PACIFIC NORTHWEST ROAD TRIP ADVICE?

[JMO TO]

I am planning a road-trip from Victoria, British Columbia to Bandon Dunes in May of this year. What I am looking for is advice on where to play on the way from Seattle to Bandon to break up the drive into 2 legs. We will be playing Victoria Golf Club (http://www.victoriag...com/welcome.cfm) for a couple of days, then hitting Chambers Bay for 1 or 2 rounds.

 

I don't want to do the entire drive from Tacoma in 1 shot, so where would people stop to stay and play on the way to Bandon?

 

Thanks in advance! :help:

[oregongolf]

Nice trip.

I think you might want to leave your second round open at Chambers... if you want to replay, you can do that... but there are other courses that are a bit more put together at this point in time. I actually like the course and have learned to play it differently than I had in the past after playing with a couple of the assistants in a tournament. But, that's not to say it's everyone's cup of tea.

You only have a few options from Tacoma to Bandon. Stop and play in Portland or stop in play in Eugene (or Florence--Sandpines).

I'm not a huge Pumpkin fan (I think it's a little overrated), but it is probably the best public bet in Portland. Alternatively, you can try Langdon Farms. It is right off the freeway on I-5 South of Portland and a good local public track. In Eugene, you can try Emerald Valley... it should be in great shape as they gear up for tournament season. Otherwise, Sandpines in Florence is a nice primer.

If you or someone in your group is a member at a private club, it opens up your options more.

[JMO TO]

[quote name='oregongolf' timestamp='1388433822' post='8368873']
Nice trip.

I think you might want to leave your second round open at Chambers... if you want to replay, you can do that... but there are other courses that are a bit more put together at this point in time. I actually like the course and have learned to play it differently than I had in the past after playing with a couple of the assistants in a tournament. But, that's not to say it's everyone's cup of tea.

You basically have two options from Tacoma to Bandon. Stop and play in Portland or stop in play in Eugene (or Florence--Sandpines).

I'm not a huge Pumpkin fan (I think it's a little overrated), but it is probably the best public bet in Portland. Alternatively, you can try Langdon Farms. It is right off the freeway on I-5 South of Portland and a good local public track. In Eugene, you can try Emerald Valley... it should be in great shape as they gear up for tournament season. Otherwise, Sandpines in Florence is a nice primer.

If you or someone in your group is a member at a private club, it opens up your options more.
[/quote]

Thanks for the quick reply!

We both played Chambers Bay on my last trip out west and loved it (I'm in Toronto and my Uncle is based in Victoria, which is why he's golfing today and I'm stuck inside (it was 0*F earlier today))

Both my uncle and I are members at private clubs (my uncle is at Victoria (link in OP) and was formerly at Beacon Hall (A Bob Cupp course) and I'm @ Mad River(also Cupp) (http://www.Madriver.ca), so Pumpkin did peak our curiosity as Cupp if only as Cupp fans. Any suggestions for "must-play' private tracks on our route?

Thanks!

[bpark1210]

Private tracks - Tacoma CC would be great if you have recipricol privilages. It's the oldest private GC in the PNW. I've personally never played it, but hear great things about it from buddies who have played chapter events there.

[oregongolf]

Both of you being members at private clubs definitely helps. Your uncle being a member at Victoria should open some doors.

In the Seattle/Tacoma area, Tacoma CC is awesome. Great practice facility and nice course. Aldarra, Sahalee, and Seattle Golf Club are great.

In the Portland area Portland Golf Club, Royal Oaks, Columbia Edgewater, and Waverley are all nice too. If you're set on Pumpkin, play the private side. I've always thought that Witch is appreciably better than Ghost Creek, although there are four or five really good holes on Ghost. You're visiting on a hopefully drier month in May, but if there has been a real amount of rain, you might want to line something else up.

In Eugene, you're looking only at Eugene CC for privates. It's nice and I'm not crazy in love with it, but it's a top 100 course and I would encourage people to play it at least once.

I would honestly skip all the public options on your way down and just play the private clubs. Chambers is fun, but if you've played it once... it's probably enough until it's a little more mature, especially considering you're already on your way to Bandon.

Have fun and take a bunch of pictures... I love the eye candy.

[myspinonit]

You may already know this, or your uncle will mention it, but you might want to check if the Washinton State ferry from Victoria-Anacortes ferry is running when you are going to start the road trip. If so, I suggest reserving on that to avoid having to come BC ferries then drive through the border.
Edit: assuming you will be driving all the way from Victoria. There is also the Clipper passenger only ferry to Seattle.

