Two very modest and humble women will be inducted into the Maine Golf Hall of Fame on Sept. 5 in the banquet room of the Poland Spring Inn.

Kristen Kannegieser of Martindale said: “I wasn’t sure I accomplished enough to be worthy of the hall of fame.”

Cyndi Robbins, owner of The Links at Poland Spring and the Poland Spring Resort has been heard saying: “I don’t even play golf.”

Kannegieser is more than “worthy” as a golfer and a person. Robbins does play a little golf (nine holes on Tuesdays), but she makes an impact on the sport in Maine.

Both belong.

Kannegieser’s outstanding career on the course was an offshoot of what she did as a Nordic skier at the University of Vermont, from which she graduated asking herself, “Now what do I do?” While she skied in college, she admitted, “I never thought I was going to be a golfer.”

Enter a man who was working for her father’s Lewiston firm, Sprinkler Systems Inc., named Mark Kannegieser. He offered to give her golf lessons, in return for which she gave him water ski lessons. That is the kind of stuff relationships are made of, and in this case it has led to a 30-year marriage.

She has won many club championships (Martindale five times, Portland and Springbrook once each) and two WMGA state women’s titles. Kannegieser, however, is most proud of the MSGA mixed crowns won the past two years with her partner and son, Will, a Williams College senior.

About entering the hall of fame, she put it simply, saying, “I am honored.”

Robbins and her late husband, Mel, purchased Poland Spring in 1982. The course has undergone steady improvement over the years, and it has been the site of many outstanding tournaments.

Robbins is entering the hall of fame as a significant Maine golf contributor. The entire resort at Poland Spring has 32 buildings, all of which have been renovated, making it one of THE golf destinations in Vacationland. When the Robbins bought Poland Spring, there were six golf members. Today there are more than 200 memberships and 300 players.

Not until recently has Robbins been swinging a golf club, but she has been around golf all of her life. Her parents played, and when they moved to Maine in 1968, they purchased a camp on Middle Range Pond in 1969.

“That’s how I worked here,” she said of starting her Poland Spring Resort employment at age 17. “Golf has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.”

In addition to what the Links at Poland Spring have meant to Maine golf since the Robbins took over the course, Cyndi also is treasurer of “Golf Maine,” which advocates the sport and is the official lobbyist for golf in the Pine Tree State.

“This is a great honor for me,” she said of the upcoming induction. She also acknowledged that this honor is a tribute to the many people who are employed by the golf course and the resort.

In addition, she is proud that her hotel’s banquet hall is the site of the annual induction dinner, and that the Maine Golf Hall of Fame Museum is on the resort grounds, which she described as ”a great match.”

Three others being inducted are Rick Amrose, a two-time Maine Amateur champion and two-time champion of the Paul Bunyan Tournament; Keenan Flanagan, head pro at Rockland since 1998 and a member of the PGA President’s Council on Growing the game; and Gary Soule, who has been a Maine PGA pro for 35 years at Lucerne, Tidewater, Calais and the past 13 at Samoset Resort, and he has won multiple merchandiser of the year awards given by the PGA.

On Sept. 5, there will be a golf tournament during the day, and a silent auction at 5 p.m. prior to the reception and banquet. Information and pricing is available by calling the Maine Golf Hall of Fame at 207-341-2911.

*****

More golf sayings:

Eighteen holes of match play will teach you more about your foe than 18 years of dealing with him across a desk. — Grantland Rice

“Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child. Just how childlike golf players become is proven by their frequent inability to count past five.” — John Updike

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There will be a New England Senior Qualifier Aug. 26 at Riverside, and an MSGA Senior Tour event Aug. 27 at Val Halla, with a three-day match play invitational Aug. 27-29 at Point Sebago.

For the women, on Aug. 27 at Martindale and Springbrook a “half and half handicap challenge” is scheduled.

*****

In the Aug. 18 “Par For The Course,” it said that Pat Cailler had holes in one on Fairlawn’s No. 3 and No. 8 holes. Correctly it should have said Fairlawn’s No. 2 and No. 8 holes.

Bill Kennedy, a retired New Jersey golf writer and editor, now residing on Thompson Lake in Otisfield, is in his seventh season as Sun Journal golf columnist.

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