It was the end of June, 2019, when my husband Ben and I traveled to Boothbay Harbor, Maine for a weeks vacation. We had rented a private home, complete with ocean view, and set our plan in motion for some much needed decompression time. We planned that one of our vacation days would be a “Ben day”, which was something he wanted to do, and one of the days would be a “Linda day”. For Ben’s day, we had the pleasure of collaborating with the Boothbay Harbor Country Club where he enjoyed a round of golf. Before I headed back to our rental house, I photographed some of the interior spaces of the clubhouse. What did I do for my day? A few days later I went to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. I will share more on that visit at a later time.

Since I wasn’t going on the course myself, I did ask Ben to take mental notes, while on the course, then write an impartial article I could share with you. One thing I would like to mention, is that at his tee-time, one could tell a major storm was rolling in. I witnessed golfers come in off the course or cancel their tee times. Not my husband! Even in a torrential downpour, Ben and the couple he was paired played the whole course. When I returned to meet him for lunch, he and the couple he played with came in soaking wet and had smiles on their faces. Ben even said he would do it again, but wishes he could see the course on a clear day. I believe that says a lot.

Following his article, you will find photos I took during my self-guided tour, along with more information about the Country Club and the three places that offer Stay and Play to non-members. Please note, during the off season, Boothbay Harbor Country Club is open to the public.

Grill 19 at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club, Boothbay, Maine

Article by Ben Davis

There are endless measures of what makes a golf course and club a memorable experience. As I played Boothbay Harbor CC for the first time, what occurred to me in this case was that this golf course was beautiful, challenging, and thoroughly enjoyable to play, despite blinding fog that devolved into steady rain and ended 4 hours later in a downpour. I was however able to see and experience enough of this amazing course, despite the weather, to say without question, that it is strikingly beautiful, and a extraordinarily well designed and maintained course, and club.

With five sets of tee boxes and a classic blend of holes, the course is a fair test for golfers of all abilities. As an average golfer, I played the III tees, and would love to go back to play the IV tees. I found the course to be a wonderful variety of wide and narrow, straight and dog-log, and shorter vs longer holes. The course is a classic setup, ending with a medium length dog-log par 5 approaching the clubhouse, which is one of the nicest I’ve experienced. Fairways were in amazing shape, and the good-sized greens were in perfect shape with challenging breaks and features to please anyone.

You don’t often take notice of items on a course such as restrooms, but this private club, that is open to guests of Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort or Boothbay Harbor Summer Cottages are open to the public off season, has restroom facilities every few holes that rival the condition of the amazing club locker room, with inviting exteriors, marble counters and refrigerators full of water bottles as needed. The mens locker room was inviting and luxurious, and Linda found an equally inviting ladies locker room.

The carts were all new, and include a great computer system showing the upcoming hole, distances, etc. I had not experienced the newest computer system, that among other things, showed you the location of the golfers in front of you on a blind hole, and notified you when you are clear to hit. Additionally, it policed me as I approached the cart exit line on one green, by shutting the cart down and instructing me to back up away from the area.

I got a chuckle out of the ‘suggestion box’ that I noticed as I crossed a small bridge over a waterway , which was a mailbox located in the middle of the lake.…

The club is rich in history, opening as a 9 hole course in 1921, and expanding to an 18 hole design in 1999. Recently, under the new ownership of Paul Coulombe, it has been given a complete redesign by architect Bruce Hepner. On top of the course itself, the new clubhouse rivals any, and includes a 5 star restaurant, amazing sports bar where we enjoyed a post round lunch with terrific service, and a recently added wellness center.

I am not a member of a private club, but I’ve experienced plenty of them as guest both in New England as well as Florida and elsewhere. Without question, Boothbay Harbor CC provided me with a golfing experience, and overall club experience that was as memorable as old traditional clubs like Salem Country Club, as well as Florida resort/Luxury Clubs like Tiburon and Trump National. I would recommend anyone of any ability play this course if they can, and I hope very much to have a chance to play on a sunny day, when I could appreciate even further the amazing views and design of this first-rate club.

Membership information and off-season information

Membership information can be found by clicking here.

During the Summer season, the Boothbay Harbor Country Club is available to those staying at the Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort and Boothbay Harbor Summer Cottages,

A virtual tour of the Boothbay Harbor Country Club

This is where I’ll take over and share some of the photos we took during our visit. As mentioned above, the first part of the morning we encountered a heaving fog that rolled in from the ocean, that said, the fog did not hide the beautiful gardens lining the walkways to the club house.

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The Clubhouse Lobby

Upon entering, it was evident this was no ordinary club house. Within seconds, my eyes were darting all around the lobby, taking in as many visual and architectural details as possible. It’s no wonder the clubhouse made the Architectural Digest list of the Most Beautiful Clubhouses in America and DownEast Magazine named Boothbay Harbor Country Club the Best Golf Course in Maine the last two consecutive years.

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Behind the front desk, one will find an oil painting commissioned for the lobby. The painting is of what is now The Inn at Cuckholds Lighthouse

The front door of the lobby is at the far end of this photo.

Other oil paintings can be found throughout the clubhouse.

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At Grille 19

After Ben’s round of golf, we enjoyed lunch at the bar At Grill 19. From our seats, we were able to view golf on several flat screen TVs. If it wasn’t raining, we would have most likely been dining on the heated terrace that overlooks the course.