Tacoma Country and Golf Club - Photo Tour

[Peter Ferlicca]

Tacoma Country and Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs west of the Mississippi, it seems many courses try to take that claim, so I am not sure which one is actually the oldest.  It was established in 1894, moved to a new site in 1904 with Lake American on the property.  I guess the club has had two fires in the clubhouses, so they have lost valuable information on the course multiple times.  I am sure some of you Canadian GCAers know the exact date he was down at Tacoma.  In 1989 the club acquired more land on the edge of the property so that they can build a practice facility.  By doing this they took out three Thompson holes and were replaced by three holes that stick out in my mind.  The course is once again a tight Pacific Northwest course.  I don't know if I am used to playing desert courses but not being able to start a cut left of target makes a course feel really tight to me.  There were probably 6 or 7 holes that were very tight of the tee, but a majority of the course looks tight but there is ample room out there.  

This course is known for great conditions and to say I was impressed would be an understatement.  The greens were the nicest poa annua greens I have ever seen.  Might just be the best greens I have ever seen.  There are extremely old matured poa greens just like what they have at Oakmont and just play amazing.  They have one uniform color, no foot prints or softness at all, and roll just like bent.  The fairways were also cut very tight and were perfect firmness.  The super has his own blog which is very cool to check on.
http://www.tacomaturf.com/

Harbottle Restoration

When I arrived at the club I took a little tour of the Clubhouse, they had cool plaques with all the past club champions.  You can tell right away that the Harbottle family has a lot of history at Tacoma.  Johns father was Club Champ about 10 times, and runner up probably another 10 times.  John won the club champ I think two times.  So to say this was his home club would be an understatement.  He probably grew up and spent everyday of his childhood at Tacoma Country and Golf Club.  He was in the process of doing a restoration on the course, and as many of you know just passed away this year.  It is sad to think about while you are seeing the changes on the course, that he can't see his home course come to fruition.  

Teeways
This is the first course I have seen that has embraced this idea.  It was part of the restoration.  What it is, is that each tee is essentially in a 20 yard wide fairway.  The tees will be placed at staggering distances down this very wide swath of fairway.  It looks very cool, IMO, and is nothing but good for the game.  For the higher handicappers that have nothing but short grass all in front of them if they hit it low.  It provides a cool undisturbed look how the tees just blend in with the fairways.  

Ok here is the photos

Couple photos of the putting green and clubhouse




Here is a photo of the perfect greens



Hole 1 Par 4 (416 yards)  Tough opener that has a narrow tee shot








Hole 2 Par 4 (360 yards) A dogleg right that requires a good tee shot to properly attack the flag





Hole 3 Par 3 (215 yards)  This is one beast of a hole, playing uphill and through a VERY NARROW shoot of trees.  You better be hitting it straight by now or you are taking a bogey at best.






Hole 4 Par 4 (438 yards)  A tough uphill dogleg left tee shot, must be able to hit the draw here.  








Hole 5 Par 4 ( 352 yards)  A very cool short hole that has a interesting green surrounded by bunkers






Hole 6 Par 3 ( 176 yards)   A beautiful par 3, this is the first hole that you will notice the bunkers have been changed part of the restoration.




A sad reminder of how young it can be taken away from us.





Hole 7 Par 4 (358 yards)  Another good looking hole, plays a lot longer than it says








Hole 8 Par 4 (458 yards)  Toughest hole on the course, must place it perfectly in the fairway to have any shot at the uphill green placed to the right







Hole 9 Par 5 (535 yards)   Pretty tight tee shot, straight away par 5, just keep it straight







Hole 10 Par 4 (360 yards)





Hole 11 Par 5 (486 yards)  The two par 5's on the back are FANTASTIC.  This one starts with a cut tee shot and then dives downhill to a green placed to the right around the trees.  Must place your drive right by the bunker on the left side of the fairway to have any bit of angle into the green.  












Hole 12 Par 4 (381 yards)





Hole 13 Par 4 (391 yards)  Here is the start of the new three holes, which IMO stick out quite a bit different from the rest of the course.






Hole 14 Par 4 (347 yards)  A Sahalee hole with two huge fir trees hundred yards out from the green making you place you drive perfect or you have no shot.







Hole 15 Par 3 (171 yards)  Obviously looks like a new golf hole here with a par 3 over water.  







