Golf Blog

Now through August 15, 2010, Sunday River is offering golfers the luxury of award-winning golf at the Sunday River Golf Club plus breakfast and lodging at one of its Grand Resort Hotels for $99 per person – over 20 percent savings off of weekend stay and play vacation rates! If you haven't already taken advantage of golf this summer, this special stay and play vacation package is the perfect way to combine the tee time of your choice with the leisurely pace of midweek golf. And for golfers looking to tee up to even more savings, Sunday River offers the same perks of this midweek Stay and Play package to groups of 12 or more people starting at just $89 per person!

I had the opportunity to catch up with Greg Perry who serves as the General Manager for the Sunday River Golf Club. In the winter, Greg is an avid skier and oversees the Sunday River Ski and Ride School helping people to perfect their turns. Come summer, Greg is like many of us and has one thing on his mind: golf.

Q. General Manager - big role!- tell our readers a little bit more about your position at the Sunday River Golf Club: I’m responsible for the day to day operation of the club.  The overall responsibilities are too numerous to list here.  I work with the professional staff and Dave D’Andrea (the head superintendent) to create a memorable golf experience for each and every golfer.  We host a variety of tournaments and outings, and I work with the coordinators to accomplish their goals and needs. 

Q. Does this mean that you golf every day?  I’m on the golf course every day.  I manage to play 2 to 3 times a week.

Q. Two part question: When did you start golfing and did you know that you would make a career out of it?  I started golfing around nine years old. Golf was originally a distraction that I played through high school.  After my formative years I played once or twice a year in charity tournaments.  I started teaching skiing at Sunday River in 1987. When Harris Golf built the Sunday River Golf Club I knew I had found my “off season” home.  Golf is a perfect balance with skiing.  I have the pleasure of seeing most of the same people in two completely separate circumstances.

Q. In your opinion, what is the most challenging hole on the Sunday River Golf Course and what advice do you have for golfers up to the challenge?  If you are not in the short grass every hole at Sunday River is difficult! Hole 17 on the scorecard and for 90 percent of our golfers is the most difficult.  It is a long uphill par four. If you mange to hit your tee ball in the middle the approach shot is long and to an elevated large green protected by deep bunkers. The average player should play 17 like a par 5. Hit your second shot to 100 yards, and then your approach shot to the middle of the green. One or two putts later you will be heading to the 18th tee with a respectable number.

Q. Assuming that you’ve played golf all over, what sets the Sunday River Golf Club apart from the rest?  The way the course was designed and how it is maintained. The views of the Mahoosuc mountain range is 360 degrees from everywhere you stand.  The fairways are wide and tend to filter a left to right shot back to the middle. The greens are some of the largest greens you will ever play on.   

Q. If you could only take three clubs out on the SRGC with you, what three would they be and why?  Driver, 25* hybrid, and my putter.  The driver to shorten the longer holes; the hybrid because I can do anything with it and the putter for the most important part of the game. More strokes are lost on the course with the flat stick than any other club in your bag!

Let’s talk technique….

Q. As a golfer, I am confused about how strength plays a part in the normal golf swing. I've been told to hold the club like I am holding a bird so where does strength come into play?  I had a conversation with our pro Peter Flint and he had some thoughts: Golf is similar to skiing - “core” strength plays an important role in your golf swing.  Exercise increases your mobility and improves flexibility.  As you achieve higher levels of fitness you can generate more power with less effort.  This will allow you to produce more club head speed with a smoother swing.

Q. All golfers know that round of golf are either lost or won in the short game. What advice do you have for someone looking to work on their short game?  Start at the hole!  Practice putting from short distances to build confidence.  Start at 3 feet and make 10 in a row before moving back to 5, 7, and then 10 feet.  For the longer putts work on your lag putting. Putt to an invisible circle 2-3 feet around the hole. Your practice at the shorter putts will guarantee a two putt.  If you can cut 18 three putts to 18 two putts you have saved 18 strokes from your final score!  The difference between a 72 and a 90! 

Q. For a golfer just starting out, what advice do you have for them? Have Fun! Spend time on the putting green, spend time on the range, start playing nine holes, and see your local pro to get you moving in the right direction. Remember: If golf was easy we would all be playing on Sunday! 

Rumor has it that starting tomorrow, the Sunday River Golf Club is allowing carts off path! This just further indicates how good conditions really are. As Greg Perry, director of golf for the Sunday River Golf Club put it: "Conditions have never been this good this early on." Who are we to argue? We'd only add that it's crazy to think that it's only May and we're already seeing temperatures sore to almost 90-degrees!

For those of you waiting till the weekend, good news! The Robert Trent Jones ll Grill will serve a full menu this weekend. Choose from a menu of salads, sandwiches and snacks including my favorite - the Oak Valley Burger names after Mr. Jones' course in Korea. Yum!

Finally, for those of you looking to perfect your golf swing or take your game from 90 to 80, the Sunday River Golf Club is working on the final touches to its summer clinics calendar - stay tuned for more details.

