FREEPORT — Michael Rancourt knew the side of his daughter, Alexa, that others got to see. The generous personality. The lover of art. And, of course, the terrific golfer.

“She was as good as anybody, in my opinion,” he said. “And in some of her coaches’ opinions.”

But Rancourt also saw the side that was hidden from the public, and the part that ultimately claimed her life: Depression, bipolar disorder, and eventually, drug use. And he and Alexa’s mother, Meg Gilmartin, wanted others to see it and learn from it, as well.

“I wanted to tell Alexa’s entire story,” Rancourt said. “Not just her victories in golf, but her struggle with mental illness and, eventually, drug use and abuse. It’s a complete story, and we want to make sure people know.”

Rancourt found the way to do it. The Maine Golf Center in Freeport held the ceremonial groundbreaking of its $3 million youth golf facility Thursday, and the centerpiece of the event was the announcement that an education facility will be named the Alexa Re Rancourt Golf Learning Center, bearing the name of the former professional golfer from South Portland, who died of a fentanyl overdose in January 2024. Thus far, $2.7 million of the $3 million has been raised.

“It’s very fulfilling,” said Rancourt, a 65-year-old art dealer from Portland. “I’m hoping and praying that there’s a way that, perhaps, we can help someone else … (and) look at someone’s life as a complete picture, and not just their victories.”

Rancourt got the idea when he saw that Maine Golf was taking donations for the new center, and called executive director Brian Bickford in December with his request. Bickford, who said Alexa was a mentor for his daughter, Meghan, was immediately on board.

“She was the total package. She always encouraged all the girls younger than her to play and enjoy the game,” he said. “I was taken aback by the fact that we lost Alexa at such a young age, but to have her basically looking down on us and providing that guidance that she always used to give, it means the world.”

The center will aim to boost Maine’s rising youth golf scene, which has seen the number of players participating in Youth on Course (a program offering discount rates for young players) jump from 260 to 4,100 over the last five years. The venue will feature a 20-bay driving range with lights and shot-tracing technology, a short course, and the learning center, which will have classrooms and offer clinics for young players.

The range is expected to open in August, with the learning center slated for 2027.

“With the growth in adult golf, the juniors get squeezed out,” Bickford said. “We’re trying to provide access to juniors at a reasonable rate.”

The goal will be education, both in terms of teaching golf technique and bringing awareness to mental health, which plagued Alexa even as she embarked on a successful golf career that included three state amateur titles in 2008-09 (the Women’s Maine State Golf Association and Southern Maine Women’s Golf Association both held championships until they merged in 2012), a scholarship to Division I Furman University in South Carolina, and two appearances in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

“I think about her all the time,” said Jen Hanna, her coach at Furman, who came up from South Carolina to attend the ceremony. “Incredibly talented golfer, incredibly talented singer and artist and writer. She was just an amazing soul to be around.”

Alexa battled depression while she played, however, and shortly after graduating from college and turning pro, she gave up her golf career and turned to drug use. She overdosed twice on fentanyl, and was brought back both times with Narcan. Her family sought help, putting her in a drug treatment facility twice, but each time couldn’t defeat the problem.

“I felt so impotent,” Michael Rancourt said. “We all did, all of her family members, because there was really nothing we could do unless she wanted us to do it.”

When Alexa left New York to travel back to her home in Oregon in December 2023, her father felt it could be the last time he saw her.

“I thought it was 50-50 that I would see her again,” he said. “A couple months later, she was gone.”

The center, he said, ensures that her legacy lives on, while hopefully giving other players struggling with their own troubles the incentive to seek help.

“If we can save one life, or change someone’s life … however we can support that, we’re all in,” Rancourt said.

Bickford said the center will feature information about Alexa’s life and mental health struggles, but that the organization is still considering ways to incorporate further education.

“We haven’t gone that far yet,” he said. “But I think what we want to provide is at least awareness. And should anybody ever need any assistance, we would want to make sure that we had the right connections to make sure people who need help get help.”

Ruby Haylock, a two-time Maine Women’s Amateur champion who has been running clinics for girls golfers at the Maine Golf Center this summer, said the new facility will be key for growing the game.

“By creating a center like this, I think it opens the door for a lot of junior golfers,” she said. “It’s important for them to get out and meet each other early on, instead of waiting for the more competitive time of their lives.”

She said the acknowledgement of mental health is important as well.

“Burnout is very (common) in the golf world,” she said. “It’s important to recognize that burnout, instead of trying to just push through it, (and) recognize that if you’re not in the right mental state, it’s difficult to continue.”