Washington State Golf Course Reports

[twixster888]

[quote name='bpark1210' timestamp='1428444503' post='11306329']
Pics from The Classic GC 4/4/2015

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Check out all the piles of trees and brush in the background! These were laid out everywhere on the course. It's going to be wide open after they clear all that out of there.
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i'm sad to see those trees gone.

[bpark1210]

04/30/2015 The Home Course


Georgous day yesterday. Hit high 60's in the forecast and saw plenty of sun. The course is shaping up nicely. Green's had remnants of topseeding but rolling very nicely. Speeds were very consistent throughout the course. I decided to walk since it was nice out and enjoyed a good pace. The group in front of my twosome was on carts so they blasted off. We ran into a foursome on hole 10 but they got in gear and only ran back into them on hole 17/18. Wind was up but much needed wearing cotton pants and walking. Scoring opportunities were there but I played horrible my buddy damn near shot in the 70's. Lot's of roll on the fairways which was a welcomed sign after the crappy weather we'v been having. Greens are a little on the soft side but got baked out as the sun hit toward the end of the round.

Funny shot, on 18 I pushed my tee shot deep right almost near the tee'ing ground for the driving range. Found the ball gun'd the flag at 136 or so hit pitching wedge hard bounce over the green. Walk up to my ball and I realize I gunned the practice green and not the 18th. My ball is lying on a downhill slope I flop it onto the 18th green and sink my 15 footer for par. My dumb mistake for not remember how close the practice green is compared to the 18th and since there is huge mound there forgot that the green lies behind the mound for a blind shot.

[bpark1210]

04/30/2015 The Home Course

Pics from yesterday.


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Sorry for so many self pics my buddy was photographer for the day testing out his new Galaxy S6

[bpark1210]

05/10/2015 The Classic GC (RMG)

Beautiful day out, high 60's and walked. The Classic is fast becoming my go to course for this year. As always true and smooth greens. The fairways are baking out now so there is a good amount of roll. Fairways will reward good shots and punish bad ones that draw or fade too much causing them to kick into the rough or worse into the brush piles. Luckily I didn't loose a ball all day. Pins were tucked into some challenging positions but playing fair. They always seem to be on point from a players perspective of a good test of golf w/ great conditioning here. Best part played for $23 on a GN deal.

05/03/2015 Gold Mountain - Olympic

Let's just say the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight did me in the night before and I played some of the most hungover worst golf of my life. Conditions were a little wet playing a 7.30am but dried out nicely through out mid morning. Gold Mtn is getting a little pricey now that it's summer but still worth the price tag they charge.

[TMBob]

Was at Chambers Bay today.....working on an article for the US Open....a few pics

[TheMackDaddy]

TMBob- that looks pretty green. I've heard the rough is nasty right now.

[TMBob]

[quote name='TheMackDaddy' timestamp='1431488755' post='11550006']
TMBob- that looks pretty green. I've heard the rough is nasty right now.
[/quote]

Yes, in spots it's crazy.....we took some pics.

Something does not seem right though....the really thick swirly rough looks almost like it was painted.

Picture # 7 up the hill.....they pretty much took away the whole left side of the fairway by letting the grass grow. Really thick, Blueish Green color. Further left is left of # 5 rough which is very natural colored and very sparse. The most noticeable hole that rough will impact players is #2 which is easily the narrowest fairway that I saw.

[bpark1210]

Sat 05/16/2015 Highlander GC


Went on a mini road trip out to Wenatchee this weekend. Played a twilight round at 4pm. We were told there was a tourney earlier in the day and they were packed. Wow what a mess. Haven't played a muni that was so backed up like that in a couple years. We were on pace for a 6hr+ round. The winds were up but it was a nice 82º outside. Greens were so hairy and fuzzy it was like putting on velcro. You had to hammer putts. Def not worth the $48 we paid w/ cart. This place is turning into the same model and maintenance level of Seattle Munis. We played it out to #14 but then decided to pack it up before we headed out too far into the back 9. One positive from the round was my buddy and I eventually were invited to play w/ a twosome ahead of us after a twosome left their group. Nice couple got to chat w/ them on every hole since we were waiting so long and even found out they were from the Mill Creek area where we both grew up. People out in Wenatchee are really nice and friendly.


