[Mark Saltzman]

From the club website:

The 27-hole golf course designed by Theodore C. Robinson, is ranked in the top 100 courses in America.  The course utilizes the foliage, natural topography, and natural soil conditions of the land.  Sahalee provides an all-weather, year round golfing facility on completely seperate, tree lined fairways.  The 27 holes consist of three 9-hole courses of equal caliber (the North, South and East course), any two of which can be combined to a standard 18 hole course - this arrangement eliminates the need for call- ahead staring times and promotes greater freedom of play for all members.  The South-North course was the Championship course for the 1998 P.G.A. Championship, the 2002 NEC Invitational, and the 2010 US Senior Open - World Golf Championships.


Routing




Scorecard Information

[Mark Saltzman]

All hole descriptions taken without permission from the Sahalee website (http://www.sahalee.com/Map.aspx).

1  South    Par 4   Yards: 406

The first  demands a very accurate drive - probably with a fairway wood or long iron. Any drive to the right will be blocked by trees or a drive to the left side will find a fairway bunker at about 250 yards out. A short to middle iron will be required for a second shot into a firm green protected in the front by two bunkers. A mound in the center left and, another, on the back right of the green will make for some interesting pin placements.


Tee shot gives a good example of penal design.  Shots missed right will be blocked out and shots missed left will find a bunker.  I say do away with the bunker.





After a perfect tee shot:




From right side of the (narrow) fairway the view to the green is obscured:





Interesting green shape and contouring, in perfect condition (though soft).  Bunkering could probably be updated.





A look back down the fairway:





2 South   Par 5   Yards: 507

A dogleg left framed by trees on both sides. To reach in two requires an approach over a lake onto a green that slopes from left to right. A bunker is parallel to the left side of the green.

Probably my favorite hole on the course and the hole least choked by trees.  Tee shot actually provides a fair amount of room to miss to the right (the outside of the dogleg).




A very pretty approach to a green protected by a fronting pond.  There is nothing but fairway between the water and the green so there is no buffer for a shot missed toward the water.






Front pin positions are fairly simple.  Back pin positions must deal with both the water and significant green undulation.

[Sam Morrow]

I'm glad to see pictures. I've always been curious about this course from what I've heard about how narrow it is.

[Sean Leary]

Its not quite as narrow as pictures make it out to be but its close.

Sahalee gives a lot of clubs that seek a  Top 100 ranking hope.

[Lou_Duran]

Its not quite as narrow as pictures make it out to be but its close.

Sahalee gives a lot of clubs that seek a  Top 100 ranking hope.

True of most courses in the 31-100 range.  Sahalee is a great club with three excellent nines.  Not nearly as tight as it looks, nor as penal as many "open" courses with high natives and a bunch of hazards.  Plenty of opportunities for recoveries, which are, in my opinion, the most rewarding and memorable.

[Dale Jackson]

I agree it is not as narrow as its reputation but I think #1 is the tightest opening hole I can remember.  On a day when the course has had a chance to dry out, it is a pleasure to play.  It does get a lot of rain though.  I look forward to the rest of the photo tour, there are some really good holes.

[Mark Saltzman]

I agree it is not as narrow as its reputation but I think #1 is the tightest opening hole I can remember.  On a day when the course has had a chance to dry out, it is a pleasure to play.  It does get a lot of rain though.  I look forward to the rest of the photo tour, there are some really good holes.

Dale,

I agree that there are some very good individual holes.  My issue with Sahalle was the lack of variety.  As has been discussed at length on GCA, narrowness creates a lack of options, but aside from that, from the tees I played (blues), the P4s ranged from 370 to 430 (read boring) and the P3s were all carbon-copies ranging from 169-181(!!!) with water short.

I am really glad I got to play Sahalee as no doubt it is a controversial course and I am now able to form an educated opinion.

[Sean Leary]

Lou,

I agree with you in general although I think that Sahalee gives more hope than most. Great club for sure though, and a really good course.

[Mark Saltzman]

3 South   Par 4   Yards: 415

Slightly uphill and bends to the right. Large fir trees guard both sides of the fairway, which widens in the landing area. A large tree 80 yards away shields the left side of the green, which is protected by a front bunker left and right.

Very narrow looking tee shot that makes you feel like you really want to challenge the right.  A little bit of tree removal would probably help here.




