Links at Outlook South Berwick, ME
If you’re seeking a different golf experience, consider the Links at Outlook. You can play two styles of courses, but all in one scenic setting. It’s just 45 minutes from Portland or 75 minutes from Boston.
The Links at Outlook start you off with a links-style nine, but without the ocean. The front nine (a former farm) is mostly treeless, with high grasses and gentle mounding defining the fairways. Here you’ll find challenging, undulating greens, where you can run a ball up along the ground (a seemingly forgotten art). Open land usually means breezes, and often there are plenty enough to keep you alert on this lovely track.
The back nine has a distinctly different character. Fir trees line the fairways as the course climbs over and around a hill that eventually places you nearly 200 feet over the flatter front nine. From several spots up here, you can see the front nine holes, as well as some of the mountains many miles distant.
It’s the front-to-back difference that makes for the appeal of the links at Outlook. On the front nine, you can hit lots of drivers and play the big game. On the back, you have to play more strategically through the narrower fairways.
To really have a different look at the course, play different tees on successive visits. There’s a difference of about 1000 yards between the blacks and the whites, and the former makes for a very tough course. Says head pro Dave Paskowski, PGA, “We hosted the Seacoast Amateur last year, the area’s most prestigious event, and they found it all they could handle from the back. Many had played a scramble here from the blues earlier in the year, and thought they knew the course. Well, only about 20 players even broke 80. It was definitely a surprise for them.” Most players will have a fine time from the whites or blues, he says.
Paskowski says the staff is happy to host outings, tournaments, weddings, and personal and business meetings of all kinds. The restaurant stays open and even offers Sunday brunch through the winter. Make the trip.
