Sunday
River Golf Club construction completed
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
NEWRY,
MAINE (Dec. 22, 2004)--The last strip of sod was laid, and one of the most
talked-about new golf projects is now complete. Construction closed in November.
The front nine of the 18-hole Robert Trent Jones, Jr. championship course opened
to limited play in September through late October while developers Harris Golf
maintained an aggressive construction schedule on the back nine. Hole 18 had
already been complete in summer 2003, but a rainy summer this year delayed the
construction schedule. In order to complete a goal of finishing the back at the
close of the construction season, a second construction crew was brought in.
That move paid off.
“We couldn’t be happier,” says Jeff Harris, President of Harris Golf.
“Completing this project on time was such an important goal for our company.
Everyone from the work crews to the supervisors to the Robert Trent Jones II
company has done a phenomenal job. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to
come into the end of 2004.”
Those that visited the course this fall were in awe of its beauty and
playability. Prior to its construction, world-renowned architect Robert Trent
Jones, Jr. said the course would strike “a balance between challenge and
playability.” The mountain course has 18 self-contained fairways that are the
widest in Maine. There are four sets of tees and plenty of doglegs, bunkers and
elevation changes.
Ty Butler, Vice President and Project Architect for RTJ2, said the setting lent
itself to a design reminiscent of courses developed in the early 20th century.
“When fully open next summer, it will have a classic feel with a bold and
dramatic character,” he said. “We didn’t want to impose the course on the site,
but rather let it follow the natural contours.”
The course is part of a 350-acre site that sits on a northwest-facing hillside
with sweeping views across Sunday River Valley to the Mahoosuc Mountain Range.
It is more than 7,100-yards and includes a driving range. The 10,000 square-foot
clubhouse is log and stone and features a deck with sweeping views, an
indoor/outdoor stone fireplace, a stone-faced bar, woodcarvings and Old Hickory
furniture. The Pro Shop features top of the line golf apparel and equipment.
Close to 50% of the 58-lot housing subdivision adjacent to the course is sold at
this point, and the grand opening of the full, 18-hole facility is set for July
of 2005.
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Sunday River is proud to be a part of the
American Skiing Company
family of resorts, which also includes
Sugarloaf/USA in Maine,
Killington and Mount
Snow in Vermont, Attitash
Bear Peak in New Hampshire,
Steamboat in
Colorado, and The Canyons
in Utah.
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