WINTERPORT – When John Harrington of Winterport decided to take up golf again after a 35-year hiatus, he had a nearby facility to take care of him, Sonny’s Driving Range and Training Center.

“All my friends have had 40 years [of playing] on me, so I’m trying to catch up,” said the 61-year-old Harrington, “and Sonny’s the man to do it as far as I’m concerned.”

Sonny is Sonny Reynolds, who has taught golf in the area for 20 years, including five years at Hampden Country Club and three years at Pine Hill Golf Club in Brewer.

“I tell everybody I see this is the best facility,” said Harrington. “I went to several driving ranges in Florida, courses where the greens fees were over $100, and they weren’t as nice as this.”

What Reynolds has built on the Cove Road is a place where he can teach all aspects of the golf game.

“I teach how to play golf, not just the swing,” said Reynolds. “This is ideal for learning how to play.”

The 30-acre center includes a 350-yard range, a putting green, chipping area, and eight golf holes. He has been trying for two years to build a ninth hole, but it has been too wet.

But the end is in sight. When he finishes that hole, the facility will finally be the way envisioned it years ago.

Reynolds, who has been teaching golf in the area for 20 years, has been at his current site for 11 years, but the recently retired boom operator for the Maine Air National Guard had been thinking about it for longer than that.

“I looked for two years for an area for the driving range, and this finally opened up,” he said of the property that used to be part of a local farm.

He started with just the driving range, the clubhouse, and the utility shed. He started putting in the golf holes about five years ago and did the entire irrigation system at the same time.

The greens are raised so they drain well and small so they make the players focus better.

Under the normal setup, the longest any of the holes plays is about 210 yards. Sometimes, when he’s teaching course management, he might start his students on one tee but play to a different green so he can have par 4s and par 5s in order to add different challenges.

It seems to be catching on. He has about 15 members who can hit an unlimited number of balls, plus they can play the golf holes until 3 p.m. on weekdays when the driving range opens. That runs until about 8 p.m., later in summers. On weekends, the range opens at noon. The facility is closed Mondays.

Memberships are $300 for a single, $500 for a couple, and will be capped at 50, he said.

“Every year, it grows,” said Reynolds. “Most of my clientele is getting close to retirement. Couples learn together.”

Young golfers play a big part in his plans, too.

He has three junior camps (ages 11-18) that he runs in the summer – one five-day camp each in June, July, and August.

Once Reynolds gets all of his holes in, he’d like to start holding junior tournaments.

“It would be very similar to the old Pleasant Hill Dairy tournament they had at Carmel [Valley Executive Golf Course],” he said. The tournaments would be for 8- to 18-year-olds a couple of times a year.

While Winterport continues to grow, he still finds most of his people coming from the Bangor-Brewer area, including some of the juniors.

“I’m teaching the kids of people I taught before they were married,” he said with a smile.

Reynolds, 57, has playing aspirations of his own, including an attempt to qualify in the fall for the PGA’s Champions Tour.

“I’ve put my game on hold for 15 years while I was teaching and building this,” said Reynolds.

“I’m not going to try until I know I can make it, though,” he added.

Last fall he started playing in Moonlight Tour events in Florida.

“That’s why I play in mini-tour events, to put my game under the pressure of competition,” he said.

Until then, he is eager to take on the challenge of helping others get better.

“I like it in the fall because I need a break,” he said, “but I love it in the spring … because I love to teach.”

Dave Barber can be reached at 990-8170, 1-800-310-8600, or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.