Seventy summers, three generations, one patch of grass.

"Find out why Portland Magazine called us one of Maine's 101 Guilty Pleasures."

Hillcrest Golf has been on Route 9 between Kennebunk and Kennebunkport since the 1950s. We're now a third-generation, family-owned operation — which is another way of saying that the people who answer the phone here are the same people who mow the greens, repair the mats, and remember your kid's name from last summer.

We didn't set out to be a destination. We set out to be a place where locals could practice and tourists could stop in for an hour. Seventy years later, Portland Magazine called us one of "Maine's 101 Guilty Pleasures," and we'll take that.

The driving range came first — pro-turf mats, a stretch of natural grass, and the Free Pail sign mounted out at the end of the field. Hit it from the tee box and your next bucket is on us. Some seasons it doesn't get hit at all. That sign has been hanging there since the 1950s.

The pitch & putt course sits behind the range, nine short holes of natural grass tucked under apple trees. One loop runs about nine; pay twice and play it through for a full eighteen. In May the blossoms come out; in September the apples drop on the fairway.

We're open from June through September, with shoulder-season hours in May and October when the weather cooperates. We close for the winter — Maine being Maine — and start dreaming about spring sometime around February.