Tokeland Golf Links

[Ralph Bresee]

Has anyone else played Tokeland Golf Links, Tokeland, WA?

[Pete_Pittock]

Not me but I was intrigued by tokeing and links. How is it?

[Ralph Bresee]

Probably the type of place Eddie Hackett would appreciate.

[Jud_T]

I hear that the the rough can harsh but the cart girls are smokin'.  And don't bogart those brush tees.....

[Chuck Brown]

Is Tokeland a Pacific Coast Askernish?

I found this with a Google search, from the Michigan State University Turfgrass Management School's digital library:

A Major Find in Tokeland

Steve Nelson is a fisherman and farmer by trade and not an archeologist, but he understands the excitement of a dig and a find as well as anyone. Nelson's find didn't involve bones, arrowheads or primitive tools. Instead, he found something much larger -- a golf course.

"I now know how archeologists get so hooked," Nelson said. "I can't wait to come home from fishing and get back to this project. It has consumed me."

He was talking about his portion of a long-forgotten course, the Tokeland Golf and Duck Club, on Nelson family property in Tokeland, Wash., not far from the coastline and about 110 miles south of Seattle. It is in the restoration process after being buried under long grass and brush for 50 years.

Last summer, the 46-year-old Nelson and his wife, Kathleen, operated four holes of the course, using a basement room of their house as a temporary clubhouse. The four holes were played in a variety of ways and with some temporary greens to make nine holes.

The property where the other five holes are located is owned by Nelson's sister and her husband, who want the facility in a further state of development before opening to the public. But that's getting ahead of the story, which began when Nelson and his wife decided to expand their lawn in 1989.

"Some grass was three or four feet tall, and there was a lot of Scotch Broom," he said. Nelson came upon a mound and was fascinated by its symmetry. He kept clearing and realized he had uncovered a teeing ground. "We knew there had been a course on the property but didn't know exactly where the holes were located," said brother-in-law Terry Larson.

Nelson and Larson carried on an archeological-like search and unearthed Tokeland Golf Links, in operation from about 1910 to 1936. Nelson and Larson uncovered all nine original holes, located on land the Nelson family purchased in 1943.

Sketchy history indicates the course was an offshoot of the Tokeland Hotel, built in 1885 and now sited at the edge of the Nelson property. The hotel was originally called the Kindred Inn and was operated by the family of William and Lizzie Kindred; their daughter, Maude, is credited with laying out the course on land that had been used for cattle grazing.

The course was opened when speculators were trying to turn the community into a Coney Island-like resort. And though the scheme ended in bankruptcy, the golf course did fine, along with other hotel recreational activities including a duck club, until the Depression.

Nelson's interest in restoring the course grew when he uncovered a sand bunker and found several golf balls of 1920s vintage. Included was one with Walter Hagen's name on it and a few others from England.

In 1994, Nelson and the Larsons were ready to apply for a course permit from Pacific County. In these environmentally sensitive times, a permit to construct a course on the land might have been unattainable or taken years to get. With the course already there, all that was needed was a restoration permit. That was granted. Larson solicited help from Kevin Van, a superintendent near Tacoma, to restructure some of the greens. Nelson opened his four holes in 1996, with that portion being combined and replayed to provide nine holes covering 2,295 yards.

There were times when no one was available to operate the clubhouse. So a sign and box were put up: "On course mowing. Pay when you are finished." Nelson said he doesn't recall an instance when golfers didn't settle up.

Despite not advertising that the abbreviated course even was open, Nelson estimates some 2,000 people played it during the four months it was open in 1997.

Visitors sign a guest book as if they were attending a wedding. Among those visiting was Victor Vaughn of Falls Church, Va., who played the original while on the University of Washington golf team in the 1930s. Now 84, Vaughn told the Larsons that the refurbished holes are almost an exact replica of the way he remembered them.

"What they need to do is realize that what they have is a historic links, a unique little course that residents and visitors could enjoy playing casually," said Doug McArthur, a golf consultant from Tacoma. "This is not going to be a championship resort course and I think trying to make it one would be a mistake."

In the meantime, the temporary clubhouse in the Nelsons' house displays a golf club from the 1920s, found on the property, and a couple of large Japanese floats, pulled out of the bay. The suggestion of a reincarnation is unmistakable.

-- Bob Robinson That Indomitable Spirit

[Ralph Bresee]

The place is named after Chief Toke, who, local lore has it, summered there.

The Shoalwater Indian Reservation is quite near the course.

There is a smoke shop.

Presumably the childishly sophisticated amongst us will take the bait and make very witty comments.

[Pete_Pittock]

Ralph,
Your first post implies you have played it. Is that true? If so, what did you think, and is it "worth" a drive up from Portland? Do you have any pictures you are willing to post?

[Jud_T]

Sounds like a perfect place for a hickory GCA outing.....

[Pete_Pittock]

Look for an update and pictures after the King's Putter. Bill McBride and I were discussing the return trip and a look at the map showed Tokeland. Lucklily low tide is at 4:03 p.m. that day and all holes will be above water. The way we're hitting it we may unearth a gutty or a Haskell.

Tokleland Linkse can be birds-eye viewed. Look for South Bend, WA on one of the bays. At enough magnification you can find the clearly marked Tokeland peninsula to the northwest.   

[Mac Plumart]

Presumably the childishly sophisticated amongst us will take the bait and make very witty comments.

I'm pretty sure Dan King is a member at Tokeland.

[Bill_McBride]

Look for an update and pictures after the King's Putter. Bill McBride and I were discussing the return trip and a look at the map showed Tokeland. Lucklily low tide is at 4:03 p.m. that day and all holes will be above water. The way we're hitting it we may unearth a gutty or a Haskell.

Tokleland Linkse can be birds-eye viewed. Look for South Bend, WA on one of the bays. At enough magnification you can find the clearly marked Tokeland peninsula to the northwest.   

An adventure in the offing!

[Will Lozier]

From some pics I've found on the internet - where else would I find pictures of Tokeland Links?! - it looks DEAD flat but with great views...and with a windy location and firm turf, I am sure it must be a really fun place to play with 4 or 5 clubs.  Reminds me a little of Causeway Club in Southwest Harbor in ME.

Cheers