Suggest you take a look at the Northwest sub-forum in the Courses and Travel as there are some similar threads there with responses. And the ones to Washington course conditions, Western [i]Washington Best Draining Courses [/i]and [i]Western Washington Course Conditions[/i] as this is of course the Wet Coast.

[inked]

I recommend Sandpines as your traveling south. I lived in Portland for many years and played most of the the great courses in the area. Now that Sandpines is my home course, I play it a few dozen times a year. It's one of my top courses in Oregon. The three finishing holes, 16, 17, and 18 are stunning. This time of year the course is real playable. If it's not raining and you don't catch it during a storm, the temp can be mild, high 50's, low 60's and not much wind. The summer winds can be brutal at times, making the course extremely challenging. The course drains extremely well after rains and the greens are normally rolling really nice. Feel free to look me up if you make it down, I'd be happy to give you a tour of the course.

[JMO TO]

[quote name='myspinonit' timestamp='1388439113' post='8369437']
You may already know this, or your uncle will mention it, but you might want to check if the Washinton State ferry from Victoria-Anacortes ferry is running when you are going to start the road trip. If so, I suggest reserving on that to avoid having to come BC ferries then drive through the border.
Edit: assuming you will be driving all the way from Victoria. There is also the Clipper passenger only ferry to Seattle.

Suggest you take a look at the Northwest sub-forum in the Courses and Travel as there are some similar threads there with responses. And the ones to Washington course conditions, Western [i]Washington Best Draining Courses [/i]and [i]Western Washington Course Conditions[/i] as this is of course the Wet Coast.
[/quote]I am pushing for us to rent a car in Port Angeles, so that we can drop it when we get to Bandon (I'll continue on to SF to visit more family).

[myspinonit]

[quote name='JMO TO' timestamp='1388500220' post='8373375']
[quote name='myspinonit' timestamp='1388439113' post='8369437']
You may already know this, or your uncle will mention it, but you might want to check if the Washinton State ferry from Victoria-Anacortes ferry is running when you are going to start the road trip. If so, I suggest reserving on that to avoid having to come BC ferries then drive through the border.
Edit: assuming you will be driving all the way from Victoria. There is also the Clipper passenger only ferry to Seattle.

Suggest you take a look at the Northwest sub-forum in the Courses and Travel as there are some similar threads there with responses. And the ones to Washington course conditions, Western [i]Washington Best Draining Courses [/i]and [i]Western Washington Course Conditions[/i] as this is of course the Wet Coast.
[/quote]I am pushing for us to rent a car in Port Angeles, so that we can drop it when we get to Bandon (I'll continue on to SF to visit more family).
[/quote]

You are ahead of me. I saw about the ferry to Port Angeles, but haven't taken it and didn't mention it as the drive to Seattle is maybe an hour longer from there than Anacortes. I forgot that the ferry to Anacortes can be a milk run. I'll try to remember the Victoria-PA ferry if we do the run stateside to Vancouver Island again.

Then you are on to SF- my next favourite city to home. Sounds like a great trip!

[TheMackDaddy]

[quote name='bpark1210' timestamp='1388436341' post='8369105']
Private tracks - Tacoma CC would be great if you have recipricol privilages. It's the oldest private GC in the PNW. I've personally never played it, but hear great things about it from buddies who have played chapter events there.
[/quote]
Tacoma CC is easily a top 5 course in the state for me. Played it last week and it was in fantastic shape.

[TheMackDaddy]

I always recommend Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton. It's my home course and has won a large amount of awards.

[ayotte2]

If you're taking the ferry to Port Angeles, it's a no brainer to stop at Gold Mountain for your first round on the same day you land in PA if you're taking the earliest ferry. It's a two hour drive to Gold from PA. Stay overnight in Tacoma and play Chambers on day two. Tacoma is 35 minutes from Gold. No back tracking necessary.

[JMO TO]

UPDATE: At Bandon now (since the 23rd). We just decided to do the drive from Port Angeles in one shot since the weather in Bandon was looking so much better than the rest of WA and ORE. We've had 1.5 hours of rain in 60 degree weather for the past 3 days. I shot my best round ever today at Bandon Dunes (84!).

[oregongolf]

Nice!

Are you playing 36 on any of the days?

[teckneeklyperfect]

the back 9 at Salishan near Lincoln City

[ws6]

Congratulations on the great round. Sounds like a 10 Barrel, Rogue, or other Oregon beer is deserved.

[JMO TO]

Celebrated a little too hard which made my round on Pacific Dunes a lot tougher the next morning.