ROCKPORT – So, you take the scenic little drive down to the coast. Past the flea markets. Past the lobster pounds. Past the antique shops and trinket-hawkers.

You breathe in the fresh salt air.

And you arrive at Goose River Golf Club.

Now, Karl Enroth has some welcoming advice for you.

In essence, it’s this: Check in your trunk. Poke around under your seat. Look deep between the cushions, down with those dried up old French fries.

And make sure that no matter where your very best, top-notch, always-hit-it-straight swing is hiding, you dig it out, dust it off, and take it with you.

Enroth, the golf director at Goose River, said that not doing so at this course will cost a golfer, early. And often.

But mostly early.

“If you don’t bring your swing with you to the first tee, you’re in trouble,” Enroth says, barely hiding the sinister grin that golf directors get when they dispense such nuggets. Like most of us have a swing that dependable, the hacking masses think in unison.

Of course, if you’re a first-time visitor to Goose River, you might have a hard time figuring out exactly where the first hole goes. And what kind of trouble lurks.

Somewhere out there, a full-fledged par-5 away, a whopping 581-yard, dogleg-left in the distance, is the pin. Honest. It’s out there.

But between here … and there? Well, Enroth’s got the right idea.

Bring the swing.

“How many courses set up where your first two shots, on the first hole, may be the toughest two shots you’ll face on the whole course?” Enroth asks, grin in place.

“If you’re not ready to play right off the bat, and if you don’t have your swing with you, that first hole can really come up and bite you,” he says.

And nibble. And gnaw. And chew. But Enroth is too polite to tell you that.

Goose River Golf Club, which sits on the inland side of Rockport, is a nine-hole course with an 18-hole attitude.

The reason for that is clear after one trip around a layout that sprawls across the rolling hills of a former dairy farm.

What you see at Goose River (on the front) is not what you get (on the back).

Many nine-hole courses tweak their tee-box locations to give golfers slightly different looks the second time around.

At Goose River, there are times you’d swear you’re playing an entirely different course.

Take No. 9 and 18, for instance. The first time around, the hole is a simple but challenging 179-yard par-3.

But on the back, it’ll take you two shortish shots to reach that tricky green: No. 18’s tee box is tucked into a hill, and the result is a 306-yard, dogleg left par-4. The only similarity between the two holes may be the fact that they share a cart path and a green.

While Goose River tests players of all ability levels, it doesn’t beat up on the high handicapper like some courses can.

Harold Crockett, who was one of four owners who sold the course two years ago, says many of Goose River’s challenges are subtle.

“The greens are small and there are a lot of undulations in them,” says Crocker, who gladly stayed on as the club’s general manager after the sale.

“You’ve got to be able to read greens real well in order to putt here, because they’ll break just the opposite of what you think they’re going to on some of ’em,” he says.

Another Goose River conundrum: Left (on many holes) is right. But too far left is … ugly.

“Off the tee, if you’re able to hit the ball in the fairway and hit the ball with some draw, it shortens the course up a little bit,” Enroth says. “But … most, if not all, of the out of bounds, is to the left. It’s a risk-reward [situation] there.”

Among Enroth’s favorite holes:

. No. 2, a 338-yard uphill par-4 that doglegs just a bit to the right.

On paper, the hole looks innocent. From the fairway, it looks manageable.

And from the green … it’s a holy terror.

“If you’re above the hole there, you can putt right off the green,” Enroth says.

And if you’re unfortunate enough to miss the green long? Enroth says your only realistic chance to get up-and-down will come when you chip in. Either down the slope on your first attempt, or coming back up after rolling your first chip over the green and down the embankment.

“It’s one of those holes that you have to play to appreciate,” he says.

. No. 1, the aforementioned par-5 beast. The Goose River traverses the fairway and needn’t come into play.

Of course, the golfer’s mind will convince him otherwise.

“If you come out of that hole feeling good, it kind of sets you up for the whole round,” Enroth says.

. No. 6, a 163-yard par-3 that Enroth likes for its aesthetic appeal.

“With the view of the Camden Hills, Mount Battie, and Ragged Mountain, it’s a phenomenal, spectacular view,” Enroth says.

“I appreciate it because it kind of gives you a break and you just look and enjoy the scenery.”

And as Crockett can tell you, there’s plenty of scenery to enjoy at Goose River.

That’s one thing he loves about the course he used to own.

“This place has really grown on me,” he says with a smile.

So much so that when the new owners bought the course, he was hoping they’d ask him to stick around and run things. They did, and he still smiles at the memory.

“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” Crockett says. “It’s a pleasure working here.”

GOOSE RIVER GOLF CLUB

Holes: 9

Yards: 3,049 (white tees), 2,604 (red); par: 36

Slope: 119; rating: 68.5

Green fees: 9 holes: $25, 10-play pass: $200; 18 holes: $35, 10-play pass: $300

Memberships: Single $525, couple $780, family $875, senior (65-over) $475, senior couple $700, young adult (19-23) $435, junior (13-18) $230

Tee times: Beginning at 7 a.m., required from mid-June until late-August, three-day advance.

Directions: Take Route 1 (south) about one mile outside Camden, turn right onto John Street just after McDuck’s convenience store; at four-way stop turn left onto Simonton Street. Goose River Golf Club is on the left.

Footwear: No metal spikes

Phone: 236-8488

John Holyoke will be profiling a Maine golf course each Tuesday. Contact him at 990-8214 or by e-mail at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net