KINEO TOWNSHIP – Out in the middle of Maine’s most storied lake, on an “island” that isn’t really an island, near a “rock” that’s far more than a rock, Marshall Peterson has a challenge for you.

It’s quite simple, really.

Just put your tee in the ground. Swing away. And then tell him your first shot at Mount Kineo Golf Course doesn’t rank among your favorites … ever.

“When you tee off on No. 1 and watch your ball sail against the mountain, it’s something that you won’t forget,” Peterson says, pausing for a beat before delivering his punch line.

“Even though it may have gone in the woods, you still saw it going,” he says with a laugh.

Golf one round here, even early in the year, after the harsh Maine winters have turned the greens into works-in-progress, and you’ll agree with Peterson.

Peterson and his wife, Lynn Tinsley, found Kineo years ago, while camping at nearby Spencer Bay. They eventually bought and sold the inn on the “island” that’s actually attached – tenuously – to the mainland by a thin spit of land.

Now he’s in the golf business, serving as “golf superintendent and a little-bit-of everything, a crew of one,” for the owners.

From the very beginning, Peterson recognized that things are different out here, in the middle of Moosehead Lake.

“This is our ninth or tenth year back here, and this is always special,” Peterson says. “When you look at The Rock, you can always see why. Especially at night. There are no cars. There are no lights. Only loons.”

“The Rock,” is Mount Kineo itself, a rugged chunk of earth that juts majestically from the depths of Moosehead and rises more than 700 feet above the surface of the lake.

And at Mount Kineo Golf Club, The Rock serves as a fitting backdrop to a true wilderness test of golf.

“It can get testy,” Peterson says. “I think it will test [every golfer]. You can use most of your clubs.”

Despite its location in the middle of one of Maine’s top summer destinations, Peterson admits that that many golfers have yet to find their way to Kineo.

“A lot of people don’t know this is here,” he says. “And it’s been here since the late 1800s.”

Well, almost.

The course, originally a 13-hole layout, did exist in the late 19th century, when Kineo served as a wilderness playground for the rich and powerful. A massive inn sat on the point of the “island,” and hundreds of guests spent their vacation months playing tennis and golf, attending masquerade balls, and listening to the Kineo symphony’s regular concerts.

“I’ve got photographs from 1906,” Peterson says. “At the very top [of the hillside leading to Mount Kineo] there was a huge green … [and they had] sheep for the fairways.”

But after the inn’s demise and eventual destruction by fire, the buildings on the island – and the golf course – fell into disrepair.

“From about 1974 to 85, the place was totally abandoned,” Peterson says. “The houses were gutted, the greens were under raspberries.”

The golf course was reclaimed in the mid 1980s, and a new clubhouse is nestled in a grove of trees well away from the strip of summer homes that line Kineo’s main thoroughfare.

This season, Peterson got off the boat in May on his first trip to Kineo, walked around the course, and got an unpleasant surprise.

“The greens were my baby, and they were almost perfect last year,” Peterson says. “I died when I came here and saw what the winter kill was.”

Peterson is hard at work, and figures that water, work, and Mother Nature will have the greens back in good shape in a few weeks.

Mount Kineo Golf Club’s length won’t bother most golfers – its par fives measure a manageable 458 and 474 yards for men (417 and a longish 474 for women).

Its troubles present itself in more … elemental … ways.

At Kineo, shots land in one of three places: Fairway (good). Rough (bad). And forest (very, very bad).

With the exception of two two-hole combinations (1-6 and 8-9) where fairways run parallel to each other, errant shots are often unplayable.

Not that you’re likely to care too, too much: Out here, like Peterson points out, even shanked shots can look pretty nice … until they land.

Especially on the course’s signature hole, the 138-yard fourth.

With Mount Kineo looming behind the green, golfers are faced with a 120-yard forced carry over a picturesque pond. The path to the green is on a causeway that separates the pond from Moosehead Lake.

Some of Mount Kineo Golf Course’s other features:

. You can get there from here. But it takes a bit of work.

To get to Kineo, you have to head to Rockwood and hop on the hourly Kineo Shuttle. From there, a 10-minute boat trip will take you to the “island” dock.

“If somebody calls and says ‘We’re gonna be on the 10 o’clock shuttle and we have a party of four,’ we’ll have two carts down there for them,” Peterson says.

From the dock, it’s a convenient driver-four-iron cart-ride to the clubhouse.

. You’ll really feel like you’re roughing it.

According to Peterson, Kineo Township’s covenant dictates when, and for what purpose, cars can be used.

If you’re not hauling building materials onto Kineo, or taking a load of supplies from the town dock to your home, people get around by golf cart.

. No big crowds.

As Peterson points out, it’s pretty tough to have a big rush of golfers on Kineo.

“It’s different from a regular course because there’s no drive-up traffic,” he says. “So you can space [the golfers out on the course].”

If several golfers show up on the same boat, Peterson may start them on three or four different holes to spread the groups out.

. Wildlife abounds.

Through June, moose are plentiful. Geese, ducks, squirrels and chipmunks also make the rounds at Kineo.

Not that all of the wildlife is particularly welcome: Peterson said the geese were a problem last year. The moose tend to leave big footprints in the greens.

But this year it’s another critter that has been the most troublesome.

“Lynn and some friends were playing with some friends and a fox came out of the woods, grabbed her ball, and ran into the woods,” Peterson said.

MOUNT KINEO GOLF COURSE

Holes: Nine

Yards: 2,781 (red tees), 3,011 (white) par: 36

Green fees: 9 holes: $15; 18 holes: $20; weekly: $95

Memberships: $250 single, $400 family of two ($100 for each additional member)

Tee times: accepted, not required

Directions: Follow Route 6/15 through Greenville to Rockwood, take Kineo Shuttle out to island, follow dirt road to clubhouse

Footwear: no restrictions

Phone: 534-9012

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