6 SHORT GAME
• Boeing Classic 2024 update
• Green Lake Par 3 nostalgia
• Trailblazer at Canterwood G & CC
• Tito’s Travel Abroad
• UW Golf Team news
• Duke’s Seafood Junior Scholar
• Shootout at Gamble Sands
• Golfers Handbook on sale 20 Corona Premier
•
•
28 IN THE BAG
• PING G730/i530 Irons
• TaylorMade Junior Sets
• TaylorMade P-UDI/P-DHY
• PING G Le Sets
• Bag Boy Volt Cart
• Mizuno T24 Wedges
• TaylorMade Qi10 Driver
• Odyssey Ai-One Putter
• FootJoy Premiere Shoes
• Callaway Chrome Balls
38 RISK VS REWARD
• Desert Canyon | Hole No. 10
58 SAVE SOME GREEN
• Bellevue GC
• Highlander GC
• Redmond Ridge GC
62 Michelob ULTRA POSTGAME
• Masters views and news
44
10 Best WA
It’s time once again to cast your ballot for the best places to play
Preview of KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee June 20-23
50 Let’s Play Two
56
Follow our trail to great 36-hole day trips around Puget Sound
Our continuing coverage of the hopeful golf destination in Grays Harbor
ON THE COVER
At the time of this printing, American Nelly Korda was the hottest golfer in the world, winning five consecutive tournaments. She’s a part of the ‘Major’ showcase of talent coming to Sammamish for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee this June.
The TPC Danzante Bay course, part of the offerings at Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto in Baja California, may be one of the most picturesque golf courses in North America. The 18-hole masterpiece is designed by Rees Jones and showcases vistas of Loreto Bay National Park.
PUETZ GOLF SAVINGS 28-37
Cascade Golfer is published and owned by Varsity Communications, Inc. It’s mailed via USPS to 50,000 homes and e-mailed to 100,000 golfers in Puget Sound.
VARSITY COMMUNICATIONS, INC. varsitycommunications.com
EDITORIAL STAFF PUBLISHERS
Dick Stephens & Kirk Tourtillotte
EDITOR
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ART DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN
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WRITERS & COPY EDITING
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FOR EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS AND INQUIRIES: Dick Stephens • Publisher stephens@varsitycommunications.com
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ADVERTISING & MARKETING STAFF SALES/MARKETING MANAGER & TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR Simon Dubiel simon@cascadegolfer.com
COPYRIGHT 2024 Cascade Golfer. PRINTED IN THE USA. All rights reserved. Articles, photos, advertising and/ or graphics may not be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. Advertising and editorial contained herein does not constitute endorsement of Cascade Golfer or Varsity Communications, Inc. Publisher reserves the right to edit letters, photos and copy submitted and publish only excerpts. The publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all material contained in this issue. However, as unpredictable changes and errors do occur, the publisher can assume no liability for errors, omissions or changes.
All photos are courtesy of the course or individual unless otherwise noted.
PRODUCER AND OWNER OF THE
DICK STEPHENSWe work hard to meet you all where you’re at
You’re an exciting, interesting, ever-evolving group of loyalists. You’ll never truly know what the fanbase of this magazine means to us as publisher of Cascade Golfer and producer of the many events we put on throughout the year.
We’ve championed a couple dozen titles and events over 35 years in golf, soccer, football, collegiate athletics, softball, culinary and cultural arts and we’ve never felt as connected as we do to y’all. There’s not a week that goes by where we’re not interacting with our followers in some way, shape or form.
Cascade Golfer: We want to meet you where you’re at. Cascade Golfer is the hub and sent quarterly to 50,000 loyal Puget Sound-based Puetz Golf patrons, emailed as a digital magazine to another 100,000 readers and a few thousand can be picked up at Seattle hot spots. The journalism and photography in CG is no joke, as we showcase some of the finest golf writers, imagery and advertisers every issue. And our CG Swag winners enjoy sweet golf experiences — enter at CascadeGolfer.com today!
Seattle and Portland Golf Shows: Held every February-March for the past 25-plus years, the Seattle and Portland Golf Shows are full-scale expos, spotlighting the best in Northwest golf. We love putting them on and it’s such a blast to see thousands of you all in one place at one time grooving on golf with us.
We knew as the magazine and shows grew, we needed to stay in step with you and new fans joining the fray. So, we further committed ourselves to you with more offerings.
Players Card and Golfers Handbook: The Cascade Golfer Players Card and Northwest Golfers Playbook (card is sold out, book is available now) are designed to create value for the user and good traffic for the courses. The card and playbook are perfect and portable ways of saving some green and stimulating play.
Cascade Golfer Cup: Connecting with you guys on the course and crafting some friendly competition is something we also take seriously. Our Cascade Golfer Cup, which kicked off the five-event series at Chambers Bay on April 27, is in its 15th year. All the tournaments are are two-player formats and the prizes we award are unreal (trips to Hawaii, Mexico, Bandon Dunes and more).
Shootout at Gamble Sands and Match Play Championship: We take it up a notch competitively with the two-day Shootout at Gamble Sands in July and our Match Play Championship — both presented by Corona Premier. The Shootout is a weekend of two-player net and gross battles, fun on the 14-hole Quicksands and some beer and sunset time on the Cascade Putting Course there at Gamble Sands. The Match Play culminates with our final four at Salish Cliffs in the fall. Kicking off the CG Cup at Chambers, the Shootout at Gamble and the Match Play finals at Salish — you can see we are giving you all we got.
Duke’s Seafood Junior Golf Scholarship: Last but not least is our partnership with Duke’s Seafood, where
we award and announce three $500 scholarships a year to worthy youth golfers. Thanks to John and Duke Moscrip, nearly $25,000 has been awarded over the years — it’s their way of giving back. These gents are true philanthropists. CascadeGolfer.com: This is your internet portal where you are one click away from all these offerings and programs. If you missed reading any edition, click our Past Issues button and read the whole interactive magazine wherever you may be. It’s a hoot when I’m flying and see a fellow passenger reading CG on their tablet, phone or laptop.
So, as you can see, we really do want to be where you’re at — thank you for taking us with you. It’s truly our honor.
Publisher’s Note
In April’s issue, we ran a story about Circling Raven that implied the Epson Tour’s Circling Raven Championship would be happening again this year. The Road to the LPGA Tour event there was a three-year deal, and 2023’s event was the last. Apologies to readers and Circling Raven for any miscommunication.
This gives us the chance to give you some good news about the course which recently enrolled with Audubon International, the nonprofit organization that certifies golf courses and other large-scale developments for environmental and sustainability best practices. Audubon International representatives will be visiting Circling Raven and issue a report listing its findings and making recommendations.
It’s just another reason to love Circling Raven and enjoy an experience there.
Embrace the best months of the year in the most dynamic place to play in America — right here in western Washington. And, as always, TAKE IT EASY!
With all the changes and chaos casting shadows on the professional golf tours, there is a dependability and a consistency with the annual return of the Boeing Classic to The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge.
This will be the 19th year that the 78-player PGA Champions Tour event will be played at the Ridge, Aug. 9-11. The 50-plus Tour, Boeing and Snoqualmie Ridge have held steady for nearly two decades, and their cooperative efforts will continue until at least until 2029, as a new five-year extension was signed at last year’s event.
Since 2005, the $2.2 million tournament has made its mark. It has raised more than $19 million for the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and other charities.
Last year, then 59-year-old Stephen Ames had a season and a championship Sunday unlike virtually any he had experienced in his half century as a professional, including the last 10 on the Champions Tour. Ames, who lives in Vancouver, B.C., entered the final round with a two-stroke lead. He then shot a 9-under 63 — finishing
with four straight birdies and an eagle – to close at 19-under, tying the tournament three-round record of 197.
It was his fourth victory of the season (one more than he had in his previous nine Champions Tour seasons combined), matching his career number of PGA Tour victories over 394 career starts.
The tournament brings the pros, sponsors, sports celebrities, and guests together for pre-tournament charity functions. The Seahawks have long been involved with the Rumble at the Ridge charitable event the Tuesday before the tournament. Many former Seahawk players and select University of Washington athletic standouts come out to fill out the foursomes.
The Korean Air Pro-Am events are Wednesday and Thursday, in which one of the professionals is teamed up with a foursome in a 56-team shamble competition. The pro’s ball can be used for all the par-3 holes.
The most unique aspect of the event, which no other tournament can match, is that a Boeing plane both opens and closes the event, with a low flyover. Clearing flight
2023
Champion Stephen Ames
paths through the FAA, the latest Boeing aircraft annually cruises just above the 18th fairway around 11 a.m. Friday, and that’s the cue to tee it up.
Since 2021, another flight was added down the 18th to celebrate the final putt and the champion. When the pilot — lingering to the east in the sky above Mt. Si – gets the word that the champion has been determined, he or she sweeps down the fairway again, tipping a wing to the champion and the gathering.
The field will not be known until a week before the tournament, but it’s expected that Seattle native Fred Couples, if he feels fit enough, will be among the entrants.
Visit boeingclassic.com for event details and tickets.
ione Taitch isn’t sure if she cries when she talks about the Green Lake Pitch & Putt because she has such good memories, or she’s worried for its future.
She only knows she gets emotional about the tiny par-3 golf course, a Green Lake institution since 1949, and what it’s meant for her and her family in 40 years of running the place.
“This is actually really good,” she said, laughing through the tears. “It’s reminding me why I still want to do it, instead of getting mad and being like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ “
There are so many stories and Taitch mostly laughs when she tells them. They’re happy stories, of people who first came to the pitch ‘n’ putt as kids and still play there as adults, or young golfers who began to learn the game at Green Lake and went on to bigger things — and still come back to say hi to Taitch and play the course.
They are stories of her family. Dione’s mother Marlene Taitch, along with her then-husband, a golf pro who needed a job, took over at Green Lake Pitch & Putt in 1984, when Dione was nine.
Her son Jorryn literally grew up on the course, first as
a toddler in a playpen while mom worked the counter. He started playing as soon as he could walk, and he went on to be captain of his high school golf team. Now, at 19, he works at the course.
All those stories, and yet she can’t ignore the current reality. Soon, she must submit a new proposal to retain her concessionaire’s lease with the city of Seattle’s Parks Department.
She’s not sure she’ll be able to afford the city’s terms, or if the city can afford hers.
