Pull off Rte. 202 in Gray at 59 Lewiston Road and Spring Meadows Golf Course spreads out before you. Formerly home to hay fields and cow pastures, the spread is now a patchwork of wild rice, sedges and clay-based fairways. It’s a scene that Golf Digest describes as a “sweetly sublime design from Maine architect laureate Brad Booth.” Widely known as one of Maine’s greatest golf architects, Booth designed the course to have a “lowland Carolinas feel to it,” meaning it differs greatly from the “common” Maine course that displays more granite than trees.
Dave Pollard, the manager of Spring Meadows, used to bale hay on the farm as a child. But the 25 head of cattle are now gone, and Pollard, a former teacher, now manages the course. Growing up working alongside his brothers on the farm, Pollard says of its transformation into Spring Meadow, “We’d always fantasized about it. We were hackers, God love us. I don’t think we’ve gotten much better.”
In 2001, that dream became a reality when Spring Meadows opened to the public. Considered by many as one of the top tracks in New England, the course features challenging elevation changes and a picturesque 1920s barn that serves both as a banquet facility and a nod to the property’s farming past.
The 1st hole, a 430-yard Par-4, has a pond on the right. Challenge it at your own risk. However, if you play it safe, your second shot will become anything but an easy approach. To the right of the green, a dangerous bunker awaits. The left of the green does not offer a much better option: yet another pond.
Ben Morey, Spring Meadows’ pro, relishes the challenge of No. 3. At 600 yards, it’s the longest, and arguably most difficult, of the course’s Par-5s. Two strips of wetlands cut across the fairway. A long drive and you run the risk of ending up in the swamp. A long second shot deep to the right center of the hole is recommended for the best approach to the green.
The 325-yard 7th hole dramatically sweeps downhill from an elevated tee, which provides beautiful views of the region’s rolling hills. Too long off the tee and you’re in the water. The fairway is all downhill on this Par-4. Beware of the pot bunker and wetlands skirting the green in the front. Overshoot the green and you’re in the woods.
Many golfers love Spring Meadows for the fact that it offers something for every level of golfer. You can make birdies on several holes, yet others provide more than enough challenge, even to low handicappers.
The course is located two hours north of Boston and a half-hour north of Portland. The course includes a fully stocked pro shop and professional lessons are available. Greens fees range from $26 to $43, and the course offers a package called the “Maine Trifecta,” which allows guests to play Spring Meadows, Fox Ridge Golf Course in Auburn and Poland Spring Golf Club in Poland Spring. The package includes greens fees and carts, two nights lodging at Poland Spring Resort and four meals.