People driving past the Boothbay Harbor Country Club can see dozens of workers scurrying around the elderly log cabin clubhouse.

Nearby, a hillside has been flattened to create practice facility, and George Whitten's house has been moved up the hill.

Despite all the activity, there is even more on tap.

Paul G. Coulombe, the retired spirits executive who bought the facility in February of 2013 for $1.4 million, is spending a lot more to update the clubhouse and practice range. He said he is just getting started.
In an interview with the Boothbay Register and Wiscasset Newspaper, the affable 60-year-old executive tried to answer two major questions. What was he doing with the golf course? Why was he doing it?

Coulombe said the answer to the “why” question is easy. It boils down to his love for the Boothbay region, a place he first visited with his father.

“I feel Boothbay is a great place,” he said.

“But there has not been a lot of investment (made in the community) in the last 25 years. The harbor is so pretty and I want to help create a better year-round economy for people here,” he said.

“I have the time, and the wherewithal to make a difference. Maybe other people will see it (and) decide it would be a good place to invest their dollars.

Echoing the theme of the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” he said it is sort of like, “if you build it, they will come.”

“I believe they will,” Coulombe said.

Sitting on the new clubhouse deck overlooking the lush green fairways, he said he retired in 2012 and took some time to “smell the roses.” Then he needed a challenge.

In June 2012, Coulombe sold his Lewiston company, White Rock Distilleries, for a reported $605 million.

In the meantime, he built a stunning 17,884-square-foot home on Pratts Island, (using local craftsmen), turned Gus Pratt's old store into a restaurant, Oliver's at Cozy Harbor, and became a major force in the renovation of the Cuckolds Light.

Coulombe also is a major benefactor in the campaign to maintain St. Andrews Hospital as a critical access hospital.

Looking up the hill from the clubhouse, he said he and Steve Malcom, the CEO of the Knickerbocker Group, are interviewing golf course clubhouse architects with a view of constructing a new clubhouse approximately 250 feet south of the current building.

“I want to keep the vista but provide amenities for the golfers, like a locker room …. It will take a little time, but we are shooting for May 2015.”

Further up the slope, he has acquired the hilltop home of Svend and Carol Jorgensen, in an unusual transaction where he “swapped” a house on West Harbor Pond for the home they occupied for 24 years.

“It is a beautiful spot,” he said of the Jorgensen property. It is located on the second highest hill in the region, affording a stunning view of Boothbay Harbor, the islands and the open ocean.

Svend Jorgensen, who lived with his wife on the 3-plus acre parcel for 24 years, said in the fall, when the leaves are gone, you can see all the way to the White Mountains and the big cranes at Bath Iron Works.

Jorgensen's hilltop is where Coulombe plans to build Family Center,  a facility for conferences and weddings featuring large dining facilities, tennis courts, swimming pool and other amenities.

Carol Jorgensen said the country club project was “very exciting” and said she and her husband look forward to the promised tennis courts.

Down the hill, Coulombe has purchased the Kenniston Hill Inn. He also bought additional adjoining acreage from Phil Webster in anticipation of creating a new entrance to the complex off Route 27. “I want to be able to meander through the big oak trees to come up the hill to the (clubhouse) parking area,” he said.

The old inn is in poor shape, but Coulombe said he believes it can be salvaged and turned into housing for his employees.

On the golf course, he said he plans to renovate the drainage and irrigation system during the offseason. His goal is to make the course playable for all levels of golfers. (He admitted to a handicap of 18.)

Also on tap are plans to build two “comfort” stations and a “halfway” house between the 9th and 10th holes, where golfers can grab a hot dog and a beverage.

The old log clubhouse sports a shiny new kitchen, revamped dining room and a new pro shop. You cannot see the extensive work needed to shore up the underside of the building.

“Tell the folks we will be open for lunch and dinner and I guarantee (we will serve) the best hamburger you ever ate,” he said.

He then looked over the fairway and smiled. “It (the Boothbay region) gets in your blood.

“There is something special about it. It has a small town feeling. People are real here,” he said.

Pat Merrill lives across the street from the club. She just shakes her head when asked about all the activity. “It is a hell of a job so far,” she said. “It is good for the community. They are providing jobs and that is good.”

Then she shook her head and chided the new owner for the new sign on the front lawn that says: Boothbay Harbor Country Club.

“This is not Boothbay Harbor,” she said. “We are in Boothbay.”