AUBURN — Members of Martindale Country Club on Wednesday agreed to sell the golf resort to a pair they believe are up to the task of running it: local businessman James Day and Martindale golf pro Nick Glicos.

Martindale President Bill Young said Wednesday night that 157 club members voted unanimously to approve the sale.

“Jim was born and raised here and he is a long-term member of Martindale,” Young said. “He has tremendous passion for the club and for the game of golf. I have no doubt he’ll take Martindale to new heights.”

Glicos will have a minority ownership in the club “but a very key one,” Young said.

He did not disclose terms of the agreement. The process of finalizing the sale will begin Thursday, he said.

The agreement may help solve what has been a problem at Martindale over recent years: how to maintain a member-oriented club without depending on the members themselves for all financial needs.

According to Young, the problem at Martindale was not how much money was coming into the club, but how much it owed. It’s a problem suffered by many country clubs around the country during an economy that’s been in turmoil.

In August, Young estimated the club owes $240,000 in back payments for various things. With the inability to get short-term loans, the club has not been able to catch up with those bills in spite of turning profits.

Continuing to operate as a member-owned club “was not the model that really was going to work in the year 2009 in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine,”
Young said Wednesday.

He said Day came forth with a proposal after learning of the financial difficulties the club was having. The idea once the sale is finalized is to continue operating the club with the same commitment to tournaments, benefits and events, Young said.

And of course, golf.

“It really is a win-win situation for Martindale,” Young said.

Day, a director at Northeast Bank, has decades of experience in matters of local business. According to the Northeast Bank investor page: “Jim is the President of LRI, Inc. in Lewiston where he and his father led the development of several businesses and real estate including Spare-Time Recreation, Jim’s Jungle restaurant, Porter’s restaurant, PerSe Technologies, the Department of Labor Career Center, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and several other State of Maine offices.”

Day also operates The Winner’s Circle off-track betting at the site of the former Lewiston Raceway.

He could not be located for comment late Wednesday.

Martindale has been at the center of the local golf scene since 1921 when it opened. It has hosted the Maine Amateur tournament five times, and several professionals forged championship careers on the Martindale grounds. According to Martindale literature, so many champions came from the club, it was deemed “The Mother of Champions.”