BRUNSWICK

When you’re a member and play your everyday golf at one particular course, one tends to believe it’s an advantage come tournament time.

That’s not necessarily the case coming into this year’s 98th Maine Amateur Championship that is under way today at the Brunswick Golf Club. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Maine State Golf Association.

“The advantages are, you know where the breaks are, but the disadvantages are, we never play this course with this set up. The rough is ridiculously long and overall it plays a lot faster,” said member and Harpwell’s Greg Callahan.

Callahan, who qualified at Penobscot Valley GC in 2016 and made the cut in last year’s Maine Amateur at York Golf and Tennis Club, earning him a spot in this year’s event.

“I’m kind of a transplant here. I came from northern California about five years ago and I’ve been playing MSGA events as much as I can,” Callahan said.

The greens are in top shape for the tournament and the home golfers have taken notice.

“The greens are two to three balls quicker,” said Callahan. “Because they are going to be fast, I’m out here today preparing by hitting my ball with a little more loft because I don’t think the ball is going to check once it lands on the green.”

It’s all about perception, and how you look at the course. Former Brunswick High School standout Derek Devereaux won the 2014 club championship, so he knows a little bit about the course.

“You can certainly have an advantage playing on this course every day. This is a tough course if you don’t play it a lot,” Devereaux said. “I know where to miss. I know the greens, where to hit off the tees and I know the breaks. We have some holes that if you miss in certain spots, you cannot make par,” said Devereaux.

This will be Devereaux’s second Maine Amateur Championship. He qualified at Poland Spring GC both times.

“I qualified there last year and it worked out for me so I went back there this year,” said Devereaux.

Devereaux attends Rogers Williams University and will be playing his second year of golf this fall at the school.

Brunswick GC added championship tees to both holes 11 and four recently. Today’s first round is the first time the 11th tee is being used for play.

“The new tees kind of stink a little because it takes away our advantage,” joked Devereaux. “The tee boxes look really nice and should play well but it definitely levels the playing field some.”

“The blue tees are where a lot of us go from typically, so it’s not too much of a change for us big hitters,” added Callahan.

When play begins, even though the goal is to win the tournament, each Brunswick GC member will be rooting for each other.

“It’s a small community out there. We all know each other in the area, so it’s fun to go out and compete against each other. But at the end of the day, we do root for one another,” Callahan said.

For championship play, the front nine will be played as the back nine, leaving hole No. 9, par-5, as the final hole.

“I like playing nine as 18. It’s a good flow bringing us right up to the clubhouse to finish the round,” Callahan said.

“I like it a lot better with the back nine running first. For tournaments, this back nine runs a lot tighter and creates a championship feel,” Devereaux said.

The course will play as a par 72 and will measure around 6,600 yards for the championship.

Golfers began teeing off today and will continue throughout the day. Wednesday’s tee times begin at 7 a.m. After 36 holes, the field will be cut from 132 golfers to 40 and ties. Tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. on the final day.