BANGOR – Area golfers who were used to seeing a golf store at the Airport Mall on Union Street can still do so.

And, in fact, they’ll see familiar faces. Gary Rees and his wife Toni have opened Maine Indoor Golf Center in the area that formerly housed Golf Country.

“Since the store was here before, it made sense to stay in the same location,” said Gary Rees, who worked at Golf Country for 21/2 years before its closing last November.

The Reeses actually opened their store on Dec. 1.

“I knew it would be quiet starting up,” said Rees.

One reason for it being so quiet was that they didn’t have access to a particular winter high-traffic item, two of which sit in a room next door.

“We hoped we could secure the simulators, too, but that didn’t work out,” said Rees. “Hopefully, this fall.”

That meant concentrating more on other facets.

“Until now, the biggest part of the business was giving lessons,” he said. “Most people don’t realize it, but winter is a great time to take up the basics, then when spring comes, you’re ready to go out.”

Now that people can get out and play, he has seen an increase in store traffic.

“We’ve been real busy the last 2-3 weeks,” said Rees, who believes there will continue to be a steady flow of customers.

“We’ll see people through the summer,” he said. “We do regripping, a little club repair but no reshafting.”

The customer base, according to Rees, includes a number of Canadians and northern Maine golfers who were used to visiting Golf Country.

“They did have a lot of clientele,” he said.

Rees is following up on other ideas, too.

One of them came from the Canadian customers, many of whom play lefthanded. They mentioned how hard it was to find lefthanded equipment.

“A light went on right there,” said Rees, smiling.

“We’re going to try to cater to lefthanders. It seems like there is a lot of market there for ’em,” he said.

A collector himself, he also plans to try dealing in golf antiques and collectibles. There is already a display of clubs marking changes over several decades of the last century.

Rees will also continue to give some lessons outside the shop, such as at Lucerne-in-Maine Golf Club. That will put more of the load in the shop on Toni’s shoulders, but Rees knows she can handle it.

“She has been involved with a shop for 10 years [since Gary was the pro at Dexter Municipal Golf Course],” he said.

“I don’t know what I’d do without her,” he added.

The store also serves as temporary headquarters for the Maine Golf Hall of Fame, which Rees serves as executive director.

Rees, a PGA club pro for 33 years, was also a high school golf coach for 28 years at Greely High School in Cumberland Center and Dexter High School. He would like to help local teams with their needs as well.

He may even get back into coaching.

“I miss it,” he said. “It’ll be four years this year that I haven’t coached. I might not be done, though.”

He’s not looking too far into the future yet.

“I came into this with a one-year deal,” said Rees. “If it works out, I’ll stay. I enjoy it. It’s fun.”

Finding the range

Golfers who are always looking to find the exact yardage to a pin placement, bunker or other course feature will be able to use another tool.

The Maine State Golf Association board of directors approved the use of some laser rangefinders such as the Sky Caddie, Bushnell Pinseeker and Sonocaddie during their tournaments.

The only catch is that ones that measure other conditions such as wind or gradient are not permitted.

dbarber@bangordailynews.net

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