I played Sugarloaf yesterday and can report without hesitation that the course is in the best shape I have ever seen it. By far. The greens have never been better and the fairways, from what I heard, were mint. Personally, I am better able to speak to the conditions of the rough, woods, bushes and streams that were fine as usual. Found lots of Pinnacles.

Seriously, the course was in better condition than some I have played on the coast where grass growing isn’t quite the challenge that it is in the mountains. The foliage wasn’t quite peak but it’s quickly headed there and the mountains were absolutely blood red. The air had a crispness to it but it was still shorts and golf shirt weather. If you haven’t ever played Sugarloaf or have been waiting for the right time – well, this is your wakeup call. From their website at www.sugarloaf.com you can find Stay and Play specials that start at $99 and that is the way play it. Make it a roadie.

I know Sunday River has gotten all the hype this year and they certainly deserve all kudos that come their way but to overlook Sugarloaf is a huge mistake. This is perennially a Top 100 Public Course and that speaks for itself. Doesn’t it? Everyone (and I’m as guilty as anyone) looks to compare Sugarloaf with Sunday River and that’s probably a mistake for a bunch of reasons. Actually, it’s alright to compare them but they need to be judged on their own merits. Since both are the work of Robert Trent Jones, Jr and both are located at Maine’s two biggest ski areas and both are in the mountains and both get national recognition – well, it’s natural to stack them side by side, right? Well, consider that one is 20 years older. Think how much has been learned during that span in terms of turf maintenance and cutting a course in rugged terrain. Consider that one isn’t really in the mountains so much as in the foothills.

Is one “better” than the other? Hey, one man’s dogtrack is another’s slice of heaven but these courses are both A plus plus and, when you throw in Belgrade Lakes, Maine has three of the COUNTRY’S BEST PUBLIC COURSES. Think about that. Maine as golf destination? Don’t laugh. I’ll put those three against any other trio you want to throw at me – especially now that there are Stay and Play deals between Belgrade and Sugarloaf (golf Belgrade, stay at the Sugarloaf Inn and golf Sugarloaf the next day) and between Sugarloaf and Sunday River) that have essentially created Maine’s first golf trail. World class golf. People actually take helicopters from their yachts to play Belgrade. Word is getting out. Golf Digest wrote about it this summer. You live closer to paradise than maybe you know.

Do you need to be rich or a great golfer to play Sugarloaf? Not at all. Play it on a Wednesday (Maine Day) and it can be had with cart for $59 much of the year. Even the munis around Portland can cost upwards of $40 so the price spread isn’t what you might think. Unlike many of today’s newer courses crammed into smaller spaces, Sugarloaf was not designed with a lot of forced carries and the forward tees play to less than 6000 yards. Sure, it stretches into a monster from the tips but keep your ego in check and play from the right boxes and it’s a warm and fuzzy course. OK, it’s not that but it’s not what you might have heard either. Will you lose some balls? No doubt. If you spray it off the launch pad, make sure not to develop any close relationships with your golf balls. Every hole has woods running down both sides but the fairways are really not that tight so keep it in play with something less than driver. Will you shoot your low round of the year? Highly unlikely but then again you shouldn’t be going there with that as a goal anyway. I don’t know about you but I can look at a grizzly bear and appreciate its awesome majesty without thinking I need to wrestle it to the ground. Go to Sugarloaf to soak in the splendor that Robert Trent Jones, Jr. bestowed on us some twenty years ago.

And when your buddy hits one deep into a woods so dark that you wouldn’t look for your kids in there, go help him. It’s pretty improbable you’ll find his but you’ll walk out with full pockets.

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