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Aroostook Valley Country Club
Golf course on the Canada–US border From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Aroostook Valley Country Club is a golf course that straddles the Canada–US border, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The club, located near Southern Victoria, New Brunswick and Fort Fairfield, Maine, has its course (except part of the tee area for the ninth hole, and possibly part of a sand trap on the first hole) and clubhouse on the Canadian side of the border. Its parking lot and pro shop are on the American side.[1] Although the course is located entirely on one side of the border, three holes are close enough to the border that crooked shots can enter the United States.[2] The club was founded in 1929; its position on the border allowed American golfers to bypass Prohibition without passing through customs.[3][4] Club membership was previously roughly half Canadian and half American.[5] With tougher access requirements since the height of the pandemic, American membership has fallen by close to 70%.[6][7]
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Pre–COVID-19 pandemic access
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the only entry to the course was on the American side of the border; American golfers could use the entire club without reporting to a Port of Entry.[1] Canadian golfers used a small local road, Brown Road, to cross the border and access the country club. Canada had a seasonal border checkpoint on the road but until 2008, entry to the U.S. had been unsecured since the 1950s.[5] In 2008, however, the U.S. border officials closed the unpatrolled border crossing on Brown Road, citing increased concerns over terrorism and a drug sale on the course in 2006.[8] The closure required Canadian golfers to make a 33-kilometre (21 mi) detour through Fort Fairfield to access the course and was criticized by the Fort Fairfield town manager and the country club's golf pro. U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Canadian MP Mike Allen proposed that U.S. border officials establish a new seasonal border checkpoint on Brown Road.[5] Up to 2019, the Four Falls Border Crossing was a seasonally open border checkpoint along Brown Road on the Canadian side.[9][1]
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Access during COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–21, the USA-Canada border was effectively closed. Canadian traffic to the golf club was diverted away from the US by crossing from Brown Road southbound onto private land[10] to reach the parking lot, then operating golf carts beside Russell Road (but not on it, as the road is in the US) to reach the course. Americans could not access the golf club.
Access post–COVID-19 pandemic
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, US and Canadian authorities have strictly enforced access to the club. People coming from Canada continue to use the route opened during the pandemic. Golfers from the USA wanting to use the club are required to officially enter at a border crossing (the closest is at Carlingford, opposite the US Customs Fort Fairfield Post) and then access the course the same way as for people coming from Canada. They must also do the reverse to return to the USA.[11]
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External links
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