Washington State Golf Course Reports

[dan360]

Played Salish Cliffs this morning. A little wet (we've had rain in the area) but the sun was out. Unfortunately the golf game hit snooze about 86 times today.

Still, fun fun fun.

[Seattle_Maslow]

Washington National this morning. Frustratingly slow play (4:40 starting at 7:20 a.m.) and the fairways on 2 and 6 were super chewed up, and there was lots of GUR. The greens were rolling great, however.

[RainShadow]

Is it me or are all the courses in western Wa in mediocre shape this "spring"?

[RainShadow]

[quote name='Seattle_Maslow' timestamp='1402807369' post='9498347']
Washington National this morning. Frustratingly slow play (4:40 starting at 7:20 a.m.) and the fairways on 2 and 6 were super chewed up, and there was lots of GUR. The greens were rolling great, however.
[/quote]
Is your avatar Wialea Emerald ?

[Seattle_Maslow]

[quote name='RainShadow' timestamp='1402851310' post='9499959']
[quote name='Seattle_Maslow' timestamp='1402807369' post='9498347']
Washington National this morning. Frustratingly slow play (4:40 starting at 7:20 a.m.) and the fairways on 2 and 6 were super chewed up, and there was lots of GUR. The greens were rolling great, however.
[/quote]
Is your avatar Wialea Emerald ?
[/quote]

Close, it's Makena.

[edryer3]

Headed up North in a few weeks. July 7,8,9. Anyone have any course condition updates on Salish Cliffs, Gold Mountain (Both Courses) and Trophy Lake? When playing them in July? Thanks

[bpark1210]

The Home Course 06/25/2014

Played an early afternoon round w/ a start time of 2:24pm. Arrived early to hit the grass range and chip/putt around. Being in full prep mode for the US Am Women's Pub Links Championship we knew we were gonna be in for a treat. The massive putting green by the range was in beautiful shape. Freshly mowed and rolled, no bumps, perfect speed, putts that actuall can die into holes and break etc. Can't say how much we were all giddy to be on tournament shape greens rolling smooth as a butter. The green speed on the practice green had to of been close to 11 or 12. Got called to the first tee and as the marshalls always do they chatted up to give us some ground rules. We got to asking how the course was playing and prep for the USGA event and received an unfavorable answer: the greens are slow!

What? We were just on the practice green and it's lightning fast! The starter explained the USGA has been prepping the greens for the tournament and part of this process was to let the course greens get healthy and grow in a bit. The greens on the course seemed to be in a green shade which isn't normal for The Home Course. He said they'd be a bit fuzzy, cutting and rolling has been minimal due to the USGA's request. Well that wasn't the conditions we were hoping for. Needless to say the greens on the course are a bit slower than the putting green. The greens in my opinion are still the best of any course in WA right now. Last day to play the course before the tourney will be July 11th. We plan to play here again hoping for those tournament shape greens.

The whole course is prisitine and the greens didn't deter at all from a great day on the links. The wind was up and gusting pretty good on a couple of holes. Scores ranged from 74, 83, 87, and 89 from the black tees in our group. Fairways are perfect. Greens are damn near perfect. Rough and fescue is up. Now is the time to play the Home Course if you were thinking of playing here this summer. We def plan to return by July 11th to experience an USGA prep'd tournament course.

[Seattle_Maslow]

Played a twilight last night at Coal Creek. Oki special for $50. Unlike Saturday's round, we finished in 2:50. Conditions the same, but what a difference speed makes to one's psyche.

[Seattle_Maslow]

Suncadia Rope Rider today and Prospector yesterday. Rope Rider conditions were immaculate, really a 9 out of 10. Greens could have been a bit more consistent and faster, but firm and very hard to hold. Dry course with no bare spots, great fluffy sand. Prospector was about a 5 of 10, due mostly to the greens being in very poor shape (outright holes in them, and not from punching). Lots of wet, muddy areas and bare spots around the greens. Amazing how different the conditions of the two course are given their proximity to one another.