Sun 05/17/2015 Desert Canyon GC

Played hungover for the most part. Being hungover I was in a relaxed state and actually played some of the best I've played all season. The course played nice and firm. The greens are receptive but still suffering a little bit of damage on some of greens from the fungus a couple years ago. The winds started to pick up in the afternoon but we were expecting that. The greens felt like they were rolling twice as fast here than Highlander. I'd venture to guess they rolled and cut them recently. I'd put them around a 10 or so on the stimp. Overall Desert still shines as one of the better bang for your buck courses out in Wenatchee. Challenging and long, almost brutal at times when the wind is up. The long par 5 15 that plays 600+ yds was into the wind that day. I barely squeezed out a par coming up short behind the tree on my approach and had a miracle chip from behind the tree to 12 ft and sunk the putt. Also had a memorable shot on #9, ended up driving into the fairway bunker on the right w/ a blind approach from the deep bunker at 168yds pulled 7i right over the flag rolling out to the back fringe and zipping back to 8ft (I was so deep in the bunker I couldn't see the ball but my buddy told me what happened), made the downhiller for a sandie birdie.

[mrfullwm]

Played the Home Course last Friday in a company golf outing. First time out there and I really love the layout. The fairways were in great shape and rolled out quite a bit...probably a result of lack of rain this spring. The greens rolled true and had some good speed to them. I know US Open qualifying was played out there a couple of weeks ago so I'm not sure how much was a result of that vs. typical course conditions. If it didn't take me over an hour to get down there I'd play it every weekend.

[bpark1210]

05/23/2015 - Semiahmoo Golf & Country Club - Semiahmoo Course

Took the treck up to Blaine over Memorial Day weekend for a day trip. Tee'd off for a twilight round for $40. First off the drive up was about 1:50. You can basically count on being right next to Canada. It's a bit far but with Memorial Day weekend we thought we could beat some crowds and high prices at the more popular courses. First time going up here and I was impressed. They have a grass range and nice chipping area. The course is part of a country club so the conditioning and service is top notch. The course was manicured from tee to green. The fairways are wide and the greens are perfect. The greens were rolling on the high side and they didn't disappoint. Most greens on the Semiahmoo course are sloped w/ a lot of false fronts which provided a good challenge since we played it short at 6400 yds. The course reminds me a lot of MIll Creek CC or Harbour Pointe. There are a lot of houses here and trees. If you tee game isn't on I'd suggest to play the course shorter than your normal yardage. I loved the conditioning of the fairways, it's like hitting off of carpet. The fairways are so smooth and easy to take divots. I was hitting long irons 4/5I's into greens with ease. My group consisted of my uncle and a good golfing buddy. We all played very well and scored pretty close.


05/27/2015 - The Home Course

Played it on Weds but can pretty much confirm what mrfullwm said. The course is just coming off the USGA Open qualifier and conditions are great. I thought the greens were slower than Semaiahmoo and were deceivingly hard to read. Had a hard time getting off the tee that day but played decent. Pace was good. Just my uncle and I walking as a twosome finished right at 4 hrs. We got held up by a foursome that let us go through on tee#4 and cruised from there.

I'll post pics as always in a following post from my mobile.

[bpark1210]

Semiahmoo GC
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Side by side w my buddy on the 18th fairway, I have a one shot lead going in w our next round on the line for the looser!
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Ended up winning by 2 strokes! My uncle as usual kicked our butts
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[bpark1210]

Home Course

I love early morning tee times, perfect untouched grass range.
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[robeans]

For those who like Glen Eagle, well it's bad news if you haven't heard. When Premier bought Cedarcrest they poached most if not all of the grounds crew. They went two months with little or no work done on the course. The fairways are long and covered with various types of vegetation other than grass. The rough was US Open length. The bunkers were so bad I picked my ball out of a number because they were super hard and covered with rocks. Also, it sounds like the ownership is pretty much checking out and refusing to pay to fix or maintain the equipment so they pretty much have no mowers.

The greens were still pretty good shape, that was the only positive.

I will not go back until they get their stuff straight. Sad really, it was one of the most well maintained courses in the northend. Our selection is pretty bad anyway, but now 1 less.

Sorry no pics, too distracted with my horrible play.

[bpark1210]

That's sad to hear. I haven't played there in years but agree that it was well maintained w/ fast greens which is always a rarity in our area. Thanks for the update.

[blink3665]

Oh man. What a bummer. I lived in Arlington and that was my home course. I can thank that course for any course management and iron play that I learned. I played there at the beginning of April and things were ok (horrible traps with large rocks). That is really too bad.

[jamie]

I played Druids Glen last weekend and today. I thought it was in great shape. Greens were smooth and were decently fast. Super slow round, though.

[bpark1210]

06/08/2015 - Gold Mountain - Oly course

Played in some of the best weather we've had all year. First twilight group out and it was near 80* and humid. Met up w/ some old golf friends I haven't played w/ in a while and had a great time. The course is in good condition as always. The rough is up in some areas and the fescue is being grown in some outlining areas like bunkers and OB. Pace was good but I think towards the back nine the drinks and heat started to get to everybody and we started to get rolled through by a couple of twosomes. Finished the round in under 5 hrs, not bad for a twilight on a packed course.

