Golf in Seattle

[Ted Kramer]

Looks like I'll be in Seattle for business on Thursday 9/4.
Rather than coming home on Friday, I'm thinking about bringing the clubs and playing some golf out there, maybe through the weekend.

Any suggestions for a first time visitor to the area?

Thanks!
-Ted

[Craig Van Egmond]

Public - Chambers Bay, Olympic Course at Gold Mountain

Private - Alderra, Sahalee

[Ted Kramer]

Public - Chambers Bay, Olympic Course at Gold Mountain

Private - Alderra, Sahalee

Thanks.
I was clicking around the Chambers Bay website . . .

-Ted

[Jim Franklin]

Chambers Bay is terrific. I would play Aldarra ahead of Sahalee, but Chambers ahead of them. We teed off at 6:33AM and it was perfect. First group out, no one in front of us. Coming from the east, it was easy getting up that early.

[Sean Leary]

Ted,

You should check to see if courses are aerating that week.. Mine is, and it is not worth playing with punched greens.

[Pete_Pittock]

They probably won't punch Chambers Bay until after the 12th. Moore, Crane, Baddeley and Weekley would appreciate the greens being smooth.

[Joel Zuckerman]

Just played six course out there in June--was very pleasantly surprised at the quality.  Gold Mtn. was excellent, Chambers Bay superb.  Newcastle has exceptional city views, but is a little tricked-up, too much up-then-down.  Pete Dye's nephew Cynthia did a public-access course called White Horse which is very, very tough.  Aldarra is the cream of the private crop.  Canterwood, also private, was good too, though they are doing major construction, and several of the holes have been truncated.

[Joey Smith]

Ted - If you get the chance to get out to Bremerton - Gold Mountain - Take a look at the first hole from the left side of the practice putting green.  It's where the teeing ground was during the 2006 USGA Amateur Public Links.

Beautiful golf course and fun...

Joey

[Mike Hendren]

I strongly recommend Macan's Fircrest if you can garner access and don't mind a modest drive.

[Mike Wagner]

You'll ick youself if you come here and don't play Chambers Bay (twice if you can).  The Home Course (DuPont - not to far from Chambers) is also very good and the greens are excellent. 

[Richard Choi]

Golf Magazine's 2008 Top 100 You Can Play list also has a state by state breakdown. Here is the list for Washington:

1. Chambers Bay
2. Gold Mountain Olympic Course
3. Semiahmoo
4. Loomis Trail
5. Suncadia Prospector
6. Trophy Lake
7. Port Ludlow
8. Washington National
9. Indian Canyon
10. McCormick Woods
11. Newcastle Coal Creek
12. Desert Canyon
13. White Horse
14. Home Course
15. Druids Glen

Personally, I would not rank the Arnold Palmer Design Company courses this high (Semiahmoo, Suncadia). They look and play like many other APDC resort style courses all around the country (What? 9/18th hole that doglegs right around a pond in front of the clubhouse? How original - about the first 50 times they did it!!!)

And Portludlow is an abomination. If your idea of a top flight course is white stakes to the right about 10 yards from the fairway and red stakes to the left about 10 yards from the fairway, you will LOVE it!

My personal top 10.

1. Chambers Bay
2. Gold Mountain Olympic Course
3. Desert Canyon
4. Washington National
5. Loomis Trail
6. Trophy Lake
7. Druids Glen
8. Hawk's Prairie Links Course
9. White Horse
10. Hawk's Prairie Woodlands Course

I would put Aldarra after Chambers Bay and Olympic Course.

[BVince]

The Home Course is severly under rated...it is an interesting course for the value

[Craig Van Egmond]

Richard,

     I mostly agree with your Top 10 Publics, much better than Golf Magazines that for sure.  I'm not a big fan of Loomis Trail though where water comes into play on at least 17 holes so your only hole strategy is where is the water on this one. I also like Trophy Lake better than Washington National.  Minor stuff though.

[Richard Choi]

Craig, I can certainly couldn't argue too much about rating Trophy Lake higher or Loomis Trail lower.

I still don't understand how raters can rate cookie cutter courses so high on the list.

[Sean Leary]

Craig, I can certainly couldn't argue too much about rating Trophy Lake higher or Loomis Trail lower.

I still don't understand how raters can rate cookie cutter courses so high on the list.

Conditioning.