Until then, enjoy the weather and happy golfing!

If a picture is worth a thousand words:

This one is worth 70-80 thousand of them all screaming "S-U-N!"

Now, I am not a meterologist but when one such weather guru from WCSH-TV says, "This weekend looks like one of the best this season...if not THE best" you do two things: 

1) Book your stay and play golf getaway

2) Grab your golf clubs

Enjoy the weather and happy golfing!

Are you a fan of the Sunday River Golf Club on Facebook? Or should I ask, do you "like" the Sunday River Golf Club on Facebook? If you're shaking your head at the two questions wondering that the difference is, you're like me and the answer is that there is no difference. Fans that now like a page are in fact now a fan of it too. So regardless of how Facebook is spinning its new vocab the point here is to draw your attention to the Sunday River Golf Club profile on Facebook. To like, is to like, is to like. And truth be told, as a golfer who lives in the area, I like this page a lot.

Because in addition to great photos like this one:

...you also get the most up to the minute scoop. Did you know that Tim from the Falmouth Country Club was the first golfer to make it on the course last Friday? He was and there is a picture to prove it. Or, better yet, did you know that the Sunday River Golf Course opened last Friday (its earliest opening ever!) and announced it on Facebook?! It pays to be in the know and what better way to keep tabs on the course then to friend it, or like it, or whatever Facebook now has in place to just really dig something. Here's one for you Facebook: I don't just like it, I love it.

Until next time - happy golfing!

The Sunday River Golf Club is open for the 2010 season and celebrating its earliest opening EVER! Given that I literally just put away my skis and am now swinging golf clubs, there's a bit of internal confusion going on to the point where almost daily I am reminding myself, "Wait. It's only April!" This means one more month to get out there and have fun. It also means - time to start blogging about golf. But as I learned last year, pictures say so much more. So for those of you wondering what the Sunday River Golf Course looks like, here is a sneak peek:

Also, a word to the wise: If you haven't already booked your tee time for the coming weekend (which, by the way, looks amazing!) definitely start planning ahead and book one of our Golf and Stay Getaway packages for $99 during the month of May. 18-holes of golf, use of a cart plus lodging and breakfast at one of Sunday River's two Grand Resort Hotels - you can't go wrong.

Until next time - happy golfing!
Darcy

Welcome to golfing in Maine, where even the natives recognize a great golf course when they see it!  And, like golfers, moose don't like it when you hold up their game, as this one alerted two golfers of this past weekend at the Sunday River Golf Club. 

Happy golfing!

Newry, ME (September 2, 2009) – With summer temperatures dropping into comfortable fall-like zones, so too is pricing on golf Stay and Play packages at the Sunday River Golf Club. From now through the end of the season, golfers can take advantage of Sunday River’s midweek Stay and Play special including 18-holes of golf with cart plus lodging and breakfast at either of Sunday River’s Grand Resort Hotels, starting at $89 per person.

This $89 midweek Stay and Play rate is available for stays Sunday through Thursday only and for tee times booked between Monday and Thursday only.  Reservations must be booked by September 30, 2009.    

The Sunday River Golf Club is located just 1.5 hours outside of Portland, ME and just 3 hours northwest of Boston, MA.  Spread across a 350-acre site on a northwest-facing hillside with sweeping views across the Sunday River Valley to the Mahoosuc Mountain Range, the course plays to 7,130 yards from the championship tees.  In the fall, spanning views of red, orange and yellow-toned maples from every tee make this course a must play for golfers appreciative of a beautiful course and mountain landscape. 

The Sunday River Golf Club lists a number of accolades including “#1 Public Golf Course in Maine” by Golfweek magazine for the fourth year in a row, and was also listed as the only New England course on Golf Digest’s “Best New Public Course Over $75” top 10 list in 2007and Golf magazine’s “Top 100 Courses You Can Play.”

For more information on the Sunday River Golf Club and this midweek $89 Stay and Play special, visit www.sundayriver.com or call (800) 543-2SKI.

Sunday River is located minutes from picturesque Bethel Village in western Maine’s Mahoosuc Mountains. A true four-season destination, the Resort offers eight interconnected peaks of world class skiing and snowboarding, two Grand Resort Hotels and golf at the acclaimed Sunday River Golf Club. Sunday River is a member of the Boyne Resorts family of resorts and attractions.
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Thanks to Chris and Helen Davies for these beautiful shots!  Helen works and the Grand Summit Hotel's concierge desk and when she mentioned to me yesterday that she was cutting out early to go play 18-holes I thought two things:  "Lucky! What a great day for golf" and "Ahhh - I want to play too! Can you take some pictures for my blog?"

Although I was unable to play, I am totally stoked that they snapped som pictures for us to all enjoy.  I never did get their scores...hmmmm.

A shot from the second green

From the 8th green

9th Green

Caddyshack?

Helen hitting from the second green

Intense consentration... Helen "might" have been talking in his backswing :)

Another view of the second green

Scenic shot of the Mahoosuc Range

Happy golfing!

Darcy