[Frank M]

I'll be driving through Maine in June and will need to visit Sugarloaf, Sunday River and Belgrade Lakes (no choice in these). I have heard decent things about Penobscot Valley Country Club, but I would need to add an extra night stay to the itinerary if I'm going to play there. Can anyone provide some comments on the course? Is it worth the extra night to play?

[Brad Tufts]

Hi Frank,


It's definitely worth a play!


Penobby is a very solid Ross course that has been recently (within the last 10 years) resto-vated.  There are some that argue that the bunkers never had the frilly edges they do now, but I think those will soften over time.  It's a pretty wide open mid-career Ross with a great variety of green contours.  There are a couple bowl-shaped greens, a couple crowned, a couple tiered, etc.


I know you have no choice on the others...but I would rank PVCC ahead of both Sugarloaf (by a mile), and Belgrade (smaller gap).  I haven't yet played Sunday River, but hope to remedy sometime soon.


Another idea would be Kebo Valley, about 90 minutes SE of Orono...doing both in a day would be possible, but that leaves you pretty out of the way at the end of a day, on either end...

[Frank M]

Brad thanks for the info. Looks like I may need to tack on a round. I unfortunately won't be able to make it to Kebo, would have liked to, but I was there about 10 years ago and have to skip it this time round.

I'm headed east to Algonquin in NB to see the work being done there for a couple days. As now the plan is Sunday River, Belgrade Lakes, Penobscot, Algonquin and Sugarloaf on the way back. It will be a very tight trip in terms of scheduling and I will most likely have to decide between playing Belgrade or Penobscot and taking a cart around the other for a look.

[Brad Tufts]

Sounds great...be sure to give an update on the Algonquin project...I played there once in the early 2000s, and its a great property whose course just wasn't that exciting other than a couple oceanside holes.


I would choose Penobby over Belgrade, but it's not a huge margin.


Another trip someday to do the Kebo/Northeast Harbor double would be a good one, and there are lots of other things to do in Bar Harbor and the National Park.

[Chris DeToro]

I played Algonquin last May--looked like they were still clearing trees which opened up more views to the water.  There are a few decent holes, but overall not all that memorable

[Frank M]

Chris, I quite like Algonquin and think the back nine was already pretty smart in the use of a fairly strong sloping portion of the property. With Ron Whitman and the guys in there doing some work, I can only imagine it will get better.

[Mark McKeever]

Just pulled the aerial, looks pretty neat.  Note taken!

[Dan_Callahan]

Belgrade is my favorite public course in Maine, and top 3 in New England. Partially that has to do with a very fun design, but it's more because of the atmosphere. They space the tee times out, so I've never encountered slow play. Views from the clubhouse and putting green out over the lakes are amazing.


I would not pay to play Sunday River again.


I agree that Penobscot is solid and worth a play.

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