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Shawn Warren’s Favorite Maine Place

When the golf pro daydreams about Maine summers, he has one course in mind.

Back Nine, Falmouth Country Club
Photograph by Benjamin Williamson

Back Nine, Falmouth Country Club

Shawn Warren learned to play golf before he learned long division. He remembers playing his first course at age 9, falling in love, and soon spending eight hours a day at the Gorham Country Club’s public course, one town over from his childhood home of Windham. He wasn’t much older when a member first invited him to play the private Falmouth Country Club. In his 20s, while trying his luck as a full-time touring golf pro, Warren kept up an “honorary membership” there, playing at the club’s invitation, and in 2013, he joined the staff as a club professional, giving lessons on his de facto home course while continuing to compete regionally.

Back Nine, Falmouth Country Club

Current Home(s)
Portland/Orlando

Early Wins
Maine Open Champion at age 19; Maine Amateur Champion at age 21

Awards
New England PGA player of the year in 2013, 2014, and 2015

Favorite Place Off The Links
Sebago Lake

“I just feel fortunate to be able to go out there and call it my job every day,” he says.

It’s not all Warren feels fortunate about. In June, the 33-year-old qualified for the PGA Championship — something no Maine golfer has done since 1997 — and last month, he took to the greens at St. Louis’s prestigious Bellerive Country Club alongside Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and other giants of the PGA Tour. It’s a career accomplishment to hang one’s visor on.

Maine’s seasonal golf window is, of course, short, so Warren spends his winters in Florida. When he daydreams about Maine summers, he pictures sunshine on the back half of the Falmouth course, where the links are mostly open, with gentle green waves that here and there overlook the bends of the East Branch Piscataqua River. “There are a lot of beautiful spots back there,” he says, “especially when you get out on the 14th tee box — just this great view of rolling hills and fields.”

But Warren’s fondness for the Falmouth club transcends the greens. “Then I start thinking about the membership, the people, and how many good memories I’ve had up there,” he says. “The place just has that homey Maine feel to it.”