One note - balls are flying at least a club longer. I was hitting irons over greens and getting some extra height out of shots. Crazy what warm weather does to your ball.

[tbhuskie8]

No action on this thread for awhile!

 

Anyone been out to Auburn recently? Several courses have started plugging and was curious about any Pierce County courses that are still in relatively good playing shape

[mrfullwm]

Played West Seattle last weekend. Greens were super slow compared to normal. Looks like they had been punched in the last couple of weeks and still had some sand showing through. Fairways were in great shape but the rough was brutally long and tough.

[blink3665]

Played at Eaglemont last weekend. What a tough course! They punched the greens in early April. They had said they had a few weeks to heal. It didn't seem like it. The greens were extremely slow and bumpy. That being said, the rest of the course was in great shape. (Trust me. I got to see ALL of the course. :( )

[bpark1210]

I'm back from a long hiatus from this site. Been working on a new project car that took up much of my time last few months but still have been golfing.

 

 

 

Friday 04.22.2016 - Chambers Bay

 

Full disclosure it was actually my first time playing the course. I've been down there multiple times to putt around and of course during the US Open but never had an opp to play until my bday this month. What a treat. The course as every employee we ran into said it was "the best it's EVER been". I can't attest to it but will say all the problems w/ the greens that I always hear of were, not that bad. The greens looked really healthy and green, but it's been oversprayed w/ chems according to my buddies who work grounds crew. The evidence was in my hands that were turning green after a few holes. The course conditions were soft as we had a some rain mid week. The greens were receptive and surprisingly smooth. We fired off 4 birdies as a team on the front w/ 2 from myself. Putting surfaces weren't perfect but also weren't unfair. They were holding lines, not sure if the softer conditions effect that but no one in our group complained about the putting surface. Then the rain and winds kicked in after hole 13. We were not prepared and got drenched and were shivering in our shorts and tees when the winds started to really kick up. It was unbearable for one of our guys who couldn't even hold onto his clubs and DNP the last 4 holes. Pace was great, tee'd off early AM around 8.30am and never really got held up by any other group. I'll try to post some pics later today.

 

 

Sunday 04.24.2016 - The Home Course

 

Another early AM round. Pace was good other than some idiot group behind us on hole #1 and #2 hitting into us each time. There was a 2 some in front of my group and we would wait on every approach shot but as soon as they got off they would tee off and be on there way giving the impression we were holding up the green or something. Wasn't too happy about it but we blasted off after hole# 5 and never saw that group again behind us. The greens were a little disappointing here, they are slow as hell for what The Home Course usually presents. They were furry and needed to be cut and rolled. Winds were a factor all day gusting up to 15mph which made some holes extremely difficult. Golf'd my ball off shooting 82 w/ zero birds.

[bpark1210]

04.26.2016 - Jax Park

 

I was fortuante last night to be able to meet up w/ some friends on the back 9. The course is in mediocre shape. The greens are the furriest I've seen and played in a long time. Putts are hopping all over the place. I guess it took my 2 buddies over 2:45 min to get through the front 9 (tee'd off around 4.30pm) got stuck behind a girls HS practice round. Once I met them on hole 11 around 7.30pm we zipped through in about an hour for the back 9. They need to cut and roll the greens asap.

[SuperPapaBear]

There was one temporary tee box on #11.

 

I don't think that is a temporary tee. I was under the impression they moved the tee because houses down the right kept getting hit.

 

SPB

[bpark1210]

05/09/2016- McCormick Woods (RMG)

 

Sadly they decided to punch the greens and top sand the morning we played. This was all disclosed to us on their part after making the tee time via golfnow, so kuddos to them for being responsible and communicating. The course itself was tough. The rough was grown out for much of the front 9 but on the back the rough was mowed. Greens had been freshly verticut (min tined, mini punched, whatever you want to call it) but surprisingly still rolling smooth. We didn't run into any holes on the front until 9 that actually got sanded. Pace was good, finished in just under 3 hrs. Give them a couple weeks and guarantee will have some of the best greens in the state. RMG is really up keeping the maintenance on thier courses which include a massive tree extraction here and also the Classic last year. The courses are far more enjoyable to play on not worrying about loosing every tee shot through narrow tree lined shoots. Highly recommend the course once the greens heal up.

[glk23]

Will give a report on another RMG course, Oakbrook. This has been my home course for the last four years. The course is playing real nice at the moment especially the greens. Fairways are firm and while the rough has been cut back a little in the last couple of weeks, it is still playing pretty tough. Greens are receptive but are rolling fast and you do not want to be above the pin. Oakbrook also underwent a massive tree removal and the clean up remains a bug of contention for me but the improvement to the greens probably makes up for it. The best part is I play at twilight, usually the first time, and often have no one in front of us. Today was sunny and around 82, went around in 4:10 with no one in front of us.

