Sunday River Golf Club
About
Located just three hours outside of Boston, Sunday River Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., is worth the short trip, especially if you are coming from Portland, which is less than two hours away. It is one of New England's must-play golf courses. The layout is nestled in the foothills of the Mahoosac Range, overlooking the beautiful Sunday River Valley. The course itself is perched on a sloping hillside, offering panoramic views that stretch all the way to Old Spec, Maine's third highest peak. The spacious course measures in at 7,130 yards from the tips. Jones fully utilized the naturally dramatic elevation changes, so be prepared for some uneven lies and the occasional blind shot. The course's challenges are nicely balanced by generous greens and wide fairways, making Sunday River Golf Club accessible for a wide range of skill levels.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 72 | 7051 yards | 75.3 | 150 |
Blue | 72 | 6447 yards | 72.3 | 139 |
White | 72 | 5741 yards | 69.2 | 128 |
Green | 72 | 4906 yards | 65.0 | 120 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black M: 74.9/147 | 518 | 420 | 370 | 204 | 442 | 192 | 503 | 405 | 358 | 3412 | 412 | 589 | 431 | 355 | 207 | 517 | 158 | 490 | 435 | 3594 | 7006 |
Blue M: 72.4/140 | 494 | 394 | 327 | 171 | 418 | 167 | 441 | 379 | 343 | 3134 | 380 | 569 | 403 | 317 | 179 | 480 | 134 | 468 | 406 | 3336 | 6470 |
White M: 68.9/127 W: 73.4/136 | 474 | 361 | 297 | 146 | 391 | 151 | 423 | 310 | 319 | 2872 | 243 | 492 | 356 | 301 | 134 | 439 | 106 | 410 | 383 | 2864 | 5736 |
Green M: 65.3/116 W: 70.2/125 | 401 | 338 | 191 | 137 | 331 | 105 | 355 | 254 | 307 | 2419 | 234 | 457 | 298 | 252 | 108 | 409 | 96 | 331 | 365 | 2550 | 4969 |
Handicap | 11 | 5 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 10 | |||
Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Handicap (W) | 7 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 8 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
SnacksAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet FacilitiesReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by sergiorodz on 05/19/2023
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Sunday River tee box #5 Photo submitted by MONH1 on 09/09/2020
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Sunday river tee box Photo submitted by MONH1 on 09/09/2020
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Par-4 18th Photo submitted by zbuechner4 on 10/03/2016
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Photo submitted by zbuechner4 on 10/03/2016
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Par-3 3rd Photo submitted by zbuechner4 on 10/03/2016
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Photo submitted by MONH1 on 06/15/2015
Great mountain course
Five stars all the way but with a warning to people like me who are a little out of shape. If it's cart path only there's a LOT of uphill walking required. Staff couldn't have been more friendly. Past reviews may show some condition issues but the course is in excellent condition this year. As to the course itself I found it to be an excellent design. When standing on the tee it's pretty obvious where you need to hit your tee shots, and where the trouble is. Fairways are wide, greens receptive. Any type of game works here. It's the type of course where if you're on your game you'll get a good score. And the views are magnificent. It's a very friendly part of the country and worth a visit. We stayed at an area Airbnb, of which there are many. Worth a trip
Condition
This course is not worth the rack rate!
Only play if you can find a special rate on one of the golf sights. Tee box and fairway grass has no body to it. Greens are very slow.
Sunday River was in the best shape I’ve seen it
The golf course and greens are in fabulous condition i’ve played iit a few times a year since it opened. This was the best. I was first out on the day and played in 3 hours enjoyed the scenery. The pro shop is minimalist if you need anything other then balls, a hat and gloves. Just a point to make. It should not effect the rating. This is a five star course on theis day. Keep up the good work Steve!
Beautiful, tough course
We had a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit challenging round at Sunday River. The staff were particularly friendly and accommodating, adjusting our tee time to get us in before a storm and getting us right out on the first hole. The course is spectacular, with big elevation changes and mountain vistas in the background. It’s a must play for any golfer in this part of New England.
Beautiful Views!
This is a beautiful course but it can be a challenge with all the hazards. It was not overcrowd so there was no waiting to hit. The carts have bottles of water, tees and hand towels for you already stocked. A round of golf also includes the range. This is the second time I've played this course and I can't wait to play again.
Happy customer
What a great course!!!! Some of the prettiest views I have ever seen. The fall foliage was going, which just added the the views. This is one the best I have ever played. Was a hard but playable course. If in the area you better play or you will regret it!!!
Wonderful birthday gift!
We played this course on a vacation to Maine and were excited to experience such a picturesque and beautiful panaroma along with playing a challenging course! I could not have asked for a better way to spend my birthday!!! Thanks GolfNow for including this course! We hope to play one more time before returning home!
annual golf trip with the guys
This was the 9th year playing Sunday River with a group of friends. Weather was actually hot for Maine in mid September(Thurs - Sat)- shouldn't complain.
