Aroostook Valley Country Club

The Aroostook Valley Country Club was founded in 1929 on the border between New Brunswick and Maine, and the border is the point of it. Prohibition was in force in the United States. Siting the clubhouse a few feet into Canada meant American members could drink legally without clearing customs, and put the club’s assets beyond the reach of American dry laws.

It started as nine holes and reached eighteen by 1960. It is a semi-private par 72. The clubhouse and the course are on the Canadian side; the parking lot and the pro shop are in Maine.

What it asks of you

Golf here involves crossing an international border on foot between your car and the first tee, which is not something any other course asks. Three holes run close enough to the line that a bad shot can finish in another country.

Beyond the novelty it is a country course in the Saint John river valley: rolling potato-farming ground, wide corridors, and a season shortened at both ends by northern Maine and western New Brunswick weather.

The membership used to be about half Canadian and half American. Since border requirements tightened around the pandemic, American membership has fallen by close to seventy per cent, which has changed the club more than any design work could.

What players say about it

The club is semi-private and its border position gets it more press than a course this size would otherwise attract. The points below summarise what recurs. These are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course, and we name and quote no one.

What comes up in its favor

• The border story is the reason most visitors come, and they are not disappointed by it.
• Value is repeatedly cited.
• Conditioning is generally well reported for a club of this size.
• The welcome, from a club used to visitors from two countries, comes up often.
• The Aroostook valley setting is pleasant and quiet.

What comes up against

• Crossing the border, even informally, is more complicated than it was, and visitors should check the rules before travelling.
• The season is very short this far north.
• It is remote, and nobody reaches it by accident.
• The design is unremarkable; the location is the attraction.

Getting there and when to go

The club is between Fort Fairfield, Maine, and Southern Victoria, New Brunswick. The parking lot is reached from the American side; the clubhouse is in Canada.

The season runs roughly from May to October. July and August are the reliable months. Check the current border requirements before travelling, as they have changed since 2020.

Green fees

Rates and conditions are set by the club. See the club’s own site.

How this page was made

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap for the location, encyclopaedic entries and regional press for the 1929 founding, the Prohibition motive for siting the clubhouse in Canada, the expansion to eighteen holes by 1960 and the fall in American membership since the pandemic. Published accounts differ on exactly how much of the course lies on each side of the line, so we report the clubhouse and course as Canadian and the parking and pro shop as American, and say no more than that. The opinion section summarises public reviews read in September 2026; we report recurring themes rather than individual voices, and we reproduce no quotations.

We have not played this course, and this page is no substitute for a round. The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say over its content. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.