Seattle Golf?

[DJYoshi]

I'll be out there From 8.1 - 8.3. I'm looking to play a round on Saturday morning 8.2.
People have told me about Newcastle being the nicest course in the area. I don't mind dropping $160 for the round...but is the course worth it or are you paying for the name? I'm all about design/layout that's challenging yet you can score...and great views.
and if any TST golfers from Seattle wanna get down for that day, let's go out and make it happen!

[DaleMac]

I would encourage you to keep your money in your pocket and find a different course. Newcastle is a nice place, amazing views...but no way is it worth the 160 you will pay. I played the Coal Creek ($160 but got it free with my OKI card) course a couple of weeks ago and the greens are in awful shape and the fairways are crap. You are paying for the views and the upscale amenities. On top of that, the course is very difficult (shot makers course) but popular with all sorts of players creating an extremely slow pace of play (5 and half hour round after teeing off at 745am). Take my word for it...the views are not worth it! Keep in mind this is an opinion I have formed over time...I have played both Newcastle courses a number of times.

If you are looking for a challenging course, the ones listed below will get you much more bang for your buck IMO:

Washington National Golf Club
washingtonnationalgolfclub.com

Druids Glen
www.druidsglengolf.com

And finally, If you can spare some time to drive about an hour south, and you are looking to drop some cash and want a real challenge...check out Chambers Bay. Brand new course that will be hosting the US Open in 2015.
www.chambersbaygolf.com

I am always up for a round!

[Wazzu8]

There is a great golf course in Redmond (30 minutes away when not in traffic) called Trilogy Golf Club at Redmond Ridge.

It's not that difficult( I play from the whites so what do I know), view is great, about 60-80$. It's well kept up and I love playing with my friend (he works there). Tee times are 10 minutes a part so they don't pack the course.

[Harry Longshanks]

There is a great golf course in Redmond (30 minutes away when not in traffic) called Trilogy Golf Club at Redmond Ridge.

$5 off if you book online. Course is always in good shape and they have a grass range, putting green, separate chipping green, and practice sand bunker to warm up.

The course isn't in the same category as Chambers Bay, but it's a very nice "golf community" course. Honestly, if you aren't going to be in the area again and you can afford it, play Chambers Bay. Very soon, it's going to be know as one of the premier courses in the country. How many other courses have been picked to host a U.S. Open and a U.S. Amateur after being open for less than a year? If you want something cheaper and are willing to catch a car ferry, Gold Mountain's Olympic course is fantastic. Hosted the 2006 U.S. Publinx, and the 2008 NCAA Men's West Regionals.

[weber2323]

I'm going up there next week and have a reservation at Chambers Bay and was hoping to play Washington National which is supposed to be a good course as the previous post indicated. I'll let you know about the conditions here. I have played Druids Glen which I really liked. I've also played Port Ludlow which is west of Seattle and you either need to take a ferry across or go around and I'm not real sure its worth the drive. I've also heard Gold Mountain is a good course but haven't played it.

[gortyl]

Yo DJ, try this thread for just about anything you want to know about golf up there...

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthr...t=seattle+golf

I've played a few of these including the Newcastle courses. I thought they were great (awesome clubhouse/restaurant/pub too by the way) and you should definitely play them once. But after playing Chambers earlier this year, I'd make the 45 minute drive to Tacoma to play that course. Simply put, it's spectacular and unlike anything you'll ever see...incredibly unique.

[DJYoshi]

Chambers Bay looks SICK! ! I'm not a great links player. the open feeling just doesn't suit my eye, but I think I'd wanna play that course. Looking to get down for 8.2 b/t 8AM & 10AM. They only book on a 2 person minimum. If anyone else wants to get down, let me know via email or this thread. Thanks guys.

[Kltdefer]

Hey DJ,

Give Chambers Bay a call (253) 460-4653 and ask about working in a single.

I played earlier this month as a single after my golfing folks backed out. I had my choice of times....it was a Monday vs. Saturday.

I would also recommend getting a caddie.

Have fun!

