Cape Arundel Golf Club

Few courses in New England carry the quiet distinction of Cape Arundel. Founded in 1897, it ranks among Maine's oldest golf clubs, and its compact, walkable layout along the tidal marshes and pines of Kennebunkport has changed remarkably little over more than a century. The course was designed by Walter J. Travis, one of the most influential figures in early American golf architecture, and his fingerprints remain visible in the strategic bunkering and the premium placed on precision over power. George H.W. Bush was a longtime member and regular presence here, lending the club a certain historical footnote that locals tend to mention with understated pride.

The surrounding landscape does much of the work. Kennebunkport sits where the Kennebunk River meets the Atlantic, and the golf here feels genuinely coastal — salt air, firm turf, and views that periodically open toward tidal flats and marshland.

At par 69, this is not a course that asks for length. It rewards shot-making, course management, and patience — the kind of golf Travis himself believed in.