From the Bunkers – Week of July 1, 2019

5 years ago

NEW LIMERICK, Maine — Life is good in northern Maine. The weather is getting to the point that we like it. Warm with a little rain that will help keep our fairways green. It also keeps our greens a little saturated. I think we need a week or two of pleasant dry weather.

Men’s Twilight League has entered its fourth week. Competition has been tough and the standings seem to shift each week. The Ladies Association played a scramble last week with a delicious potluck meal afterwards. These ladies are a competitive group with the emphasis on social. Open to all members, you can sign up each week to play. There is not a four month, every Tuesday commitment. If you would like to join the ladies, call the clubhouse to signup or for more info.

On Saturday, we will be hosting the Houlton High School Alumni Association annual nine hole scramble. Four person teams will tee off at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start. This is a very popular event so get your team together and call the proshop. If you are a single or a pair, we will put you on a team. Coming in August is the County Open. Eighteen hole stroke play on Saturday at Houlton and eighteen hole four person scramble on Sunday at VaJoWa in Island Falls. Proceeds will benefit the Health Services Foundation. Call Lori at 521-2147 to sign up and for more information. Also in August will be our Houlton Golf Course Club Championship. More info here as we get closer.

I would like to mention a few points of golf etiquette that have been mentioned to me lately. After you have experienced the joy of extricating your ball from the green side bunkers, please take a few moments to smooth out your divots and shoe prints in the sand with the rakes. Nobody likes hitting out of bunkers, but it is much harder if the ball is sitting in an old deep shoe print. You will appreciate it the next time your wayward ball winds up in a bunker and is sitting on smooth sand left by the last golfer. 

Also, try to replace your deep divots in the fairways. If replaced while still damp they should heal. Divots on tee boxes should be filled with sand from the sand boxes on many tees. I am still finding many deep ball marks left in the greens. We have tools in the proshop to assist you and would be happy to show you how to use them. 

Finally, a couple of points about play at nine hole courses. It is always best to check in with the proshop prior to starting play. This is so that if there is a delay due to frost, you won’t be damaging the greens. Also, you would know if there might be an event happening soon that you might wind up in the middle of. For our course, permission to start play on the seventh hole, or “the Triangle”, comes from the proshop. Please check with them and I hope to see you on the course.

The Lakeside Restaurant is serving wonderful meals, Wednesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Enjoy your dinner sitting in the dining room overlooking beautiful Nickerson Lake while being served by the best staff around. Call Nancy at 694-9494 for reservations.

Houlton Community Golf Course is located on 6 Country Club Drive in New Limerick. For more information on the course call 532-2662, email houltongolf@gmail.com or visit their website www.houltongolf.com.