KENDUSKEAG, Maine — The Kenduskeag Valley Golf Course is no longer a golf course.

A young couple, Caleb and Gabrielle Guerin from Glenburn, recently bought the 77-acre layout, the Wrong Turn Pub and the house that goes with it from Jim Poole.





They intend to raise a family there.

The nine-hole course was designed by Bob Girvan and the first tee shot was launched in 1958.

“We were looking for a property with five or more acres and, what do you know, we found one with 77 acres,” said Gabrielle Guerin Monday. “We had the opportunity and we took it.

“It is above and beyond our expectations like the Bible says. We believe it to be true,” she added. “It brings glory to God.”

Guerin said she and her husband thought about keeping it a golf course “for a quick second.

“But it wasn’t our passion,” she said. “We enjoy its beauty around us.”

Caleb Guerin’s parents, Joe and Stacey Guerin, own the R.M. Flagg Foodservice Equipment Company in Bangor. Stacey Guerin is also a state legislator from Glenburn.

Gabrielle Guerin isn’t sure what they will eventually do with the property.

“We’ll see what doors of opportunity come our way. We’re not sure if we’re going to have a business here. We enjoy the land. We’re taking it one step at a time,” she said. “For right now, we’re trying to turn the pub into our home.”

They have already held a wedding there and, on July 23, they are hosting a concert featuring the Christian band Rise and Run. The concert will go from 6-9 p.m.

Gabrielle Guerin would not divulge how much they paid for the property but it was valued at $625,260.

The Kenduskeag Valley GC was 2,562 yards long and was a par 34. Parts of the course ran along the Kenduskeag Stream.

Jim and Sandra Poole bought the course from Ed and Lucille Koncinsky in 2003 and moved from Tampa, Florida, to Kenduskeag.

Jim Poole has since moved to Hawaii.

In 2007, the Pooles transformed the original building, which included a farmhouse, golf shop and a residence, into the Wrong Turn Pub restaurant and clubhouse along with the house.

The clubhouse can seat 50 and can hold up to 80 for special occasions.

Poole made significant improvements to the course in 2012, including the addition of a new third green.

Sandy Preston, the town clerk in Kenduskeag, had originally hoped the area would remain a golf course because it was good to have a business in town but she said she is glad the Guerins bought it.

“They’re a wonderful couple,” she said.

Several golfers who were playing at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course on Monday recalled playing Kenduskeag and had fond memories of it.

“It was a nice layout. It had everything you would want,” said Gary Parker, who lives in Bangor during the summer and in Naples, Florida, the rest of the year. “I always enjoyed playing there. I would play there three or four times a month.

“I always had a good time there. It was a nice course and it was easy to play,” said Bangor’s Bill Papsadora. “It was spread out. There wasn’t any narrowness to it. We used to take retirees from our company [General Electric] to play golf and when we asked them where they wanted to play they would always say Kenduskeag.”

Mike Dunphy from Bangor said when he started playing golf 20 years ago, Kenduskeag had a deal where golfers could play all day for $10.

“I learned to play golf there. I used to play two or three times a week,” said Dunphy. “I used to play by myself because I was bad.

“You always felt welcome there,” he added.

He said the hole that ran along the Kenduskeag Stream was “ideal for me because I used to slice the ball. So it would follow the river. That par three hole that was straight uphill was crazy and the ninth hole [leading to the clubhouse] was adventurous.”

Leanne Harvey of Brewer said it was a good course.

“The greens were nice at times and they had a nice clubhouse,” she said.