Home on the Range

A farm-turned-links golf course has managed to make itself quite comfortable in Southern Maine

By Bruce Hoard

The first thing that strikes a visitor while approaching The Links at Outlook in South Berwick, Maine is the split-nature of the layout. On the left hand side of Route 4 is a big hill with a lush, green fairway. On the right side is a verdant, rolling lowlands shrouded in early-morning shadows. The result is two very striking contrasts, two distinct geographical compositions and one very enjoyable golf course.

From the parking lot there are more scenic vistas: the expansive grass-tee driving range that hits toward a working farm and its silver silo; the huge, red barn off the pro shop with its glassed in cupola and the antique brick farmhouse sitting next to the barn under a canopy of graceful oaks. Even though this course - a favorite of nearby North Shore golfers - has only been open since 2000, it has the feeling of a place that has seen a lot of history.

Director of Golf Operations John Flynn is eager to explain some of that history, while his father and course owner Tim Flynn chips in with interesting anecdotes. John’s brother Tim III is general manager and another key cog in this family-oriented operation.

Turning his attention to a framed photo of the farmhouse, John notes, “Someday we might turn it into a bed and breakfast so we could have stay-and-play guests.”

Then there is the graveyard. Roped off and sitting on a side hill next to the 10th tee, it has some 20 tombstones dating back to the late 1800’s, and according to John, may be the final resting place for victims of the plague. “The town grandfathered it in when they approved our permits,” he explains.

That permit process was somewhat complicated by the fact that not one but two towns - Berwick and South Berwick - had to sign off on it since the entrance to the parking lot and the driving range reside in Berwick but the entire golf course is in South Berwick. Fortunately, John notes, there were few objections to overcome.

Tim the elder explains why: “I told them I can get 2,400 pigs on that farm or turn it into a golf course,” he proudly proclaims.

All of this dates back to the mid ’80s, when the family patriarch bought what was then a working farm and subsequently created a driving range. That went so well that he decided to turn it into a full-fledged 18-hole facility.

The Head PGA Professional of the facility is former North Shore resident Dave Paskowski, who previously worked at Beverly Golf and Tennis Club for 10 years before landing at Outlook. The Hamilton-Wenham High School and Salem State College graduate, who works up to 60 hours a week during the height of the summer season, attributes his current professional happiness to the comfortable work environment engendered by the family-oriented Flynns.

“The atmosphere here is great, and everybody pulls together,” he says.

Also on the Outlook team is course superintendent Steven Smyth, who plied his trade at Farm Neck on Martha’s Vineyard before moving inland. Of Smyth, Paskowski declares, “He does an unbelievable job on the bent grass fairways tees and greens.”

The Flynn team must be doing something right because since the course opened four years ago, players have averaged between 26,000 and 30,000 rounds per year. According to Paskowski, many of those rounds are played by satisfied North Shore golfers that are either making one-day road trips or visiting the popular family vacation area.

“On any given day, we get 50 to 60 percent of our business from the North Shore, especially on weekends,” says Paskowski, who noted that the course recently installed new flat-screen, GolfLogix GPS systems on all of its carts. “It takes them less than an hour to get here.”

The Links at Outlook stretches some 6,423 yards from the tips. The ladies’ course is 5,025 yards. Unsuspecting players may feel the demanding 524-yard, par 5 first hole is endlessly long if they stray from the narrow, 100-plus-yard swatch of fairway that greets them. A faulty shot here and the likely result is a frustrating search in the dandelion-studded, ankle-deep fescue rough. Ironically, finding the ball might be the worst thing that could happen, because then the golfer has to hack it back onto the fairway, which can easily take more than the single stroke assessed for a lost ball.

Although dense rough can be found along all nine holes going out, they seem to subside - and the fairways seem to expand - after the fifth hole, a 366-yard, par-4 featuring a wicked right-to-left stretch of fairway that appears to be about as wide as your average typewriter ribbon.

Even though the first 10 holes definitely demonstrate the windswept persona of a classic links course, they do not include the draconian bunkers that fans of the British Open associate with venerable tracks such as the Old Course at St. Andrews or Royal Troon. That’s by design, according to Framingham native Brian Silva, who was hired to architect The Outlook after he finished renovations to the back nine at nearby Cape Neddick Country Club in York. Silva is a partner with Cornish, Silva and Mungeam, Inc.

“I didn’t really try to copy specific bunkers or bunker styles from the links of Scotland,” Golf World’s 1999 Architect of the Year explains. “I’m not sure that all American golfers are ready for Scottish bunkers seven days a week, especially the ones you have to hit out of backwards.”

In contrast to bunkers filled with fluffier sand, The Outlook bunkers - which are fairly passive on the fairways, but tend to get more protective around the greens - are firm enough that golfers will want to pick the ball cleanly as opposed to hitting explosion shots. This firmness was particularly evident on a recent morning following heavy rain.

Most of the close-cropped greens are not particularly large, and some seem a little thin, but putts tend to roll true across their well-shaped contours. Silva designed several of the putting surfaces to slope from front to back, which puts a premium on well-crafted approach shots.

Overall, the designer says he was given no specific marching orders. “They just wanted to develop a really nice and distinctive daily fee course,” he declares.

After finishing the scenic, uphill 370-yard, par-4 ninth, which is bordered by 10-foot spruces and a weathered wooden fence on the right, golfers drop down a more gentle slope on the 374-yard, par-4 10th to start the inbound nine. This is a great risk-and-reward hole for players that hit a decent drive and then shoot for the pin over a marshy pond.

From there, it’s under the Route 4 tunnel and up the big hill for a quick 206-yard, par-3 at the 11th before climbing to the hilltop for a completely different environment. The surrounding mountain and valley views are as gorgeous as they are variable during the following up-and down string of six holes.

The par-3, 169-yard, 14th is particularly memorable because the tee box sits so high above the green that the distance to the hole becomes deceptively long. Not surprisingly, an ample green side bunker is well-placed to accommodate anemic tee shots.

The pungent aroma of manure is detectable on the 386-yard, par-4,15th, which features a steep hill buttressed by embedded boulders on the right and a drop to nowhere on the left. The smell emanates from another working farm across the street from the clubhouse. Yet another element of this richly variable tract is on display from the 16th tee, which is one of five holes requiring blind drives: a mobile home park. Somehow, it seems to fit right in.

The par-4, 17th drops precipitously downhill to a green protected on either side by bunkers. There is more long rough on the right here, so straight shots will be rewarded. This is the last of the highland holes, and after finishing it, players head back through the tunnel to the finishing 354-yard, 18th, which offers handsome views of the red brick house and signature barn.

At the turn or after the 18th, the snack shop and well-stocked bar is a good place to grab a sandwich or a cool drink. More elaborate fare may be had at any of the functions that are held in the large tent set up next to the clubhouse.

Jeff Maldonis, the director of advertising and events manager, is a former marketing sales executive at the Boston Herald and married his way into the Flynn family. According to Maldonis, he reaches out to the local area for a lot of business.

“Our special touch is customer service,” he declares. “We do a lot of stay-and-plays with resorts and hotels in southern Maine. We also handle corporate outings, weddings, lobster bakes and lots of other events.”

The main event remains golf, however, and the split personality of The Links at Outlook makes it twice as fun to play.