[bpark1210]

05.28.2016 - Prospector @ Suncadia

 

 

Tee'd off early AM around 7:45am. The practice greens were lightning quick, if I had to guess probably rolling around a 13+. Then on the course things were noticibly slower at around maybe an 11. Took a few holes to get used to which didn't do much for my scoring that day. Tee'd off w/ my buddy as a twosome and got held up at pretty much every tee box up until hole #10. The group was nice enough to let us tee off after they'd already hit. We then flew through the back 9 with 2 other groups letting us play through. The greens were nice and smooth just a little bit slower than what you'd expect for such nice looking greens. Finished in roughly under 4 hrs.

 

 

 

05.29.2016 - West Seattle

 

10.45am tee time. Luckily it was raining pretty good Sun morning which I think kept a lot of golfers inside. We tee'd off as a threesome and played through some light drizzle through the first 3 holes. Pace was always going to be an issue and we finished in 5 hrs. The good news is the greens are getting into summer tournament conditions. I was surprised that they were rolling so fast. Maybe even faster than Prospector.

 

 

05.30.2016 - Jax Park

 

Tee'd off at 6:45am as a foursome. The pace was horrendous. You'd think an early AM round would be better for pace but it took well over 5hrs for a 6:45am round. The greens were being cut and rolled as we tee'd off so that was a positive. I was pretty frustrated at pin locations on this day. I had multiple 3 putt bogies, the groundskeeper was evil. There were multiple holes cut on ridges and with green speeds approaching 11/12 it was a brutal putting day. I'm still in awe of how fast the muni's were running the greens. With fast greens and tough pins on slopes it's bound to cause slow rounds. I think it was bad planning on the groundskeepers part for a holiday weekend to set the pins that way.

 

 

05.30.2016 - Kayak Point

 

2nd round of Memorial Day went up to Kayak around 2pm. Don't waste your money here. The greens are still recovering from what looks like the fungus that hit multiple courses 3+yrs ago. They've haven't kept up w/ maintenance and fertilizing the greens properly to grow them back. There's multiple burn spots and bumps in the greens where grass simply is dead and not growing back. Fairways also seemed like hitting out of rough in a lot of places. The groundscrew needs to step up their game here.

[SuperPapaBear]

Course: Kayak Pointe

Date: 10-09-2016

 

The last time I played Kayak Point I felt the same way bpark1210 did after his round. But the conditions are improving. They've remodeled the club house which was pretty cool, but not that important when you think about it.

 

The greens are starting to come back. If you remember the course, there are several greens, 3, 7, and 12 all come to mind as having been particularly terrible, but they seemed to coming around. The rest of the greens seemed perfectly fine to me. The one caveat is that they punched the greens the previous Monday, but they already seemed further along in the healing process than other courses I given the amount of time passed.

 

There is one downside to this review. The fairways still seem to be pretty amorphous. To give you a perfect example I mishit my drive on hole 8, but I still ended up by the 150 marker. I had to look for my ball. My purpose in calling this out is to show that they are putting in the effort to get better, but they aren't quite there yet. I think if they keep up the hard work the course will really be in fantastic shape come spring.

 

I'm hoping that the course continues to improve because I really enjoy the layout of that course.

[tbhuskie8]

Played Home Course today.... Greens are recovering from being punched a month ago. No indiciations of punching, however, it's as if they haven't cut them in weeks. I get a better roll on my shag carpet at home!

[R4haehl]

Played Home Course today.... Greens are recovering from being punched a month ago. No indiciations of punching, however, it's as if they haven't cut them in weeks. I get a better roll on my shag carpet at home!

 

good intel on Home Course this time of year... i was considering going this weekend but i may have to switch it up!

[Revlis]

Jackson Park 9 hole, 10-30-16

 

Played a couple practice rounds yesterday. Was kind of like golfing on a sponge, many of the greens weren't slow so much as swampy, nothing but fishtails, Caddy Shack style ball washing (cups filled with water), and untrimmed fairways. So while hunting a red Volvik Vivid (seriously bright) I hike to this...

 

 

NOT my ball, but a beautiful Fly Amanita just poking up...

 

Was fun and worth the $6 to play, played three balls as there was nobody around. Totally worth it, but there were so many BIG leaves on course that balls would just evaporate, so reverted to some old balls instead.

 

Mushy, swampy, cloud golf at it's finest. Kind of fun playing a neglected 9, lots of opportunities to play from adverse lies, thick rough, through the trees, bare dirt, out from under Cedars, etc... It's such a short nine that it really is just wedge practice. I think there were 3 holes where a 9 made sense, otherwise all wedges.

 

 

18 hole looked great, practice green was soft but fine condition, everything else normal, was just the 9 that was really swampy, but for $6 it was a good time.