VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 1 • APRIL 2016 • COMPLIMENTARY
TOP CLUBS OF 2016
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NORTHWEST GOLF NEWS & VIEWS • cascadegolfer.com
2016 CG Players Cards Now On Sale!
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10 TH YEAR!
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN LPGA ROOKIE DUKE’S TO AWARD FOUR JR GOLFERS $1,000 EACH THE EPIC BEAUTY OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
Sweet
Our celebrity panel picks the Washington par-3s you have to play this year
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Celebrating our
71 ANNIVERSARY SALE ST
See pages 28-35
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• 18-hole championship course, 6,145 yards, Par 71 • Williams Nine executive 9-hole course, 1,600 yards, Par 30 • FootGolf • Driving Range – 35 stations – partially covered • Putting and Chipping Greens • Pro Shop – fully equipped for your golfing needs • Foley’s on the Green Restaurant & Bar • Lessons from PGA & LPGA members • Online Tee Times • Golf Outings • Junior Golf programs • Clubs & Leagues
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A LOOK Departments 4 6
PUBLISHER’S PITCH
SHORT GAME
• Port Ludlow rises again • 1st of 4 Duke’s Scholarship winners • Northwest Junior Golf Tour expands • Tickets to LPGA Championships on sale • Recycle those old grips • Short Game Extra: Card, Cup, Deals & More
20 PUETZ IN THE BAG
• PING G Series • TaylorMade M2 • All-new putters, wedges and more
24 TEEING OFF
Golf Channel’s Paige Mackenzie
CASCADE
INSIDEGOLFER
Features
27 RISK VS REWARD White Horse G.C. | No. 14
50 ROAD HOLES
The stunning Canadian Rockies
52 TRAVEL BAG
54 SAVE SOME GREEN Oldies but goodies
58 POSTGAME
Our favorite gizmos and gadgets
PUETZ GOLF SAVINGS!
Former Huskies SooBin Kim and Jing Yan were toughened — but not defeated — by their rookie year on the LPGA Tour. BY BOB SHERWIN & BRIAN BEAKY
Sweet home Alabama
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ABOVE PAR PGA TOUR stars and other NW celebs rank their favorite Washington par-3s.
28-35
ON THE COVER The ninth hole at Highlander Golf Course in East Wenatchee is one of the state’s most iconic par-3s ... but did it make our celebrity panel’s list of their favorites in the state? FIND OUT ON PAGE 42
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LEARNING CURVE
THIS PAGE Salish Cliffs is one of a record 10 courses whose greens fees are included on the 2016 Cascade Golfer Players Card, available now for just $240. SEE THE REST ON PAGE 14
APRIL 2016
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Volume 10 • Issue 1 • APRIL 2016
CASCADE
GOLFER cascadegolfer.com
Cascade Golfer is published and owned by Varsity Communications, Inc. This publication is mailed free to more than 106,000 registered Puetz Golf Preferred members. Additional copies are printed and distributed throughout the Puget Sound.
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EDITORIAL STAFF
P R E S I D E NT / P U B LI S H E R Dick Stephens E D I TO R Brian Beaky ART DIRECTION Robert Becker GR APHIC DESIGNERS Robert Becker, Katie Erickson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bob Sherwin, Craig Smith, Jim Street FOR EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS AND INQUIRIES: Brian Beaky • (425) 412-7070 ext. 103 editor@cascadegolfer.com
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Consolidated Press • Seattle, WA COPYRIGHT 2016 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 PROUD CHARTER MEMBER
