WILTON – Wilson Lake Country Club has been sold to Harris Golf, a family-owned course developer and club operator from Bath.

Citing dwindling revenues and growing debt, Alan Morison, chairman of the Wilson Lake CC board, said, “Our expenses are much more than our income. We couldn’t make ends meet and we can’t afford to keep it going. The economy isn’t what it was.”

Harris Golf entered a purchase agreement to buy the nine-hole course for $249,500. It assumes ownership in mid-March.

Harris will take over the 65-acre course, buildings and equipment, Morison said. Most of the nine-member board representing 131 club members agreed to the sale on Feb. 1. The club has been owned by shareholders since its inception in 1932, Morison said.

“It’s too bad to lose it, but Harris Golf will try to fix it up as they can and offer memberships … so we’ll see how it goes,” he said Wednesday.

No major changes are expected.

“The way we do business, we really consider ownership as a form of stewardship,” said Jason Harris, vice president of Harris Golf. “We’ll operate the club as a semi-private facility servicing both the members and the public. We’re going to return the club to the original vision of (course architect) Wayne Stiles via a low-key form of restoration.”

The restoration will be done over three years and include expanding greens that have shrunk in size about 40 percent, digging out bunkers, dealing with general turf conditions and drainage and some other care, he said.

Although Harris Golf has expanded other nine-hole courses into 18-hole courses, there are no plans to expand the Wilson Lake course.

“We recognize Wilson Lake as perhaps the finest nine-hole courses in the state. We weren’t about to let a club like this just go away. We want to see Wilson Lake prosper for many years,” Harris said.

“Promoting and getting the word out to the public to bring in new members is one of our strong points,” he said. He plans to keep membership rates the same or lower them for the first year.

A similar course in Orono, Penobscot Valley Country Club, was purchased by Harris Golf in 2007 when the course also was struggling financially. Since, the course has undergone restoration and membership nearly doubled.

Harris Golf, a management, development and construction company, also operates Sunday River Golf Club in Newry, Freeport Country Club and Old Marsh Country Club in Wells.