If you’re looking for a golf trip with variety, value, and quality, you’re looking for the Maine Trifecta: three courses, three different layouts and challenges, all for a great rate that includes a cart. Even better, they’re all within 20 minutes of each other – the perfect setup for a buddies’ trip. The Trifecta gets you rounds at Poland Spring, Spring Meadows, and Fox Ridge in Southern Maine.
If you want to make it an easy stay-and-play, then you can book accommodations at the Poland Spring Resort. There are a variety of lodging options, including three inns and 10 cottages, spread across 400 acres. This will provide you with the perfect home base to visit all three courses, offering convenient food and amenities on-site. My wife and I stayed there for four nights and had a blast. The pool was our go-to after every round, followed by a delicious dinner at Mel’s Hilltop Restaurant overlooking the White Mountains.
The Poland Spring golf course is a vintage Donald Ross design that evokes a nostalgic feel, transporting you back to its origins in 1896. The layout features a links-style design and classic Ross turtleback greens that punish anything short. If you value history, then you’ll enjoy the plaques on each hole that delve into the old-time stories of the course. Babe Ruth still holds the record for the longest drive at one of the par 4s, and Charles Lindbergh tried to land his plane on the course. It’s like a living museum. The signature hole is #4, a steep downhill par 4 with a tree-lined fairway and lake backdrop. The rest of the course plays like a true Ross design with deep bunkers, deadpan fairways, and treacherous greens that can force you to 3-putt with ease. 
Next up was Spring Meadows. This course plays short from the white tees, but provides enough challenge to keep you honest. The layout fluctuates between wide open and suffocating, and you will be forced to use every shot in your bag. The front nine feels wide open, while the back tightens up with trees, doglegs, and blind shots that demand focus. The par 5s require precise landing areas, making it challenging to reach in two. Marshland and tall grass add more visual pressure than an actual hazard, but they stay in your line of sight all around. The signature hole is #10, a tee shot behind the clubhouse that drops into a valley. You need a 230-yard carry over water to reach the fairway, and the green has a slope that feeds putts toward another pond.
We wrapped up at Fox Ridge, built across an old cow farm and one of the prettiest layouts in Maine. This course requires a rangefinder or GPS due to the elevation changes and blind shots. The course is in great shape and has a natural build into the surrounding landscape. The greens roll pure and have plenty of tricky bumps, hills, and tiers that force you to putt strategically. The rest of the course rolls through meadows and ponds. You could play this course multiple times and have different approach shots on each hole. The standout is #5, a downhill par 3 to an island green – the kind of shot you don’t forget. You need to check your slope because the tee box is situated high atop a hill, offering a sliver of the rectangular green with water on three sides. Hole 13 is another tricky par three with a severe downhill layout that plays approximately 40 yards shorter than the scorecard indicates.
History at Poland Spring, shotmaking at Spring Meadows, and pure scenery at Fox Ridge – all within a short drive. Pair it with a stay at Poland Spring Resort and you’ve got a trip that hits every note: golf, food, relaxation, and convenience. The Maine Trifecta isn’t just a good deal, it’s quintessential New England golf.
