The Best Country Clubs in Maine, Ranked by the Facts
Search "best country clubs in Maine" and you get the same thing every time: a list ordered by star ratings and "prestige," which is really a measure of who is motivated to post reviews and who has the marketing budget to look exclusive. That is backwards. A private club's members have every reason to talk their club up, because they bought into it, and the clubs that spend the most on branding are not automatically the best places to be a member. So this ranking ignores the aggregate opinion entirely and uses the things you can actually check: who designed the course and when, what championships the club has hosted, how long it has been operating, and what you actually get for your membership. Where the facts are thin, I say so instead of reaching for "known for its quality."
First, what a country club actually is
This matters, because half the "best country clubs in Maine" lists you will find are really lists of good golf courses, and those are not the same thing. A country club is a private, member-based club organized around more than golf: dining, usually racquets and a pool, often fitness and year-round social life. A golf club is organized around the golf and little else, and many of Maine's most beloved "clubs" are actually semi-private, meaning the public can book a tee time. Kebo Valley, Boothbay Harbor, and Cape Arundel are three of the best courses in the state, and none of them is a private country club in the sense someone shopping for a family membership means. I rank the genuine country clubs first, then cover those course-first clubs honestly in their own section, because pretending they are the same thing is how these lists mislead people.
Almost all of Maine's real private country clubs sit within 25 minutes of Portland, which is not regional bias, it is just where the population and the money are. The two standouts outside that radius get their due below.
How this ranking works
Four measurable inputs, in rough order of weight: architectural pedigree (a Donald Ross or a proven modern championship design outranks an anonymous layout), championship and tournament hosting record (a verifiable credential, not an opinion), history and longevity (a club that has operated continuously for a century has proven something), and amenity breadth (what makes it a country club rather than a golf club). Access and price are noted where known, but no Maine private club publishes its initiation fee, so treat any specific number you see elsewhere as a guess and call the membership office.
1. Portland Country Club (Falmouth Foreside)
The pedigree pick, and it is not particularly close on that axis. Founded in 1895 and settled on its bluff-top Falmouth Foreside property by 1914, Portland Country Club retained Donald Ross to lay out a new 18-hole course in 1921, and that Ross course, with long looks across Casco Bay, is the single most credentialed piece of golf architecture among Maine's private clubs. In the late 2010s the club ran a historically minded restoration under Ron Prichard, reopening original corridors and expanding greens back toward their Ross perimeters, which is exactly what a serious club does with a classic course. It was also the first Maine course certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Add traditional country-club breadth, swimming, tennis, pickleball, platform tennis, year-round dining, and you have the most complete pedigree in the state. It is also the hardest of the mainstream clubs to join, with a real sponsorship process. For how it compares head to head with its neighbors, see our honest comparison of southern Maine's private clubs.
2. Falmouth Country Club (Falmouth)
The strongest modern all-arounder, and the only Maine club with a current championship credential. Falmouth Country Club is built around a Cornish and Silva course that opened in 1988, a par 72 measuring 7,372 yards from the tips, which makes it one of the longest tests in the state. Its distinguishing fact is verifiable and unmatched locally: it is the only course in Maine ever to have hosted a Korn Ferry Tour event, the PGA Tour's top developmental circuit, which it did in 2021 and 2022. On amenities it is arguably the broadest in the state, with eight grass tennis courts, Har-Tru clay courts being enclosed for year-round indoor play, cushioned pickleball courts, and farm-to-table dining. One structural point worth understanding: Falmouth is a non-equity club, owned and operated by a Maine family company rather than by its members, which means the ownership reinvests to attract members instead of assessing a captive membership for capital projects. That is a genuine difference in how the bills work, explained in full in our guide to equity versus non-equity clubs. It has also historically been the most accessible entry point into private golf near Portland.
3. The Woodlands Club (Falmouth)
The family pick, and the best pure country-club-as-year-round-resort in the state. Established in 1988 and member-owned, the Woodlands is built around breadth rather than golf purity: a George and Jim Fazio course that has hosted professional and amateur events, indoor and outdoor pools, one of the better indoor tennis and pickleball setups in New England, squash, racquetball, a full fitness operation, and family and adult dining. Judging it purely on golf misses the point. This is the club for a household where one person plays 60 rounds, another lives on the courts, and the kids are in the pool all summer.
4. Penobscot Valley Country Club (Orono)
The best country club in northern Maine, and a genuine architectural credential. Penobscot Valley was incorporated in 1923 and hired Donald Ross to build a full 18 on riverfront farmland, first played in 1924, making it one of the northernmost Ross designs anywhere. It has hosted more than ten Maine Amateur championships, and Hall of Famers including Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and Patty Berg have played it over the years, a hosting record most southern clubs cannot match. A new clubhouse went up in 2001, and the club changed hands in 2025. If you live in the Bangor-Orono orbit, this is the one with the real pedigree.
