Having a couple of weeks to digest Sagebrush, I still keep coming back to "Wow!". Thanks first off to our very gracious host from north of the border for delivering what was clearly the highlight of a great trip to the Pacific Northwest.
Credit goes to Matt Bosela's earlier thread for providing our first look at this excellent course, so rather than reinventing the wheel with a full course description and yardage breakdown, I will link that here
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,41154.0/ and simply provide my photos and brief commentary.
Conditions were perfect...firm, fast, with greens that were receptive enough to hold a good shot but still incredibly firm and unforgiving to poor shots. Speed and quality of putting surfaces was second to none.
Above all else, this course is fun. Yardages do not matter...they are not even printed on the scorecard. The sagebrush and native areas are not a surefire death sentence, though you can't expect to be granted a reprieve more than 1 in 3 times you tempt fate.
Yes it's remote. Yes, getting there for most of us is a big challenge...but at under 5 hours from Seattle it's not offensive. I strongly recommend that those of you that have the chance make the trip up there. Bring a camera, bring a windbreaker, bring an appetite, and bring a couple of friends for some very fun matches.
(I also have to extend a virtual handshake to Brad Tufts, who managed a 68, 4 under par, in the afternoon round. An impressive round for an old friend)
A morning at Sagebrush begins for many with dragging oneself out of bed at the Quilchena Hotel, where across the parking lot you see this on the ranch:
As you arrive at the club, you park your car, grab a cart, and drive up to the clubyurt, which boasts a fantastic vista, and overlooks the site where eventually the club's cottages will reside
The first hole says good morning in an emphatically brutal way...with an uphill tee shot that needs to be played farther right than your eye would lead you to believe. And with no range to get the muscles loose, one can imagine that the quantity of breakfast balls needed here might be large.
Getting to this point is no bargain, and the third shot isn't exactly cake either. All blind, all uphill, and from the firm, tight fairways of Sagebrush, a partial wedge to open your round is dicey.
The look back, starring Brad Tufts, shows how far you've climbed in roughly 500 yards.
The second hole with its blind fairway, calls for little more than a 225 yard shot off the tee
The look at the green is unforgettable.
And even more stunning late in the day and when Lake Nicola is sitting still
The third tee shot is one of my favorites on the course. Throw it at the left edge of the right bunker, or at the trees in the distance, and let it run forever.
The fourth is a pretty one-shotter.
5th tee challenges you to bite as much as you dare - The fire hydrant (tough to see, but more/less in line with where the road disappears and the edge of the lake in the distance) is about 260 to carry. The white rock left through the fairway plays more like 240. Splitting those two points is prudent.
The 6th is everything a long par 3 should be...250 yards, big, forgiving green, allows for the ground approach, reasonably prospects for recovery. Plays about 230.
7th tee is about as close as you get to Nicola Lake
The principal's nose bunker dominates the otherwise uncluttered layup area.
A true 3 shot hole - the hole dives hard left to the green. Yes, there are power lines....but now we're just getting picky.
The 8th is an excellent hole, bunkerless (I think). The 9th is visible in the land immediately rising beyond the 8th green
From behind, you can see the reverse cant of the fairway.
The 9th tee shot is similar to the first....the farther you aim left, the shorter the carry.
The coolest green on the course, no doubt - horseshoeing around a large trap, and allowing shots to be played in from nearly any angle. The ball in the 2nd photo below landed on the right edge of the green and nearly came back off the left side.
The 10th is a breather. There are tough putts to be had, but mostly a simple, pretty hole
11 is an exhilarating tee shot which demands that you've either played the course or learned the hard way that the line is much farther right than you'd guess. The shot to the green is all carry to get it to the green, but caution against flying it too far and leaving a treacherous putt back toward the fairway
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that 12 is as simple as 10. Though 30 yards shorter, it packs much more bite. The green plays smaller than it appears.
13 is the oft-discussed short par 4 with playing characteristics like the 10th at Riviera. The only option I felt did not exist was the straight layup - no matter what you do you are either going for the green or hitting something that gets you near it when all is said and done. Still, an excellent golf hole.
Nothing to say about the Hideout other than what's already been said - super cool place, super cool concept, and easy to get stuck there (particularly if you've hit a poor shot off the 13th tee and don't feel like chasing it down)
14th tee shot = as much fun as you can have if you are a long, wild hitter. Fairway plays about 200 yards wide, ball is in the air forever, and gorgeous views. A reachable hole if you dare - like the 1st hole, the 2nd shot pinches a bit.
15 calls for 200-220 yards off the tee and a line played up the extreme left of the hole.
16 is yet another fun par 5. Both par 5s on the front are closer to work...both on the back are closer to fun (and both are better birdie opportunities). Tee shot is aimed at the valley of trees on the hill in the distance
Second shot is aimed at the right edge of the green, or farther right - rocks on the hillside
The green is HUGE with some fun contours
17 reminds me a bit of 15, with a blind fairway and a left to right slope - again, driver not necessary
And 18 reminds me of 5, with a similar left to right slope and a dare to bite off yardage if you'd like.
Even though sun sets on the course itself, it's still light over the valley when you finish.
