BANGOR, Maine — If you think about the nature of golf, it made sense why last season was so successful despite the COVID-19 pandemic impacting nearly everything in our daily life. You're outside, you can play alone, and if you do play with someone, you rarely get close to them.
Last summer, courses like Bangor Municipal saw a record number of rounds given that golf was one of the only activities people could do. When more people than usual bought memberships during the off-season, Head Professional Rob Jarvis wasn't surprised.
“What we didn’t expect was to be sold out before we opened the golf course. That’s never happened in the 50 years we’ve been open," Jarvis said.
That's about 450 golfers who bought memberships before a single ball was hit from the first tee in 2021. Well, after months of waiting, plenty of tee shots and putts were hit Wednesday.
“They’ve been clamoring at the door waiting for this and here we are opening day," Jarvis said.
Across the Penobscot River, Pine Hill in Brewer also opened for the season Wednesday. Co-owner Jason Brooks has played at the course since he was 13, and now he and his wife run the pro shop and manage the grounds.
“People were itching to get out. I got 40 phone calls yesterday wondering when we were going to open," Brooks added.
A focus this year at Bangor Muni, Pine Hill, and other courses is to grow the game in two key sectors: the youth side and the women's.
“We’re rolling out a new junior golf program called 'Youth On Course'," Executive Director of the Maine State Golf Association (MSGA) Brian Bickford said.
The program is part of a national organization but is new to the state this year. Bickford said kids can register for a fee and then pay reduced rates at 22 courses around Maine.
The cost per round is $5 for each kid signed up in the program. One course option is at Bangor.
“And that’s what we want. We want to see the kids, they are the future of our game and this is a great sport for them to be around whether there’s a pandemic or not a pandemic," Jarvis said.
A huge boost in green fee revenue, the price you pay to play nine or 18 holes, came from kids last summer when there was no Little League or other team sports options.
Bickford and Jarvis added they hope kids return to the course and remain interested in the game even with more sports options available this summer.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for kids to play golf this year with at what we would consider reasonable rates," Bickford said.
At Pine Hill, Brooks said kids under the age of 12 can play for free with a paying adult.
“It’s a great opportunity for the adults to get their kids out or their grandkids out whatever it may be," he said. “I think this is a great nine-hole course for learners and beginnings.”
Another effort to grow the women's game this year includes the new Charlie's Cup event hosted by the MSGA. The year-long series is much like the PGA Tour's FedEx cup where players, men, and women, compete in a number of events and try to collect as many points as possible.
The Maine Women's Amature Championship will be played at Bangor Municipal starting July 19. Jarvis said last year the course was in the works to host a premier event like this and is glad to bring the attention of women's golf to the city.
“It’s a segment that probably hasn’t had the attention spent on it over the last 20 years that it should," he said.
Great weather early in the season has allowed most courses in southern, eastern, and central Maine to open. Some courses near the western mountains or in the northern part of the state still may be closed for a few weeks, Bickford said.
The advice from Jarvis and from any club pro this season, plan ahead and call or book your tee times online before you show up to the course.