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CAMPOBELLO ISLAND, New Brunswick – It may be the toughest tee shot you’ll ever take, that first swing at Herring Cove Golf Course.
Well, let’s rephrase that. The shot itself isn’t too tough. It’s straight. No visible hazards. You could, one would suppose, whip out the driver and swing with abandon.
Umm … but getting to the tee? That’s the tough part.
Because once you sit on the clubhouse bench for a spell … the one perched high on a hill three miles from Maine and a million more miles from real-life concerns, you might not even want to head onto the course.
You look down at the ocean. Hear the distant roar of waves crashing along the beach. Breathe deeply and savor the crisp, salty air.
Golf? Out here, it can almost be an afterthought.
“I take it for granted a lot,” says Bruce van Tassel, the pro for 18 of the provincial course’s 25 years.
But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate the scene every time he goes to “the office.”
“As much as the view, it’s the smell of that salt air,” van Tassel says. “You know? First thing in the morning, it’s so peaceful and quiet, so warm and sunny. And the smell of that salt air? It would be missed, I think, if I left.”
That’s not surprising:
Herring Cove, a nine-hole Geoffrey Cornish layout, is worth the trip.
Forget the fact that $27.25 in colorful Canadian money (about 18 bucks American) will get you a couple trips around the testy course
Herring Cove – or simply “Campobello,” as it’s often called – would provide a nice change of pace at twice the price. Just know one thing: while Franklin Delano Roosevelt – whose family retreat is the island’s top attraction – is rumored to have contracted polio in a nearby pond, he did not build Herring Cove Golf Club.
Roosevelts do, however, still play the course, van Tassel says.
Van Tassel says one of Herring Cove’s best features is the fact that it’s nothing like the courses that are popping up nowadays.
“I like the topography and the way Geoffrey Cornish never flattens the character of it,” he says.
“He built the golf course using the existing grounds. A lot of the more modern golf courses we play these days are flattened: Very flat tees. Very flat fairways. And if there is a hill, it’s artificially manufactured,” he says. “I find them uninspiring.”
Herring Cove is different: Cornish used the rugged natural terrain to full advantage, letting nature provide golfers with a stern test.
And then, he threw in some help of his own, with some beastly par-3’s, along with well-bunkered greens and shaggy rough.
Each hole has been carved out of the woods, so players can never see another fairway. And that can provide a problem for the wild-off-the-tee bunch: Push one wide at Herring Cove, and you’re gonna have to go bush-whacking.
“I think straight would serve you better on Campobello,” van Tassel says with a chuckle. “We’ve got notoriously deep rough. My advice would be, ‘Don’t hit it in the rough. You know you can’t find the ball. Don’t hit it in the rough.'”
Another tip: If you go around twice, figure on facing some difficult shots into the par 3’s.
“I don’t know that [being] long is a big issue here [overall], although our par 3’s are a bit of a stretch,” van Tassel says, before delivering the bad news. “I’ve got three of them that exceed 200 yards.
The bear of the bunch is a 233-yard monster (No. 16). But No. 5 (a 226-yard downhill gem over water) may be tougher for the short hitter.
Because the tee box on No. 5 is so long, first-time visitors to Campobello sometimes get a rude surprise after hitting their shots from the back tees.
“A lot of people hit their shot and then start walking and say, ‘Oh my god! There was a pond there,'” van Tassel says.
Another challenge for Herring Cove visitors: All the greens but one are elevated, and require a half-club more to reach. And most are guarded by bunkers. Plenty of big, nasty bunkers.
“Our traps are generally within three or four feet of the putting surface, so even slightly errant shots tend to bounce in those pit bunkers,” van Tassel says with a golf pro’s practiced relish.
And golfers who don’t use the extra club? They pay.
“You’re wondering, ‘Maybe distance is my problem,'” van Tassel says. “In actuality, the golf course is just beginning to beat you up.”
A couple of Herring Cove highlights:
. The fourth hole … van Tassel’s favorite.
Although No. 8 is a beauty and Herring Cove’s signature hole, the fourth is a short (298 yards) pesky par 4 that can make or break a round.
“It’s very visually intimidating,” van Tassel says.
One big challenge: What you see isn’t necessarily what you get.
“Local knowledge tells you that any shot hit to the right of center with a slight fade is in the woods,” van Tassel says with the grin that belongs to a guy with most of the local knowledge. “The landing area is only about 15 paces across.”
. You’re always by yourself.
Van Tassel says the volume of play never gets too high, and tee times aren’t accepted. And once you get out on the course, you’re on your own.
If, that is, you can force yourself off that clubhouse bench.
HERRING COVE GOLF COURSE
Holes: Nine
Yards: 3,162 (white tees), 3,162 (blue), 2930 (gold) par: 36
Rating: 72.4
Green fees: 9 holes: $18.50 (Canadian); 18 holes: $27.25 (Canadian)
Memberships: $374 (single)
Tee times: not needed
Directions: Take Route 1 to Whiting, turn onto Route 189, follow Route 189 to Lubec and across FDR Memorial Bridge onto Campobello Island. Route 189 turns into Route 774 in New Brunswick. Follow Route 774 2.4 miles to North Road. Turn right and follow North Road to Herring Cove Road. Turn right. Herring Cove Golf Course is on the left.
Footwear: No restrictions.
Phone: (506) 752-7010
John Holyoke will be profiling a golf course of interest to Mainers each Tuesday. Contact him at 990-8214 or by e-mail at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net
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