History:
In 1894 John Grout leased property outside of Sconset village, owned by Levi Coffin, to develop the course on land which had been used as the old Bloomingdale Farm. The current Sconset Golf Course clubhouse is the old farmhouse, and the old barn still sits next to the greens, a constant reminder of the history of the land. The course was designed by John Grout.
The course flourished until 1922, when multimillionaire David Gray bought land to the northeast of the Coffin property and developed Sankaty Head Golf Club. Sconset Golf Course champion Emerson Armstrong was the architect of the course, which appealed to the more affluent golfers on the island.
The historic course lost its appeal to visitors, and was abandoned by the Coffin family for a time. But in 1930, at the age of 16, Henry Coffin Jr. took over and ran it as a public course. He shortened the course from 18 holes to nine during economic hard times before World War II. After the war, he changed it again to use some of the original holes, adding some hills into the terrain and eliminating three holes in the flats, Coffin said.
Henry Coffin Jr. ran the course until he died in 1994. Following his death, the Coffin estate, which was comprised of 460 acres just west of Sconset on the north side of Milestone Road, was passed down to his four children, Stephanie, Mitchell, Henry III and Robert “Skinner” Coffin. The four children were forced to sell off 250 acres in 1995 to pay inheritance taxes on the property. The land, which was situated just west of Sconset Village, was purchased by Nantucket Golf Club, Inc. The 18-hole private course opened in 1998.The parcel of land purchased by the Nantucket Golf Club included the second and third holes of the original Sconset Golf Course.
On May 1st, 2012 The Nantucket Land Bank and the Sconset Trust closed on the acquisition of 119 acres off Milestone Road, including the Old Sconset Golf Course, from the Coffin Family. Old Sconset Golf Course was the oldest privately owned golf course in the country.
The Land Bank will now assume ownership of the 66-acre Old Sconset Golf Course, better known as Skinner’s, and continue to operate it as a public facility. The Sconset Trust acquired the adjacent 53-acre parcel to the east of Skinner’s which will be preserved as open space. The golf course will be managed by NGM Inc., the same management team as the Miacomet Golf Club.
