Harris on course to enter Maine Golf Hall of Fame

loading...

Dick Harris and his wide-ranging golf interests have spent a lot of time in the spotlight this summer.

One Harris Golf operation, Boothbay Country Club, was showcased during last month’s Maine Amateur Golf Championship.

Another, Sunday River Golf Club in Newry, has completed construction and opened the second nine holes of its 18 on Aug. 7.

All of this, plus much more, will be noted when he is inducted along with four others into the Maine Golf Hall of Fame on Sept. 9 at the Marriott Hotel in South Portland. The others are PGA Tour caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, Gorham Country Club pro Mark Fogg, Cape Arundel Golf Club pro Ken Raynor, and former Maine State Golf Association president Saul Gerber.

“I’ve devoted my whole life to golf,” said Harris. “It’s a great honor.”

After starting as a caddie at age 8 at Portland Country Club in Falmouth Foreside, the 63-year-old Harris has become one of the premier golf businessmen in Maine.

Harris Golf now owns three golf courses (Boothbay, Sunday River, Bath Country Club), leases a fourth (Freeport Country Club), and is planning a fifth in Wells.

“Wells will be an upscale public course,” said Harris. “It’s close to the Boston market, and we’ll try to tap into that.”

Wells, like Sunday River, had already had its preliminary planning and permit work done, making it easier to start construction.

There were house lots included in the original Wells plan and Harris said they’ve all been sold. That money will be used to build the golf course.

“You need real estate to build a golf course. You can’t build a real nice golf course in Maine for less than $5.5 million,” said Harris.

Harris began his career as a golf pro at Bath Country Club in 1965. The next year, he became an assistant at Portland Country Club, then moved to Martindale Country Club in Auburn in 1967.

He was head pro there through 1984, when he and a partner founded Falmouth Country Club. That was the same year he opened his first retail store, near the Maine Mall in South Portland.

“It was the first sort of retail store in Maine,” said Harris. “Now we have a shop in Freeport, too.”

Harris was also the head pro at Falmouth until 1998, when his partner ran into financial difficulty, said Harris.

“The members took it over,” said Harris. “It was a wash [financially for him], but it was a good learning experience.”

What he learned was that his only partners should be family.

“That way we control our destiny,” he said.

Son Jason Harris runs Bath, son Jeff runs Boothbay, and other family members hold other positions.

“It’s fun to have everybody involved,” said Dick.

“We’re always striving to upgrade courses so they’re as nice as any private courses,” he said. “Our goal is for people to come and have a great experience.”

That means Sunday River is not a typical mountain course.

“It has big, huge fairways, the biggest in Maine,” said Dick Harris of the 450-acre property.

“We want people to find the ball and play right along,” he said. “It makes it more enjoyable.”

Dick Harris has no thoughts of retiring.

“Not in the next couple of years. I’m having fun,” he said.

For reservations to the Maine Golf Hall of Fame induction, call 799-0983.

Do you speak Deutsche?

I’ll be headed to the Deutsche Bank Championship on Thursday and I’m interested in talking to any residents of northern and eastern Maine who are at the PGA Tour event at the TPC of Boston in Norton, Mass.

I’ll be following Hampden native John Hickson, a teaching pro at Sunday River, for at least the first two days, and I’ll be wearing a Bangor Daily News ballcap. Just tap me on the shoulder.

Also, you may e-mail me at the address below and we’ll try to set up a time to meet.

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