Maine Basketball Hall of Fame golf tourney back after 4-year hiatus

The 10th annual Maine Basketball Hall of Fame golf scramble will piggyback the Hall’s induction ceremonies for the first time next month.

The scramble will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono beginning at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start. Dinner will follow.

The field will include the first 36 threesomes to enter and two threesomes will start at each hole. There will be a men’s division, women’s division and a mixed division.

The induction ceremony will be held the next day at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor beginning at 10 a.m.

The golf tournament will be the first one since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a major change in operations at the Aroostook Valley Country Club in Fort Fairfield and Four Falls, New Brunswick, which hosted the first nine tourneys.

Americans weren’t able to play the course when the pandemic closed the border between the U.S. and Canada, as it straddles the border. While the border reopened on May 5, 2022, Americans still have to go through the Canadian port of entry and drive to the parking lot, which has added 15 minutes onto their trip, according to tournament director Larry Gardner.

Golfers used to be able to park in the parking lot in Fort Fairfield and walk across to Four Falls, where they would sign in at the clubhouse and then tee off.

Gardner, who is also the tournament director for the Fort Fairfield High School boosters benefit golf scramble on Aug. 3, said he liked the idea of having a Hall of Fame weekend with the golf tournament and induction ceremony on back-to-back days.

“It’s a perfect fit. It makes sense to me,” said Gardner, who added that the people at the Penobscot Valley Country Club have been very accommodating.

Proceeds from the golf tournament will go to the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame.

The entry fee is $125 per person, which includes their round of golf with cart, team gift bags and a buffet dinner.

Cash prizes will go to gross and net place finishes in all divisions and there will be hole-in-one prizes, closest-to-the-pin competitions and a contest for the longest drive.

There will also be a silent auction and the prizes include Boston Celtics and Red Sox tickets, concert tickets, hotel rooms, and stay and play golf packages.

Interested golfers can contact Gardner by email at lgardner@msad20.org or by calling 207-551-5001. For more information or to register your team online, go to the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame website.