5 minute read

Short Game

from Cascade Golfer April 2023

from Cascade Golfer April 2023, page 4

Publisher's Pitch

Register for the Corona Premier Shootout July 29-30 and meet designer David McLay-Kidd

Every experience, no matter what it may be, is time beautifully spent at Gamble Sands — it’s beyond special. The golf, food, vistas, lifestyle, climate and culture are unique. It’s for that reason Cascade Golfer continues to produce the ever-growing Corona Premier Shootout year after year.

So, save the dates July 29-30, select your playing partner, and register before it too late because this year will be our best event ever as we have a headline celebrity appearance with global golf course designer David McLay-Kidd — the mastermind behind Gamble Sands.

That’s right, McLay-Kidd will be at Gamble Sands on the weekend of the event to lend his support for the event’s beneficiary, the Multiple Sclerosis Society. There will be programming being run in conjunction with the Cascade Golfer event that weekend. You’ll have the chance to get your photo taken, perhaps interact with him and talk about how the second course will compare with the first.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

McLay-Kidd-designed the Sands Course, opened in 2014, which is ranked among the top 100 public courses in the country and located in one of America’s most stunningly beautiful places with views over the Cascade Mountains and Columbia River. The condition of the fairways and greens is always top-notch with some of the best fescue putting surfaces in the world, the staff is amazing, the food as good as anything between Seattle and Spokane (have you tried the Bison Burger, Salmon Filet, or Zabuton Steak?) and the Inn a delightful place to rest up for the night. As the saying goes — what’s not to love?

This year will be a noteworthy season for the central Washington resort, however, as work on the second 18 holes has begun and will continue until the fall/winter weather closes it down. What it will be named hasn’t been announced yet, but we do know it will open sometime in 2025 and that McLay-Kidd has designed it along with his partner at DMK Golf Design Nick Schaan. Having driven past the site (north of the clubhouse) numerous times and knowing what McLay-Kidd can do on terrain like this, the anticipation needle is moving quickly into the red zone.

The Scot, designer of the original course at Bandon Dunes, Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley in Wisconsin and numerous other highly-acclaimed courses around the world, is already part of the furniture at Gamble Sands having built the Sands Course as well as the insanely fun, 14-hole QuickSands Course and similarly entertaining Cascades Putting Course — all 100,000 square feet of it.

Considering the views and some of the features of the site, we suspect the second 18 will be every bit as fun to play as the first. But don’t take our word for it. Come and hear the man himself talk about the virtues of the site and his plans for Gamble’s next adventure at the Corona Premier Shootout on July 29-30.

Just like last year, and the year before that, the Corona Shootout will have a two-person, best ball format with gross and net divisions and extra prizes for KPs (four), long and straight drive.

On Saturday evening, we’ll hang out on the wild Cascade Putting Course for Corona Premier Happy Hour. Plus, you’ll have the chance to play Quicksands if you have time for it (you want to make time). While you may have your game face on for the competitive rounds, you can let loose on the Par 3 course -- bare feet, music, trashtalk, a couple of cold Corona Premiers.

As we did the last two years, we’ll prize out the top five teams daily in both gross and net divisions plus the top five overall in both divisions for the weekend. That’s a total of 30 team prizes in addition to those for long and straight drive each day and several closest-to-the-pin prizes. You ask what kind of prizes? Well, four of you will be going to Maui courtesy of our friends at Ka’anapali Golf Resort.

The fee is $1,000 per team and includes the tournament entry and green fees, Saturday round at Quicksands, use of a cart, range balls, plus lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Lodging is available at the Inn but will go fast. Now go find a playing partner before you miss out on the best golf weekend of the year. Go to CascadeGolfer.com to register.