Anyone in Seattle?

[kris]

I will be visiting Seattle in a couple of months for various reasons but I'm thinking about possibly playing some golf while I'm up there. I hear there are some nice courses in the area.

So, is there anyone here who lives in or around Seattle (or has visited for that matter) who can recommend some good courses in the area?

[Wazzu8]

How far are you willing to travel?
Are you staying in Seattle?

An obvious choice is Chamber's Bay (South of Seattle). Home of the 2014 US Open.

A couple good courses on the eastside of Seattle (Bellevue, Redmond area) is the Golf Club at Redmond Ridge and Willows Run Golf Course. They aren't too pricey.

www.willowsrun.com
www.chambersbaygolf.com
www.redmondridgegolf.com

There is also Newcastle, which I have never played but is expensive (~150$).

Tomorrow I play the Prospector Course about 90 miles away. It was designed by Arnold Palmer!!

[kris]

Thanks for the reply and suggestions.

I am staying in Seattle but am willing to travel around the area (Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue general area). not too far away though. If there's a decent course in the actual city however, I might just play there just out of convenience. but that might not be possible, I don't know. Does a course like that exist?

Interesting that you mention Chamber's Bay though, as it's the only course I know about up there (admittedly only because of the U.S. Open, but still). I wanted to play there but the fees seem a little steep ($150 for us nonresidents). Willow's Run looks like a nice set of courses at a nice price. I'll look in to it.

Any other suggestions?

[DBake]

Chambers Bay, The Home Course, Gold Mountain, Newcastle

[Chadbert]

Willows Run is my home course and I play it about once or twice a week. I usually do the after 5 special which includes a cart and is very cheap for the area. The course is well kept, there's lots of wildlife (mostly canadian geese), and there are a few scenic holes on the Eagle's Talon course. Hole 17 is a beautiful par 3 island hole. Nine and 10 offer a view of Mt Rainier when it's visible.

I haven't played Coyote Creek yet because it requires more accuracy than the other course. I would say that Willows is a very good bang for buck place but I'm not entirely sure that it's a place I would go play at when visiting a city. If you're going to play a single course up here, I'd pony up to play Chambers Bay. If you're going to hit 2 or 3 different courses, I'd definitely give Willows a shot.

I'm going to try Redmond Ridge sometime soon when Willows is having a tournament.

[raygrinberg]

Consider White Horse Golf Club in Kingston. You can take the ferry from Edmonds and the course will pick you up at the ferry landing. I haven't played but have heard very good things. www.whitehorsegolf.com .

I highly recommend The Home Course in Dupont. Better Value than Chambers and has views of the Sound, the Olympics and Rainier. www.thehomecourse.com .

[dmccrory]

It all depends how far you want to travel. In my opinion, the best courses in the area are across Puget Sound or south by Tacoma:

Kitsap Penisula

1. Gold Mountain - Bremerton
   Two courses. Olympic is the jewel. Cascade is fun. Highly recommend the Monday/Tuesday "Play-all-day" special
2. Trophy Lake - Port Orchard
   Beautiful, challenging course
3. McCormick Woods - Port Orchard
   Well reviewed, nice course
4. Whitehorse - Kingston
   Extremely challenging, often frustrating.

Tacoma Area

1. Chambers Bay - University Place
   Must visit. Beautiful, unique course. Hosting the 2015 Open.
2. The Home Course
   Great track. Nice views. Highly recommend.

Seattle Area

1. Washington National - Auburn
   A cut above. Really nice northwest course.
2. Harbour Pointe - Mukilteo
   Challenging, under-rated course.
3. West Seattle Muni
   Above average muni. Reasonable rates. Great views from the back nine. Go early or be prepared for a slow round

[kris]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Looks like I've got some choices to make.

[tjy355]

Thanks for the reply and suggestions.

Was just in Seattle last week and made my second visit to Chambers Bay. The $90 sunset rate this time of year is a downright bargain. We teed off at 3:50 PM and finished at 8:20 - more than an hour of daylight left.

If you are any sort of golfer who is interested in playing top courses, Chambers Bay is a MUST PLAY . Even at $150.

[kris]

Has anyone here played Harbor Pointe? Looks like a nice course but does anyone have first-hand experience with it?

[kris]

ok so I just returned and I wound up playing Redmond Ridge. it was a very nice course. A LOT more trees than I am used to but still a pretty fun round. I was going to play Willows Run at first but I showed up and they were full up so I went up to Redmond.

It was a frustrating round golf-wise since I seem to be developing the hooks every now and then off the tee. didn't really play that well but had fun anyways.

[Wazzu8]

Glad you liked my suggestion. I believe the Redmond Ridge Golf Course is one of the underrated courses in this area. It's public greens fees are higher than Willows but the course is great and well kept. Some good views on the back nine too.

Haven't played it in 15 months but I hope the construction was done when you played your 18.

[kris]

Glad you liked my suggestion. I believe the Redmond Ridge Golf Course is one of the underrated courses in this area. It's public greens fees are higher than Willows but the course is great and well kept. Some good views on the back nine too.

I noticed no major construction when I played. There was a hole on the back nine that had a high concrete wall to the right of the fairway that the guy i played with wound up hitting. Looked like some home construction up above but that was all I noticed.

I was very impressed with the course and frankly don't see how the slope is only 116 from the whites. I thought it was much harder than the 125 slope course I normally play.

[Ghost Runner]

For those of you that have played Chambers Bay can you give me an idea of how long your round took? I ask becaue I am going to be in Seattle for a wedding in a few weeks and would LOVE to play the course on Saturday before the wedding. Thanks.

[dmccrory]

Assume it will take at least 5 hours for your round. I've played Chambers 8 or 9 times now and I've never gotten out of there in less.

I also recommend you practice putting for at least 20 minutes before your tee time. The greens can be incredibly slow and it takes a while to get used to them.

[raygrinberg]

I think 5 hrs is a safe assumption. Although the first time I played Chambers we got around in just over 4 hrs. Last time was more like 4 1/2, Don't forget to add in travel time! Seattle area traffic can be just as bad as LA. Chambers is a good hour from downtown Seattle. As others have mentioned, there are many outstanding courses in the Puget Sound area and you might want to consider one of those if your location makes it difficult getting a round in at Chambers.

[Ghost Runner]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Might be tough to pull off this time, maybe another time. I lived in Seattle for awhile not too long ago and I remember all too well the traffic. No es bueno.

[calvie7]

I have played in the Seattle area two times, being from the plains of Colorado, and the wet green of Seattle seems a nice change! Also the muni I played at (Jackson Park in the shoreline area) was well taken care of, not immaculate but enjoyable to play. If you are in town on business there are some great inexpensive courses around the area.