Interestingly, a tee shot that does challenge the right is not rewarded but is penalized by having a tree block-out the view of the right half of the green.




After a perfect tee shot:





Looking back:




4 South   Par 4   Yards: 386

A tree in the right side of the fairway 225 yards out, and a bunker behind it, steer the drive to the left. Two-tiered green surrounded by three sand bunkers, and a grass bunker behind it.

One of several holes with a tree in the fairway.  I thought the holes were narrow enough without these centerline 'hazards'. I think the hole would be better without it.  Curious to hear others thoughts.




From dead-centre of the fairway the green is partially obscured.  And look, there's a bunker behind that tree... I don't remember seeing that.  Odd placement for a bunker, isn't it?






Nice, well-protected two-tier green surrounded by bunkers.






A rather severe run-off behind the green:

[Joel_Stewart]

Sean and Lou:  Are you saying it's a great club or great course?

I've played it and aside from one or two holes, was completely bored.  Yes it unique but too me, it doesn't deserve top 100 status especially when Pasatiempo, Quaker Ridge and others are not in the top 100. 

[Sean Leary]

Joel,

I don't think its top 100 but lou's point is that other than the very top courses, the differences are minimal and many could claim to be deserving of top 100 ranking over others.

[Peter Ferlicca]

  Well, I am going to be another person that is not that big of fan of Sahalee.  I saw Sahalee for the 2010 US Senoir Open.  I walked the whole course watching the pros play.  I was much under whelmed, and really saw no strategy in the golf course.  I stood by #10 tee for about 20 minutes and saw 4 guys send their tee shot maybe 5 yards offline and they hit one of those huge trees 100 yards out from the tee and dropped straight down. 

Then I went and played it about a month after the Senior Open, I figured maybe I like it better after I play it.  The conditions are great, but not as good as Aldarra or Tumble.  The course is pretty, but once again not as pretty as Aldarra, Tumble, or Chambers.  There is no strategy other than hitting a dead straight golf ball.  Like Mark says, the par 4’s all feels the same, and the par 3's are practically identical.  It is a very nice golf course, but IMO, not even in the top 4 for the state of Washington.  So the fact that it ranked in the top 50 in Golf Digest is mind boggling.  It is amazing how Sahalee is viewed by all the Washington residents; they act like the place is Augusta National.  When I would go around and talk up Tumble Creek, everyone would just give me a blank stare, and reply, “oh, haven’t heard of that place, but I know Sahalee is the best in the state.”

[Randy Thompson]

if you didn´t have the trees, it looks pretty common in design but we have only seen four holes and carmeras can be misleading. It still looks scary tight and in need of a chainsaw. Can anybody tell me more or less what is the average width from tree to tree. Looks to me in the forty to fifty yard width and in my book that is tight and ok for a couple of holes but not ok for an average width.

[Joe Stansell]

I can't explain why we Washingtonians have an inflated view of Sahalee but I think I can put it somewhat into context. I've not played Sahalee but I've walked it several times.  Sahalee looks a lot like many Pacific Northwest golf courses: tall trres and seemingly narrow fairways. But it's the very best of the genre. Its ground rolls more than most. The greens are more interesting. The ponds are more peaceful. The maintenance is top tier. In other words, Sahalee represents the very best of what people around here know.  It is for that reason that most locals  would keep it on their list of places to play. But at the same time it would make the top five of Washington state courses of very, very few GCAers.

[Mark Saltzman]

if you didn´t have the trees, it looks pretty common in design but we have only seen four holes and carmeras can be misleading. It still looks scary tight and in need of a chainsaw. Can anybody tell me more or less what is the average width from tree to tree. Looks to me in the forty to fifty yard width and in my book that is tight and ok for a couple of holes but not ok for an average width.

Randy,

Here's a couple of examples:

Hole 1: Min fairway width - 19 yards; Max fairway width 27 yards (note that trees on right side of fairway effectively take of 1/3 of these widths); max width trees to trees 41 yards

Hole 4: Max fairway width - 38 yards (effective width around 18 yards as anything right of centre is blocked out); max width trees to trees 48 yards.

[Mark Saltzman]

5 South   Par 3   Yards: 195

Tree-lined  gives the impression of hitting out of a tunnel. A lake curves around the right side of the green with bunkers on the left and behind the green. Rees Jones added a pot bunker on the right side during his redesign.

