Golf Sunday River, Maine
“Top 10 Best New Upscale Public Courses”
- Golf Digest, 2007
“#1 Course in Maine”
- Golfweek, 2007
“Top 10 Best New Courses in the World”
- Travel + Leisure Golf
Sunday River Golf Course
When
White Heat Turns Green, Hit the Greens at Sunday River!
By Heather Burke - reprinted with permission from
FamilySkiTrips.com
The Sunday River Golf Course, first opened in 2005 to rave reviews. This
Robert Trent Jones II course with its spectacular peak views has piqued
the interest of golfers nationally, and the challenge of play does not
disappoint. Since its debut, the Course has been ranked the #1 public
course in Maine by Golfweek, recognized as one of the finest golf course
in the country by Golf Digest and is listed in Travel & Leisure
Magazine’s Top 10. Sunday River is now the mountain course to play, so
tee-times should be garnered in advance. 207-824-4653
Here’s
a hint of what lies in store at the Sunday River Golf Course…
Sunday River Golf Club is a culmination of spectacular views,
challenging elevated holes and a polished experience. Hole #1 gets the
party started with a seemingly endless dogleg, heading out toward the
gorgeous green valley surrounded by majestic Mahoosuc Mountains beyond.
It’s a veritable roller coaster ride as you continue to weave up and
down the undulating fairways, driving the taxing lengths and tricky down
slopes.
The scenery provides an awesome distraction while testing your talents
around every lush corner. If a trip to a Maine beach was on your list,
the slickly-placed sand traps may grab you. Gargantuan waste bunkers
guard most holes like castle moats. Landing on the quick greens doesn’t
mean your putting in your next shot either. This rugged but manicured
course is designed to bemuse, and the black diamond ski trail signs are
a humorous but accurate poke at the punch in store for golfers.
Throughout
the long and incredibly scenic 18- hole adventure, contained fairways
lead to formidable hazards and deceivingly tough greens. The Maine State
Golf Association describes the fairways as “among the widest in Maine.”
Golf Digest calls the course, "a sexy beast with a layout that offers
all the best of mountain golf." The mastermind behind this beautiful but
intensely demanding course, Robert Trent Jones Jr., continues his
impressive architectural tradition in the family with Spanish Bay at
Pebble Beach and Sugarloaf, to name a few.
To finish your monumental 7,130-yard game, the 17th takes the prize and
the #1 handicap designation, heading straight up a grueling 496-yards to
the green (the highest elevation on the course at 1,550’). What goes up
must come down; hence the 18th tee marks the loftiest spot on the
course. Incredible views tease you during your descent of this prolonged
par 4 toward the welcoming rustic lodge Clubhouse.
If you are not into chasing a little white ball, regardless of how
beautiful the Sunday River Golf Course is….at least play the part and
buy a round (of après golf drinks) to savor on the scenic deck of the
log and stone lodge. The Old Hickory furnishing and wood carved bar
should be enjoyed by more than just golfers.
Sunday
River Golf Course
18 Championship Drive Newry, Maine (18-hole Robert Trent Jones Jr.)
Sunday
River’s course, which debuted in 2005 has been named the number one
course in Maine for the second year running (GolfWeek) and listed as one
of top six new courses nationwide (Golf Digest). Designed by Robert
Trent Jones Jr., Sunday River Golf Club features 7,130-yrads of wide,
gracious fairways that are blended perfectly with their natural
surroundings. From tee to green, every hole offers stunning vistas of
five different mountain ranges, each view uniquely breathtaking. The
beautiful Club House offers a full service Pro Shop, Pub and restaurant.
207-824-GOLF (4653).
“It was nearly twenty years ago that Robert Trent Jones Jr. created New
England's definitive mountain course at Sugarloaf. With Sunday River, he
returned to the ski peaks of Maine, and this time he's fashioned a more
playable but no less scenic gem. The broad fairways, carved from a dense
forest of hardwood and pine, are remarkably level for a property that
has 400 feet of elevation change. Clever doglegs force longer hitters to
think about their angles off the tee, while the views of
broad-shouldered peaks in the Mahoosuc Range will satisfy all comers.”
-Travel & Leisure Golf, 2005