[bigphil]

I played the Coal Creek ($160 but got it free with my OKI card) course a couple of weeks ago and the greens are in awful shape

I could not agree more!!! i played China creek on Friday and they were BY FAR the worst greens i have EVER seen in my life. I'm talking grade AA crap! a couple of the greens (browns) had less grass than an Iraqi soccer field. I would never pay for a round of golf there, way over priced and I can think of over a dozen courses i would rather play around the area that are less than half the price, some 1/3 the price! The views are ok, but I personally dont play golf for the views...seriously...who cares about the view?...good courses create their own views that you fall in love with. after a round i dont say "dude, you remember seeing mt. rainier on #14....it was beautiful!" i say "dude, that was a SICK shot you made back on that par 5 when you knocked in on it two!" anyways...enough blabbing....dont pay for that course!

[tjy355]

I will be in Seattle Aug 4th thru 8th and will try to get in a couple of rounds while my wife attends a conference. I will definitely play Chambers Bay.

Another course that has been recommended to me and appears on the GolfWeek's best public list is the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain (in Bremerton)

http://www.goldmt.com/

I'm adding a post to the Traveling with clubs thread in the Golf Talk forum.

[damkader]

Can't go wrong with either course they are both magnificent. I played Chambers bay a couple of weeks a go and boy is it nice. Great view though I have had the same view from my parents home for about 20 years. But playing golf to that view is something else.

[Wazzu8]

check out djyoshi's thread, he's around the same time and wondering the same thing.

[tjy355]

check out djyoshi's thread, he's around the same time and wondering the same thing.

Uh, this IS djyoshi's thread...

[weber2323]

I played Chambers Bay on Wednesday morning, you won't be disappointed by playing this course. Make sure you practice putting here because these greens are very slow. The place is surreal, I kind of lost myself during my round by looking out at the Puget Sound.

In the afternoon I played the Home Course down in Dupont (a little further south of Chambers Bay). This was a good course as well and my only compliant is that the fairways need to be mowed (and there is no clubhouse) but the greens were pretty fast. Or maybe it just seemed fast after playing Chambers Bay in the AM. Its pretty reasonably priced, something like $50-$60.

Today I played White Horse which is a ferry ride over to Kingston. This is another new course and was designed by Pete Dye's niece and she is rather cruel herself much like her uncle. I got my a$$ handed to me there I played the tips and if you miss the fairway good night you are not finding your ball. This course was also between $50-$60 but add in the ferry ride and you're looking at a little bit more. Despite playing poorly I think this is another quality course.

I'm hoping to play either Gold Mountain or Washington National tomorrow.

[DJYoshi]

Hey DJ,

you guys are awesome! thank you for everything. I'll be there this Friday & Saturday so i'm looking at getting 1 round friday around 4pm and saturday like 8AM.

do you guys know what time the sun sets over there? looking to get the best bang for the buck as soon as I step off of the plane at 1:30

[weber2323]

The good thing is that it doesn't get dark until a little after 9 pm so you should be good to get 18 in. It is weird golfing that late. Check the weather though. I teed off in the morning and needed a long sleeve shirt but by the time the afternoon came i didn't need it and if i remember from the weather forecast when i was up there it was supposed to be overcast most of the week.

[BallStriker]

Seattle-Area Golf....


Chambers Bay (Tacoma, WA)....a must play if you can handle $150 green fee (I am playing it again Friday the 1st).

Gold Mountain (Bremerton, WA)....another must play, and very affordable, but a jaunt from Seattle....if you don't get to Seattle often, you may want to consider the Seattle/Bremerton Ferry Ride -- beautiful scenery -- and drops you off about 10 miles from the course.

Washington National (Auburn, WA)....another solid course, but I don't rate it quite as high as Chambers and G. Mountain.

Suncadia (Roslyn, WA)...about 70 miles from Seattle (east on I-5)....a very good layout and difficult....$80-$90 to play, but worth it imo...HOWEVER, call and get some input on the conditions of the greens, as they can be very, very slow after some weather.

Newcastle (Newcastle, WA)...Great views of the city, terrible layout...don't waste your time.

The Home Course (DuPont, Wa)....new course that is very nice (and affordable)....a solid golf course for the value.

Others around Seattle that are solid courses....Harbour Point (Mukilteo), Druids Glen (Covington), Trilogy (Redmond).

Have fun....a great time of year to be in Seattle.

[Harold]

you guys are awesome! thank you for everything. I'll be there this Friday & Saturday so i'm looking at getting 1 round friday around 4pm and saturday like 8AM.

Being past the peak of daylight hours 8:30PM is realistically the time you have before it's starts getting difficult to see contours and ball tracking off tees suffers. A little bit more if there is no cloud cover. Depending on where you play Friday you might be racing the sun the last few holes.