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PUBLISHER’S PITCH
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DICK STEPHENS
10 TH YEAR!
Reflections and thank yous as we embark on our 10th year at CG
T
he issue that you hold in your hands is the first of our 10th year. TEN. YEARS. Many a magazine has come and gone in that time, but Cascade Golfer continues its mission. Ten years ago, when we set out on this adventure, we saw an important pocket of golf news and views that wasn’t being covered. More importantly, we saw golfers that lacked a forum to share their experiences in a conversational way. Amateur golfers play the game to escape their daily stresses, and enjoy the company they’re with — as such, we wanted to celebrate the “game” of golf, and focus on the fun. We also wanted to keep our focus local, highlighting news and views of interest to golfers in Western Washington — a region, and a people, dear to our hearts. We wanted to be interactive, with pieces that encouraged the reader to get involved and explore new courses or try new products. And we wanted to deliver our insight in a casual, easy-to-read style — like a friend sharing a story at the turn, or over a beer. I think we have done just that. We have also launched the Cascade Golfer Cup, Match Play Championship, CG Players Card, CascadeGolfer.com and CascadeGolferDeals.com — all tools designed for YOU, to help you play more golf, on great courses, at oustanding rates. That’s our commitment to you. It’s a commitment we share with our partner, Puetz Golf, who is nothing short of wonderful. They are not our clients —
they are our friends. Their local, family-owned business is one of the oldest in the U.S. golf retail industry. We embrace their vision and parallel their commitment to customer service. The Puetz and Cascade Golfer teams are fully committed to this game and the people we are fortunate to serve. And, of course, there is NO magazine without you guys — our readers. We hear from hundreds of you every month. We see you at our tournaments and on our social media channels. You are the inspiration, focus and fuel that powers the magazine and all the pieces under the flag we fly each day. In my almost 30 years in the Northwest golf scene, I have personally helped launch and publish four golf magazines: Pacific Northwest Golfer, for the PNGA in 1994; Northwest Golf (1990); Destination Golfer (2009); and of course, Cascade Golfer. Each was unique and I am grateful to be a part of those title’s histories. Starting a magazine from scratch is like raising a child. You aren’t quite sure of the journey ahead, but you love it, nurture it and try to make good decisions as you learn and grow. I have enjoyed the evolution of the Cascade Golfer, and can’t wait to see what lies ahead. With a new spring comes new golfing experiences and opportunity. Keep your comments and needs coming – we want to deliver. Enjoy another great issue and, as always, TAKE IT EASY.
SHORT GAME Port Ludlow Goes Back to the Future
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n a move designed to restore the course to excellence, Port Ludlow Resort has hired the man who built it more than 40 years ago as its new superintendent. Dick Schmidt has come out of retirement at age 75 to guide the course back to its glory days, when Esquire called it one of the world’s top-six golf destinations and Golf Digest was ranking it as a top-10 national resort course. Schmidt wasn’t looking for the job last September when he played the course with his wife. They quit after nine holes. “I didn’t want to see it any more,” he says. “I was really disappointed in the shape it was in. The fairways had dried up and the greens weren’t good.” Port Ludlow soon contacted Schmidt and asked if he would serve as a consultant. That quickly evolved into him taking the superintendent job. Schmidt says he wouldn’t have accepted if Port Ludlow ownership hadn’t been committed to making the Robert Muir Graves-designed course first-class again. “It’s amazing what can get done if you have support,” he says. The work has involved everything from revamping the troubled irrigation system to building and changing culverts and improving creek flow. Shelly Washburn was hired as general manager in October and said of Schmidt, “He is a perfectionist — he’s exactly what we needed.” Washburn likes the comparison of Schmidt returning to Port Ludlow with Steve Jobs returning to Apple. Washburn admits that the course conditions “were an embarrassment” last summer, when the irrigation system broke down, requiring course staff to water the fairways and greens
Port Ludlow Resort • Timber No. 8
by hands — at times, by filling garbage cans with water and dumping them on the turf, in a desperate (and, at the time, futile) effort to keep things green. Washburn, however, says improvements were evident just 30 days after Schmidt was hired. He says the course is now green and very playable. In addition to improving course maintenance, Schmidt and his staff have been hard at work returning Port Ludlow to its much-celebrated roots, re-contouring the fairways and greens, cutting back brush and trees, cleaning out ponds, restoring bunkers and enlarging several greens — all in an effort to restore the course to the condition Robert Muir Graves intended. “We don’t like to call it a renovation,” says Washburn, “because we’re not making any changes to the holes. Instead, we want to simply bring the course back to what Robert Muir Graves — and Dick Schmidt — originally built. We’re ‘polishing the jewel.’” Washburn is no stranger to Port Ludlow — he has lived and played there regularly since 2008. When asked last year if he would consider taking on the role of General Manager, he saw it as an opportunity to help return Port Ludlow to the Northwest gem he’d fallen in love
with a decade before. One of his first moves was to bring in Schmidt, whose intimate knowledge of the course has been instrumental in making smart decisions on how to restore it. Part of the course was built on basalt that had to be blasted, and part in a bog that required hundreds of tons of fill — Schmidt’s knowledge of the specific soil composition of each hole has proven invaluable to making smart and effective enhancements. Building courses, though, is in Schmidt’s blood — his father, Louis, built Indian Canyon in Spokane, as well as Sahalee, where he was the first superintendent. Dick’s uncle Clarence built Esmeralda in Spokane, while Dick’s brother, Ray, built Kayak Point, Semiahmoo, Sudden Valley and Bellevue Municipal. In addition to Port Ludlow, Dick’s construction projects included Fairwood in Renton, Twin Lakes in Federal Way and much-praised Crosswater in Bend, Ore. He’s been a course builder, a superintendent, a PGA club professional and a Director of Golf. And, if he can indeed get Port Ludlow back to elite status, he can add another title — savior. — Craig Smith
Congratulations to the winners of December’s CG Swag! Rife Switchback Putter Jim Sullivan • Shoreline Clubhouse Golf Center Phil Goodhue • Mill Creek Palm Springs Stay-and-Play Tom Green • Kenmore
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And here’s what to look out for in this month’s issue! • KPMG LPGA Championship Passes: Page 40Page 4 • 2 Hours at Clubhouse Golf Center: Page 54 ge 56 • Palouse Ridge Twosome: Page 588
Log on to CascadeGolfer.com for your chance to win! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook (Cascade Golfer) and Twitter (@CascadeGolfer) for even more giveaways and contests!