The atmosphere: the layout, design and vistas are amazing.
The course: the greens have always been in great shape - consistently challenging and true rolling. However, this year they were recently top dressed with sand. Tough putting in the morning rounds with the dew causing the sand to stick to ball - call it bad timing, but noticed a similar comment in an earlier review. Curious why they would sand the greens before what I would expect to be a busier time on the weekend. The multiple tee boxes were in great shape, but could've used a mowing. The fairways have seen better days - probably the worst shape we've seen them in the 9 years we've been coming here. The fairways were aerated and sliced in a effort to recover them.
The sand traps with the new white crushed limestone are pristine, however the traps yet to get the new sand tended to be neglected a bit (rocks).
I understand the course is under new ownership and have heard the prior owners let the place (fairways) go due to financial difficulties. The new owners have begun to make changes - including safety improvements on some of the dangerously steep cart paths. The carts no longer had GPS monitors, but I'm told they're replacing all the carts next year including new GPS. Due to the reliance on the GPS - the sprinkler heads aren't marked with yardage, however, the starter was kind enough to provide us with free yardage books - a must.
The course was not nearly as busy as years past. Previous owners offered a membership package which was not offered by new management, less people resulting in a faster pace of play.
The people were great. Pro Shop, bar, kitchen, starter and cart staff were kind and accommodating. Very appreciative of our business, in what must have been a slow year compared to years past.
I'm guessing it has been a tough transition year with new management bringing new people all around. Our group is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt this year and look forward to returning to this award winning course from tee to green.
Sunday River, great greens, rest in need of care and good weather
We played as a twosome and flew on the front. Never saw anyone. Came to a standstill on #ten. Two foursomes on the hole, second group just went on by and ignored us. I would guess the eight knew one another. Perhaps they had stopped for lunch at the turn as I cannot imagine where they came from . It made for a very long back nine.
beautiful views, especially in the fall.
I have played the course several times...and although the weather and views were beautiful, I have to say the course was probably in the worse shape I have ever seen. And as we were playing, probably on 75% of the greens they were just sanding as we were approaching. Still, it was better than a day at the office. I do plan on going back in the fall if I can get the same deal.
Good day, fairways in rough shape
We enjoyed the round , scenery great as usual. The greens were nice but fairways missing a lot turf. Would have been upset if I had payed rack rate!
Great Track
Played 3 rounds here 8/18-8/20 2017 with my son as a part of a stay and play package with The Jordon hotel. The course is a great layout. There is some damage to some of the fairways but they were just aerated so they should recover shortly. We just played the ball up for the weekend. Greens are in great condition and putts rolled consistently and held their line. I would say they were not the fastest running about 9 or 10 on the stimp but they played soft and true. The staff was outstanding and accommodating. Andrew the assistant pro went out of his way to make it a great experience for us. We will go back again and you should not hesitate to book this great course.
Great design, conditioning a bit lacking.
I played here about 10 times last season, but this was the first time this season. Greens were very good, comparable to last year. Fairways were in poor shape, with lots of black areas - much worse than last year. Tees were in pretty good shape but for some reason they were lots of dime-sized rocks on the teas. They must have top-dressed them with poorly sifted sand. The fairway grass was longer than it typically is and the grass on the tees was also a bit longer than normal. Another change is the golf cart gps screens were removed from all the carts. That was a great feature and it's quite a disappointment that they're gone. About half of the on course water jugs were empty.
A positive is they're spruced up many of the bunkers with some new sand, almost white. It's very dense and heavy like crushed marble or something and as a result you can spin the cover off the ball on greenside bunker shots if you keep your speed up, and the firm lies make fairway bunker shots easier.
Starter was a very pleasant, helpful guy. Don't recall them having an actual starter last year.
Overall it's a great course and very much worth playing. Remember to play the appropriate tee for your skill level. I play to a 5 and the black tees were a bit more than I could handle given the soft conditions and wind, and while playing pretty well struggled with 83. Probably should have played the blues. If you are the average golfer move way up or you will shoot considerably higher than you're accustomed to.
Was good not its not
Played Sunday River yesterday and today and we were very disappointed in it's condition. The fairways are a mess but greens seem to be ok. We played Sat & Sunday mornings and the restaurant was not even open ( couldn't get even a cup of coffee). Staff was ok but not real friendly.
This was not the first time we played Sunday River in the last 10 years, we have played 8 times and this was very disappointing compared to the other 8. Sunday River is a magnificent venue which has fallen into disrepair, its need emergency TLC. I hope that the next time I travel to Maine I can play this course and give it a 5 star rating because right not, it's a 1 star.
PS we played Sugerloaf and that is still a 5 Star course.
Gorgeous fall array great golf
Beautiful weather fantastic fall colors and views and terrific course conditions made this a memorable round at Sunday River golf. Took a friend for her first time and she claimed this is now her favorite course in Maine. And all this for less than a cart fee for members thru Golf Now!