[mukster]

Played 3 rounds at Wine Valley in Walla Walla last weekend. Great shape, greens were lightning fast!

[Tuxedo_Golfer]

Played at royal oaks cc. Great condition, greens were very fast even though it has been raining a lot the last few days.

[TMBob]

[quote name='Seattle_Maslow' timestamp='1404091672' post='9604535']
Suncadia Rope Rider today and Prospector yesterday. Rope Rider conditions were immaculate, really a 9 out of 10. Greens could have been a bit more consistent and faster, but firm and very hard to hold. Dry course with no bare spots, great fluffy sand. Prospector was about a 5 of 10, due mostly to the greens being in very poor shape (outright holes in them, and not from punching). Lots of wet, muddy areas and bare spots around the greens. Amazing how different the conditions of the two course are given their proximity to one another.
[/quote]

The difference is not based their proximity. The difference is age, about 6 years. It looks like Prosector greens (some of them) have a disease of some sort that has taken it's toll on them. They are also full of Poa which happens to all Bent Grass greens around here over time. RR greens are still to new for The Poa to take over.

I played there two weeks ago and would give Propector at least a 7.5 and only one time was the pin in an area that was bad and I still made an 8 footer thru it.

[Seattle_Maslow]

[quote name='TMBob' timestamp='1404135889' post='9606997']
[quote name='Seattle_Maslow' timestamp='1404091672' post='9604535']
Suncadia Rope Rider today and Prospector yesterday. Rope Rider conditions were immaculate, really a 9 out of 10. Greens could have been a bit more consistent and faster, but firm and very hard to hold. Dry course with no bare spots, great fluffy sand. Prospector was about a 5 of 10, due mostly to the greens being in very poor shape (outright holes in them, and not from punching). Lots of wet, muddy areas and bare spots around the greens. Amazing how different the conditions of the two course are given their proximity to one another.
[/quote]

The difference is not based their proximity. The difference is age, about 6 years. It looks like Prosector greens (some of them) have a disease of some sort that has taken it's toll on them. They are also full of Poa which happens to all Bent Grass greens around here over time. RR greens are still to new for The Poa to take over.

I played there two weeks ago and would give Propector at least a 7.5 and only one time was the pin in an area that was bad and I still made an 8 footer thru it.
[/quote]

Interesting. Glad you had a better experience than we did. Two weeks in WA weather can also change a lot.

The employees there said that proximity has a lot to do with it. Rope Rider gets much more sun and wind and is much drier. Conditioning is about more than the greens too. There were lots of wet, muddy areas and bare spots that had nothing to do with the greens. One would think an older more mature course (but one still with modern drainage) would have an advantage there.

[bpark1210]

06/29/2014 - Harbour Pointe GC

Played a Sunday twilight. Dick, in the pro shop was kind enough to get me on the tee sheet earlier in the week w/ a pre-twilight start time but still paying twilight rates. They had men's league going on Sunday (which by the way from a course management perspective is a bad move for revenue) which packed up the tee sheet around twilight. Started on the back due to the men's league, pace was great. Practically no one on the course at 4:45pm. We had 2 singles mow through us but other than that we never ran into anyone. Course conditions are mediocre compared to some other places I have been playing. The greens need to be rolled, quite bumpy and inconsistent. Putts were not staying on line due to the fuzzy greens. Pin placements were typicall brutal Sunday pins. It seemed like everything was tucked behind bunkers or right on the edge of plateaus. Fairways for the most part were dry even with the hard rain we had over the past few days. I got into a couple bunkers on the front 9. I consider myself a decent bunker player but the sand that HP uses is more like fine granulated beach sand that is light and causes clubs to dig. The sand doesn't allow you to use your bounce and you have to pick the ball which is pointless out of a bunker. Just my personal taste on the bunkers but I would re-do all of them with a more appropriate firm type of sand. My one pet peeve and it's a big annoyance is uneven tee boxes. There are plenty of them here with lots of unrepaired divots. Finished the round in just under 4hrs which was a bonus. We stopped at the turn for drinks and could've easily knocked the pace down to 3:45 min's.