“I’m going to put in a proposal,” she says. “I’m going to rely a lot on the nostalgia of it. That’s what I love and what the people seem to love.”
Facts and figures about Green Lake Pitch & Putt:
• Nine-hole par is 27 for the 700-yard course.
• The longest hole is No. 5, at 115 yards; the shortest is No. 2 at 60 yards.
• The toughest hole is the 65-yard No. 3, where branches of redwood trees have crossed over the course and there are few avenues to fly it high toward the green.
• The course record is a 7-under-par 20, which was carded and attested to by a gent in 1997. The “unof-
ficial” record was set by a man named Lane who said to Dione as he came to the 9th green: “I’m shaking. I’m about to putt for 19.” He made the putt, but he didn’t have a witness for every hole so the record couldn’t be recognized.
Taitch said another concessionaire might come in with big ideas for the place, but she doesn’t see how without jacking up prices.
“We do everything we can to keep prices as low as possible.” Taitch shared that she hated bumping the price of a round recently from $10 to $12.
“I take pride in the fact that we make it all work,” she says. “I’ve worked other jobs. I don’t feel like there’s any place else where everybody’s there to have a good time.
“When people come through, I don’t ask about their score. I ask if they had a good time.”
Make your own memories and play nine at Green Lake Pitch & Putt located at 5701 E. Green Lake Way N., Seattle. Their brief website GreenLakeGolfCourse.com has FAQs and information.
The membership directory of the Western Washington Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents’ Association of America (GCSAA) lists over 350 professionals — superintendents, assistant superintendents, equipment managers, crew members, turf teachers, turf students, and other individuals involved in golf course maintenance like seed company reps, landscapers, turf growers, fertilizer specialists, irrigation specialists, etc. Of that 350-plus, only 12 are women. That’s less than five percent of the total.
One of them is Renee Geyer, the superintendent at Canterwood Golf & Country Club — a private golf club five miles north of Gig Harbor on the Kitsap Peninsula. Geyer, who earned her turfgrass management degree from Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute, graduating at the top of her class, has been at Canterwood for two and a half years and came to Washington from the famed Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, where she worked for 13 years.
Geyer loves living in the Pacific Northwest despite what she calls the ‘torrential mist’ that rolls in every November and eventually leaves in May, sometimes June, and enjoys her job tremendously. But she admits it wasn’t
easy starting out in an industry that’s dominated by men.
“When I applied to OSU’s Agricultural Technical Institute,” she said on golfcourseindustry.com’s ‘Wonderful Women in Golf’ podcast in April, “I introduced myself to the program director and think he may have thought I had six heads, because I don’t think he had ever seen a girl walk through his door before. It didn’t take very long for me to realize I’d be the only woman in the room.”
Yes, it certainly was awkward at times, but Geyer had been that neighborhood kid who knocked on doors asking people if she could mow their lawns for a few bucks. She loved cutting grass and making yards look better. And she knew a life in turf management was what she wanted. “I got over that uncomfortable, uneasy feeling pretty quick,” she says, “because I soon realized I was just as good a golf course supeintendent as anyone in the class.”
Geyer attended the Inaugural Women’s Leadership Academy last year at GCSAA Headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., and is a member of the organization’s National Women’s Task Group which seeks to mentor and educate women in the turfgrass industry. “I’ve been a part of this business since 2007,” she says, “but didn’t attend a wom-
Renee Geyer
en’s-only event until 2019. There were times when I certainly felt alone and isolated. But we’ve made significant progress in recent years.”
Geyer says it hasn’t quite reached the point where women-only events/groups are unnecessary now but notes that being a female superintendent isn’t the oddity it once was. “Women are definitely becoming a significant part of the GCSAA,” she says, “but there’s still a lot more to do.”
This trailblazer would like to see more women superintendents — women in any golf industry position — in Washington state. During the summer, she manages a crew of 18 of which only two, including her, are females. “The numbers don’t lie,” she says. “There simply aren’t enough of us yet. But it’s a great career. I’ve loved every second of it so far and hope to see many more women get the opportunities I have.”
We’ll be highlighting the careers of other women in the Washington golf industry in future issues.
You, being the seasoned traveler you are, know where you want to go and what to do when you get there.
Play golf.
You don’t need travel advisor Michelle Wicks Cypher to tell you that.
However, what about your loyal life partner, who doesn’t begrudge your hours on the course on a family vacation, as long as she/he has something fun to do while you’re gone? And the kids … well, if you remember to think about them, you know they bore easily …
“I do as much or as little as they’re interested in,” says Cypher, who co-owns the Kennewick-based company, Travel There & Back, with her husband, Michael Cypher.
Her outlook is international — Mexico, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, you name it — and she’s just as comfortable close to home or elsewhere in the U.S.
When you have a grand plan for your vacation trip, with or without golf, or you have barely an idea, or no plan at all, Michelle and Travel There & Back can help you get a great trip going.
The following is a sampling of some areas where Cypher’s vast knowledge could come in handy, starting nearby for us golfers of the Cascades.
So, you want to play Gamble Sands, one of Washington’s best courses, and you want something to do off-property afterward. Cypher wouldn’t necessarily recommend Brewster, the closest town. She might instead steer you to Chelan, roughly a half hour away, where grand Lake Chelan promises many kinds of water frolics.
Chelan and nearby Manson are solidly in wine country and it’s fruit country, too — the cider flights are offered alongside whiskey flights and, of course, wine flights at the 18 Brix Restaurant at Karma Vineyards in Chelan.
One of the best things about Spokane, other than its rich array of golf courses, is its proximity to even more golf across the Idaho border.
Indian Canyon and The Creek at Qualchan can hold their heads up against any public course in Washington, and your time would be well-spent on Liberty Lake, MeadowWood or Latah Creek.
At Circling Raven in Worley, Idaho, a casino awaits after your round. Coeur d’Alene Resort is known for the island green at its golf course, but families can find lots to do there. Cypher touts the Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park. And once again, she says, good wine abounds.
Your Scottish experience will likely center around St. Andrews. Certainly the Old Course (and New Course) sits atop many bucket lists. But please note, there are handfuls of famous tracks within 30 minutes of these hallowed grounds. Many are historic, easier to book and among the oldest the world. Cypher can book you an all-inclusive golf tour, but she can also get you on a course here and a course there and tell you what there is to do besides golf, which is plenty.
Castles are big, Cypher says. Or take a ride on the Jacobite steam train that was used for the Hogwarts Ex-
press in the Harry Potter movies.
And when in Scotland, drink Scotch.
“Food and drink are part of exploring the culture, wherever you go,” Cypher says. “In Ireland, I don’t drink beer, but I’m trying Guinness. In Scotland, I’m trying Scotch.”
Golf in Italy is not necessarily on people’s radar, Cypher says, but she’s taken groups to play there. Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside of Rome hosted the Ryder Cup in 2023. Tuscany is rightly known as one of the world’s great wine regions, and there’s golf there, too.
Bicycle tours are popular out the Appian Way toward the Aqueducts.
For a trip to Whistler, B.C., you can tap into Cypher’s international expertise without leaving the Pacific Northwest.
Whistler is known best for skiing at Whistler Blackcomb Resort. But Big Sky Golf Course, Nicklaus North, Whistler Golf Club and Chateau Fairmont Whistler are four top-rated courses with a long playing season for high altitude (May to October), and they’re all close by.
If you time it just right, you might be able to play golf and go skiing in the same Canadian vacation. Cypher can make that work.
It’s what she does. You can reach them at travelthereandback.com to stitch together your own experience.
It is the end of an era, of sorts. The University of Washington men’s golf team is closing out the season, as well as its last — and perhaps its best — Pac-12 Conference campaign.
The nationally-ranked Huskies finished with the Pac-12 tournament at the end of April. Next year all the Huskies athletic teams will be heading to the Big Ten Conference as the school anticipates its biggest change in history.
Visit GoHuskies.com for complete postseason news and results for both the men’s and women’s teams.
This year’s Husky team has featured four seniors — Haskins Award nominee Petr Hruby from Pilsen, Czech Republic; Bo Peng from Nanjing, China; Taehoon Song from Osan, South Korea and Teddy Lin from New Taipei City, Taiwan. All of them have enjoyed team and individual success over their time at Montlake.
Through April, the UW was ranked eighth in the nation and reached as high as No. 4. The Huskies won the Husky Invitational last fall and placed second in the Western Intercollegiate in mid-April. They had eight top5 finishes this season.
Those four seniors were sophomores in 2022 and significant contributors to the Huskies Pac-12 championship held at Aldarra.
“They’re a pretty experienced bunch. They’ve played a lot of tournaments and won a lot of tournaments,’’ said UW seventh-year coach Alan Murray. “That’s a really cool thing. A bit of a separator.’’
Murray said they were all led and influenced then by seniors R.J. Manke and conference medalist Noah Woolsey.
“They were really (influential) in a big way,’’ Murray said of their former teammates. “They were two phenomenal leaders. R.J., who was not here long (one season), and Noah had the ability to connect. They were like old voices in the locker room. It came easy to them.
“If you ask any of our guys how good of teammates and influencers they were, they would all rave about them.’’
Hruby took the leadership mantle this season, starting in the fall ranked 30th in the PGA Tour University rankings, which is limited to the nation’s seniors. The top player in the final rankings, each May, automatically earns PGA Tour membership. Players ranked two through five will be fully exempt. Players six through 10 will have conditional mem-
bership and full Korn Ferry Tour membership. Players six through 25 will earn fully exempt membership for the PGA Tour Americas.
Hruby had his highest rank of the season, 14th in early February. He was 18th by mid-April, qualifying him at the time for the PGA Tour Americas. He also was a Haskins Award nominee all season, limited to the top 15 players in the country.
Hruby’s teammates Peng and Song rose to mid-30s in the rankings last fall while Lin was in the mid-50s. Song had his highest rank on Feb. 7 at 34th.
Like every coach, Murray always has an eye toward the future, as he needs to replace half his team next season. But unlike most coaches, he has a solid connection to the talent in his native Ireland. Murray is bringing in two players from The Emerald Isle, Jack Murphy and Jake Foley.
Murphy, a Dublin native who signed his national letter of intent in late April, owns nine career top-10 finishes, including wins at the European Juniors International, the FCG Callaway Collegiate World Championship and the Mallow Golf Club Senior Scratch Cup. He was also a qualifier for the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Foley, from County Cork, signed his national letter of intent last November. Three others joined him in November — Amilkar Bhana of Johannesburg, South Africa; Abel Derksen of Gouda, Netherlands; and Brock Maulding of Lake Tapps, Wash.
