Former Boothbay Country Club owner Harris Golf is interested in owning the club once again. If it goes up for auction as scheduled January 28, the company will be there, trying to make the winning bid, Harris Golf President Jeff Harris confirmed January 3.

The Bank of Maine is preparing to sell the club that Boothbay Country Club LLC bought from Harris Golf in 2008.

In other developments, the planned sale has cost the club a major Maine golf event set for August 2013, the Maine Matchplay Invitational Championship put on by the Maine State Golf Association.

The event has been moved to Fox Ridge Golf Club in Auburn, said the association's executive director Nancy Storey.

Meanwhile, a long-running charity event is still planned to be held at the club in September 2013.

Anthony Krason, co-chairman of the Boothbay Charity Classic Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit Special Olympics Maine, believes the bank or any future owner will want to keep the tournament. It makes a lot of money for the club and is good for public relations, too, he said.

The tournament has raised about $700,000 for Special Olympics Maine over its 22 years at the club, Krason said. Last fall's event was the most successful one yet, raising about $42,000.

Until last week, Krason said he had no inkling the club would be going up for sale. “We're just stunned,” he said. Krason only had praise for club owner Jim Reeves and the club's handling of the tournament under Reeves' ownership.

“They were spectacular to the tournament. We've been treated very well,” Krason said.

Krason, of Boothbay, said he believes time is somewhat on the event's side, since it is still several months off. He would be very willing to talk with the bank or any new owner about making sure the event can go on as scheduled, he said.

The event also boosts the local economy, with room rentals and money tied to other events linked to the golf tournament, Krason said.

There are no backup plans to switch to another Maine course; the Boothbay area has everything the event needs, he said. “The logistics (of moving) would be incredibly difficult.”

He said of the current uncertainty, “This could be a major catastrophe waiting to happen, or not. We'll just have to be optimistic.” Event organizers will be keeping their fingers crossed, he said.

If Harris Golf buys the Boothbay club, it will be the 10th Maine course the company either owns or operates.

In July 2012, Harris Golf bought the Bath Country Club and gave it back its original name, the Bath Golf Club. That purchase was through a Bank of Maine foreclosure as well, Harris said.

Also in the Midcoast region, Harris Golf has a 20-year lease on the course at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Harris described some of the company's purchases as saves or rescues of Maine courses that might otherwise have been lost to developers or land trusts. The company is working to preserve courses from the golden age of course design, from the late 1800s to early 1900s, he said.

Wayne Stiles, who designed the first nine holes at Boothbay, was one of the best designers, Harris said.

The Boothbay club's troubles come at a time when golf courses like it could be running an increased risk of being swallowed up for other uses, Storey said. The Maine State Golf Association Executive Director also added that to developers (who are getting more active as the economy turns around), golf properties high in acreage and beauty can look like potential subdivisions, she said.

Although down years can make it tough for a club's bottom line, the slowdown in development in those same times helps minimize tempting purchase offers from developers, Storey said.

A review of Boothbay and Lincoln County records shows the Bank of Maine, then known as the Savings Bank of Maine, lent the company $2.89 million to buy the club in 2008. That's just over the town's assessed value for the two Country Club Road properties listed under Boothbay Country Club LLC. They total about 147 acres and together have $2,882,400 in assessed value.

The auction the bank is planning is a “power of sale” foreclosure method that avoids court; a provision for it was in the mortgage deal Boothbay Country Club LLC made with the bank.

The deal also included an adjustable interest rate, a once-popular provision that has gotten partial blame for the uptick in foreclosures that coincided with the U.S. economic downturn of recent years.

It's unknown what factors contributed to the current situation with the Boothbay club. Neither the bank's lawyer nor club owner Jim Reeves is commenting on what led the bank to start the foreclosure process.

No one interviewed had dire predictions for the Boothbay course's future despite the upcoming sale. It's got a lot going for it, in terms of quality, said Rondel Reynolds, president of the Maine State Golf Association's board of directors.

The Boothbay club is one of the favorites for players on the association's tour, said Reynolds. “Guys will make the two-hour drive for Boothbay. Some won't drive two hours for some of the other courses,” he said.

He called the Boothbay course high-end and classy. “I don't think it would get plowed under. It's too valuable a course,” he said.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.