Going back to the Homecourse this Thurs and looking forward to some firmer and better maintained greens. Scoring is so much easier when you have perfect greens to play on.

[Ben Tang]

Played twilight at NC China. Pace was great. Greens were hairy. Rest of the course is in typical Newcastle summer conditions.


Bear Mountain Ranch last Friday. Amazing. Nothing to really report because everything was pristine.

[Seattle_Maslow]

Played twilight at Newcastle China Creek tonight. They must have mowed the greens because they were rolling great. Rest of the course was in very good condition, 9 out of 10. Slow twosome in front of us (guy showing off for his GF, who eventually stopped playing), but once we got past, it was quick--3:17.

Playing through was the only bright spot of the round. Hit a nice little 3W up the hill on 15, then a 9i that looked great off the face, but was deep, then sunk a 50 footer for birdie. The guy said "glad we let you go." :-)

[Seattle_Maslow]

Newcastle China Creek yesterday. Like Ben said the other day, greens were hairy (which they weren't for us on Weds, so big difference two days can make). Gorgeous day, nice pace (3:40). Nice conditions except for some of the bunkers being extremely wet and packed, and inconsistent...Hit into greenside left on 6 and had easy explosion out. Greenside left on 9 was nearly hardpan...i'm only bitter because of the double...

[bpark1210]

07/03/2014 - The Homecourse

More of the same excellent conditions out at the Homecourse. Pub Links prep is in full gear and conditions are best i've seen. Reccomend everyone to get out there in the month of July to play a USGA tournament prepp'd course. Greens were a little slow but I suspect they are still growing in for the tournament and will be cut/rolled this week. July 11th will be the last day the public can play before the tourney starts on the 14th.

Off to Gold Mt. - Olympic tomorrow! I'll give an update later this week on GM.

[Seattle_Maslow]

Suncadia Rope Rider this morning. First out as a single at 7 and the course was sunny and spectacular. I battled the lawn mowers for 12 holes though, which was a bit distracting. Dude drove up right behind me as I was hitting a 6 foot birdie putt on 11. Ugh.

I mentioned it to the pro shop and they gave me a rain check, so that was cool.

[gmu155]

Went out to try and play a round. Thought Monday would be reasonable. I left after 9 holes, we where on pace for a 6hrs round. Why even have Marshall....

Slowest premier munis. If you don't get out by 8:30am, weekdays and weekend.
1. Bellevue
2. Jackson
3. W. Seattle
4. Jefferson

[Seattle_Maslow]

[quote name='gmu155' timestamp='1404788807' post='9657107']
Went out to try and play a round. Thought Monday would be reasonable. I left after 9 holes, we where on pace for a 6hrs round. Why even have Marshall....

Slowest premier munis. If you don't get out by 8:30am, weekdays and weekend.
1. Bellevue
2. Jackson
3. W. Seattle
4. Jefferson
[/quote]

On Monday? Oh man, I'm sorry...

[bpark1210]

07.08.2014 Gold Mountain GC - Olympic Course

I have to say after all the raving about the Homecourse i've been posting good ol' Olympic has flown under the radar. They are also pretty much in tournament condition. In fact the greens on Olympic were faster than the Homecourse. Fast smooth greens def requried spin to hold your approach. These are the rounds that are the most fun for our group. Fast greens will punish you or reward you for all your shots into and putts on them. We tee'd off at 2:25pm and never ran into another group all day. They hosted a tournament earlier in the day but seemed like the course was empty for the most part. I think that Olympic is pretty much in it's prime for the season so def recommend getting out here.