Boyd’s big season leads Husky women
Camile Boyd also has carried the leadership banner for the UW women’s team all season. The senior from Yorba Linda, Calif., earned the team’s season highlight March 4-5 when she took medalist honors at the Juli Inkster Invitational in Fairfax, Calif. It was her second victory at the event in three years.
Boyd also had two other top finishes. She was second out of 95 players at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Lihue, Hawaii, in mid-March, shooting three rounds in the 60s. The Huskies had their best showing of the year, tying for second behind Arizona State. Washington’s team score of 847, 17-under-par, was the third lowest to par in program history.
She also was fifth out of 50 players at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. In eight tournaments this season, Boyd has led her team or tied six times.
Auburn Mountainside High School’s Esther Yu
Yu earns Duke’s Seafood Junior Scholarship as a result of a focused career and work ethic
Some Duke’s Seafood Junior Golf Scholarship winner articles just write themselves. Here’s Steve Calhoun, a sports medicine instructor and golf coach at Auburn Mountainside High School on our choice for this month’s winner, 15-year-old freshman Esther Yu.
“Growing up, Esther played golf occasionally but was primarily a swimmer. When COVID shut down everything, she started playing golf more seriously and quickly fell in love with the game. Coming in third in District 6 and qualifying for the WJGA State Championship in 2020 cemented her passion and she was hooked. Ever since then, she has played in WJGA, Rocky Mountain, U.S. Kids, and Junior PGA golf at Meridian Valley Country Club. In her first ever WJGA tournament, she shot a 72 for nine holes. In her most recent tournament for U.S. Kids Teen Series, she shot a 79 and a 73 for 18 holes.
“With a handicap of 1.3, she has improved her game significantly over the past four years. She understands golf is a commitment and practices every day — rain or shine. As a freshman, she has broken several school records and balances practice time with schoolwork — achieving a 4.0 while taking advanced classes and playing as a starter on the school’s water polo team. Esther also mentors
younger players at Meridian Valley.”
Auburn Mountainside Athletic Director Chris Carr is equally impressed.
“Esther has an amazing work ethic and drive to become the best golfer she can possibly be,” he says. “She practices with our team then goes to the range for another two hours. She prioritizes high school golf while playing tournaments almost every weekend through WJGA, recently finishing 10th at the WJGA State Match Play. She’s a very accomplished student with straight A’s her entire freshman year.”
Esther is pretty sure where the scholarship money will be going.
“I’m saving up to get a new set of clubs after this tournament season is over,” she says.
We certainly hope they help you get to the next level, Esther.
The Duke’s Junior Golfer Scholarship is a $500 scholarship awarded three times this year in Cascade Golfer to a deserving young player from the Puget Sound region. If you know of an area youth that loves golf and has a desire to take their career to the next level, submit your letter of inquiry for scholarship consideration to both tonydear71@comcast.net and stephens@varsitycommunications.com — subject “Duke’s Scholar.”
For most of the golfers competing in the 15th Annual Cascade Golfer Cup, Hawaii is a paradise lost. But there are many more rewarding trips, awards and honors yet to be won as we head into the Cup’s summer competitions.
The first event of the five-event April-to-September test of golf was just completed (April 27) at the prestigious Chambers Bay Golf Course. The two-person best ball Stableford format delivered a grand prize of a Hawaiian stay-and-play package. Another trip to the island golf heaven may not be awarded until next year, but trips to Bandon Dunes, Central Oregon and Mexico remain viable for the other events.
Winners of the first event are: (Gross) Brandon Agnew and Cameron Hanke; and (Net) Jake Johnson and Maxden Regalado.
A Bandon Dunes Thirty-Six package is the next award offered June 1 for the second in the Cascade Cup series at Salish Cliffs GC in Shelton. This gives everyone enough time to pick a partner and imagine what it will be like to win the two-person best ball event and take home that
trip to the renowned coastal Oregon golf links.
Salish, which opened in 2011 and is owned and operated by the Squaxin Island Tribe, will use a best ball format over the challenging 7,269-yard layout.
Chambers and Salish will be followed by three other reputable routes: The Home Course, White Horse, and Oakbrook Golf Club.
Each tournament, limited to 64 amateur two-player teams, will be a separate event. Season standings will be used to crown a champion in gross and net divisions. Prizes also will be awarded for all teams finishing in the top 10 in the gross or net divisions at every event and on the season. Here’s a closer look at the other events/courses.
On June 29, the competition continues at The Home Course in DuPont for the Michelob ULTRA Open. This will be a two-person, stroke-play aggregate Stableford, which is generally is based on: five points for double eagle, four points for eagles, three points for birdies, two points for pars, one point for bogeys and no points for double bogeys. It’s not the fewest strokes but the most points that wins.
The Puetz Golf Shootout at White Horse in Kingston will be the fourth Cascade Golfer Cup event. It will be held Aug. 10 and played under the two-person shamble format. In that format, both golfers tee off separately then they take the best drive for their second shot. Each player will then use his/her own ball to finish the hole.
Finally, the summer of CG Cup concludes with a Sept. 7 competition at Oakwood GC in Lakewood. This will be another two-player best ball, same as Salish Cliffs.
Get a partner, set your handicaps and sign up for a summer of golf fun. Someone must win. Why not you? To learn more or to register, visit CascadeGolfer. com/Cup or email simon@cascadegolfer.com.
Cascade Golfer top prize list: April 27, Season Opener at Chambers Bay, Hawaiian Stay and Package; June 1, Cascade Golfer Challenge at Salish Cliffs GC, Bandon Dunes Thirty-Six; June 29, Michelob ULTRA at The Home Course GC, Central Oregon Golf Fifty-Four; Aug. 10, Puetz Golf Shootout at White Horse GC, Mexico Stay and Play; and Sept. 7, The Fall Classic at Oakbrook GC, PXG drivers and equipment.
Cle Elum course offers picturesque and affordable golf high atop the Cascades just off I-90
How often, during our many drives east on I-90 over the mountains, have we seen that notable and rather generic exit sign — Golf Course Road? It’s Exit 78 in Cle Elum, just one past the Suncadia Resort.
Mostly, we’re in a hurry as we breeze past, always to get somewhere else. So, we haven’t had reason to stop. It’s not destination golf, in that sense. We barely get a glimpse of a fairway adjacent to the freeway. Well, maybe we should take a turn of the wheel, at least once, and satisfy our curiosity. It might be worth our time.
“It’s one of the best alpine courses in the state,’’ said Jamie Colson, general manager of Sun Country Golf Course. “We strive to have the best conditions (to play). It’s a mix of it all, three holes near the freeway then turning into the pine trees. It’s not unlike coming to Suncadia (Rope Rider and Prospector courses), but we’re half the price of those.”
Sun Country is the reason why there’s a Golf Course Road, since 1970 when nine non-descript holes were initially built, a wedge from I-90. Back then, it was probably not worth taking the exit, but in 2004, under new ownership, another nine holes were added. Now, we’re talking about potential.
Colson saw it coming and in 2009, he took that exit, one up from Roper Rider where he worked. He wanted to be part of Sun Country’s future, as he put an emphasis on maintenance, casualness and clubhouse/restaurant improvements. Colson revamped the old farmhouse into a country chic pro shop and (in 2022) opened the 9 Iron Bar & Grill, with a 26-foot live edge piece of timber for the bar top.
Toughest Tee Shot
Hole No. 11 (par 5, 365 yards). It’s a double dogleg par 5, one of the shortest in the state, under 400 yards. There’s a tall pine guarding the left and right sides. You could hit a short iron off the tee to get into position then thread your way through the trees. It’s kind of a three-shot hole. There’s water about 70 yards (on the left side) out but it’s a blind shot. You’ll want to be a logger when you leave.
Best Birdie Opportunity
With a short course (5,715 yards), there are a few. No. 2 is a great start (par 4, 258 yards) to make a birdie. It’s a slight dogleg left with water on the right (if the tee shot is too long). Just 50 yards remaining to the green at the end of the dogleg.
Best Par 3
No. 15 (164 yards). It’s our signature hole. There’s a 150-foot elevation change. You look straight downhill. I’ve had to put speed bumps on the cart path to slow them down, especially late in the round when they’ve had a few beers in them. The wind swirls through there so you can come up short.
Favorite Hole
I go with the sixth (par 4, 396 yards), which is parallel to I-90. You set up at one of the highest points on the course, looking east toward the Cascades. There’s no trees on the hole. It’s one of the first holes where you can grip and rip it. The whole state is to the left and to the right you have to guard against out-of-bounds. It’s really a picturesque hole.
Emergency Nine front or back?
Front. I score a lot better on the front nine.
We’re known for our Bogey Burger, a half-pound cheeseburger to die for. It’s downright tasty and really good. We also have a killer Bloody Mary. And we have a beer from our local Roslyn Brewery, Brookside (pale lager), that is one of the golfers’ favorites.
Last year’s staging of the Corona Premier Shootout at Gamble Sands went pretty much according to plan. Scores of golfers showed up on a gloriously sunny Saturday morning in July for the first round on the Sands Course, after which players took on the highly entertaining QuickSands par 3 course, some with beers in hand.
Many stuck around for an evening of food and fun, sharing laughs on the Cascade Putting Green during happy hour, and enjoying a drink or two around the firepit. Then, on Sunday, the rank and file returned for the second round — on a similarly fine day — and went home exhausted following a wonderful experience on one of the most exciting courses in the country.
Yep, just as we planned it.
You’ll be thrilled to hear it’s all happening again this summer. This time, participants will be able to enjoy non-golf time in The Barn, which opens in April. There, you can sit and
relax in front of the TVs, enjoy a beverage, and tell everyone how you just shot the round of your life … or didn’t.
Everyone should be familiar with the format by now. The team competition will be a two-person best ball with gross and net divisions, and extra prizes for KPs (four), long and straight drive. As in years past, the top five teams will earn prizes both daily and overall, making a total of 30 team prizes.
The fee is $1,120 per team, which includes the tournament entry, 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 reservations will be difficult to come by for procrastinators.
Have you got your partner lined up yet for what promises to be the best golf weekend of the year? Go to CascadeGolfer.com to register.
Slots fill fast. Pick your partner and jump in today.
