Kebo Valley Golf Club

Getting To Know: Kebo Valley Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With David Closson, Club Manager

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with David Closson who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
On the quaint and beautiful Mount Desert Island you will find the home to Kebo Valley Golf Club. Kebo is a gem of a golf course, Kebo Valley Golf Club was EST. in 1888 making Kebo the oldest golf club in Maine and the eighth oldest in the country. Kebo Valley Golf Club consistently ranks in the top five courses to play in Maine by many golf publications. Bordering Acadia National Park, the views are simply breathtaking. The course record is just five under par, which Walter Hagan is one of the holders of a 65.

Make sure to visit Kebo Valley Golf Club's restaurant, The Links Pub for what many of the locals will tell you it is the best lunch on the island.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
If you are looking for a classic parkland links style course Kebo Valley Golf Club is for you. At Kebo you will go out in nine and then back in nine, making our ninth green over a mile and a half from the clubhouse. Kebo is one of the best-maintained golf courses in Maine.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Many of Kebo Valley Golf Club's greens have false fronts, which you do not see on many of todays greens. Most of these greens were built before 1930 so the contours and the slopes with redesigned for the green speeds of that era. "Do not" get on the wrong side of the hole, if you do on many of the greens a delicately struck outt will find itself on the fringe or first cut.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Given a four-star rating by Golf Digest.

Voted one of the best hundred classic courses in United States by Golf Magazine.

In 2012 Kebo was rated number five in the state by Golf World.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
We have two signature holes the first being hole number eight, this hole plays 435 yards from the championship tee. Kebo stream runs along the left-hand side of this fairway with tall hundred-year-old pine trees lining
the right. Walter Hagan said that number eight at Kebo was one of the toughest four par he had ever played. Our second signature hole probably most famous, is the 17th. Known as the Taft hole (yes for President Taft) is a short 350-yard hole ranks as the second hardest hole on the golf course. Out 240 yards lies a creek that runs directly across the hole, as well is running down the whole right side. Maneuver the creek and at 270 yards from the tee lies "the bunker", more like a sandpit. The 17th bunker is about a 45 degree incline, and is upwards to 20 yards deep. President Taft took 27 shots on this hole, with 17 being from the sand bunker. President Taft has to be one of the most persistent presidents we've ever had, most of us would have had ball in pocket well before 27 strokes.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is the fourth, a short par three measuring just 158 yards from the championship tee, with the prevailing wind normally in your face. With an elevation of 100 feet this hole has one of the best views on the golf course.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
After the round try one of our signature Links Pub Burger (it is a meal). Also for the lobster lovers, the Pub has the best value on lobster rolls on the island. If you are a draft beer drinker, try our Real Ale, made just 5 miles from Kebo Valley Golf Club's front door.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The course record of 65 is held by many include Walter Hagan. Many local pros has had it six or seven under going into the 17th hole, but seems the ghost of President Taft has always put a spell on them all.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 70
Yardage: 6131
Slope: 123
Rating: 70.2

More Information
Kebo Valley Golf Club
136 Eagle Lake RD
Bar Harbor, Maine, 04609
207-288-3000 ex1
www.kebovalleyclub.com

Revised: 12/04/2012 - Article Viewed 37,117 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.