Michelle Wie
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
Duke’s Announces First Jr. Scholarship Winner, Expands Total Winners to Four!
J
ohn Moscrip never wanted to be a chef, like his world-famous father, Duke — founder of Duke’s Chowder House. He wanted to be a golfer. Moscrip competed in all the major junior events, played competitively for the University of Washington in college, then headed out for what he hoped would be a long and prosperous pro career. And during that time, he learned one fact that has stuck with him ever since: “Golf, like any professional sport, is extremely competitive but also very expensive. Pursuing a career in golf is even more so,” he says. There’s the cost of clubs. Then lessons. Then green fees. Then, as you improve, travel costs, tournament entry fees, better equipment, a private coach. And that’s just if you want to play golf for a living — if you want to pursue a career as a superintendent, or club manager, or architect, there are years of additional study required, all of which requires plenty of sacrifice. That’s why Moscrip, now COO of Duke’s, has teamed up with Cascade Golfer to offer the first-annual Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship to be used towards the pursuit of a career in the game of golf. Golfers need only be of high-school age or younger, and have an unbridled passion for the game, that they’ve demonstrated through their participation in playing, volunteering or working within the golf industry. We’ve seen no shortage of nominees since the original call was put out last winter. It turns out that there are hundreds of other John Moscrips out there, kids who want nothing more than to make a career out of the sport they love. We heard from parents and coaches of boys and girls of all ages, from all over Western Washington, who made our committee’s decision far harder than even we imagined it would be. We went in thinking we could help find and support the next Jordan Spieth ... instead, we may well have found the next Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Hayden Hunskor is a freshman at The Lakeside School. A 4.0 student and member of the school’s golf team, Hayden has also competed in Washington Junior Golf Association events throughout his youth, and currently plays on the Northwest Junior Golf Tour. In addition, Hayden volunteers as a board member at Lakeside with a Seattle-based non-profit, Water 1st, helping raise money to support families without access to clean water. In June, he will attempt to play 100 holes in a day at Sand Point Country Club as part of a fundraiser called “Golf for Water,” through which his goal is to raise $5,000 to build a well in a developing country. And if that wasn’t enough, Hayden is also an aspiring golf architect. He’s already designed his first hole (above), an oceanside par-3, for a class project, and says his goal is to pursue a career in golf course design. “Congratulations to all those who submitted information for the first annual Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship,” said John Moscrip. “It was a challenging decision due to the solid applications submitted, but our first winner is Hayden Hunskor! This young man epitomizes the characCASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
WANT TO SEE YOUR YOUNG GOLFER IN THE NEXT CG? Send an email to editor@cascadegolfer.com with the subject line “Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship” and let us know why your young golfer deserves $1,000 from Duke’s Chowder House!