CORONA PREMIER SHOOTOUT AT GAMBLE SANDS
July 27-28, Gamble Sands
Two-person best ball Saturday & Sunday
Net and gross divisions
Prize pool daily and total Four KPs, Long Drive, Straight Drive daily
Saturday Corona Premier Happy Hour at Quicksands/Cascade Putting Course
Go to CascadeGolfer.com to register YOUR $1,120 TEAM FEE INCLUDES Greens fees, cart, range and lunch on Saturday and Sunday plus Saturday afternoon/evening round at Quicksands.
Enter to Win a Camaloch GC
Camano Island is a hidden gem, and so is their only golf course, Camaloch. This dry rolling layout is full of memorable holes. Enjoy the loop and beautiful day on us! Enter to win at CascadeGolfer.com.
Here we are again. Spring is here and golf is back in full swing. Green fees aren’t going down in 2024, but don’t fret fellow golfer because we got you.
The Northwest Golfers Playbook is back again and better than ever — packed full of golf savings, ensuring that you can golf all year long without breaking the bank.
Plenty of the courses that sit in Washington’s top 15 (Gamble Sands, Wine Valley, Suncadia, Apple Tree, White Horse, Port Ludlow, etc.) are included. Of course, we have many of our local favorites — too many to list — and we’re excited to welcome back a few new faces, including Loomis Trail, High Cedars and Alderbrook.
Golf’s popularity — indoors and out — continues to soar. We had several new indoor facilities jump into the book last year, including Five Iron Golf on Capitol Hill, Lounge by Topgolf in Kirkland, Kutting Edge Fitness in Redmond, and Loft Golf out of Olympia. We still have an offer at Back 9 Parlor in Lynnwood and have added a couple of new ones — Stadium Golf in Tacoma and Evergreen Golf Club in Redmond. Oh, and of course, Puetz Golf, where you get $10, as usual, along with several other offers.
Whether you live in the city, play your golf up north, or call the south end your home, the NWGPB has a ton of options for you. Plus, if you’re a road tripper, there are loads of courses on the Peninsula or across the passes to central and eastern Washington for you to visit.
What type of offers should you expect? Well, pretty much anything goes. You will find 2 for 1s, 4 for 3s, percentage discounts, free carts, lessons, range balls, twosome specials, foursome specials, simulator time specials, food and beverage offers and more.
With courses still packed and everyone looking to get in some golf, we’re excited to be able to put together a book jammed with so many great offers. With more than 120 pages of golf deals, you simply need to use a few coupons and you’ll soon be in the black.
You can purchase a book online for $44.95. And use the code SaveTen to save another $10. Whether you play in your immediate area or head somewhere you’ve never played before, just put the book in your golf bag and count your savings all summer long.
Pick one up at NWGolfersPlaybook.com and start saving today!
Chrystee Wielkie doesn’t mind saying she loves the food and beverage industry. It’s why she’s stayed in it for more than 25 years.
This go-getter loves people, food and beverages and relishes going to work at Echo Falls Golf Club in Snohomish every day, where’s she’s the food and beverage manager.
She’s an East Coast girl and that’s where she learned the game. She worked in fine dining establishments and in taverns. She even took extra shifts tending bar for concerts, which helped the single mother that she was.
The place she worked the longest was the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino, where she tended bar in the Chairman’s Lounge, a high-roller, high-volume environment.
Wielke experimented at the casino with creating new cocktails and got a good response from patrons.
The love got her through.
She goes so far as to say she’s inspired by Echo Falls, where the bar affords a sweeping view of the island green at 18. Wielkie has fun at work, and she had fun crafting this issue’s 19th Hole cocktail, the Milagro Paloma.
“I think it will be the fire cocktail for the season.”
Serve with ‘love’ and you can’t go wrongBY BART POTTER • CG STAFF WRITER
Rosé is Delicious
The Milagro Paloma is a current turn on a classic, Wielkie says.
The Paloma, the original, has standing among knowledgeable drinkers for its mix of tequila, lime, agave syrup and grapefruit soda.
The Milagro Paloma nods to the classic, but it’s a different drink.
When people ask Wielkie what’s in her drinks, she always answers, “Love.”
No, no, they say, what’s really in it? And maybe they roll their eyes. She doesn’t care.
Her brand-new cocktail starts with Milagro Silver, the tequila with the distinctive blue bottle, distributed by William Grant and Sons. She likes Milagro for its light, easy-drinking smoothness.
She calls it “graceful.”
The second ingredient is Giffard Pamplemousse Rosé, a liqueur that lends a citrusy acidity that’s sightly sweeter than grapefruit. Wielkie tops it off with Q Sparkling Grapefruit.
“I put love in every drink I make,” she says.
Put it all in the same glass, and they blend with a “stunning togetherness,” she says. On the Echo Falls patio, in the sunshine …
“If I were sitting here after a round of golf, what would I want to drink?”
Her answer, this season, is the Milagro Paloma.
Echo Falls Golf Club • Snohomish, Wash.
INGREDIENTS
• Two parts Milagro Silver Tequila
• One-part Giffard Pamplemousse
• Top with Q Sparkling Grapefruit
• Pour over ice of your choosing
• Select appropriate glassware
INSTRUCTIONS
Consider mixology preparations for a single cocktail or batched in a larger vessel. Measure carefully and properly for mix and taste. Pour and mix ingredients — stir or shake with tools and vessels available. Enjoy over ice in glassware of your choosing.
Summer’s here at last and those of you who haven’t been out for 18 holes yet will now be taking to the course to hopefully enjoy a few blissful months of blue skies and sunshine. We’ve been cooped up for too long (though it probably wasn’t the worst spring we’ve ever had) and the Masters has come and gone.
There is another time of the year that thinks of itself as the most wonderful of the year and, to be fair, it is pretty special. But does it really beat the onset of a Washington summer with its promise of long, warm days and evening rounds? We’ll probably feel differently come December, but right now we’re talking the period from June 20 to September 22 — the official start and end dates of summer 2024. That’s 94 days in which to get your golf on.
What are your hopes for this year — get as many rounds in as you can, play a certain course, beat a previous best, join a club, compete more, lower your handicap index to a certain number, beat a certain someone or, perhaps, win a certain tournament? Though it’s unlikely you’ll reach Scottie Scheffler-form at any point, you shouldn’t let that stop you from getting out there and giving it your best shot. We’re with you all the way.
And however you plan to enjoy the summer and wherever it takes you, don’t forget Puetz Golf has whatever you need to help you achieve your goal, be it a club-fitting, club repair, instruction, practice sessions at the driving range on Aurora Avenue or, of course, a specific piece of equipment.
Check out these 10 selections we’ve teed up for you and check PuetzGolf.com for pricing and availability.
$170-$200 per club
WWhen Ping introduces its “longest and most forgiving iron ever,” you pay close attention. To accomplish its goal, the 65-year-old Phoenix-based company used a heat-treated 17-4 stainless steel to thin the face and increase the amount it flexes. A larger head, more offset and wider sole make the G730 more appealing to higher-handicap golfers and lower the Center of Gravity (CG) which increases the Moment of Inertia (MOI) giving you the forgiveness you need. The cavity back has a PurFlex cavity badge which enhances feel and produces a more powerful sound. Multiple flex zones on the face allow the face to bend, increasing ball-speeds across the face. That guarantees more distance regardless of where you make contact. The tungsten toe-screw and shaft tip weights allow a fitter to fine-tune the swing weight to whatever feels comfortable. The G730 is available in 5-9 iron, PW, UW, 50- and 56-degree wedges. Power (stronger lofts) and retro (weaker lofts) specs are also available. Although it would have seemed strange 15-20 years ago, Ping also makes handsome, forged, blade-like irons of which the i530 is the newest. The size, shape and style of the head may suggest it is designed for players who already hit it plenty far and don’t need forgiving irons, but a flexible C300 steel face welded to a 17-4 steel body, together with a hollow body, combine to give significant distance gains. An interior polymer also improves feel and sound. Precision-milled MicroMax grooves ensure consistent launch and spin.
TAYLORMADE
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$249.99-$499.99
TAYLORMADE P-UDI AND P-DHY 3
Junior Sets 2 I
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
Time was when Grandpa would cut down his old clubs to make a set for his grandkids. It got them playing the game at least, but the clubs were invariably too heavy resulting in Junior having less fun than he/ she could have had and developing a very odd-looking swing. Today, manufacturers build clubs specifically for children. Lighter and more forgiving than Grandpa’s old blades, these clubs enable kids to hit shots that will encourage them to keep playing. The all-new Team TaylorMade Junior Set is designed by the same people that make clubs for players like Rory McIlroy and Nelly Korda. The 400cc Titanium driver has a large, flexible face which will help young’uns hit the ball straight and far. The fairway metals and rescue clubs have ultra-low CGs and are shaped to make it easy to get the ball off the ground. The putter is designed for easy alignment which helps your little golfer get the ball rolling toward the hole. The bag has a dual-strap which spreads the weight making it easier to carry, and a rain hood keeps the clubs dry if they’re tempted to go out in the rain. Headcovers protect the woods from nicks and scratches. In addition to being a quality set of clubs, the TaylorMade junior set gives you access to online content to entertain and educate. TaylorMade Staff players talk about their favorite tips, drills and swing fundamentals. All the junior golfer needs do is scan the QR code on the bag tag.
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$1,499.99 PING G Le2 Package Sets 4 3
$249.99 per club Utility/Driving Irons
n adapting to the way modern golf is played, manufacturers have become good at building specialized clubs designed for specific players wanting to hit specific shots. TaylorMade now offers two styles of lowloft/low-trajectory utility/driving irons – the P-DHY and P-UDI which are designed to hit the ball far off the tee when a driver might go too far or you just don’t fancy it, or perhaps for hitting off the ground if you have a long second at a par 5. The P-UDI offers the slightly stronger-lofted 2-iron (17-degree as opposed to the P-DHY’s 18-degree 2-iron. The 3- and 4-irons in both styles have the same lofts) and a CG positioned in the middle of the head to produce the piercing shots great ball strikers prefer. Both clubs feature thick-thin back wall construction, a sound stabilization bar and mass positioned to maximize forgiveness. An internal weighting structure combines with the forged 4140 OptiFace, Speed Pocket, and up to 26 grams of tungsten to make what would otherwise be quite intimidating shots far less scary. The Thru-Slot speed pocket allows the face to flex when contact is made low (first or second groove) meaning shots hit thin will perform better than expected. The P-DHY has a significantly wider sole than the P-UDI, which means a lower CG and higher launch. Higher-handicap golfers are probably better off hitting a hybrid for shots of 200 yards or more, but some might prefer the look of the P-DHY.
