By Kevin McNamara
Journal Sports Writer
Posted Aug 31, 2019 at 1:58 PM
JAMESTOWN – He cuts the fairways, cooks the cheeseburgers and takes your green fees. Then he comes back and does it all again, week after week, until the cold and snow arrive.
“When you’re in this business, you’re married to the golf course,” said John Mistowski. “This is what we do.”
Mistowski, 36, knows every inch of the Jamestown Golf Course. It’s really the only life he’s ever known, ever since his parents, Joe and Harriet, bid for a lease of the 74-acre course back in 1987.
“I was running a course in Missoula, Montana but someone tipped me off that Jamestown had bought this golf course from a private owner for two million dollars and was going to lease it,” said Joe Mistowski. “I put in a bid, wrote a 200-word essay that they requested and they went with me.”
Joe Mistowski worked to whip the golf course into shape while his wife and brother, John, helped with everything else. One of his first hires was a 15-year old from North Kingstown named John Anthony. One day last week Anthony sat at the bar in the old, tired clubhouse – The Caddy Shack – and said as Joe is slowing down, he’s happy to john John Mistowski and put in 15-hour days to keep the place hopping.
“I love it here. I don’t want to leave,” Anthony said. “I like what we do for the people. It’s a special place and the word is out on us.”
This isn’t Newport Country Club, the grande dame you can make out in the distance from atop the Newport Pell Bridge. This is the flip side. This nine-hole gem is the one you pass by just before you hit that bridge. It’s a place where the plumber, a security guard and an 80-year old retiree get matched up on the first tee and nobody blinks. If you pay your $19 and show up with your Van Halen T-shirt untucked, you won’t be chased away.
“I like the place,” said Joe, a man from Middletown who refused to give his last name. “I’ve been coming for 30 years, I’m 72 and now I’m getting close to shooting my age. For nine holes.”
Stan Stevens, a transplanted Floridian who lives in Jamestown, is a fan of the place. He remarked that the new greens the Mistowski’s put in over the winter have come in nicely and loves the low-key, summer vibe.
“I just played with two ladies I’ve never met before,” Stevens said. “I’ve gotten paired up with everyone and they’re all super nice. It’s a beautiful place. You can’t beat the views.”
Rhode Island is blessed with many of the oldest golf courses in the country. Several are nationally rated, most notably Newport and Wannamoisett, with newcomer Shelter Harbor on the rise.
We’re also blessed with a divine collection of courses that own spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean or Narragansett Bay. Newport, Misquamicut, Sakonnet, Rhode Island, Warwick, Quidnesset and more check that box. No one is ready to add Jamestown to that list but this isn’t some big money, private club. It costs $85 a year to become a member here. That gets you a handicap, a chance to play in a few tournaments and maybe a regular seat at the bar next to the mail man, the police man, a slew of retirees and an old State Rep or two.
It also gets you a view to die for on several holes. You see Dutch Island Harbor from the second fairway and can glimpse the Jamestown-Verrazzano Bridge from a hole or two. The fantastic views of the Newport Pell Bridge walking up the ninth hole help bring the players back. “Everyone remarks about the views here,” said John Mistowski. “It’s a great piece of property.”
It’s a view that golfers have enjoyed for over 100 years now. Here’s the old school history. Back in the summer of 1899, town leaders searched for recreation options for the growing summer resident base and looked to establish a public golf course in Jamestown. A location above the growing Shoreby Hill area, and specifically Littlefield Farm, was identified. In August of 1901 the Jamestown Golf and Country Club was formally opened with a tea and golf match for both ladies and gentlemen.
This makes Jamestown one of the oldest nine hole, public courses in the country. What does it take to keep things going after all these years? A Mom and Pop operation that loves the property, knows what works and caters to a golf community that keeps coming back.
The killer view doesn’t hurt either.
Original Article here: https://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20190831/jamestown-rhode-island-golf-gem-with-view