teristics that we feel are essential for success — well-rounded, great sportsmanship, hard-working and driven.” Thus it is that Hayden will be the first of four winners of this year’s Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship. That’s right — winners. In December, we announced that we’d be choosing nominees in each of four issues and announcing just one winner at the end of the year. Well, there’s been so much enthusiasm for the scholarship since it was announced, that Duke’s has agreed to give not just one, but four $1,000 scholarships to local golfers this year, with one to be announced in each issue of Cascade Golfer. If you already submitted someone, don’t worry — they’re still in the running. Likewise, if you haven’t submitted someone, there’s plenty of time — simply send an e-mail to editor@cascadegolfer.com with the subject line “Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship” and a description of why your junior golfer is deserving of recognition. We’ve just barely started, and already we’re excited by the number of amazing junior golfers out there, doing incredible work in the community. We hope to hear more from you soon! APRIL 2016
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SHORT GAME Junior Golf Tours Join Forces in WA
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ou’re a kid. You’re a pretty good golfer. Maybe you’re even starting to think about the possibility of playing in college. You’ve played in a few Northwest Junior Golf Tour events, and have competed in the big state junior amateur tourneys, but you’re craving something a little bigger, a little better, the chance to really get your name out there and compete against the best. Good news: that opportunity has arrived. Two strong, respected youth golf organizations — the Northwest Junior Golf Tour (NWJrGT) and The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT) — have joined forces to deliver the best a junior golf tour can offer. The NWJrGT is the region’s most respected, having run over 300 multi-day events in the Northwest over the last 17 years. Likewise, the HJGT has been giving young golfers nationwide the chance to compete against other elite young golfers in professionally run, competitive tournaments, held on top courses and featuring the best young golfers in the game. Over the last eight years, more than 21,000 kids have competed in HJGT events, nearly 3,000 of whom went on to play college golf. That’s why, starting in 2016, the NWJrGT has invited the
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HJGT to partner for the benefit of all junior golfers in the area. Jeff Mehlert, who has grown the NWJrGT into one of the nation’s top junior tournament series over the last two decades (and will continue to oversee the Washington tournaments), is excited to work with the national tour, saying the partnership will mean more (and nationally ranked) events, better pace of play, live online scoring and more, significantly enhancing the tournament experience for Northwest junior golfers. Players compete in one of six divisions, determined by gender and age (age groups start at Under-10 for boys, and Under-13 for girls), in 36-hole events held at multiple courses throughout the state, including Canterwood, Canyon Lakes, Oakbrook, Whispering Firs, McCormick Woods, Moses Pointe, Moses Lake, Gold Mountain, Sudden Valley and The Classic, with tournaments beginning in March. In addition to competing for prizes at each event, players earn points towards a season-long points ranking, and also have the chance to earn American Junior Golf Association stars, a metric often used to compare juniors across state and regional lines. In addition, all HJGA events are ranked by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard, giving
young players significant national exposure. “This tour prepared me for college golf,” says Chip Hoch, a current professional who competed in HJGA events for years before playing collegiately at Florida Atlantic. “The course setup, quality of the events, and strength of competition have helped me become a better player. I owe a lot of my recent success to the HJGT.” To learn more, visit www.hjgt.org or call 904-379-2697.
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
Tickets on Sale for KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
L
ast June, we all had the chance to watch a major championship up close. That is ... some of us did. If you were one of the lucky few to secure a spot in one of the grandstands at Chambers Bay, or in the front lines on the ropes at certain holes, then sure, you had an up-close look at the best players in the game — until they passed by, that is. And if you weren’t so lucky? You might have spotted what looked like Tiger’s hat poking up behind the rows of heads in front of you, or seen Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy as they walked across the elevated stairway from one tee to the next. The U.S. Open was cool, but ... it wasn’t really the up-close-and-personal experience that I think a lot of us had hoped for. The good news is — we get another chance. This summer, another golf major comes to Western Washington — the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee, where the planet’s best female golfers will compete for a major championship trophy, June 9-12. We’re talking Michelle Wie, Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, Natalie Gulbis, Stacy Lewis, Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome and all of the other stars of the LPGA Tour, playing for one of the game’s biggest prizes, right here in our backyard. And the experience should be much more fan-friendly than what golf fans encountered last year — from the prices (just $75 for a weeklong pass) to the accessibility. “The LPGA has a great reputation for being very fan-friendly,” says LPGA Tour veteran and Golf Channel host Paige Mackenzie. “In addition to that, if you’re a golf fan and happened to go out to Chambers Bay, it’s going to be a completely different experience. At Sahalee, you’re going to be an arm’s-length away from the players, so you’ll get to see every single shot up close. “The other thing is, you’ll see how good the women are,” she continues. “It’s a game that’s relatable. The