[bpark1210]

Pics from Gold Mountain yesterday
[attachment=2316419:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952650.969545.jpg]

Testing out a new driver setup: B'Stone J40 445 10.5 w Fujikura Fuel Tour Spec Ltd 60S tipped 1/2"
[attachment=2316421:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952685.753091.jpg]
My buddy on hole #6 w a monster drive down the hill, left 182yds to the pin for his eagle
[attachment=2316425:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952717.736757.jpg]
[attachment=2316427:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952727.353004.jpg]
[attachment=2316431:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952737.202533.jpg]
Found this gem in the woods
[attachment=2316433:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952756.653569.jpg]

[attachment=2316437:ImageUploadedByGolfWRX Mobile1404952791.120901.jpg]

[Seattle_Maslow]

Redmond Ridge twilight tonight. Greens were very firm but shaggy, running at 9.5 supposedly but seemed slower. The rest of the conditions were excellent. Pace was 4:15 due to one very slow group in front, who ended up two holes behind. Otherwise a gorgeous evening.

[robeans]

Willows is in pretty good shape.

Played Talon today and thought the greens were the best of the year. Few dry spots but other than that green, well mowed and fast. They even have real sand in some of the bunkers and not hard pack. Rough is pretty thick in places. Most of the repairs are done, like 18's right side rough.

How I tee'd off at 715 and still had 3'47 is beyond me, but oh well. Marshals are for looks apparently.

[bpark1210]

07.16.2014 Harbour Pointe GC

Played a twilight at 5.15pm to prep for a tourney there this Saturday. Course has dried and firmed up all around. It's a shame about the greens though. Slow as hell and fuzzy. Greens were baked out and near impossible to hold with any shot that didn't have massive amounts of spin. Missing greens short caused a lot of my chip shots to just run from the hole. Even landing some partial wedge shots 15-20ft short of the pin still caused the ball to run out past the hole. This would be fine if the green speeds matched the firmness of the greens. Lots of putts being left short and inconsistent speeds from hole to hole. Really hope they can use some common sense to cut and roll the damn greens before this weekend.

Pace was good for my foursome and we never saw a group behind us all day. Only issue we had was a single cutting us off on hole #2 without any acknowledgment while we were on the tee. We had to wait for him to run his cart through the fairway. Then on #3 par 3 as we finished up, he rolls up on us again to ask if we saw his wedge, we tell him yeah we saw a wedge and left it on the green by the KP sign. As we are teeing off on #4 he runs his cart by again while one of our players is right in the middle of his swing! Unbelievable. No ettiquete from this jerk. Didn't even ask if it was okay to play through. Didn't wait for us play. We were waiting for a goup in front and he acted like a jerk thinking we were holding up the tee box etc. ..

Getting a little sour taste from the playing experience at HP. Paying $90+ to play in a tourney this weekend and questioning if I'll return back here after this weekend. For what Oki charges to play here the conditions don't hold up. I can't blame Oki for the clientele but it sure seems there's a influx of dumb golfers here but I know that's true at any course during the busy season.

[Keiththevol]

Played Chambers Bay twice in the last couple weeks. They finally opened up all the greens, but most were running very slow. Given the slopes on some of those greens it doesn't bug me, but I know some would be annoyed. Really had to hammer putts from off the green. Rough was in the the best and toughest conditions its been in my opinion. Still had some netting in the fairway on a few holes were temp greens had been. Maybe I'm just seeing the rosy side of things cus my buddy got an Ace on 15 the first day and I beat my handicap by 5 strokes the second, but conditions appear to me looking up there. Just need those greens to mature a bit more.

[bpark1210]

08.07.2014 - Salish Cliffs

Great conditions. Course has dried out quite a bit and greens were on the firm side. A big dissapointment was the amount of pitch marks scattered on every green. I can't count how many pitch marks I had to repair. It seems the "resort course" status is attracting a lot of newbies. We had a tee time at 3.30pm with the group in front of us teeing off 20min before us. When we drove up to the 1st tee they were still within driving distance off the tee. Pretty much got held up the whole day. Pretty frustrating as we would wait on every tee shot but once we got going off the tee they moved their pace up. Then once again on the tee they would hold us up. Finally after 15 holes they let us play through. We barely finished before sunset. If the group ahead of us would've let us play through on the front we would've cruised through in less than 3 1/2hrs instead of the slow 4 1/2 hour round.

