About Gary Bowen

Many people today enjoy a quality of life drawn from Gary’s blueprints, whether playing a round of golf or living in one of the development’s houses or town homes. Gary’s corporate life led him to different locations, including Canada, but he always chose to return to the Glens Falls area, having grown up in nearby Fort Ann. Upon his retirement in 1984, Gary become a cattle farmer, starting with three cows and eventually amassing 160 after buying up dairy farms along Haviland Road. He convinced his brother Jim, who was living in Iowa at the time, to come back and work with him on the farm. Jim said he and Gary were more "industrialists" than farmers and wanted to turn the farm into a "regional Cabot" (a dairy agricultural marketing cooperative in Vermont), churning out substantial milk and cheese production. Jim said they had to eventually abandon that plan due to stringent government regulations and increased grain prices. After Gary put the farm up for sale, he thought about taking the vacant land and turning it into a planned community. Jim said the two of them began traveling to seminars to learn more. "He had this kind of pristine little plateau perched up there overlooking Glens Falls," Jim recalled. "We had the real estate, a gem of a property, that would lend itself to a golf course theme."

In 1986 Gary and Jim began the development of Hiland Park. Gary’s dream was to build upscale homes on large lots that would revolve around a golf course. The 40,000-square-foot English Tudor-style clubhouse with pro shop, restaurant and banquet facilities was designed to "set the pace for quality and image," Jim said. It would later be recognized nationally with an architectural award.

Masters Common South was the first road, followed by Masters Common North. Single-family houses followed next.

Jim recalled the last round of golf he and his brother played the day before the course opened to the public in August 1988. On the sixth hole, Gary hit a shot and the ball bounced once and disappeared. They thought the ball was gone for good when they heard one of the maintenance men furiously waving his arms and shouting down the fairway. Gary had made a hole in one.