, the golf course will continue to operate, honoring its legacy while providing a recreational outlet for the public. Over time, our vision is to transform it into a multi-functional public space, with trails, picnic areas, and community gathering spots.  To maintain environmental integrity, the short-term golf lease includes best practices for sustainable land management, ensuring that the property’s natural resources are protected during the transition. By securing this land, BLT aims to foster a community that values both nature and shared spaces, creating a lasting legacy for Barnstable.

Timeline:

The purchase of Highground is well underway, with a closing scheduled for October 2025. BLT has applied for town CPA funding for half of the project cost, pending a decision in December of 2024.