Since 1888, golfers from all over the world have risen to the challenges of the Kebo Valley Golf Club. Kebo is a very well conditioned Links style course. Rich in tradition, endless in surprises, incapable of being mastered, once played, never loses its attraction. Kebo is a source of pride for Bar Harbor, Maine. Located on Mount Desert Island, bordering Acadia National Park, Kebo is an enticing attraction to tourists from around the world, as well as locals and our members.
Kebo is a living entity to the people who challenge its fairways. Its face and character constantly change with the seasons, the wind conditions, and even with the daily movement of the sun. It seems, at times, nature conspires with the course in order to change a brilliant nine or even fifteen holes, into a frustrating round by the time one walks off the 18th green. But Kebo is not just a golf course. It is a sanctuary, even to those who have never played the game of golf. It preserves hundreds of acres of land in their natural state, providing a recreational resource which helps draw thousands of visitors to Mount Desert Island. It is a haven amidst the hectic pace of a Bar Harbor summer.
On July 14, 1894, the local paper, the Bar Harbor Record, noted “A golf club has been formed and links covering one and three fourths miles have been laid out at Kebo Valley. Mr. Herbert Leeds, the champion player, is the instigator of the club.” Leeds would return to Kebo over the years, and after redesigns by member Waldron Bates and pro Shirley Liscomb, he had played a pivotal role in creating the 18-hole course that remains in play today. Kebo Valley Golf Club is one of those rare courses that seems both state-of-the-art and turn-of-the-century. The course is every bit as captivating today as when it was first played over one hundred years ago.
