Cape Arundel Golf CLub - Kennebunkport, ME
Maine is such a special place, particularly in the Summer. There is a reason “Vacationland” is adorned on the Maine license plate as people from across the country fill the quaint towns of the rocky Maine coast for the summer. After traveling to Portsmouth, NH for a friend’s wedding, Hannah and I made the trip up the Maine coast to Kennebunkport, ME for the rest of the weekend before flying back to Charleston, SC on Monday. We stopped in Kittery and York before making it to Kennebunkport. Read about our stops along the way in Hannah’s New Hampshire and Maine write up.
I first heard about Cape Arundel from the video series that The Fried Egg published a few years back. The team at TFE did a spectacular job capturing the different nuances of the course in their video as well as highlighting the history and some of the aspects that make Cape Arundel Golf Club such a special place. I would highly recommend checking out their video on Cape Arundel as well as their other work.
At its inception in 1896, Cap Arundel Golf Club (formerly known as Kennebunkport Golf Club) was just one of the 74 golf clubs in the U.S. The original design was done by Alex Findlay who also designed on of our recent features from New Hampshire; North Conway Country Club. By the 1920’s, Walter Travis redesigned the course creating the masterpiece that we have today. At just 5,859 yards and one par five, the challenge of this course is not length. The par 69 course delivers its challenge with the intricacies of its greens. Knowing how to approach the greens and being in the proper position to do so might be the most important part of scoring well here. The variety of greens from offered here has been regarded as one of the best sets of greens you can play. I would certainly subscribe to this and look forward to the chance to play them again one day.
The clubhouse, known as the 41 house, was built in 1900. It gained its name as the 41 house in 2011 when the club renamed the building in honor of one of their famous members. George H.W. Bush and family have long time members of the club and would frequent the course when they were escaping the Texas heat at their Walker Point retreat in Kennebunkport. The simple hunter green building sits on a bluff overlooking the practice putting green and the Kennebunk River. The front porch with inviting rocking chairs was a great post round hangout spot, reliving the shots of the day. George W. Bush is also a member of the club, and appropriately has locker number 43 reserved. Known as a frequent visitor of the club, Secret Service arrived on property as my round was concluding to do their pre-visit safety check prior to 43’s arrival that evening.
I played the course with a local member who gladly served as my guide around the course. He certainly saved me a few shots along the way, advising which lines to take and particular strategies for navigating the tricky Walter Travis greens. The club is private, however they do offer public tee times three days in advance.
The first hole parallels a section of the Kennebunk River where a two tier fairway welcomes you to the first challenging green that Cape Arundel Golf Club challenges you to. What may seem like a benign green at first glance, is really quite a challenge with a ridge that runs front left to back right with a false front sloping towards the river. The use of mounds just off the green throughout the course found themselves in play quite often when either chipping or putting from the green surrounds. The tenth hole is one of the better short par fours I’ve seen. The entrance road to the club crosses the fairway perpendicularly so be sure to double check for fellow golfers arriving to or departing the club before teeing off. With a slight dog leg right, you are tempted to send a drive up the right for a short flip wedge in. However, guarded by bunker short right and more of the fescue topped mounds you really want to stay down the left here. In addition to the guards of the green on the right, the shape of the green itself really will not accept many shots from the right side due to its multiple tiers and slopes which favor an approach from the left. One of my favorite holes on the course was hole seventeen which includes a blind second shot to one of the wildest greens on property. Before leaving the tee box, be sure to look at the wooden post that indicates the relative pin position for your blind approach. Your approach shot is up hill, to a downhill green nestled along the river. I was able to execute a really fun shot that set me up for a birdie here which is hard to come by according to the local members.
Cape Arundel Golf Club is one of those places where details are paid attention to, the members cultivate an inviting place for a thrilling round of golf, and where you want to tee it up at again immediately after finishing your round.