Richard,

I'm biased of course, but am surprised you rate Gold Mountain Olympic ahead of Aldarra. To me, the greens alone tilt it way towards Aldarra.

[Richard Choi]

Sean, I agree the greens at Aldarra are pretty good with lots of dramatic undulation and especially severe false fronts.

But I think Olympic course does much better job of taking advantage of elevation changes. To me, the holes at Olympic are much more dramatic and the variety is far greater.

For example, let's compare the downhill par 3's, 12th at Olympic and 6th at Aldarra. Both long down hill par 3, but 12th much more grand and dramatic with a cathedral of pines surrounding the greens. Olympic also has many different ways to play the hole, bump and run short of the hole where there is a huge bump to help you forward, right side of the hole for front pin location and long left for back pin location.

Aldarra's 6th does not have that kind of variety and I think that goes for many other holes as well.

P.S. People pay too much attention to conditioning...

[Sean Leary]

Richard,

Hmm. 6 at Aldarra isn't downhill or long. How about 13 at Aldarra, which is downhill, and long, and can be played with a bump and run. That is a better comparison, me thinks.

To each there own, and I really like Olympic a lot. I have played both  alot, and to me, I see it differently, thats all.

In WA, I have it

Chambers
Aldarra
Tumble Creek
Sahalee
Olympic at GM

then significant drop after that to Seattle, Fircrest, Tacoma et al..

[Craig Van Egmond]

Sean,

      I haven't seen Tumble Creek, but I would certainly agree that there is a significant drop off after those you listed. Its getting better in Washington though, as the list on top used to be even shorter. 

[Jordan Wall]

1. Chambers Bay
2. Aldarra
3. Tumble Creek
4. Seattle CC
5. Gold Mt. (Olympic)
6. Sahalee

Cheers,
Jordan

[Richard Choi]

Richard,

Hmm. 6 at Aldarra isn't downhill or long. How about 13 at Aldarra, which is downhill, and long, and can be played with a bump and run. That is a better comparison, me thinks.

Sorry, my mistake. It has been a couple of years since I played it.

I don't think you can really play that hole bump and run. My approach died when it hit the soft landing area in front of the green.

[BVince]

It is hard to compare some of these courses so here is how I would rank the ones I have experienced:

Public:
1.  Chambers Bay
2.  Home Course
3.  Gold Mountain (Olympic)
4.  Classic Golf Club
5.  Woodlands course at HP

Private:
1.  Seattle GC
2.  Tacoma C&GC
3.  Tumble Creek
4.  Meridian Valley CC
5.  Fircrest CC

Chambers is far different from any other course around here.  It is hard to compare it with Seattle GC.  If I was given the option of playing any course in WA (public or private) here is what I would consider my pick:

1.  Seattle GC
2.  Chambers Bay
3.  Tacoma C&GC
4.  Tumble Creek
5.  Gold Mountain

I think if were able to play those 5 courses, you would have a great feel for the golf that WA has to offer. 

[Garland Bayley]

Bryon,

Home Course before Olympic. I don't think you will find many to agree with you on that. Olympic has an amazing routing. Home Course has a rather pedestrian routing.

[BVince]

Each are entitled to his opinion.  I feel that I enjoy the home course slightly more than Gold Mountain.  I feel like Gold Mountain is a better routing, but it came down to what I think I would enjoy on daily play.  Thus this is why the Home Course did not make it on my 5 overall recommendations.

By the way, I don't feel that the Home Course lacks in variety or imagination.  I think it is a very good golf course that I enjoy quite a bit.

[Mike Hendren]

Among those I've played I'd go in this order:

Chambers Bay
Aldarra
Fircrest
Tumble Creek
Gold Mountain / Home Course
Prospector
TPC Snoqualmie Ridge (though the views are majestic on the back)

$.02

Mike

[Jordan Wall]

Richard,

Hmm. 6 at Aldarra isn't downhill or long. How about 13 at Aldarra, which is downhill, and long, and can be played with a bump and run. That is a better comparison, me thinks.

Sorry, my mistake. It has been a couple of years since I played it.

I don't think you can really play that hole bump and run. My approach died when it hit the soft landing area in front of the green.

Richard,

One play can't determine how the hole can be played on a day to day basis.  Sean would know better then any of us anyways.

In my ten or so experiences at Aldarra I think the option of bump and run on #13 has been alive every time.  I use it every time on that hole.

Cheers,
Jordan