Hole 16 Par 5 (499 yards)  This is Thompsons attempt at a Punchbowl green and it is awesome.  First you have quite a open tee shot to hit, so go ahead and let it loose.  Then the fairways dives down into a valley but then goes back uphill to a green.  From the fairway it looks like the right greenside bunker is actually greenside, BUT there is a huge kicker slope.  I did not know about the punchbowl, I screwed up my drive and had a 5 iron in for my third and thought I chunked it a little, but walk up the hill and notice my ball is 10 feet thanks to the kicker slope.  













Hole 17 Par 3 (224 yards)  Tough long par 3 right at the end of the round







Hole 18 Par 5 (519 yards)  The fairway breaks off into two ridges with an upper and lower around the central fairway bunker right at 150 yards out from the green, another good par 5 to finish.  

[Ronald Montesano]

1. Front left bunker on #6 looks really neat/cool (couldn't decide which adjective I liked more.)

2. I would quit golf if I had to play this course every day. Did every fir tree west of the Mississippi get a call from the Boss Fir Tree to uproot itself and go to Tacoma? I don't know if I've ever seen a more tree-lined course. I can't even make out the architecture; the trees mesmerize me!

3. Does it smell like a pine forest? I have to believe that sense of smell override would be in play here.

4. I chuckled at the description of #15...it seemed a new hole not because of the pond, but because the green and the pond aren't surrounded by tall fir trees horseshoes.

5. I think that the photo tour is excellent. I can't believe a course like this exists. Do the members ever travel to Bandon or the prairie courses, where nary a tree exists?

[David Davis]

Great photo tour. Looks like a beautiful forest garden, perfectly manicured. If the members want the complete opposite all they have to do is drive up the road to Chamber's Bay. You mention they are renovating, is it finished? Is it just visual or do the bunkers on #6 look to be far more rugged around the edges than the rest which seem very modern?

I think the photos make the course looks extremely tight which I noticed from photos of courses I've actually played. I imagine it's a little more generous than it looks, what would you say?

I've not played it but have played the usual suspects like Chambers, Bandon etc while visiting my parents in Oregon.

Thanks for the efforts in posting.

[Mike Hendren]

2. I would quit golf if I had to play this course every day. Did every fir tree west of the Mississippi get a call from the Boss Fir Tree to uproot itself and go to Tacoma? I don't know if I've ever seen a more tree-lined course. I can't even make out the architecture; the trees mesmerize me!

Ronald, I have enough confidence in you to know that once you play this course you'll regret that comment.    With the exception of the goalpost at the 14th (although I fondly recall my low running hook through the wicket that led to par) the trees do not encroach as much as you might think.

I could play this course every day and never tire of it.  It is rock solid bread and butter golf - an easy three hour walk with a compact routing and just enough movement of the land.    While not the cognoscenti's ideal, I find that the vivid contrasting green colors and stately trees of the Pacific Northwest greatly enhance the walk-in-the-park experience.  The closing par fives, notably the punchbowl, leave a great aftertaste as one climbs into the car.

Really like the bunker renovations, but didn't really have an issue as they were.

Big fan of this course and Macan's Fircrest nearby.  

Bogey

[Ronald Montesano]

I'll take your word for it, Miguel. I've been wrong quite often in my time. I have great confidence in your word.

[Mike Hendren]

Peter, can you elaborate on the Thompson attributation?   I'd love to say that I've now played a piece of his work but I was under the impression the architect was unknown with Macan's name tossed into the discussion. 

Super tour.  Thank you so much.

Mike

[Jeff_Mingay]

Peter,

Coincidentally, I was at Tacoma Country and Golf Club yesterday.

There's no way Stanley Thompson designed Tacoma, the math simply doesn't work. I've heard before, too, that he may have worked on the course at some time, but haven't seen any documentation of this. I don't believe it either. There is documentation, however, that Vernon Macan did some remodel work at Tacoma more than a few times throughout his lengthy career.

The new Harbottle bunkers (6 in total) look really good. But the style is definitely not 'restoration', in any sense of the word.

Tacoma's superintendent, Joel Kachmarek, came up with the idea for the 'teeways', which look pretty cool too.

Tacoma Country and Golf Club is a neat place.

[Peter Ferlicca]

Jeff,

Well there you go, shows what I know.   It says on multiple websites that it is a Stanley Thompson design, so I wonder where they got their info from.  I can see some Macan in there, I assumed it was more Macan than Thompson.

Yeah nevermind about the restoration then, I guess it is a renevation.  Harbottle must have had his own idea of how he wanted to do the bunkers.  I love the new look, can't wait to see what it looks like finished. 

I love the look of the Teeways, more courses should do it. 

How is the work going on at Overlake Jeff.