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Natalie Gulbis (right), Lydia Ko (second from left) and Stacy Lewis (second from right) will be among the stars to watch at June’s KPMG LPGA Championship at Sahalee. Photo by Kendall Bouchlas/The PGA of America
men play a game that’s really unrelatable — it’s like me watching the NBA. I’ll never be able to dunk it, so while I can appreciate it, I really can’t relate. Most average male golfers, though, hit it about the same distance as the women on the LPGA Tour — but they’re not nearly as good.” Mackenzie, a Yakima native and UW grad, returned to Montlake last fall to help launch ticket sales for the event, hitting a precision shot on the school’s Rainier Vista to win free tickets for everyone in attendance at that day’s Apple Cup at Husky Stadium (KPMG also generously donated $10,000 to Husky women’s golf as part of the launch.) If you weren’t one of the lucky ones in the stands that day, there’s still time to get inside the ropes at Sahalee. Weekday rounds are just $20 a day, with tickets for Saturday and Sunday just $25 apiece. Can’t commit to a day just yet? A “Good Any Day” flex pass is just $30, while the aforementioned weekly pass is just $75. And practice rounds — notoriously the best time to get autographs, and see and interact with players without the crowds and pressure that come with tournament days — can be attended for just $10. That’s right — you can hang out with Wie, Gulbis, Ko and the crew for a whole afternoon, for less than the cost of a ticket to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. Best of all, kids age 17 and under will be admitted free with a paying adult, making it an affordable day out for the entire family. Military personnel (active or retired, with military ID) will also receive free admission. So ... lots of people get in free, and nobody pays more than $30 for a ticket? And we actually get to walk with the players the whole way, and see them up close? Uh, yeah, we’re in. If you are, too, log on to www.KPMGWomensPGA.com to learn more, purchase tickets or sign up to volunteer. CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
SHORT GAME Give A Grip — Green The Game
D
uring his quarter-century in golf as everything from a teenager picking balls off a range to a PGA Class A club professional, Vito DeSantis re-gripped thousands of clubs — and threw every used grip in the trash. But three years ago, he was watching an assistant do the same thing, when an epiphany struck. “Do me a favor,” DeSantis told the assistant at Port Ludlow Resort. “Don’t throw that away. I’m going to try to recycle it.” He grabbed an old golf-bag box, cut a hole in it and wrote “Grips” around the hole. In a sport increasingly environmentally conscious, DeSantis realized that used golf grips could enjoy a useful second life, rather than wind up in landfills. Credit his two grade-school-age daughters with the assist. DeSantis and his wife built a play set for their kids, then sent off for rubber mulch samples for a protective ground cover. The samples they got were inferior to the wire-free rubber grips being tossed daily in pro shops,
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
golf stores and driving ranges. Unlike rubber from tires, golf-grip rubber hasn’t absorbed automotive fluids that spill onto streets and highways. The couple’s research showed other uses for the rubber, such as landscaping, gardening, paths and some equestrian uses. Based on the sheer number of golf clubs manufactured each year, DeSantis figures over four million pounds of used grips wind up in landfills. So, in 2013, DeSantis, 41, and his wife, Brett, formed Grips Fore Good, SPC (social purpose corporation). Brett is a contractor described by her husband as devoted to sustainability and good environmental citizenship, traits that have certainly influenced him. “In our family, we always recycle,” he says. “But I’ve been in an industry where we’re throwing rubber away.” DeSantis has been pleased with the response so far to his requests for used grips. He said Puetz Golf Centers, Pro Golf Discount stores, many large local driving ranges, plus courses managed by Columbia Hospitality
are setting aside used grips for him. And with the cooperation of USGA officials, he was able to get used grips from equipment trailers at the U.S. Open last June at Chambers Bay. DeSantis currently picks up the grips by request, but he hopes to partner with a shipping company such as Federal Express that supports the PGA Tour. Grips Fore Good is in its infancy as a functioning company. So far, DeSantis has merely collected thousands of grips, cut them up and stored them at his home near Gig Harbor. The next step is to start selling the cut-up rubber pieces to recyclers, while collecting more. Interested businesses or individuals can reach out to DeSantis at the company website, www.GripsForeGood.com, or via email at askus@grips4good.com. — Craig Smith
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SHORT GAME
EXTRA
Chambers Bay • University Place, Wash.
Chambers Bay, Gamble Sands, Salish Cliffs Headline 2016 CG Cup Compete with friends and family to win over $100,000 in prizes at Washington’s top courses!
