Part of the uniqueness of The County Open Golf Tournament and Scramble is the fact that is played on two different courses – Houlton Community Golf Course in Houlton, Maine and Va Jo Wa Golf Club in Island Falls, Maine. With the unique format of the two events and the differences between the two courses, golfers can golf a little or golf a lot!
Houlton Community Golf Course is located on the shore of Nickerson Lake in Houlton, Maine and offers a challenging 9-hole layout to all players. The Par-72 layout requires golfers to have a unique balance of both driving accuracy and short-game management. Some of the highlights include:
Number 3/12 – Par 3 – a psychological thriller – a straight uphill hole except…. an out of bounds road running directly down the right side
Number 4/13 – Par 4 – Risk it all and try to drive the green or lay up short and wedge onto the tight green
Number 6/15 – Par 5 – Reachable green in two, however, a slight push, usually results in the recovery of your ball from the parking lot
Number 9 – Par 4 – The trees on the left side tend to be a magnet for the first shot despite the deceptively wide fairway
Va Jo Wa Golf Course is located on the shore of Pleasant Pond in Island Falls, Maine and offers a challenging 18-hole layout to all players. The Par-72 layout requires golfers to play every stroke imaginable. Some of the highlights include:
Number 2 – Par 4 – Severe dogleg left requiring accuracy off the tee – bailing out right leaves the hole playing like a par 5, trying to cut the corner left may result in lost balls
Number 6 – Par 3 – A green so close you feel you could throw it on – however three ponds and a sloping green make for some of the larger scores recorded in the tournament
Number 10 – Par 4 – Second shot to a small green is one of the most difficult approaches on the course – poor placement off the tee is almost automatically a bogey or worse
Number 14/15 – Par 4s – Va Jo Wa’s version of Amen corner – succeed in playing these two tree lined holes in no worse than 2 over and you will make up strokes on most of the field
Number 18 – Par 5 – With the high elevation looking over the lower part of the course, a golfer’s second shot on the hole is one of the most scenic but terrifying approaches on the course