$3M golf learning center is being teed up in Freeport

Rendering of Maine Golf Center that recently broke ground

Rendering / Courtesy of Maine Golf Maine Golf has raised $2.7 million of its $3 million capital campaign goal to build the Alexa Re Rancourt Golf Learning Center in Freeport, with a driving range expected to open in late August.

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By Laurie Schreiber

A nonprofit that promotes golf throughout Maine broke ground last week on a learning center in Freeport that will offer youth programming to make the game more accessible to Maine youth and families.

The project, at the former Freeport Country Club at 2 Old County Road Extension, is to build a not-for-profit golf learning center that will have a junior-friendly golf clubhouse with a pro shop snack bar, indoor classroom and meeting space. It will also have indoor simulators for year-round play.

A driving range is expected to open in late August, and a nine-hole short course is also planned.

Maine Golf has raised $2.7 million of its $3 million capital campaign goal to build the Alexa Re Rancourt Golf Learning Center, scheduled to open in 2027. The funds have come almost entirely from individuals, foundations and corporate benefactors from within Maine, according to a news release.

The architect is David Matero of Bath. Zachau Construction in Freeport is the construction manager. The overall driving range vendor is Toptracer, a brand of California-based Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. (NYSE: MODG).

“Our junior golf programming will integrate the game of golf with a life skill curriculum, creating active learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence and resilience that can carry juniors and families through everything they do,” said Brian Bickford, executive director of Maine Golf and director of the organization's grant committee.

Golf trends

Development of the center is part of a trend in the sport that includes the establishment of golf businesses in the simulation and mini space.

Maine has lost 11 golf courses in recent years to real estate development at a time when there's been a surge in youth interest in golf, said Bickford.

Since 2021, Maine Golf’s Youth on Course program, which gives young golfers access to local courses at a low cost, has signed up over 3,200 junior golfers.

A drawing shows a building, grass and people.

Rendering / Courtesy Maine Golf

The Alexa Re Rancourt Golf Learning Center is scheduled to open sometime in 2027.

But junior golf access remains a challenge as more adults demand tee times, he said.

To break down barriers, the center will be geared specifically toward juniors and will be the home of First Tee of Maine, a junior golf and youth development program that integrates the game of golf with a life skills curriculum.

The center will also foster other youth programs, including Youth on Course, PGA Junior League and LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. Programs, which will be offered in Freeport and across Maine.

‘Launch tomorrows’

Maine Golf dates back over 100 years as a statewide nonprofit association of over 120 golf clubs and more than 126,000 amateur golfers. Its mission is to “strengthen today’s game, launch tomorrows and lead the collective effort to grow golf in Maine.”

The center will be named in memory of Alexa Re Rancourt, a golfer who won the Maine Women’s Amateur Championship in 2008 and 2009 and the Maine Southern Women’s Championship in 2008. She also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2009 and 2011.

Rancourt struggled with mental health issues, including bipolar disorder and depression, throughout her golf career, according to the release. She left the game of golf in 2017. Rancourt died in January 2024 from a fentanyl overdose.

A drawing shows a room with large screens.

Rendering / Courtesy Maine Golf

The learning center will have high-tech indoor simulators for year-round play.

Her family made a major financial commitment to the learning center to honor Alexa Re’s love of and achievements in the sport of golf while raising awareness about mental health and addiction in hopes of helping others.

Attending the groundbreaking were Michael Rancourt, Bickford; Ruby Haylock, Eli Spaulding and Jade Haylock, Maine Golf ambassadors; John Marr, founder of the Marr-Anderson Family Foundation; and Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street Resource Center.

Six people pose in a line with golf clubs.

Photo / Courtesy Mary Walsh

Attending the golf learning center groundbreaking were, from left, Ruby Haylock and Jade Haylock, sisters who are both Maine Women's Amateur Golf winners; Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street; Brian Bickford, director of Maine Golf; Michael Rancourt, donor and father of the learning center’s namesake, Alexa Re Rancourt; and John Marr, founder of the Marr-Anderson Family Foundation.

“In supporting the Alexa Re Rancourt Golf Learning Center, my family and I want to shine a spotlight on our beautiful daughter and her love of this game,” Rancourt said. “We also want to raise awareness of the importance of increasing access to mental health and substance use services for young people in Maine and across the country.”

Swann said that “sharing Alexa Re’s story helps to shine a light on the need for more resources for vulnerable people in our communities and for more investment in long-term solutions that can save lives.”

Swann was honored as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the year in 2022.

Construction underway

Construction of the driving range and a nine-hole short course is underway funded in part by a donation from the Marr-Anderson Family Foundation, a Falmouth nonprofit that provides philanthropic support to public charitable organizations for the purpose of encouraging education and health.

“We believe the Center will offer junior golfers a place to grow and develop positive lifelong skills while also promoting connections between friends, families and the community,” said Rebecca Marr, the foundation’s president and co-founder.