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Aroostook Valley Country Club

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Coordinates: 46°48′02″N 67°47′22″W / 46.800487°N 67.789412°W / 46.800487; -67.789412
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Aroostook Valley Country Club entrance showing US and Canadian flags and border marker
As shown in 1998, this sign directed Canadian golfers to proceed up the hill and return directly to Canada. Currently, the US Border Patrol does not allow Canadian golfers to travel to the course via Brown Road.
Entrance to the Aroostook Valley Country Club
Aroostook Valley Country Club showing US and Canadian flags

The Aroostook Valley Country Club is a golf course which straddles the Canada–US border, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The club, located near Southern Victoria, New Brunswick and Fort Fairfield, Maine, has its course (except part of the tee area for the ninth hole, and possibly part of a sand trap on the first hole) and clubhouse on the Canadian side of the border. Its parking lot and pro shop are on the American side.[1] Although the course is located entirely on one side of the border, three holes are close enough to the border that crooked shots enter the United States.[2] The club was founded in 1929; its position on the border allowed American golfers to bypass Prohibition without passing through customs.[3][4] Club membership was previously roughly half Canadian and half American.[5] Post-pandemic with tougher access requirements, American membership has fallen by close to 70%.[6] [7]

Pre-Covid 19 pandemic access[edit]

Border sign on Russell Road at entrance from Brown Road

Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, the only entry to the course was on the American side of the border, American golfers could use the entire club without reporting to a Port of Entry.[1] Canadian golfers used a small local road, Brown Road, to cross the border and access the country club. Canada had a seasonal border checkpoint on the road but until 2008, entry to the U.S. had been unsecured since the 1950s.[5] In 2008, however, the U.S. border officials closed the unpatrolled border crossing on Brown Road, citing increased concerns over terrorism and a drug sale on the course in 2006.[8] The closure required Canadian golfers to make a 33-kilometre (21 mi) detour through Fort Fairfield to access the course and was criticized by the Fort Fairfield town manager and the country club's golf pro. U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Canadian MP Mike Allen proposed that U.S. border officials establish a new seasonal border checkpoint on Brown Road.[5] Up to 2019, the Four Falls Border Crossing was a seasonally open border checkpoint along Brown Road on the Canadian side.[9][1]

Access during Covid 19 Pandemic[edit]

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–21, the USA-Canada border was effectively closed. Canadian traffic to the golf club was diverted away from the US by crossing from Brown Road southbound onto private land[10] to reach the parking lot, then operating golf carts beside Russell Road (but not on it, as the road is in the US) to reach the course. Americans could not access the golf club.

Access post Covid 19 Pandemic[edit]

Since the Covid 19 Pandemic US and Canadian authorities have strictly enforced access to the club. People coming from Canada continue to use the route opened during the pandemic. Golfers from the USA wanting to use the club are required to officially enter at a border crossing (the closest is at Carlingford, opposite the US Customs Fort Fairfield Post) and then access the course the same way as for people coming from Canada. They must also do the reverse to return to the USA.[11]

Scorecard[edit]

Aroostook Valley Country Club (distances in yards)
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Blue 69.1 / 122 388 341 494 170 471 336 352 150 378 3080 395 342 510 202 530 180 402 149 514 3224 6304
White 67.4 / 118 375 327 478 152 440 308 334 139 365 2918 382 322 489 189 510 156 383 134 494 3059 5977
Par 4 4 5 3 5 4 4 3 4 36 4 4 5 3 5 3 4 3 5 36 72
Ladies' 70.0 / 119 351 277 458 130 397 278 257 108 356 2612 370 314 393 183 467 105 358 122 469 2781 5393

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Chapter 1: Eastern Maine". United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border. The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Winter 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  2. ^ Pennington, Bill (2012). On Par: The Everyday Golfer's Survival Guide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 352. ISBN 9780547548159.
  3. ^ "19th Hole of New U.S. Golf Club in Canada". Chicago Tribune. August 4, 1929.
  4. ^ Spinski, Tristan. "The Golfer's Journal- Proof in the Spirits". The Golfer’s Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  5. ^ a b c "Golfers' drive out of bounds, say U.S. officials". CBC News. June 27, 2008. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  6. ^ AVCC website, history section.
  7. ^ American Golfers Reluctant to Cross Border to Play AVCC, Business News, 8 May 2024
  8. ^ George, Jason (August 17, 2008). "U.S. swings at terrorists, hits golfers". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  9. ^ "2011 Golf Season at AVCC".
  10. ^ "Canadian Entry/Exit Directions to AVCC". Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. AVCC has received tremendous cooperation from Mike Dubé (property owner)...
  11. ^ AVCC Guidance on access from the USA

External links[edit]

46°48′02″N 67°47′22″W / 46.800487°N 67.789412°W / 46.800487; -67.789412

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