With so many female golfers taking up the game in the wake of the pandemic, clubmakers not only got good at building junior sets (see TaylorMade Junior Sets here), but they also made vast improvements to women’s sets. The G Le2 features a number of Ping’s most impressive innovations but in a significantly lighter package. It is designed specifically to help female golfers get the ball off the ground and moving forward. The package set consists of 10 high-performance clubs, a matching, lightweight Hoofer Lite stand bag and headcovers. The clubs include a driver with a thin, forged T9S+ face which is optimized for women’s swings. Also comes with a 5-wood with a thin maraging steel C300 face and high MOI to forgive any off-center strikes, a 6-hybrid with a similarly thin, hot face and low CG, 7-9 irons which feature COR-Eye Technology whose deep top-rail undercut increases face-flexing for more ball-speed and higher maximum height as well as a tungsten toe-weight which increases MOI and forgiveness. The cavity badge improves feel and sound. The lightweight and very soft Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip and proprietary ULT240 shaft reduce each club’s overall weight which helps you generate more clubhead and ball-speed without you making a great deal of extra effort. The putter features a dual-durometer Pebax face insert with a soft layer for precision and improved feel and a firmer layer for control and consistency. The adjustable shaft allows you to alter the length of the putter from 31-35 inches.
TAYLORMADE
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$1,495.95
We’ve introduced readers to several electric carts in recent years with the message that you can still reap the benefits of walking the golf course without having to carry your clubs, thus strengthening your legs and getting some aerobic exercise without possibly doing damage to your back and shoulders. Electric caddie carts began life in the UK, spread to Continental Europe and Australia, and have become an increasingly common feature on U.S. courses. The concept may take some golfers a bit of getting used to but, after a few rounds, you may start wondering what took you so long to take the plunge and buy one. Bag Boy’s Volt Electric Cart is among the lightest of those we’ve featured and offers a very generous amount of storage space. The TrueLine Tracking feature uses “course correction and path-recognition” software to keep the Volt on track when in distance-control mode, which also allows you to send the cart up to 30 yards ahead with the touch of a button. It easily converts to a manual pushcart, facilitating the trip from parking lot to course and helps you maneuver tight spaces with ease. The Volt weighs 28.6 pounds and folds down to a compact 29 x 16.5 x 14.5 inches, making it easy to get in and out of the car. The lithium battery takes four hours to charge and is good for 36 holes (or eight hours). The ergonomic remote control gives you nine speed options and makes controlling the vehicle easy.
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$179.99-$200 per club
rain Flow-Forged in Hiroshima, Japan, to ensure precise shaping and incredible touch around the green, the T24 wedge is a reworking of Mizuno’s prolific T-Series wedge, with subtle top-line refinements visible from the playing position. The T24 has higher-spinning QUADCUT+ grooves than on previous Mizuno wedges, and five unique sole profiles — S, D, C, V, and X — which give the club its versatility and you a range of options for whatever conditions you encounter most regularly. (As a general rule, a wedge with high bounce is good for courses with lush turf, soft sand and a steep attack angle while less bounce is good for tight lies, firm sand and a shallow attack). Laser-etched HydroFlow Micro Grooves release moisture in wet turf helping to maintain spin. A flared upper portion of the blade creates higher spin and a penetrating trajectory – particularly from strikes high on the clubface. This prevents the ball from ballooning, keeping it on a controllable trajectory. The lower lofted wedges — 46-, 48-, and 50-degree — have a straighter leading edge, while the more lofted clubs (58-degree and higher) have a more rounded front edge for when you need to open the blade a little and hit a soft, floating lob shot. The standard version is available in three attractive finishes: Soft White Satin (with copper underlay), Tour Raw and the frankly beautiful Denim Copper, though Mizuno’s iconic Blue IP plating was added to the lineup a few months after the original club was released. G
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$629.99
Aweek after introducing its Qi10 driver, TaylorMade followed up with the Qi10 Designer Series drivers – clubs with a little cosmetic styling to make them even more appealing than the original club. The original Qi10 looked great to us but, according to TaylorMade, the Designer Series drew inspiration from the automotive world and pop culture as well as its own design team’s individual creativity. “The Designer Series is a visual feast,” the company said. “Each color palate brings a unique touch of style and makes a statement on the course.” Qi10 Designer Series drivers are available in Black Out and Ruby Red. The Qi10 driver’s crown is 97 percent lightweight carbon which enables TaylorMade’s engineers to redistribute mass to other parts of the club, specifically low in the head to lower the CG, increase the MOI and launch the ball higher. The third generation of 60X Carbon Twist Face is a significantly lighter face than traditional titanium constructions, which reduces forward weight and maximizes energy transfer at impact for higher ball speeds and what TaylorMade calls “preserved performance on off-center strikes.” A new support structure bonds the face to the body with a similar goal of helping to maintain ball-speeds on those rare occasions when you don’t hit the ball on the sweet spot. The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket, a familiar feature on many TaylorMade clubs (see P-DHY and P-UDI utility/driving irons in this section) preserves ball speed low-face strikes, and the 4-degree loft sleeve allows you to fine-tune loft and face angle.
ODYSSEY
Ai-One Putters 8
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$299.99-$449.99
Odyssey calculated that its staff players’ three-putts cost them $25 million in 2022. The company, founded in 1991 and acquired by Callaway six years later, discovered the majority of these three-putts were caused by poor speed control, so it borrowed Callaway’s Artificial Intelligence technology (which the mother company has been using in its drivers for over five years) to design a putter that minimized its effect — i.e. a putter that performed consistently no matter how far from the sweet spot contact was made. AI allows clubmakers to run tens of thousands of possible scenarios very quickly allowing them to identify the best solution much sooner than they were once able to. This AI helped Odyssey develop an insert that made off-center putts come off the face at very nearly the same speed as those hit solidly. Putts struck by this new insert finished up to 21 percent closer to the hole. The putter maker then used the new insert for two different models — the Ai-One and Ai-One Milled. The back of the Ai-One insert is made of aluminum and the AI-inspired bumps and bulges can be seen through transparent covers (called Panlite — an automotive-grade polymer) either behind the putter face or — in the case of the Seven S, Seven CH, and Rossie S — on the sole. The front of the insert, which contacts the ball, is coated with the White Hot urethane polymer Odyssey developed in 2000. The Ai-One Milled insert is all-titanium but, unlike the AiOne’s insert, isn’t visible.
FOOTJOY
Premiere Shoes 9
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$199.99-$219.99
hough it has a classic look inspired by the styles of yesteryear, the FootJoy Premiere features contemporary technologies that makes it perform better than anything your father ever wore on (or off) the golf course. They are built on what FootJoy calls a “Laser Street last” which has a full-rounded toe character, standard fit across forefoot and instep, and a slightly narrow heel. The upper features soft, supple, hand-selected and waterproof Pittard’s leather featuring patterns that are modern interpretations of classic style. A firm density cup around the heel provides perimeter heel support and stability, and the Ortholite EcoPlush FitBed likewise promotes stability and comfort. The Premiere uses the Fast Twist 3.0 cleat system with Pulsar LP cleats made by Softspikes. The “Fast Twist” was the first ever three-click insert system on the market, and it secures each cleat with consistent torque for balanced performance. The VersaTrax+ outsole is engineered with translucent traction elements which, together with the Pulsar cleats, ensure you’ll rarely ever slip. Indeed, the combination of the cleats and Estane TPU nubs is designed to help you grip the ground from any lie or angle. FootJoy warrants that the Premiere will be 100 percent waterproof with normal use for two years. The Premiere lineup features both lace-up and the Boa dial-turning fit system (devised in 2006 by FootJoy and Boa Technologies) models for both men and women. The men’s Tarlow and Packard models feature luxurious sheepskin linings. Stylish, comfortable and stable is a good combination for golf shoes.
Chrome Soft, Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X 10
PUETZ GOLF PRICE
$54.99 per dozen
The Chrome Soft, Chrome Tour and Tour X are Callaway’s premium golf balls, each offering serious golfers a combination of distance, feel and control. The Chrome Soft, first introduced in 2015, sometimes had a problem convincing golfers of its ball-speed capabilities, but the 2024 version offers greatly improved ball-speeds thanks to a new Hyper Fast Soft Core that ensures improved performance at various levels of ball compression. Each of the trio features what Callaway calls a ‘Seamless Tour Aero’ which combines Callaway’s hexagonal-shaped dimples with strategically positioned spherical dimples. Each model’s dimple configuration is different to produce the characteristics demanded by different players. Yes, Callaway can manage the exact shape, size and position of each dimple to create the desired flight pattern. Also new is the cover – the ‘High-Performance Tour Urethane Soft Cover’ – which creates softer feel and more spin for more bite on short shots. So, which is right for you?
The Chrome Soft is much the same ball as it always was, at least it should appeal to the same player it always did. The only difference between it and previous models is the fact it now goes farther. The Chrome Tour X, the most popular choice among Callaway staff players, has improved greenside performance over its predecessor and, thanks to the Seamless Tour Aero, a slightly more penetrating flight. It is designed for players who prefer more spin with their irons. The Chrome Tour, meanwhile, feels slightly softer than the Chrome Tour X and doesn’t spin quite as much.
Setup
This slight downhill par 5 plays shorter than the distance, but no matter what yardage you have in, the pond hugging the right side of the green has you questioning yourself. Bunkers guard it left and deep. A drive down the left side puts you in position “A” to roll the dice.
Risk
If you split the fairway, you’ve really set yourself up nicely, but don’t count your chips just yet. The bottom line is the pond will sink anything hung out to the right. Many stacks have disappeared on this hole while going
By Simon Dubielfor broke. So, the question you have to ask yourself is: “Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya?”
Reward
Getting home in two on a par 5 at Desert Canyon is tough to do and this is likely your best shot at glory. This hole plays shorter than the 515 yards and offers you a large green to play at. Playing to the left side of the green is a smart bet and worth splashing the pot for.
Final Call
Is the juice worth the squeeze? Sometimes it is just
PRESENTED BY
hard to say no. A nice fade left to right off the left bunker can turn out nicely, if you have the nerve to pull it off. Swing it smooth and have your ball marker ready. Time to go see the cashier. Giddy-up!
