Review: Cape Arundel Golf Club (Part 1)

Before this trip to Boston, I'd never been to Maine. It's not exactly what I'd call conveniently located, especially for someone living in Maryland. Boston is just an hour south of the Maine border, however, so I figured why not make the trip up I-95 to the Pine Tree State? And while we're at it, why not play what is quite possibly the most architecturally respected golf course in the state? That brings us to Cape Arundel Golf Club, located a mile from the Atlantic in Kennebunkport, and the home course of the 41st and 43rd Presidents of the United States. Yes, this is where both George Bushes play, and remarkably, such a place is not ultraprivate. It's not even tough making a tee time, under normal circumstances you could even do it online. No calling in favors, no begging or bugging a member, just a simple phone call. You hear that, other private golf courses? A course good enough for Presidents can manage public play, why can't you?

Anyway, onto the course, which was designed in 1921 by Walter Travis, who, despite being technically Australian, is widely known as America's first great golfer. He could barely drive the ball 200 yards, but Travis was an incredible putter. He was so successful with the center-shafted Schenectady putter that, after winning the British Amateur, the R&A actually banned that style of putter for almost 50 years. Walter Travis is probably most known for his play, but he did more than a little dabbling in golf course design, being responsible for almost 50 courses. His redesign of Garden City Golf Club in New York is his most notable work, along with Westchester Country Club, which hosted the PGA Tour for many years. Perhaps unsurprisingly given how he played golf, Walter Travis golf courses are most known for their greens, and as we'll see, Cape Arundel is no exception.

The first hole has two immediately notable features: a rather significant gully cutting across the fairway and the Kennebunk River paralleling the hole to the left, just close enough to be uncomfortable if you tend to hook. The gully can be carried with a drive of about 250 yards, and the river can be fairly easily avoided by bailing out right. The pair of fairway bunkers just over the gully can also be carried by a strong drive. Besides, this is a pretty wide fairway we're talking about. Get far enough and you'll have an unimpeded view of the green, which will be little more than a sand wedge. The hole is only 365 yards after all. There is a bunker right of the green, but that's not how the hole defends itself. No, that comes courtesy of the contours of the green itself. There are several sections, with each section separated by a sort-of tier. Fortunately, the green speeds are kept under control, so putting isn't a task in futility. This is a good hole to start the round, it's open and inviting, but there's enough here to keep the golfer engaged.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green, with the Kennebunk River in the background.

The second hole is the shortest par 4 at Cape Arundel, and is reachable to long hitters. But an arm of the river extends the entire length of the hole to the left, and trees to the right progressively narrow the fairway. There's not an excessive amount of room by the green, so hitting driver may not be the greatest idea. I did, and I ended up in a bunker next to the eighth green. That's another thing about Cape Arundel: The property is less than 100 acres, so the course is very tightly routed. Anyway, back to this hole. The play off of the tee is probably a lay-up down the left side, followed by a wedge into the green. 

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole plays alongside the same tributary of the river that the second plays against. The hole is 155 yards and it's quite a tough little par 3. There's water left and bunkers right, and the green has a false front. There's a lot of back to front slope to the green as well. Really, you want to hit this green, and get pretty close too. 

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is, by Cape Arundel standards, a long par 4, but when the course's lone par 5 is the only hole over 400 yards, it's a bit disingenuous to call this a long par 4. It's just under 400 yards and plays alongside a road to the left. The tee shot is also blind. A pair of bunkers sits on the right side of the fairway, right where I imagine a lot of people aim. The second shot is to a pretty open and large green, but there's a fair amount of undulation in the green, so two putts aren't easy. 

The blind tee shot on the fourth hole.

The fourth hole, with the seventh beyond.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is not a long par 4 by any standard. It's 340 yards, and using a driver is really not advisable. I suppose the distance from tee to green isn't huge and so the green could potentially be driven, but there's a small stream running through the gully between the fairway and green, not to mention the road to the left. Really, you'll want to lay up out to the right, then hit a wedge over the gully into the green. The bunkers and the undulations of the green ensure that it's not an easy wedge, but the green is pretty big so it's not a difficult wedge either.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a tiny little 120 yard par 3 that's both incredibly simple and very complicated. Clearly, the main obstacle is the pond in front of the green, but that's not the full story. The green slopes severely from back to front, so putting from above the hole is a dicey prospect. So while it's easy to play safe and go well past the hole, you'll be left with a long and incredibly slippery putt. So if you want a decent chance at birdie, you've got to flirt with the water. This is honestly quite a clever hole and one of the best at Cape Arundel.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is 390 yards, playing in the opposite direction of the fifth hole. The fairway is massive and there are few trees to interfere, so you can really hit your drive anywhere and get away with it. There are a few bunkers on the right side of the fairway, but any drive more than 250 yards can clear them. The second is a wedge or short iron to another big and lumpy green.

The seventh hole. Yes, that is the entrance road just in front of the tee. And no, this isn't the only time that will happen.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a few yards shorter than the seventh, but it plays in the same direction, this time parallel to the fourth. Again, this hole has a very wide fairway, with just a couple bunkers right providing any difficulty on the tee shot. There's a pair of cross bunkers about 50 yards short, which also don't come into play much. The green is the primary obstacle on this hole -- this is probably the most extreme green at Cape Arundel. There's an especially nasty ridge on the right middle section of the green that is no fun to deal with. I had to deal with that one personally.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is the lone par 5 at Cape Arundel, but it's not very long, being well under 500 yards. It was playing into the wind, but still, I was able to get close enough to the green to approach it with a long iron. Of course, I did that by flirting dangerously with the tree just left of the tee, I imagine most people take a slightly more conservative route. Even so, this hole is definitely reachable in two. But if you can't reach it, a cluster of three bunkers cut into the fairway about 100 yards from the green. The green is open in front, but there's a very deep bunker just to the right. It's deep enough that a staircase is necessary to get down into it. I wish I'd gotten a picture of that. The green itself is big and has the usual slope to it.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.