BANGOR – After six years as an off-course stand-alone golf business in the Bangor area, Golf Country at the Airport Mall on Union Street is closing.

“It was not meant to be, I guess,” said Mike Clendenning, one of four owners of the business that includes his wife Nickole, Bill Curtis and his wife Carol.

They decided to close the business a couple of weeks ago, said Clendenning.

Bill Curtis said they will keep the doors open for a while.

“Probably ’til the first of November or a little after,” he said.

The closure will also apply to the driving range, which is across the parking lot from the mall behind McDonald’s.

Golf Country opened in 2001, and the driving range followed near the end of 2005.

Bill Curtis, who handled a lot of the golf lessons as well as overseeing the driving range, said he will miss seeing, as often, the friends he has made.

“Over the last five or six years, I’ve made lot of friends,” said Curtis. “Those friendships won’t diminish, I just won’t see them as much.”

Clendenning appreciated the response of some of their customers.

“A lot have stopped by to wish us luck,” he said. “They’re sorry to see the store go.

“I met a lot of good people doing this.”

Meanwhile, everything’s on sale. Almost literally.

“I’m even going to sell the 400-square-foot putting green,” said Curtis. “It’s all available.”

And then some.

“There are a lot of things people wouldn’t even think of, like the teeing mats [on the driving range],” said Curtis.

Some merchandise has sold already, but bargain hunters may still find something they want, such as shoes, club sets, putters or accessories.

“We’re going to sell at discounted prices until it’s gone,” said Curtis. “The longer [the sale] goes, the bigger the discount.”

Both Curtis and Clendenning are looking to what they will do next.

“I’m going to try to stay in golf. I’m looking to be at a local golf course next year,” Curtis said. “I look to continue giving lessons and connect with golfers I’ve known long term over the years.”

Curtis added, “Starting over, that’s the easy part. I can start over, but not seeing the people I’m accustomed to, that’s hard.”

Clendenning already has another job, one he started last year.

“I’ll be concentrating on my dad’s course in Enfield,” he said of Green Valley Golf Course.

“It was a great stint while we were here. It’s time to move on,” added Clendenning.

Speirs runner-up in Memphis

Jesse Speirs of Bangor, a junior on the University of Mississippi golf team, posted a second-place finish in the Memphis Intercollegiate earlier this week to lead the Rebels to the team title.

Speirs, 2002 and ’03 winner of the Paul Bunyan Amateur golf Tournament and runner-up in the ’02 Greater Bangor Open, finished with a two-day total of 5-under-par 139 at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tenn. He was one stroke off the pace of medalist Kevin Foley of Penn State.

Speirs posted a 5-under-par 67 on Monday, then followed it with an even-par 72 on Tuesday. It was his third straight top-10 finish.

Ole Miss finished with a two-day team score of 572, 4 under par and eight strokes ahead of runner-up Southern Mississippi. Sixth-ranked Penn State was fourth, 12 strokes back.

Rebels coach Ernest Ross expressed his happiness with his team’s performance and Speirs’ in particular.

“We are extremely excited for Jesse Speirs,” Ross was quoted as saying on the Ole Miss Web site. “He almost won the tournament. He’s proving to be a real force in college golf.”

Speirs is in his first year of competition at Mississippi. He played two years at Texas Christian University before transferring earlier this year.