On a summer day nearly 90 years ago, two old friends were out picking berries when they hatched the idea of starting a golf club on Great Chebeague Island in Casco Bay. Chebeague summer residents George Spaulding and B.R.T. Collins immediately set out to solicit support for the venture. Their friends and some island entrepreneurs embraced the idea and the Great Chebeague Golf Club (GCGC) was established and has been a vital island institution ever since.
Located on the island’s East End, the GCGC straddles a town road, and golfers tee off from the Stone Wharf, the island’s transportation and fishing hub. The course is laid out on an early 19th-century saltwater farm, and the original farmhouse serves as the clubhouse. Ocean breezes provide relief on hot summer days. A small family cemetery located nearby completes the picturesque setting.
For many of the island’s “summer natives” (an oxymoron coined by this author to describe summer families’ multigenerational roots) the golf course is synonymous with summer on Chebeague. The club provides a setting where summer natives reconnect, new arrivals to the island learn about island ways, and the younger generations begin to develop a sense of place, which motivates them to return to the island year after year.
But the Great Chebeague Golf Course is more than a summer residents’ exclusive retreat. On any given day fishermen, day-trippers and hotel guests play golf alongside the descendants of the club’s founders, and over the years the club has reached out to the greater Chebeague community in numerous ways. Two of the GCGC’s original incorporators were island natives, and since the club’s inception year-round islanders have been encouraged to use the course free of charge after 5 p.m. The Chebeague Recreation Center and the Island Commons hold golf tournament fundraisers at the golf course, and Historical Society walking tours stop at the clubhouse for a glass of lemonade and a cookie while viewing the architectural features of what was once an 1807 farmhouse. In the past golf has been integrated into the school’s curriculum and is also an after-school recreation program cosponsored by the golf club and recreation center. During the summer island children attend free golf clinics with the children of members and non-member summer folks, which creates an opportunity to form new friendships.
The Great Chebeague Golf Club is a family oriented course steeped in tradition. Many of the scrambles and tournaments are focused on family relationships such as father-daughter and mother-son. Perhaps one of the most interesting familial matches is fondly referred to as “the divorce cup,” because husbands and wives are on the same team and take alternating shots! But it is the Swatfest that is really unique to Chebeague, and it is quite a sight to see. Anyone who wants to play, regardless of age, lines up and they all tee off one after another. There could be 100 golfers playing the first hole, with as many spectators looking on. Club president Doug Clark described the Swatfest as “a survival-of-the-fittest tournament that is more about catching up with friends than winning.”
The Great Chebeague Golf Club welcomes non-members. Although the course is small by most standards, the holes are challenging. Not just because a town road traverses it, seagulls fly overhead or the waterhole drains at low tide, but the slope of the course and the location and pitch of the greens can cause heartburn for even the most experienced golfer.
The course is located adjacent to the Chebeague Island Inn, so hungry and thirsty golfers have the opportunity to have a bite to eat and a cold drink between rounds of golf. Whether sitting in the dining room or on the porch, the visiting golfer has a panoramic view of the golf course and Casco Bay.
Greens fees are $40 for the day on weekdays and $45 on weekends, and you can play as many rounds as you like. Because the course is closed when there are tournaments it is a good idea to call ahead.
For more information about the Great Chebeague Golf Club call 846-9478 or for information about the Chebeague Island Inn call 846-5155.