In the style of and with many thanks to Ran Morrissett -
Kebo Valley Club
Bar Harbor, Maine
Herbert C. Leeds - 1892Herbert Leeds certainly laid down six holes at the Kebo Valley Club in 1892. His contributions later on are less precisely documented. The course expanded to nine holes in 1896, and that work is credited to a member named Waldron Bates and a pro named Shirley Liscomb. Leeds was involved with the building the final nine holes, but the degree of that involvement is another research project for another day. I know there is keen interest in Mr. Leeds on this site, which is the reason for this post.
Kebo Valley is a delight, mostly due to the variety of shots that will fall upon the golfer over the course of a round. There is decent variety on the one-shotters, a couple of driveable par fours and both par fives are reachable via blind shots over a hazard. Approaches could be from any stance, and on my visit the rough was at such a length that you could find the ball and hit it squarely, but with severely reduced spin. The course measures 6131 yards and plays to a par of 70.
Finally, as you might expect, the greens complexes are outstanding. Most putts on the course have a great deal of break in them, and while interior contours are largely absent, there are many "false sides" as well as false fronts, and, yes, a couple of "false backs". Putting and chipping on these slopes requires concentration and imagination.
Holes of Note1 - 392 yardsAll bunkers are always in play, and the one in the middle of the fairway at 280 yards is becoming more so each day. The green's murderous pitch from left to right must be taken into account on the second shot. A ripping opener.
The course has seen some wind over the yearsPlain and simple. The canting fairway leaves most drives on the right hand side, where the bad angle and the ball below your feet combine for a testy approach. In 1926 Donald Ross suggested that the green and the fourth tee be brought down from the top of the hill, which seems like wise advice.
Today's back pin occupies an extremely narrow strip of green.Two existing features, the creek on the left and the ridge on the right, come together perfectly. Hit your extremely blind tee shot too close to the creek and your approach will be partially obscured. That is perhaps preferable to being on the side of the ridge, whose hook lie out of the rough quickly brings the creek back into play. To top it all off, some golfers might be tempted to drive the green, for which reason I did not like the fuzzy caterpillar hazard just short of the green. Nevertheless astounding and easily my favorite.
I behaved myself and did not digitally remove the cart path.The creek follows the golfer around this corner of the property and all the way down the left hand side of number eight. The hole flows gently around the corner and slightly downhill, graciously accepting any shot coming in from the right, giving everyone a chance. You can tell this just by looking at the first half of the hole.
The no-frills eighth fairwayNot for the faint of heart, as this green comes from top right to bottom left at full blast. The deep bunker right, plus the hazard twenty yards short, plus the wind in the golfer's face make a this something of a half-par.
No turn, therefore no hot dogs.The former not particularly driveable at all, the latter highly driveable, and I would bet that most golfers whip out the driver on both. The holes play in the same direction, with a helping wind and slightly uphill to blind targets.
Few can resist a crack at the austere twelfth greenPresident Taft dropped a 27 on this hole in 1911. Less well known features include the tight fairway which encourages you to lay well back of the hazard, and a frighteningly steep green with an unusually large and largely forgotten bunker long right.
This bunker gets all the attention . . .
. . . but this one is much more in play for the expert