Club records and contemporary listings agree that Donald Ross laid out Biddeford-Saco in the early 1920s and that only nine holes were built at first. The club’s own history page states that “only nine holes were originally built,” with golf expanding gradually thereafter; decades later, in the mid-1980s, architect Brian (Bryan) Silva was engaged “to complete Ross’ original design,” and “the back nine was completed along with a renovation of the clubhouse in 1991.”
The Maine state association’s course listing, prepared for players and championships, gives a slightly different date for when the course reached 18 holes: designed by Ross in 1921 with “18 holes…completed in 1986, under Bryan Silva’s guidance.”
In other words, Ross’s direct construction work at Biddeford-Saco occurred c.1921–22, and it produced the original nine. (Golf industry directories that compile opening dates place initial play in 1921–22.)
The remaining nine were added roughly six decades later using Ross’s corridors and plan as the conceptual template, but under Silva’s authorship; the club’s page presents this explicitly as an effort to “complete Ross’ original design,” albeit with modern construction in the late 20th century.
As for Ross’s documented intent, the club has not published original drawings or correspondence on its site, and publicly accessible archives do not reproduce a surviving Ross plan specific to Biddeford-Saco. Existing club text is the main evidence: it frames the Silva work as finishing the “original design,” implying that Ross mapped an 18-hole routing though only nine were initially built. No material has surfaced indicating that Ross returned after the 1920s for a second phase; the club chronology lists no later Ross visits.
Unique Design Characteristics
The clearest surviving portion of Ross’s work is the front nine, which multiple independent course profiles and player accounts identify as the “old Donald Ross design.”
That nine functions as a compact loop that begins and ends by the farmhouse clubhouse—today’s dining room “overlooks the 1st and 9th holes”—a routing choice that suits the property’s hub-and-spoke circulation and remains intact.
Specific features on the Ross nine are observable in play descriptions and hole measurements. The 2nd (par 3) plays ~200 yards from the back markers, demanding a full carry to the target; it is regularly cited as a defining early test on the Ross side.
The 4th (par 4 ~345 yards) is repeatedly described as having a pronounced swale fronting the green and a “false front” that rejects timid or spinning approaches—an effect noted by players as central to how the hole defends par despite modest yardage.
The 8th (par 3 ~190) mirrors the 2nd thematically as another long, exacting one-shotter on the outward half, again requiring committed carry and trajectory control; together, Nos. 2 and 8 bookend the Ross nine’s short-hole strategy.
The 9th (par 4 listed between 424–438 yards depending on source) closes the Ross nine with length and exposure; it is singled out in course write-ups as a stern two-shot finisher to the clubhouse, notable for how it stretches the outward half and, in typical coastal conditions, can play longer than its card.
Collectively, those holes show the Ross side’s character: not an obstacle-heavy aesthetic but green-site nuance—fronting contours, run-offs, and the demand to choose the correct landing spot—on fairways that are “fairly wide open off the tee but devilishly difficult around the subtle Ross greens,” as one long-standing course directory puts it.
By contrast, the inward nine reflects Silva’s late-20th-century sensibilities and denser woodland corridors. Even the club’s own summary of the expansion era frames the Silva work as “complet[ing] Ross’ original design,” but modern profiles consistently observe a tighter, more contemporary feel from 10–18 relative to the Ross nine. (This juxtaposition matters when evaluating which features are Ross’s.)
Among the best-preserved Ross examples today are (a) the 4th green complex, where the swale and short fall-off create the recognizably exacting, front-to-back approach puzzle described above; (b) the pair of long outward par-3s at Nos. 2 and 8, which structure the nine’s rhythm and shot-value spread; and (c) the return hole at No. 9, whose length and clubhouse setting anchor the original loop. These holes remain important touchstones for identifying Ross’s surviving intent on the property.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s New England work, Biddeford-Saco belongs to his early-1920s Maine commissions. The Donald Ross Society’s directory lists Biddeford-Saco among his Maine projects of that era, situating the course in the same regional moment as other Pine Tree State assignments during Ross’s mature period.
