Golf in Pac NW vs. Midwest

[cfot]

Any Midwest transplants have commentary on the difference between golf between the two regions? Specifically Seattle Metro vs. Chicago Metro, but would welcome wider comparisons vs the two regions. Seems like bent grass is still popular in NW and some poa annua. Are their less golf courses? How about bang for you buck? Anything unique about golf culture? I'm mostly interested in public offerings.

[FairwayFred]

Golf in the PacNW does not compare to golf in the Midwest once you get outside Bandon. I lived in the PacNW for 10y and it's just not a focus like it is in the Midwest. There are alot less courses and I found alot less people play and know the game. That said my comparison is more Michigan vs Oregon but I am pretty familiar w Chicago and WA golf too. In Detroit or Chicago unless your downtown you can't go too far without seeing a golf course. That's just not so in OR/WA. I've had a hard time finding good public tracks in both OR and WA outside Bandon or Chambers Bay.

[cfot]

Yes but if those are the only two you like, it sounds like your standards are way higher than mine. Anyways, thanks for your comments.

[kaschreiber]

Within Seattle directly, public golf is nothing special at all. I don't know much about the Midwest golf culture personally, but from what I've read/heard, the two don't really compare. Poa Annua grows super well here, so that's what's typically used, escpecially on greens (see posts on Chambers just giving up on fescue greens and installing PA). That said, outside of the metro area, there are a lot of solid public options- you just need to travel 60-90 minutes. Gold Mountain (Olympic the better of the two, but Cascade still a fun track), The Home Course, Salish Cliffs, Avalon, White Horse, Suncadia, North Bellingham, Loomis Trails, Sudden Valley- all really great public tracks at a decent value. They just aren't really Seattle Metro. If you can travel a little further to the east side of the state, your options expand even further.

[CMCSGolf]

FairwayFred is right. I lived in Chicago for 3 years and just spent the last 3 in Seattle. Chicago is so much better (and this midwest in general than Seattle for golf). The land in Seattle stinks for golf. It's very rocky and somewhat hilly so many of the nicer more expensive courses run through the foothills, which I didn't love. Everyone knows about the Seattle rain, so while you can play 12 months a year there, it is soaked and wet for 9 of those months.

 

The most important thing Fred said is that golf is just not a priority. People spend their outdoor time doing things other than golf because the place is so beautiful. What else are you going to do in Chicago on a sunny summer day? Let's just lay Lake Michigan is not the Pacific. Seattle has a lot more options, so there are fewer golfers and therefore fewer courses. Now all that being said, there are many solid courses as kashreiber listed. It's one of the 10 largest cities in America so you can find some reasonable golf at a decent price if you look. It's just not as plentiful as the midwest.

[cfot]

Got it. I guess that's not too surprising.

[NeedAJoker]

I would agree with the above, Seattle itself isn't really a golf mecca, but being on the East side of the state, we have courses everywhere and very inexpensive. Palouse RIdge, Circling Raven, Gamble Sands, Wine Valley to name a few nice ones. South in Portland, OR, there are also numerous beautiful public tracks. The West side of each state does tend to be pretty wet with the exception of June-October.

PacNW golf is great, just not so much in Seattle proper unless you want to pay $100+/ round and feel like you are in a crowded rat race the entire time. But if you are in Seattle, I suppose you expect that anyway.