TBY TONY DEAR • CG EDITOR
here are no certainties, guarantees or foregone conclusions in the Top 10 Public Course rankings we publish every two years. Well, at least during two-year cycles when the world isn’t suffering through a global pandemic, anyway. Question marks hang over every position. We can be fairly sure, however, there will be an epic tussle between Gamble Sands and Chambers Bay for the top spot in 2024. But who knows which way the voting will go?
In 2015, two months after it had staged the U.S. Open, Chambers Bay was a fairly predictable winner. Then, two years later, David McLay Kidd’s three-year-old inland links in central Washington overwhelmed the University Place coastal links, establishing a sizeable 110-point gap that none of us had seen coming. The voting suggested our readers had a soft spot for the Brewster course that Chambers might find difficult to overcome.
In 2019, however, following a successful greensturf conversion from fescue to poa annua, Robert Trent Jones/Jay Blasi/Bruce Charlton’s magnificent creation was back at No. 1, winning by an 80-point margin. It maintained that position in 2022 with a 114-point victory in the same month it hosted a hugely successful U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, which was won by Japan’s Saki Baba over Canada’s Monet Chung 11 & 9 in a rather one-sided final.
It would be no surprise, then, if Chambers Bay were to hang on to its elevated status this time around, but like we say, it’s certainly not inevitable. Adding to the interest, in future years at least, will be how the second course at
Gamble Sands fares. As we mentioned in the April issue, it will be fascinating to see what happens when the Sands Course’s next-door neighbor arrives on the scene.
Something we were very pleased to see, back in 2022, was the massive number of votes submitted by our readers. With roughly 11,000 votes, it was a significant increase in reader participation compared to that of previous years, and it gave us a validation that the results reflected what Washington golfers liked. The courses’ positions didn’t change a great deal but tallying so many votes gave the lists a little extra credibility.
There were four courses that each scored over 1,000 votes — the two frontrunners already mentioned, plus third-placed Gold Mountain (Olympic) and Wine Valley in fourth position. The latter two seem to be having a ping-pong battle of their own with the Dan Hixson-de signed Wine Valley earning the bronze medal in 2019 but being overtaken by its Olympic Peninsula rival last time out.
The beautiful, tree-lined, John Harbottle III-designed Olympic Course at Gold Mountain has hosted the USGA several times (and will again this year) with qualifying rounds for the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior Championships coming in late May. Likewise, Wine Val ley has genuine championship credentials having hosted the Northwest Open between 2010 and 2021. The broad fairways Hixson created as well as its vast, contoured greens give this amazing Walla Walla course its charac ter, while the incredible Blue Mountain backdrops to the southeast add to its remote and rugged appeal.
Perhaps we should really include Salish Cliffs in the battle for third, too, despite the fact that it hasn’t actually finished above fifth since it opened. Technically, it came in fourth in 2013, but that was the year before Gamble Sands opened. In 2015, Salish was 22 votes behind fourth. In 2017, it was 52 votes back. In 2019, the gap was 86, and two years ago, 131 votes separated fourth and fifth. Yes, the number of votes counted has risen dramatically over the last 11 years, but the gap between Salish and the fourth-place finisher has widened consistently.
That said, Salish will be in a strong position this time, having rebuilt some tees and renovated all 63 of its bunkers last summer. Bunker edges were recut and new sand was added. People playing the new-look course early in the season are likely to come away impressed. The question is: will they be sufficiently impressed to rank it higher than Wine Valley and even Gold Mountain? Catching Wine Valley is conceivable, certainly, but eliminating the 269-point gap between it and Gold Mountain is probably too much to ask.
We’re going to assume the top five is set (a dangerous assertion admittedly), and to be honest, we don’t foresee a lot of movement in the next five either. Palouse Ridge, White Horse, The Home Course, Trophy Lake and Prospector at Suncadia are all worthy of their top 10 status. White Horse was the biggest riser in 2022, climbing three places from its 10th-place finish in 2019.
If any courses in 2022’s second 10 are to make sizeable jumps in the foreseeable future, we think they will be Washington National or Druids Glen, as both stand to gain from repair work that would do so much to increase their curb appeal, not to mention improve their playing characteristics. Druids Glen owner Parks Legacy Project (and its chosen architect Forrest Richardson) have intimated a renovation project is imminent but that’s been the case for a couple of years. We will continue watching with great interest.
Port Ludlow is a favorite to win the women’s vote as it did two years ago — though again, we could be wrong. We also don’t envision a change at the top of the “Industry Colleagues” rankings, with Gamble Sands increasing its slim seven-point advantage in 2019 to 53 votes the last time out. We’re not entirely sure why Gamble Sands consistently wins the “experts” category. Maybe people who work in the industry just play it more often?
Though it didn’t stop many of you from registering your votes last time, the somewhat haphazard method of logging votes has been changed and updated for 2024. Instead of emailing your votes to the editor, we have created a simple digital form. Shoot the QR Code here or on CascadeGolfer.com and cast your ballot.
We will pull some lucky winners for prizes and publish the results in the August issue.
This year has witnessed a female athlete — high-scoring basketball guard
Caitlin Clark — command unprecedented media attention and enormous commercial appeal, earning rarified status generally reserved only for the most elite male athletes. Clark has been described as an extraordinary athlete we might be lucky to see just once in a lifetime.
Well, life is short apparently, because we have two once-in-a-generation female sensations now.
Nelly Korda, a seven-year LPGA Tour Professional from Jupiter, Florida, is shaking up the golfing world as Clark did on the basketball court. Korda started the season like few other female golfers we’ve ever seen, and Seattle area golf fans can witness her prowess this summer when the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship comes to Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish.
BY
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be the LPGA’s third (of five) Majors on the LPGA Tour this season. The first one, the Chevron Championship, was played April 18-21 at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, and Korda won it by two strokes. It was her second Major Championship and her 13th career victory, with 60 top 10 finishes.
Remarkably, it was her fifth consecutive victory on the LPGA Tour this season. She joined Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05), two LPGA Hall of Famers, as the only players ever to win five straight starts in LPGA Tour history. Those five victories gave Korda $2.4 million in earnings, nearly triple the second-best money-earner so far this year. We are seeing a veritable coronation to the LPGA throne.
The LPGA Tour schedule list six tournaments after the Chevron Championship, and before Sahalee Country Club hosts this year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. If Korda continues to build on her success, she’s on pace to be the year’s second phenomenon, much like Clark did leading her Iowa team to the NCAA title game in March.
As Korda and Clark continue to make headlines in the same way as former U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, gymnast Simone Biles, and tennis star Serena Williams have; it will continue to generate more attention and financial support for women’s sports. For example, this season the LPGA Tour offers $116.55 million in total prize money, the highest in history and a 69 percent increase from just three years ago.
Nelly has been untouchable on the LPGA Tour in 2024. She is leading the LPGA in scoring average (69.22), eagles (six), rounds in the 60s (16), and greens in regulation (75.85 percent). Korda's main rival for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship trophy is a player who already has one. Brooke Henderson won the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as an 18-year-old when it was last played at Sahalee Country Club. She was the wunderkind of her day, becoming the second youngest to win an LPGA Major at 18 years, 10 months. She beat another 18-year-old, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, with a birdie on the first playoff hole. Ko was then the No. 1 player in the world.
The careers for both Henderson and Korda are remarkably similar. By the end of April, both had 13 career wins, with two Majors each. At the time of this writing, Henderson is second to Korda in many LPGA statistical categories this season, including the all-important scoring average, 69.22 to 69.87.
There’s little that separates those two from Ko, who has won 20 LPGA events, including two Majors. Ko was the youngest ever to win a Major, the 2015 Evian Championship, when she was 18 years, four months and 20 days. Leading into her Major Championship win, Ko was the youngest player ever to earn the No. 1 ranking in the world in 2014 at 17 years, nine months, and nine days.
Emphasizing the theme of empowering women, KPMG will be hosting the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit onsite during the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee, where they bring together women from around the country who are leaders in business, politics, and sports. It is designed to inspire women to reach the C-suite and further develop and advance in their careers. The KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit will be held onsite at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Wednesday, June 19, the day before the Championship begins. The Summit is a private, invite only event; however, it will be live streamed to the general public.
Hosting significant golf events has been part of Sahalee’s core mission and in addition to hosting the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, they have hosted the 1998 PGA Championship (won by Vijay Singh), the 2002 NEC World Golf Championship (won by Craig Parry), and the 2010 USGA Senior Open (won by Bernhard Langer.)
General admission tickets for the Championship, along with corporate hospitality experiences are available through the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship website. For additional information on the Championship, or to purchase tickets, visit kpmgwomenspga.com/tickets.
brings it all together for the vacationing golferOBY BART POTTER • CG STAFF WRITER
ld Mexico charm comes together with every dining, lodging and recreational amenity that's possible to imagine in one blessed Baja California place.
That’s the Villa del Palmar Resort, where you get all of the above and a great golf course, too.
“It really feels like the undiscovered, untouched piece of Mexico that’s hard to find anymore,” says Aisling Mahoney, PR coordinator for Villa del Palmar.
A stay-and-play vacation here, roughly a half-hour from the town of Loreto, might as well be a stay and play and play and play … on the golf course and off.
Danzante Bay is a 740-acre master-planned community, home to the award-winning Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto hotel and new “Baja contemporary” real estate offerings.
Let’s start with the golf.
TPC Danzante Bay (tpcdanzantebay.com), voted one of the best golf courses in Mexico by Golf Digest, is an 18-hole gem from world-renowned architect Rees Jones. The only TPC course in Mexico, Danzante Bay is known for its shot-making challenge and jaw-dropping visuals.
The natural beauty of the course arrests the eye. The rolling hills of the Sierra de la Giganta Mountains hug the contoured greens and open to views of the Islands of Loreto.
At a length of 7,237 yards from the tips, TPC Danzante Bay delivers exceptional golf, while the clubhouse, on-site pro shop, and state-of-the-art practice facilities add to the experience.
This unique TPC layout might be the most photographed golf course and resort in all of Mexico, Mahoney says.
Loreto sits on the eastern coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. The oldest human settlement in Baja, the beach town is known for its secluded, unspoiled setting, clear seawaters teeming with marine life, colonial buildings from the early 17th Century, and natural topography unique to Baja.
If for some reason you or anybody in your vacation party doesn’t play golf, there’s no chance for boredom at Villa del Palmar.
