harttfam

Desert Canyon was designed by Jack Frei, who also did McCormick Woods near Bremerton. It's a great course if you love the weather east of the Cascades. It has great views, some good challenges, makes you think, and treats you well. That and Highlander are my two favorites in the Wenatchee area. If you play Links golf on computer, I designed Desert Canyon for that game, so you can get a taste of it before you go.

Deception Pass area, Anacortes. Which part of North Sound are you?

You lucky dog! I've always dreamed of going to hawaii, and this month would have been the perfect month to go. Looks like April, at least the first week, will start to look more like spring. Way to go!

My favorites in the Pacific Northwest: 1. Chambers Bay, near Tacoma 2. Apple Tree, Yakima 3. Desert Canyon, near Wenatchee 4. MeadowWood or Qualchan, Spokane 5. Shuksan Golf Club, Bellingham As you can see, I've spent most of my life in Washington, so I can't speak much about Oregon, Idaho, or Alaska. (Alaska has golf?) Chambers Bay: you just HAVE to play it to believe it. Makes you think, every hole is distinctive, every shot is easy or hard, depending on your choice and your execution. Awesome, and deserving of a US Open. If they don't trick it up... Apple Tree is just too fun to play, with strategy, beauty, and the great weather of the east side. Desert Canyon is also on the east side, with beautiful views and challenging holes. I like anything in the Spokane area just because of the setting. These two are my favorites, but Deer Park is another. And Shuksan is close to my home, lots of rolling holes and challenging interest. My also-rans: Avalon, Gallery, Gold Mountain, Dungeness, Highlander (Wenatchee), The Home Course, and a couple in the Tri-Cities area. I haven't played anything in the Seattle area since I left there thirty years ago; too expensive or crowded it seems, but there are some great tracks, especially Washington National and Trophy. But I'm a fair-weather golfer, so I'm still waiting for the thermometer to show me something in the 50's or 60's.

I'm two hours away. Is it worth it? Would my son, a teenager, enjoy it? What does it cost? (Sounds like the free golf would cover that!)

The Gallery Golf Course on Whidbey Island is a military course, but it offers discount Mondays. For $15 you can play a full round, and usually finish in about 4 hours. It's not a great course, but it's not bad either. It is challenging and fun, and very scenic! It doesn't have much of a website though. Military, you know...

The Babe or the Mick? Wilt or Michael? Walter Johnson or Randy Johnson? Times change, we love to make comparisons but they just can't be done. On any given day, though, I believe Jack would beat Tiger the first 18 holes, and Tiger would come back and beat Jack the final 18. Just my 1 cent worth.

I manage a state park in Washington State, and find time to play a little golf once in awhile. I also used to design golf courses for Links golf game, but that took way more time than I had or have.