L
ooking around at the golf tournament landscape in 2008, we saw a lot of club tournaments open only to members, tournaments held on weekdays, and elite amateur events geared towards the best golfers in the region. And frankly, we didn’t fit any of those molds. We played public courses, worked full-time jobs, and sported mid-level handicaps at best. But we felt like we deserved the chance to experience the thrill of tournament golf. So, we came to the same conclusion we had when launching Cascade Golfer the year before — if we couldn’t find what we were looking for, we’d create it ourselves. And eight years later, it’s been a huge success, with only one major flaw that, despite all our creativity, we failed to foresee: We still never get to play in them. That’s OK, though — because it does us good to see so many local golfers enjoying the kinds of tournaments that we always wished we could play in ourselves. It’s truly a tournament series specifically designed for Cascade Golfer readers — players young and old, male and female, scratch golfers and 20-handicaps, from all demographics and all parts of Western Washington. With prizes in gross and net categories, multiple formats, tee prizes and hole contests, it’s almost impossible to play in a Cascade Golfer Cup event and not come away with a prize — which is just the way we’d want it if we were teeing it up alongside you. And since we certainly understand a busy schedule, we’ve made sure that you don’t have to commit to every event to enjoy the Cascade Golfer Cup. You can pick and choose tournaments at premier tracks like Chambers Bay, Salish Cliffs and Gamble Sands (or maybe simply the ones that best fit your schedule) and compete to win stay-and-play packages and other single-event prizes, or you can play in them all and go for the season-long Cascade Golfer Cup crown and the coveted
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“Summer of Golf” package, with its 15 twosomes to the top tracks in Washington state. After a one-year hiatus thanks to some other tournament, this year’s Season Opener returns on Apr. 16 to its long-time home at Chambers Bay, where every single player who enters will receive a $75 greens fee coupon to use any day and time in 2016. The series then moves to Washington National on May 14, followed by Salish Cliffs on June 4 (where every golfer receives a free round at Salish Cliffs to use later in the year), Oakbrook Golf Club on June 25, McCormick Woods on July 23 and the incredible Gamble Sands on Aug. 13 (where every golfer receives a 2-for-1 to Gamble Sands) before concluding at White Horse on Sept. 10. Events are played in team-scoring formats, giving you the chance to team up with the people you enjoy spending time with the most — or just the ones in your life with the most consistent games. Among our regular competitors are fathers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and dozens of best friends and coworkers, each matching their games against fellow CG readers like themselves in stroke play, Stableford, scramble and best-ball formats. All tournaments are open to any player with an established handicap, and prizes are awarded to the top-15 net-scoring and top-10 gross-scoring teams in each event — throw in the six hole contests, and that means up to 31 teams in each 64-team field have the chance to prize out. And lest you think that it’s only the lowest or highest handicappers who have a chance, our 52 total events have produced 44 different winning teams on the net side alone, with handicaps running the full gamut from scratch to 28. Play your best, regardless of handicap, and you’ll have a chance to take home the big prize. Oh, and those prizes? We’re not talking about proshop credit. We’re talking about trips to Maui, Bandon Dunes, Vegas, Palm Springs, Mesquite, Sunriver and
other top locales; twosomes and foursomes to courses like Chambers Bay, Wine Valley, Palouse Ridge, Gamble Sands, Salish Cliffs, Washington National and Pumpkin Ridge; plus enough golf product to fill dozens of bags by year’s end; all handed out at post-event banquets featuring free food, awards and additional games and contests. Truthfully, though, most of our longtime players — the ones who come back year after year — tell us that they don’t play for the prizes. They play for the same reasons we created the series in the first place — to feel the thrill of competitive golf, and to compete alongside their friends and family in a fun, well-run event on a beautiful Northwest golf course. And even though we can’t tee it up alongside you, we feel the same competitive rush every time our CG Cup players climb into their carts and head out onto the course. To us, you’re our family — and we can’t wait to see you back out at a CG Cup event this year. To see the full schedule, details, rules, entry fees, prizes and more, visit www.CascadeGolfer.com/Cup. 2016 CASCADE GOLFER CUP
SCHEDULE
APRIL 16 — Chambers Bay MAY 14 — Washington National JUNE 4 — Salish Cliffs JUNE 25 — Oakbrook G.C. JULY 23 — McCormick Woods AUGUST 13 — Gamble Sands SEPTEMBER 10 — White Horse See CascadeGolfer.com/Cup for details!
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
2016
Cascade Golfer Cup
Over $100,000 in prizes! Net and Gross Prizes
April 16 • 10 am • Chambers Bay Season Opener May 14 • 7:30 am • Washington National Muckleshoot Casino Players Championship June 4 • 2 pm • Salish Cliffs Cascade Golfer Challenge
2-Player Format
June 25 • 1:30 pm • Oakbrook Golf Club Michelob ULTRA Open July 23 • 1:30 pm • McCormick Woods Scramble August 13 • 9 am • Gamble Sands Bridgestone Golf Invitational Sept. 10
• 8 am • White
Horse Puetz Golf Shootout
Get a Handicap • Get a Partner
Get Inside the Ropes! To Register Visit
cascadegolfer.com Click on the Cup! PRESENTING
Contact: Simon Dubiel simon@cascadegolfer.com (425) 412-7070 ext.100 SUPPORTING
SHORT GAME
EXTRA
2016 CG Players Card Has 10 Rounds — Including Salish Cliffs and Apple Tree
— For Just $240
I
n 2012, the first-ever Cascade Golfer Players Card featured five rounds of golf, for $129. How quaint. This year’s card — our biggest and, without question, our best yet — comes loaded with 10 rounds, including some of the top courses in the state. Want to play Salish Cliffs, the course ranked No. 5 in the state last year by CG’s voting panel? Boom. How about Apple Tree, whose signature par-3 17th hole is only one of the most photographed in the world? Boom. What about Whidbey Golf Club, which only recently began allowing public golfers to cross the velvet rope? Boom. Play all three of those courses this year, on your own, and you’ll spend $225. Green fees add up quick, yo. Spend just $15 more on the card, however, and you’ll get all three, plus seven additional rounds — at Eaglemont, Port Ludlow, Highlander, Cedars at Dungeness, Leavenworth, Mount Si and Snoqualmie Falls.