With a seemingly endless variety of activities to entertain children of all ages — including cooking classes, treasure hunts, Spanish lessons, and Mexican crafts — along with a secluded stretch of beach and spacious suites, Villa del Palmar is a haven for families and multi-generational travel. The resort’s Family Fun Package includes a fournight stay in a Deluxe Suite, daily breakfast, a snorkeling excursion, putting at TPC Danzante Bay, a beach bonfire, and more.
Hotel-led boat and scuba diving tours offer guests an up-close look at the underwater wildlife of the Loreto Bay National Marine Park. Dubbed the “Galápagos of Mexico,” the park is home to nearly 800 animal species including manta rays, dolphins, and whales.
Mahoney says the property, sheltered by the bay, is safe for families. All parts of the property are joined by paths.
“It feels like a small community,” she said.
At the hotel you’ll have everything you need — five restaurants with a rich array of dining options, with food grown and sourced locally. All the hotel rooms are suites with kitchenettes, and a market stocked with fresh food is on-site.
The resort doesn’t forget the youngest members of families — join the Kids Club on the first day and you’re covered for the rest of your stay, Mahoney says, with special programs just for children.
The property offers several packages including a Stay and Play package and Unlimited Golf or Spa package.
Villa del Palmar takes pains to let you know you can live here year-round if you want. The Loreto region is shaping up as the next big Baja resort and residential market. For visitors seeking an authentic Mexican lifestyle in a setting of natural luxury, lots and homes are available for sale.
Buyers can choose from four home plans from Kevin B. Howard Architects, ranging from three to six bedrooms and 2,400 to 4,350-plus square feet. Pricing for built product ranges from $1.7 to $6.9 million and lots are also available for sale with pricing from $370,000.
Come early, stay late, or stay forever. Villa del Palmar has a plan for you.
Pair these courses together, play 36 and raise a glass after for a full-day feast of golfTBY BART POTTER • CG STAFF WRITER
his article is for those who aren’t (yet) on a first-name basis with their podiatrist. It’s for those who like to follow a round of golf with a round of golf. We hear you. We were once you.
Each of the following pairs of courses are close in geography and provide an outstanding day of golf for you and your playing partner.
This is also where we aim to answer what might be the better question: What do you do after the round of golf that follows the round of golf? We have thoughts. Specifically, where to go after a 36-hole day for quality libations, locally made, to soothe your aching bodies and wounded souls.
Roughly a dozen miles separate these two venerable golf courses in Pierce County, which makes them perfect candidates for a Play 36 day.
Oakbrook (8102 Zircon Dr. S.W., Lakewood), formerly a private course now open to the public, has a justifiable reputation for some of the best greens in South Sound. The par 71, 6,715-yard course is much more open since the removal of hundreds of trees in recent years.
Eagle’s Pride, on Joint Base Lewis-McChord just off Exit 116 from I-5, boasts three nine-hole layouts — the Red, Blue and Green, all open to the civilian public — to be played in seasonally appropriate combinations. Eagle’s Pride also underwent a massive tree-removal project without altering its essential character.
Where to go after 36? This one’s a no-brainer: Forward Operating Base (FOB) Brewing Company is a veteran-owned and operated brewpub serving hand-crafted beer in Dupont (2750 Williamson Place, Suite 100). The taproom’s regularly updated rotation includes Heart of Darkness Imperial Stout, SNAFU Red Ale, and POG traditional cider. Taproom hours are 3-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Friday 3-10 p.m., and Saturday 3-9 p.m.
Two golf courses, joined on one northeast Thurston County property, flowing seamlessly through unobtrusive residential neighborhoods. That’s Hawks Prairie (8383 Vicwood Lane, Olympia). A day here with 36 holes of golf couldn’t be easier to arrange.
The Woodlands (par 72, stretching to 7,170 yards) is the more rugged of the HP courses – a cart may be advised here, especially if part of a two-fer. Sprawling fairways meander through tall timber, ponds and wetlands, and its multi-tiered greens are among the largest in the region.
The Links (par 72, 6,887 yards) with its open fairways and rolling hills is a contrast to its wooded partner. The links-style layout reaches to the mouth of Puget Sound, with water on nine of 18 holes.
Best part yet: The Hawks Prairie complex offers a special for a two-course 36 – pay full rate with cart in the morning and your afternoon round will be at the twilight rate with cart included.
Thirty-sixers who are wine-inclined can get their tastes right in the neighborhood at Stottle Winery (2641 Willamette Dr. NE, Suite E), just minutes from the golf courses. Tastings are offered Wednesday through Saturday from 12-6 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.
The Classic Golf Club in Spanaway and Tapps Island Golf Course in Lake Tapps are about 20 minutes apart, and a beautiful little drive between the two stitches together the 36-hole day. This gives you a chance to refuel your legs and mind and see the beauty of Pierce County.
Start your day at The Classic (4908 208th St. E.), home course of PGA Tour pro Ryan Moore. It offers a testy but fair experience for golfers, with elevated greens, rolling hills, natural ponds and distinctive bunkers and grasses. It’s another course where mass tree removal opened up the course and its sight lines.
A pause to do some math: You’ll need to play Tapps Island twice to eventually end up with 36 holes for the day — Tapps Island (20818 Island Park Way E.) is a ninehole course. If you’re up for it, Tapps (par 35) is more than up for you, with lots of water and ample challenge. Or … skip out after one nine and get a jump on the après part of the festivities.
How about a change of pace? Spanaway and Lake Tapps are light on distilleries, wineries and breweries that are open to the public when 36-trippers would need them to be. There’s a meadery, that makes mead, in Spanaway, but really? So temporarily set aside the need for locally crafted drinkables tasted at the source … and drop in on Captain Jack’s Bar and Grill (13501 Cannery Way, Sumner). It’s open, and it’s got microbrews … lots of ‘em. You could do worse than finish off the day here.
It’s island time in northwest Washington when these two courses share a day’s golf itinerary.
Camaloch is situated in the Puget Sound “Sun Belt” on Camano Island and gets about half the annual rainfall of the greater Seattle area. Camaloch (par 71, 6,512 yards) also benefits from the marine breeze off Puget Sound and stays as much as 10 degrees cooler on the hottest days. It’s 15 minutes from I-5 and you don’t need to take a ferry to get there.
Swinomish Golf Links is on Fidalgo Island in Anacortes about a half hour or so from Camaloch. Driving these stunning, winding roads between the two will be part of the experience. Swinomish (par 72, 6,182 yards) offers open tree-lined fairways, approachable greens, and plenty of elevation change.
Both courses have good microbrews nearby. Bastion Brewing Company (12529 Christianson Road, Anacortes) is next door to the Swinomish Casino (which has amazing options as well) and the golf course. Bastion touts its use of grains grown and malted in the Skagit Valley in its rotating tap selection of 14 (sometimes 15 or 16) in-house beers and four rotating ciders. Ale Spike (1244 N. Moore Rd., Camano Island) has at least 10 fresh-made craft beers in rotation in its island taproom.
Ale Spike or Bastion? It’s an argument without a loser. For now, let’s say Bastion, for pure proximity, which means playing Camaloch in the morning and finishing on Swinomish. But consider this: Plan a future 36er at these two courses … and reverse the order of things.
And, if it was up to us, we’d bed down at Swinomish Casino and Lodge and make a night of it. They have stay and play options with lodging and unlimited golf for two for around $200. See SwinomishCasinoandLodge.com for details.
Melnick & Sons 5 Person Best Ball
July 27th & 28th
ery few golf developments ever get from conception to construction without encountering some opposition, and it was really only a matter of time before proposals for Westport Golf Links on the Grays Harbor County coastline, 20 miles west of Aberdeen, came under scrutiny from environmentalists sharing their positions on the matter.
In mid-April of this year, non-profit news organization The Washington Standard reported that two environmental groups were suing the state to halt the development. Grays Harbor Audubon Society and Friends of Grays Harbor filed the complaint in Thurston County Superior Court on March 29, saying developer Ryann Day and the State Parks Commission are ignoring past agreements limiting wetland development. Friends of Grays Harbor President Arthur Grunbaum says the state’s due diligence has been “woefully inadequate.”
We reported on Day’s proposals in the April 2023 issue of Cascade Golfer, laying out his plan to convert the 603-acre state park into a Scottish-style links course designed by David McLay Kidd with surrounding resort lodging, as well as transform the under-used park into a tourist attraction with hiking and biking trails.
Revenue would be shared between Day’s investment group and the state, and while income from the course and resort would certainly be substantial, the positive effect the development might have on the City of Westport and surrounding area, which has suffered downturns over the last few decades, would be greater still.
Indeed, a report authored last year by Renton’s Sieger Consulting SPC predicted that Westport Golf Links would have a one-time economic impact of $55 million with the creation of 349 temporary jobs. Post-construction, the report continued, Grays Harbor County would see an annual benefit of $25 million with 303 permanent jobs.
The environmental groups’ opposition focuses on the potential loss of habitat for a range of birds and other wildlife, the possible effect it may have on water quality, and beach access. It stems from a 2007 agreement between landowners Mox Chehalis LLC and Friends of Grays Harbor, which prevented Mox Chehalis LLC from filling in wetlands in its attempt to build a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, hotel and convention center.
Mox Chehalis would later agree to terms with the
Army Corps of Engineers, prohibiting the company from filling in wetlands and making other significant changes to the landscape.
Day, is taking this obstacle seriously and is happy the benefits of his proposed development far outweigh any potential negatives.
“I certainly anticipated something like this happening and am not downplaying it,” he says, “But I am curious about the timing. Our proposal hasn’t even passed through the courts, so it’s not really even a reality yet.”
Day will press on and says a 1,000-page Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be published soon will provide evidence of how beneficial the project would be not only financially but also environmentally.
“Besides potentially creating new wildlife habitats,”
he says, “we’d be adding much-needed firebreaks, greatly reducing any risk of a wildfire.”
Once the state, which purchased 300 acres from Mox Chehalis in 2015, analyzes the EIS, Day is confident he will win its approval. And when the process requires public approval, he’s confident he’ll earn that too.
“We’ve tried to go about this the right way from the very start,” he says. “And I feel very strongly that people in Westport and Grays Harbor County are behind us. The opposition’s appeal is really seeking to quash the public process. I want to see the public decide what happens.”