Conditions are pretty fluffy and soft around the fringes. The greens got really baked and hard on the front but softer on the wooded holes. Practice greens were rolling perfect but the course was beat to hell from tons of pitch marks. Had one of those horrible scoring days despite hitting a lot of GIR's. I'd skip on Salish till fall. The resort status of the course attracts too much attention from slow and inexperienced golfers.

[TMBob]

[quote name='bpark1210' timestamp='1407458444' post='9883583']
08.07.2014 - Salish Cliffs

Great conditions. Course has dried out quite a bit and greens were on the firm side. A big dissapointment was the amount of pitch marks scattered on every green. I can't count how many pitch marks I had to repair. It seems the "resort course" status is attracting a lot of newbies. We had a tee time at 3.30pm with the group in front of us teeing off 20min before us. When we drove up to the 1st tee they were still within driving distance off the tee. Pretty much got held up the whole day. Pretty frustrating as we would wait on every tee shot but once we got going off the tee they moved their pace up. Then once again on the tee they would hold us up. Finally after 15 holes they let us play through. We barely finished before sunset. If the group ahead of us would've let us play through on the front we would've cruised through in less than 3 1/2hrs instead of the slow 4 1/2 hour round.

Conditions are pretty fluffy and soft around the fringes. The greens got really baked and hard on the front but softer on the wooded holes. Practice greens were rolling perfect but the course was beat to hell from tons of pitch marks. Had one of those horrible scoring days despite hitting a lot of GIR's. I'd skip on Salish till fall. The resort status of the course attracts too much attention from slow and inexperienced golfers.
[/quote]

Played there yesterday (8/11)

I would not skip it but I would not pay the premium fee either. Greens were Ok and better then most other public course period. Just did a slight top dress, which means they will be even better very soon.

The big issue with the course right now is the back side as they recently strifed a few if the fairways (10 and 11 were the most recent) the other were done earlier and are not so bad. We just played winter rules in 10 and 11 as you ball would end up in the cut line into the turf.

As for the ball marks, I see it differently then Mr Park. Salish Cliffs has Bent Grass greens and is not the normal for this area. Add the fact that a ton of water has been dumped on to the greens due to the warm weather that we have seen for months now and you get ball marks the just blow up the greens. Deeper then normal and longers then one we would normally see from Poa greens. This makes it very hard to repair and for them to grow in as quick as normal. Add this to very dark colored greens (bent grass) vs a multi colored lighter green color of Poa and the repaired or unprepared ball marks stand out more to the naked eye.

The other thing that stand out at Salish when comparing to other course in the Seatlle are the fairways. Very sponge like and easy to dig down an inch or so even for non steep players. It's like a carpet of grass was laid over a pad then over the dirt. It's quite different, but I like hitting irons from this type of grass. It's almost has a hitting off of firm moss feeling.

We played at 2:30 and finished at 6:55 and I had some slow pokes in my group. Add in looking for lost balls on almost every hole and 4 1/2 hours is not bad in my book.

Coming from Seattle it's a long day as we did lunch there, hit range balls and dinner at the Casino......like over 9 hours. It's great to play there a couple of times a year and everyone that I have brought there has enjoyed it. The par 4's on the back side are as solid as it gets IMHO.

[Seattle_Maslow]

Suncadia Prospector on Monday. Vastly improved greens from when I was there in June. The bare spots had largely grown in so any defects were mostly cosmetic. Bunkers hadn't been raked so they were wet and packed, which was disappointing. Overall 8/10.

Harbour Pointe this morning. Greens looked great but were shaggy, slow and inconsistent. Not worth the current $, but I booked late and couldn't find a morning time, so I just used an Oki round. Lots of holes under repair. 6/10.