from sea to mountains
 

By BRUCE VITTNER
 

Ocean State Golf recently had the chance to go on a familiarization golf trip to Maine. It was booked as playing near the sea, then in the lakes region, and finally in the mountains.

For us flatlanders (not flat bellies) here in Little Rhody and environs where our highest point in 812 feet at Jerimoth Hill in Foster, the contrast made for a very interesting trip. We certainly have wonderful courses along the sea (could anything been more beautiful than the views from Newport Country Club during the U.S. Women’s Open?), and we have some very pretty courses on lakes, but I haven’t seen any holes near Jerimoth Hill.

1st hole at Belgrade Lakes

The trip started at Sebasco Harbor Resort just east of Bath, Maine. It is a charming 575- acre property that sits right on Casco Bay. In fact part of the property is a small island about a quarter of a mile out in the harbor. It is 210 miles from Providence, but less than an hour from Portland and shorter to Freeport and the great shopping.

The resort truly combines the old and the new. Nate Cushman opened the resort in 1928 (just before the Depression, you’ll notice). It had been a fishing village, but Cushman wanted to create a vacation spot filled with outdoor recreation. A nine-hole golf course was built for the guests and area residents. The course stayed pretty much the same until 1998 when Bob Smith purchased the property. “We wanted to upgrade the course and make it more of a draw for our guests,” said Smith as he played the course with us.

Mike Zacorsy redesigned seven of the nine holes in 2000. The first two remain the same with small greens like they had in 1928. The second hole was my favorite. It is a par 3 across the harbor, literally, to a two-tiered green. Depending on the tide, the hole, that measures 145 from the back, is either across all water or mud flat or a combination of the two. Either way you need to get there, but don’t go too long because the chip down the hill with the water beckoning can be very intimidating.

You have to play the back tees on number 4. The tee sits on top of a huge rock formation and the view is great. The course is pine tree lined with bentgrass greens and is a scenic walk. “We have already mapped out another nine holes that go right up the mountain,” said Smith who plans to have the other nine open in 2-3 years. The redesign resulted in 3 of the original holes near the clubhouse being kept for practice holes for beginners and golf lessons.

The resort has four candlepin bowling lanes, a great kids arcade, many water activities and a wonderful restaurant that looks over the bay. The golf is only part of a great vacation at Sebasco Harbor Resort. You can call them at 1-800-225-3819 or visit their website at www.sebasco.com.

Next on the itinerary was a trip to the Lakes Region and golf at Belgrade Lakes Golf Course. The course was just over an hour from Sebasco about 10 miles west of the Maine Turnpike.

The course bills itself as a world-class facility, and they are right. Opened in 1998 it won the Golf Digest Fifth Best New Course in America in 1999 and in 2002 was awarded a Five-Star designation (only 13 in the country including Pinehurst and Pebble Beach).

As you drive up the mountain to the unassuming clubhouse, you wonder how they got the great rating. Then you get to the first tee and look down and all around and your views are spectacular. Belgrade Lakes is really a group of seven ponds (bigger than most lakes we know), and you can see a few of them from the first tee.

The course is amazing. The 435-yard par 4 first hole must drop 150 to the green. Your drive seems to hang in the air for about two minutes. Hit a low burner and you can easily go over 300 of those 435 yard. You get to the second hole and there is a 50-foot drop to the long green. You’ve just come all the way down the mountain on your first two holes, but you will go back up and then down a few times. Not a very easy course to walk; however we did see a few. Maineiacs are tough!

The course is pristine. Tee times are 12 minutes apart, so you feel you have the whole course to yourself. Designer Clive Clark from England, a former professional golfer who had a hole-in-one at The Masters (how many course designers can say that) did an amazing job. The owner of Dexter Shoes had the course built, and he spared no expense getting it done right. Rock outcroppings are everywhere and they frame many of the holes. The fairways are wide, the greens are super sized and very undulating. Three putts can become the norm if you are not careful.

The course measures 6,723 from the back and there are three other sets of tees to make it fair for everyone. Do yourself a favor and play this course. It will remain in your memory for a very long time. You can contact the course at 207-495-GOLF or visit their website at www.belgradelakesgolf.com.

The Lakes Region is truly an outdoor paradise with great fishing and other water sports. We stayed at the Wings Hill Inn and Restaurant. Owned by Chris and Tracey Anderson, it is a six-room inn with elegant rooms and pretty grounds located a mile from the golf course. The Andersons met at the Culinary Institute of America and both worked in high profile restaurants before purchasing the Inn in 2001. The food is exquisite and the hospitality is great. You could definitely play golf at Belgrade Lakes more than once, and the Wings Hill Inn is a great place to stay and/or dine. You can contact them at 1-866-495-2400 or visit their website at www.wingshillinn.com.

The last stop on our trip was The Bethel Inn Resort in Bethel, Maine. OSG had done a review of Bethel Inn in 2003, but it was great to get back. The course has undergone some grooming in the last couple of years and was in much better shape in spite of all the rain this spring.

The Inn was built in 1913 and still retains its old-time charm, but there are many new things that keep being added. New condominiums were opening this summer and a new spa has been built. One of the great features of the resort is that guests receive unlimited free golf.

Visitors to the Inn built the first nine holes back in the 1910’s as a form of recreation and for therapeutic value. Geoffrey Cornish redesigned and built 11 new holes in 1986. You will be able to tell the old and the new. The course has four sets of tees and is very fair for women. “We get many couples who come every year to vacation and play golf, and we run family tournaments during the year” said Brad Jerome, director of sales and marketing.

Another feature of the resort is the Golf School. Jason Hurd is the director of golf and “he is just the best instructor there is,” said Janet Holden of Portland who was at the school for the third straight year with over a dozen girlfriends. There are two, three, and four-day all-inclusive golf school packages with certified PGA instruction, 3:1 student-teacher ratio, and on course instruction.

The Bethel Inn Resort has an award-winning dining room and a tavern that offers entertainment most evenings. Some of the folks on the trip opted to go fly-fishing on the Androscoggin River, and there are many other outdoor activities in the area. You can contact the Bethel Inn Resort at 1-800-654-0125 or visit their website at www.bethelinn.com. Both the Sebasco Harbor Resort and Bethel Inn Resort offer conference rooms and weddings and have over 100 rooms available for guests and golfers.

We went in June. Can you imagine how beautiful these courses must look in the fall when all those hardwoods turn bright colors? Golfing in Maine really does offer wonderful panoramas and well as great courses.