One other potential sticking point for Day would be the fact Washington State purchased the land nine years ago using a Recreation and Conservation Office Grant which, the opposition says, precludes the construction of a golf course.
What is golf if not recreational (it’s important to note Westport GL would be a public course), and many are the stories of how golf courses have enhanced their surroundings and how golf course superintendents have become responsible stewards of the environment.
The 2023 Concept Plan (a draft proposal, shown left) contains visions and responsible steps to be taken. The key/legend lists 17 specific locations including the golf course, lodging, maintenance facility, and parking areas, along with: “Gateway/Wayfinding”, “New Park Loop Trail”, “Beach Access Stairs/Ramp”, “Short Course” (which would be a favorite hangout/after-school destination for local children), “Sensitive areas”, “Foredune Improved Viewing”, “Potential Wetland Creation/Rehabilitation Zones”, “Preserve Vegetation Communities” and “Invasive Species Management.”
Like Day, many following the progress are not taking Grays Harbor Audubon Society and Friends of Grays Harbor’s lawsuit lightly. It’s apparently not without merit and warrants careful analysis. Ultimately though, many golfers in the Pacific Northwest are pro-golf and pro-environment, and all this careful review and consideration is warranted and necessary.
Cascade Golfer will continue to monitor the developments. Our first feature appeared in the April 2023 issue, which can be found at CascadeGolfer.com under the past issues menu.
Three State of the art Trackman Simulator indoor climate-controlled hitting bays featuring over 270 golf courses worldwide
Summer Junior Golf Camps Begin in July
Ladies Golf Lessons & Wine Tasting openings available
High Cedars Golf Club
One of the best practice facilities in Western WA.
Over 40 stalls with 20 covered
Over 400 yards long
Grass tee area
Real range golf balls - not limited flight!
Putting greens
Chipping green and a practice bunker
Bellevue Golf Course, a municipal layout that combines golf challenge with a comfortable walk in the park, is a solid value too, especially if a player picks a tee time carefully. All that, and it boasts one of the best practice ranges in Puget Sound.
The par-71 course in the Bridle Trails area is operated by the City of Bellevue and managed by Premier Golf Centers. Opened in 1968, the course was designed by David W. Kent, who also designed courses in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In addition to the 18-hole track, Bellevue also offers the Crossroads Par 3 Course — a nine-hole layout that is very popular and well-maintained – which you can you play in about an hour. The holes range in length from 63-107 yards. This provides more accomplished golfers an opportunity to work on their short game, while beginners can have success learning the game in a relaxed, friendly environment.
High Cedars Golf Academy
Team Griffin ( Sara and Chris, PGA Professionals )
Scot Solomonson, PGA Professional, and Director of Instruction
Chris Ming, Golf Professional Golf Lessons
It’s easy to walk Bellevue, with short distances between greens and tee boxes. Changes in elevation are small here, but the bunkers require some skill and planning to avoid. Sloping on the greens is not too obviously severe, but the breaks can assert themselves.
The hardest hole on the course, No. 5 is a gnarly double-dogleg that takes a 90-degree turn to the right about halfway up its 465 yards, then takes a left turn nearer the green.
Since its 2015 opening, players love practicing on the 46-stall driving range, which is heated and lighted.
Bellevue operates under Premier Golf Centers’ dynamic pricing system that can adjust the posted reference rates according to demand. A reduction in rates may occur when the demand for tee times is low and an increase in rates may occur when demand for tee times is high. Rates that fall under dynamic pricing include adults, early bird, twilight, and super twilight.
YARDAGE (PAR 71) 5,428-6,961 yards
RATES $29-44 weekdays, $32-57 weekends*
TEL (425) 452-7250
WEB bellevuepgc.com
* Check website for current rates
Value is as value does at Highlander Golf Course in East Wenatchee. Highlander is a premium golf course and worth it, says director of golf and head PGA professional Mark Babst.
“We’re always trying to innovate, trying to improve the experience for the player,” Babst says.
Highlander, a fairly exposed layout with amazing views over the Columbia River, opened to great acclaim in 2002. The recent addition of numerous trees (they're not too big yet, Babst says) gives it a very Northwest look.
There’s been other tinkering through the years. Just this spring, Highlander added a 110,000-gallon water feature to the fifth hole, which added an element of challenge — a forced carry — to the second of back-to-back par-5s. No. 4, at 535 yards, is rated the toughest hole on the course.
In 2013, six holes on a shortish back nine (2,707 yards) were remodeled.
Short here doesn’t mean easy. Babst calls 17, a short par-4 (247 yards from the black tees, only 232 from the whites) a “bait hole” — danger lurks,
with a cliff on the right and a hillside left. No. 9, considered Highlander’s signature hole, is a 163-yard par 3 with the river canyon on the left. No. 18, with similar topography and similar length, has the canyon on the right.
In general, the fairways are generous, and the greens are big. You’ll hit a lot of greens, Babst says, and you’ll have some three-putts, too.
Babst says he looks around at what he considers golf course peers and rates Highlander’s under-$100 greens fee ($92 for full-rate weekends, with twilight and weekday discounts) as appropriate for the value received.
People are coming to play his golf course, including an encouraging number of female golfers, he says, and a lot of younger players, for whom golf has become a “cool” sport.
YARDAGE 5,428-6,961 yards
RATES $48-80 weekdays, $48--92 weekends*
TEL (509 )884-4653
WEB highlandergc.com
* Check website for current rates
We receive less rain during the wet season and less heat during the summer
The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge looks like a Northwest golf course should look. Traditional, with lots of stately trees skirting protected wetlands.
The course’s pricing model, along with other courses in the Oki Golf system — known as “dynamic pricing” — is anything but traditional, but it’s catching on.
Dynamic pricing ensures golfers can see tee times in real time and pick the time, price and date of their choice. There are multiple pricing options every day.
The rate model helps make Redmond Ridge a good value for a premium golf challenge.
The par-70 Redmond Ridge, 20 miles from Seattle in Redmond, was designed by renowned golf architect Gary Panks.
No. 3 is tough enough for its length alone at 613 yards from the blue tees, but water in three places — including a forced carry off the tee — make the path to the green hazardous.
The 13th hole, a long par 4, features a sharp dogleg
right that can stymie many a player.
No. 5 is another long 4 (453 yards from the tips) that offers water trouble near the green.
The 17th hole looks like a straightforward par 3, but again, trouble waits in the water close to the green.
The club offers an expansive practice facility featuring multiple target greens from several grass tee stations, and a large putting surface.
Crooked Spoon, the club restaurant, offers fresh seasonal selections served home-style and complemented
by the region’s finest wines and microbrews.
At Redmond Ridge, you can find a solid value for your golf dollar. The best way to take advantage of dynamic pricing is by booking online, by calling the pro shop, and being flexible in when you can play.
YARDAGE 4,818-6,503 yards
RATES See the website for current pricing* TEL (425) 836-1510
WEB redmondridgegolf.com
It might not have been the Masters that quite had it all, but this year’s tournament did throw up its usual litany of notable events and talking points. The week began with something that hadn’t happened in 84 years, with play/ practice briefly halted while the moon got in the way of the sun (maximum obscurity happening at 3:08 p.m. with about 75 percent of the sun concealed).
On Wednesday, a measured and eloquent Masters Chairman Fred Ridley gave his usual de facto state-ofthe-game press conference. He celebrated the success of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, dealt deftly with questions relating to the LIV/PGA Tour brouhaha urging the professional game’s power brokers to resolve their differences, and opined on the issue of the ball rollback saying he hopes never to see Augusta National reach 8,000 yards. In the afternoon’s par 3 contest, five players made aces while Rickie Fowler made the dreadful error of winning — since it was first played in 1960, no one has won both the par 3 and Masters in the same year.
Bryson DeChambeau, one of the 13 LIV players in the field, shot a seven-under 65 to lead after Thursday’s first-round (which ended on Friday morning because of Thursday’s frost delay), and Tiger Woods was Friday’s headliner after making a record 24th straight cut at the year’s first major. The 15-time major champion sadly shot an 82 in Saturday’s forgettable third round when just two players went sub-70 and the 60 players who made the cut averaged 74.08.
In Sunday’s final round, Korea’s Tom Kim shot an early 66 with eight birdies, raising hopes of an exciting finale with players at the top of the leaderboard trading birdies and eagles in an afternoon shoot-out. But it never happened. Collin Morikawa, Max Homa and Sweden’s Ludwig Åberg — whose first major win surely isn’t far off — were never able to match Scottie Scheffler’s relentless, unflinching and quietly determined march to victory which came with an air of invincibility.
The hundreds of millions (more?) of social media com-
ments the event provoked naturally ran the gamut of opinion. Most seemed to focus on Scheffler’s brilliance though there were plenty who lamented the lack of surprises and thrills, exasperation, and jubilation we’re so often treated to at the Masters. Those folk called the final afternoon a bit dull, tedious even.
There was even one commenter on Facebook (friend of a friend of a friend…) who said he had “hated” the final couple of hours. To be fair, English isn’t his first language apparently, so I wondered if he meant it. But the follow-ups confirmed he really hadn’t been entertained — “Worst Masters ever”, “So boring”, “Nothing exciting happened”, etc.
We’re all prone to a little hyperbole and exaggeration in the social media era, and it’s true the final round was no 1986 when Jack Nicklaus turned back time with a backnine 30 or 2019 when Woods beat Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele by a stroke. But “hate”?
Forget all the sensitivity and controversy that word provokes these days. This is nothing about that. When I
and, I’m sure a lot of you, grew up, we might use the word to register our mild dislike for a certain song (“I hate ‘We Built This City’”), or the slightly stronger disapproval of the evening meal our mothers dished up. “Aww, carrots? I hate carrots”, we’d moan, blissfully unaware of the effort Mom had made to feed us.
I suppose I would have preferred it had Åberg (my favorite swing on Tour) or Homa (my favorite person on Tour) got a little closer and put some heat on Scheffler over the final two or three holes. But having played the game for 30-plus years and therefore knowing how hard it can be even outside a Masters back nine when, I imagine, stress, anxiety and heightened nerves can complicate things, I appreciated Scheffler’s mastery.
The ability to maintain your composure and rise to the occasion on life’s biggest stages is a rare and enviable skill. Scheffler has it in spades and though no one is predicting he’ll ever reach Woods’s level of dominance (not yet anyway), we should heed those who suggest we just sit back and enjoy the Scheffler Show while it lasts.