That’s $582 in green fees, for just $240. I mean, is there any walk of life in which you wouldn’t give someone $240 to get $582 in return? We certainly don’t think so. Break it down, and you’re talking $24 apiece to play some of the top courses in the state — indeed, six of the 10 courses listed above appeared in our 2015 rankings of Washington’s top public tracks, either on the overall list or the rankings by region. And even if you don’t get to every course on the card by the end of the year, play just Salish Cliffs, Apple Tree, and either Eaglemont or Whidbey, and you’ll break even on what you would have paid without the card — play any fourth round, and you’ve just saved yourself some green. If it seems too good to be true? Well, so do those trips to Palm Springs, Vegas, Hawaii and other sweet locales that we give away in every issue, plus the trips to the Masters
and British Open that we’ve given away in our CG Cup tournaments. But that’s just the Cascade Golfer way — we want to get you out there playing as much golf, at as fair a price, on the best golf courses, that we can. We started with just 200 cards, and over 70 percent are already gone — so act fast, either by going to CascadeGolfer.com or emailing simon@cascadegolfer.com. When you walk into a prop shop this summer, you can either be the golfer who pulls out your credit card, or the one who pulls out your Players Card — and with nearly $350 in savings built-in, we certainly know who will look smarter.
2016 Players Card
582 in golf for only $240
$
Good for one 18 hole greens fee at all 10 courses! Apple Tree Resort
Salish Cliffs Golf Club
Eaglemont Golf Club
Cedars at Dungeness
Port Ludlow Golf Club
Highlander Golf Club
Leavenworth Golf Club
Mt. Si Golf Course
Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course
Whidbey Golf Club
10 Rounds of golf for only $240
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To Purchase or for more information visit
cascadegolfer.com CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
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CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
SHORT GAME
EXTRA
Salish Cliffs Resort • No. 1
Get In The Game With The CG Match Play Championship
T
here’s nothing quite like the rush of match play. Especially for golfers prone to blow-up holes, it’s a relief knowing that the triple-bogey you posted on the first hole won’t hang over your entire round — beat your opponent at hole No. 2, and you’re right back to all square. And it’s one of the most compelling formats to watch on TV, whether at the Ryder Cup or the WGC Match Play Championships each spring, not only for the hole-to-hole drama, but for the way it shows you how certain players handle the pressure of the format. Some, like Ian Poulter, shine; others, like Jim Furyk, crumble. Ever wondered how you would fare in a legit, tournament-style match play championship? So did we. That’s why we’ve given more than 200 golfers in the last two years the chance to find out, with the Cascade Golfer Match Play Championship. The Northwest’s biggest amateur match play event, the CG Match Play Championship sees as many as 256 golfers tee it up in head-to-head match-play battles at courses throughout the Pacific Northwest all summer long.
The tournament is open to any player with an established handicap (all handicaps will be carefully vetted), and golfers are grouped into pods based (as best as possible) on location and skill level, then schedule their own matches at mutually agreed-upon courses. Win a couple of matches, and you’ll take home a prize — plus another for every match you win thereafter, including rounds of golf and more, with the prize value increasing for each subsequent round. At the end of the summer, the eight quarterfinalists will be treated to as many as three rounds on the house at Salish Cliffs Golf Club, including the quarters, semis and final round, all played over 30 whirlwind hours at one of the top tracks in the state. Make it to the semis, and we’ll even kick in an overnight stay at the Little Creek Casino Resort ... all for free! Past champions and finalists have included scratch golfers and bogey golfers, so simply play your best, and you could be the one holding the trophy at Salish Cliffs!