As a competitive venue, the club has had recurring statewide importance: it hosted the Maine Amateur in 1930 (during the original nine-hole era’s ascendancy), then again in 1991 shortly after the course reached 18 holes under Silva, and most recently in 2008 and 2020—reinforcing that the layout, in both its Ross and Silva components, has remained championship-capable. The club’s own narrative highlights the 2008 championship’s special moment when President George H. W. Bush attended, a local note of distinction intertwined with the course’s tournament pedigree.
Though Biddeford-Saco is not presently listed among the top ranked Maine courses on some national-leaning compilations (for example, Top100GolfCourses’ contemporary state list centers on resort and mountain venues), its enduring role as a four-time Maine Amateur host underscores the design’s proven elasticity for high-level play.
Current Condition / Integrity
By hole count, roughly half the present course—nine of 18 holes—derives from the Ross build, with the other nine authored by Silva. That 50/50 split is supported by the club’s history (nine originally; back nine added in the late 20th century) and by independent directories that describe the “front nine” as the historic Ross side.
The routing of the outward nine still begins and ends beside the clubhouse, preserving the original loop’s relationship to the farmstead.
Renovation and addition history is therefore two-part: (1) original nine opened c.1921–22 under Ross; (2) expansion to 18 by Silva, dated either 1986 (Maine Golf’s listing) or 1990–91 (club narrative tying completion to clubhouse works). The architectural impact of the expansion is structural—the new nine brought water hazards and tighter corridors into play on the inward side, whereas the Ross nine retains broader driving zones with interest concentrating at the greens. Course summaries that compare sides characterize the modern nine as “much tighter and more modern feeling,” a read consistent with Silva’s role.
As to degree of preservation on individual Ross holes, publicly available sources document specific green-front contours on No. 4 (swale and false front) and sustained demands at Nos. 2 and 8 (long carries), all on the original side. Those features—confirmed in player accounts and aligned with hole yardages on current scorecards—indicate that the Ross nine’s strategic core remains legible even as maintenance practices and bunker presentations have evolved.
No evidence in club-facing materials indicates a comprehensive, historically focused restoration of the Ross nine in recent years; rather, the principal 20th-century architectural intervention was Silva’s addition to create 18 holes. The club emphasizes its practice complex and general conditioning today but does not enumerate green rebuilds or bunker overhauls aimed at historical recapture. Consequently, the design integrity of the Ross side is best described as partially preserved: the routing and several key hole concepts endure (especially at 2, 4, 8, and 9), while presentation details (tree lines, bunker forms, and mowing lines) reflect incremental evolution.
Sources & Notes
Biddeford-Saco Country Club — “History” (club site). Narrative of initial nine holes, mid-1980s hiring of Brian Silva to complete Ross’s “original design,” and statement that the back nine and clubhouse renovation were completed in 1991; also notes the clubhouse overlooks holes 1 and 9 and lists major championships hosted.
Maine Golf — Course page for Biddeford-Saco CC. States “Designed by Donald Ross in 1921, the club completed 18 holes in 1986, under Bryan Silva’s guidance.” Provides contact details and historical hosting notes.
Maine Golf — Maine Amateur Past Champions. Confirms Biddeford-Saco as host in 1930, 1991, 2008, and 2020.
Donald Ross Society — Directory of Ross Courses (June 2023). Lists Biddeford-Saco among Ross’s Maine works, situating the project geographically and chronologically within his portfolio. (Directory listing; no hole detail.)
Disputed/Uncertain Points
Date of completion to 18 holes. The club’s narrative links the “back nine” completion with a 1991 clubhouse renovation, whereas Maine Golf’s course page states the 18 were “completed in 1986 under Bryan Silva.” Both are cited above. The most likely reading is: Silva’s construction work occurred in the mid- to late-1980s with project wrap and clubhouse updates around 1990–91; tournament hosting in 1991 supports that the 18 were operational by then.
Architectural attribution beyond Silva. Some aggregator listings add Geoffrey Cornish (and occasionally George F. Sargent) to the 1980s work. The club and Maine Golf identify Silva; foreTee mentions “Cornish & Silva.” In the absence of a formal project credit published by the club, Cornish’s involvement should be treated as possible but not club-confirmed.