Poland Spring Resort in Maine is the Oldest Golf Resort in the U.S.
We’re always looking for unusual golf experiences, and this time we found one in Poland. At the Poland Spring Resort in Poland, Maine, that is.
Chances are you won’t think of Maine when you’re talking golf. It’s nothing new at Poland Spring Resort, however. Golf has been played there since 1896. For the last 10 years it’s hosted one of the most enticing golf packages that we’ve come across.
The state of Maine has only about 140 courses, most of them public and many of those nine-holers. Still, Maine has its place in American golf history thanks to the the resort.
Poland Spring is — by most accounts — the oldest resort golf course in the country. The resort has only one Donald Ross course, but there was golf there before Donald Ross arrived.
“We start with Arthur Fenn,’’ said Cyndi Robbins, a remarkable woman who started working at the resort 45 years ago as a waitress and is now the owner. “He’s an important part of our history.’’ …
A top player himself, Fenn attracted many other top golfers to the resort in the early 1900s. Most notable were Harry Vardon, the famous professional from England, and Scotsman Willie Anderson, the only golfer to win three straight U.S. Opens. Most of the golf professionals of that era were from England or Scotland. More