The one-line description from the Sahalee website has everything that is hated by GCA.com!  "Hitting out of a tunnel."  "Lake..right with bunkers...left."  "Rees Jones...redesign"

Not a ton to add. Another interesting green.  Sloping around the water and tightly mown areas serve to kick shots toward the water.












6 South   Par 5   Yards: 490

Three bunkers down the right side and one on the left. Drive must favor the left side because of a large tree 175 yards from the green. Approach must carry the bunker in the front of a two-tiered green.

Bunkers left, bunkers right.  Trees left, trees right.  Hit it straight.




Can you say double-hazard?  View from right-side fairway bunkers.




After a perfect tee shot




From 100 yards out - green surface is not yet visible.  Interesting knob protecting left pin positions.




Another interesting green shape, sort-of clover-like.  Allows for lots of easy centre pins, but some interesting tucked pin as well.

[Brent Carlson]

While these front nine holes are not widely lauded, I will say that IMO the back nine has some good holes.  I'm interested in the opinion of others as Mark completes the photo tour.

Another nice thing about Sahalee - the conditioning is good and the greens may be the truest that I have played all year.

[Frank M]

I have not played the course, but the enormous trees tend to have a "tunneling" effect even though the courses tend to be wider than the eye perceives.

I have never really had any major issues with Sahalee (the little I've seen in pictures and on T.V.), but the controversy surrounding its position in the Top 100 really makes me want to get out and see it. I have a lot of movement in my shots and would like to experience how tight it is and how much the trees encroach on play.

[michael damico]

wow...I didn't know that this hosted majors, had heard it's name (but begin from the NE, of course that's the case) and feel claustrophobic just from these photos. I grew up on tree-lined fairways, but still, those evergreens are pretty powerful and intimidating.

I don't know what the soil conditions are, but do know that area gets alot of rain, how does it play?

It looks well maintained and the ground looks full of undulations playing off features, but I can't explain why this isn't doing it for me...

[Sean Leary]

The height of the trees adds to the tight feel. They really are impressive to see if you don't live here.

I would have it in the top 5 in WA for sure. Trying to compare a course like Sahalee with Chambers is apples and oranges and difficult to do, IMO.

[Craig Sweet]

Too many trees...

[Randy Thompson]

Fifth green setting and surrounding seem really well done, the double hazard on the 6th is kind of werid and I am surprized has lasted through the years.

[Lou_Duran]

Sean and Lou:  Are you saying it's a great club or great course?

I've played it and aside from one or two holes, was completely bored.  Yes it unique but too me, it doesn't deserve top 100 status especially when Pasatiempo, Quaker Ridge and others are not in the top 100. 

Joel,

You must bore easily.  Besides the notoriety of the impossible greens (not a plus in my book), nice look, and having been the home of the great man, I don't get the buzz on Pasa.  I do like Quaker Ridge very much- more so than Winged Foot West.  If memory serves, it is rated highly by Golfweek.

I do make a distinction between the club and the course.  Sahalee impresses me in the warmth and cordiality of its members.  Like Olympic, the club has life, and though it may not be all things to all people, from what I gleened in my three visits, members and guests are well-treated and appreciative of their situation.  For my game, the course is more than sufficient.  If the Seattle area was going to be my home, Sahalee would be at the top of my list.     

[Craig Van Egmond]

Peter and others,

Just out of curiosity name 4 courses better than Sahalee in the state of Washington..

I'll spot you Chambers Bay.. so you only have to come up with 3 now.

When I left in 2002 I had played over 150 courses in Washington and Sahalee was clearly the top dawg.  And even though it appears that the straight ball is king, you really need to be able to hit both a draw and a fade to play well there.

[Mark Saltzman]

Peter and others,

Just out of curiosity name 4 courses better than Sahalee in the state of Washington..

I'll spot you Chambers Bay.. so you only have to come up with 3 now.

When I left in 2002 I had played over 150 courses in Washington and Sahalee was clearly the top dawg.  And even though it appears that the straight ball is king, you really need to be able to hit both a draw and a fade to play well there.

Craig,

Chambers Bay
Aldarra
Tumble Creek
Wine Valley

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()