Hebert brothers have big plans for country club on Long Lake Madawaska men refurbishing 9-hole golf course, clubhouse

MADAWASKA – Ice, two feet thick, still covers Long Lake, and ice and snow hide the nine-hole, 70-acre golf course tucked in among potato farms of Birch Point Road.

Inside the clubhouse, Al Hebert is serving breakfast to several local folks while keeping an eye on five golf enthusiasts using the golf simulator in a room off the dining area. He’s full of ideas for the 40-plus-year-old golf course he and his brother Bruce Hebert purchased last fall.

In the other room Sunday morning, five golfers from Madawaska, St. Agatha, and Fort Kent were playing a round of golf on a simulator. Another group was coming in at noon and a third group was set to play at 4 p.m.

The Birch Point Golf Club is no more. In its place is rising the Long Lake Country Club, a four seasons facility, on the shore of the lake in northern Maine that is known for huge landlocked salmon and trout.

Al Hebert, 46, is full of enthusiasm as he talks about one of the loves of his life, golf. The two brothers, avid golfers since they were students at Madawaska High School in the 1970s, hope to revive the facility. They want to create a good golf course, one that local people want to use, and a facility that will cater to snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers in the winter.

Snowmobile trail ITS 98B goes right by the place, just before it goes onto Long Lake.

“I’m a golfer, and I know what needs to be done out there,” he said looking out the window of the clubhouse at the snow-covered course. “I’m picky, and this will not be a cabbage patch when I’m done.”

“I want this place to get to the point that people need to call in to get a tee-off time,” Hebert added. “I want it to be a friendly place, a place where people want to spend the day and evening.”

The golf course was started in the early 1960s by some 35 golfers. It opened to the public in 1965, and little has been done to enhance the facility since. Besides the original owners, the course has been owned by George Sheehan and Mike Robertson.

The clubhouse was a former barn, onto which a pro shop and a game room were added over the years. The interior was drab, the building was drafty, and the ambiance was subpar.

Owning the golf course was a dream of the brothers since they graduated from Madawaska High School, Al in 1978 and Bruce, 44, in 1979. Life took its course, and both men joined the military.

Al Hebert is managing the facility, after leaving his 17-year career of being a surveyor technician. He spent four years in the U.S. Air Force and lived in Japan for four years before returning to Madawaska in 1986.

Bruce Hebert, the financial backer of the endeavor, retired from the Air Force and is a computer software engineer in Maryland. He and his wife plan to return to Maine at some point to work the golf course along with his brother.

Since last fall, Hebert has seen to the refurbishing of the clubhouse. He’s created a new dining room, installed new rest rooms, new carpeting, ceilings, renovated the kitchen and lounge, and re-insulated the building.

The dining room has wood wainscoting and wallpaper, as well as the lounge, Hebert’s 19th Hole, where bets are paid, golf stories are told, and cold beer and snacks are available. It includes a half wall of field rock and a pool table and game room off to the side. On Saturday nights, a disc jockey plays music for party time.

In the spring, Hebert says work begins on the golf course, starting with the greens. He wants to create a three-acre lake to use for irrigation of the course, and re-align the course, making it harder, yet more enjoyable for players of all ages and skill levels.

Hebert said he wants the place open seven days a week, year round.

He employs eight people and expects that could rise to as many as 20, mostly part time, during the summer when he is working on the golf course.

Hebert hopes to bring back the prominence the golf course had in its early years.

“I just decided something needed to be done if this course was to remain open,” he said between serving coffee and breakfast Sunday. “It was pretty sad the way it was.

“People just weren’t coming to play anymore. I want to add a dock, lakeside, for people to come by boat.”

By road, the Long Lake Country Club is 10 miles from both Madawaska and St. Agatha. By boat, it’s less than two miles from Route 161 in St. Agatha.

Hebert has a five-year plan for redevelopment of the golf course.

“We’ve had good crowds this winter. That’s been encouraging,” he said.

“The locals are supporting us,” he added.