5. Purpoodock Club (Cape Elizabeth)
The golfer's country club. Purpoodock has held its Cape Elizabeth ground since 1922, with a course reworked by the Cornish design lineage, a serious practice operation, and a culture that is unapologetically golf-first while still offering dining and banquet facilities. What you give up is the resort sprawl. What you get is a club where the Saturday question is what time you are going off, not which committee you are missing. It draws heavily from the south side of the bridge.
6. Prouts Neck Country Club (Scarborough)
The summer-colony club, and a course architecture enthusiast's quiet favorite. Prouts Neck is a Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek design from 1924, sitting on the neck where Winslow Homer painted, attached to one of the oldest summer communities in Maine. It runs seasonally, roughly April into early November, and is members-only through the heart of summer. The course is short by modern standards at around 6,000 yards, but it is a charming, breezy seaside walk. For most Portland-area golfers it is a place you get invited to, not a place you join.
The great clubs that are not country clubs
These outrank several names above on pure course quality, and they are semi-private, so anyone can play them. They are golf clubs, not multi-amenity private country clubs, which is the only reason they sit in their own section.
Kebo Valley Club (Bar Harbor) is the oldest golf club in Maine and, incorporated in 1888, the eighth oldest in the United States. Its original layout debuted in 1891, and President Taft, Harry Vardon, and Walter Hagen all played it, with Hagen's 1922 course-record 67 standing for 50 years. It borders Acadia National Park. As history and course, it is arguably the most significant golf property in the state.
Boothbay Harbor Country Club carries "country club" in its name but functions as a semi-private, residentially anchored golf club. Its original nine came from Stiles and Van Kleek in 1921, was extended to 18 in 1999, and then got a complete Bruce Hepner redesign in 2016 that produced a 7,151-yard, par-71 course rated 74.3 with a slope of 139. It is one of the best-conditioned and most acclaimed courses in Maine today.
Cape Arundel Golf Club (Kennebunkport) dates to 1896, with a Walter Travis routing from the early 1920s built on an earlier Alexander Findlay nine. Its small, wildly contoured green complexes are the draw, and it has long been the summer golf club of the Bush family. It is a design-lover's course, not a full country club.
Sunday River and Sugarloaf, both Robert Trent Jones Jr. mountain designs, are outstanding public golf, but they are resorts, not member clubs, so they are out of scope here. If your question is really where to play rather than where to join, start with our ranking of the best golf courses near Portland.
The honest bottom line
Want the most pedigreed classic golf and deepest history? Portland Country Club. A current championship credential, the broadest amenities, and the most realistic path in? Falmouth Country Club. A year-round family athletic club? The Woodlands. North of Portland, Penobscot Valley. And if you just want to play the best courses in Maine, three of them are semi-private and bookable this week. What none of these clubs will do is post a price, so once you have a shortlist, read our breakdown of what a Maine country club membership really costs and then call.
FAQ
What is the oldest country club in Maine?
Kebo Valley in Bar Harbor is the oldest golf club in Maine, incorporated in 1888 and the eighth oldest in the United States, with play beginning on its original layout in 1891. Among full private country clubs, Portland Country Club traces its founding to 1895.
What is the best golf course at a Maine country club?
By architectural pedigree it is the Donald Ross course at Portland Country Club, which dates to 1921 and was restored to its original form in the late 2010s. By modern championship credential, Falmouth Country Club is the only Maine course to have hosted a Korn Ferry Tour event, in 2021 and 2022.
Which Maine country club is best for families?
The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, by a clear margin. Its indoor and outdoor pools, extensive indoor racquet facilities, fitness programming, and family dining make it the closest thing in the state to a year-round family club, with a championship Fazio course attached.
Are Maine's best golf clubs private or can the public play?
It depends on the club. Portland Country Club, Falmouth Country Club, the Woodlands, Purpoodock, and Prouts Neck are private and require membership. Kebo Valley, Boothbay Harbor Country Club, and Cape Arundel are semi-private, so the public can book tee times.
How much does a Maine country club membership cost?
No private club in Maine publishes its initiation fee or dues, and figures posted on third-party sites are usually scraped, outdated, or invented. Expect a meaningful initiation fee plus annual dues at the established clubs, and contact each membership office directly for current numbers.
Which Maine country club has hosted professional golf?
Falmouth Country Club hosted the Live and Work in Maine Open on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2021 and 2022, the only Korn Ferry Tour events ever held in Maine. Penobscot Valley in Orono has hosted more than ten Maine Amateur championships and has been played by Hall of Famers including Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.