2016
CASCADE GOLFER MATCH PLAY
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tournament entry is just $85, and includes your entry fee and, should you qualify, all rounds of golf from the quarterfinal round through the finals. Furthermore, every single player that enters will receive a 2-for-1 round at Salish Cliffs and a one-year subscription to Golf Digest. In other words, enter the tournament, and stink up your firstround match, and you’ll still break even on your entry fee. Make it all the way to the finals, and in addition to that thrilling weekend at Salish Cliffs — a package valued at $470 — the Cascade Golfer Match Play champion will take home a stay-and-play package to Las Vegas, while the runner-up will console themselves with a sweet prize of their own. For any golfer who hasn’t experienced the thrill of match play, and for those who know it all too well, the Cascade Golfer Match Play Championship is a ride you won’t want to miss. Register at CGMatchPlay.com, or contact Simon Dubiel at simon@cascadegolfer.com to learn more!
THE ROAD TO SALISH CLIFFS Matches played locally at the golf course of your choice. • Net-based matches. • Open to all golfers with an active handicap. • 256 golfers from Oregon and Washington compete in pods and regions, bracket-style. • Starting in May, participants have 4 weeks to play their match in each round, at a time and venue agreed upon with their opponent. • The Final Eight will be played Sept. 30-Oct.1 at Salish Cliffs Golf Club. Green fees for all matches from the Final Eight on will be comped for all players. • All golfers get a 2-for-1 to Salish Cliffs. • Top 32 prize out. Prizes improve with each match won.
For more information or to register visit
• Overall champion receives a golf package to Las Vegas.
CGMatchPlay.com CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
APRIL 2016
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SHORT GAME Save Up to 60% Percent on Golf At CG Deals Site
T
wo years ago, we found ourselves hunting through our daily emails from various deals sites, scrolling past the restaurant discounts, skydiving trips, massages, airport parking, auto detailing and other bric-a-brac for the only kind of deals we cared about — golf. They’d pop up now and then, but they were few and far between — and usually to some out-of-the-way (and not particularly great) track that, even at 50-percent off, wasn’t all that much of a bargain. So, we did the same thing we always do at Cascade Golfer when we can’t find exactly what we want — we made our own. Our new deals site, CascadeGolferDeals.com, debuted last spring with offers to courses we actually want to play — places like Port Ludlow Resort, Suncadia, Apple Tree, McCormick Woods, Oakbrook, Moses Pointe and others. Our first-ever offer — all-day play for two at Port Ludlow, including carts, for just $89 — flew off the shelves, as did follow-ups like 36 holes at Moses Pointe (for two players) for $121, 36 holes for two at Suncadia for just $118.50 per player, half-off on lessons at Puetz, and more. In all, we sent more than 1,000 local golfers off to play top-tier courses in 2015 for as much as 60-percent off the greens fee — add up all of the savings, in fact, and golfers were able to keep more than $40,000 in their pockets last year using CascadeGolferDeals.com, while playing more golf than they might have without our offers. As a magazine whose mission is to bring you “news and views you can use,” and help you stretch your golf dollar as far as you can, it’s been a beautiful sight to behold. And it’s not going anywhere soon — as you read this, our staff are hard at work locking down deals for the coming golf season to rival, or even exceed, the ones we managed to put out there in 2015. Start saving on your golf rounds today! Visit the site at CascadeGolferDeals.com and click the “Sign Up” link to begin receiving our weekly emails. You’ll be glad you did. Suncadia Resort was one of dozens of courses offering golfers 40-60 percent off the full-price greens fee last year through CascadeGolferDeals.com.
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% 15 OFF Leavenworth Golf Course ...Located in the beautiful Washington Cascades
Coupon Book your tee time today! (509) 548-7267
Leavenworth Golf Course 9101 Icicle Rd. Leavenworth, WA 98826 Offer not valid with any other discount offers
Leavenworth Golf Course • (509) 548-7267 • 9101 Icicle Rd., Leavenworth, WA 98826
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
18-Hole Golf Course located just one mile from the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth APRIL 2016
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TEEING OFF
PRESENTED BY
Golf Channel’s Newest Star Is a Familiar Face to Northwest Golf Fans A CG EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BEAKY CG EDITOR
I
f it seems like we’ve known Paige Mackenzie forever — well, we kind of have. The Yakima native has been a part of the Northwest golf scene since 2001, when she joined Mary Lou Mulflur’s University of Washington golf team and made an immediate impact, earning All-Pac-10 honorable mention and finishing higher at NCAAs than any UW women’s golfer to come before. By the time she graduated five years later (including a redshirt season), she had earned a 13thplace finish at the U.S. Women’s Open (in 2005, prior to her senior year), and was a three-time NCGA All-American, the PNGA Women’s Player of the Year, and the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, according to Golfweek. In the decade since, she’s made 138 LPGA Tour starts and banked nearly $700,000 in earnings, with two more top-25 major championship finishes to her credit. She’s also captained the U.S. team at the Spirit International Amateur Championships, and served as a spokesperson for the National Association of Professional Women (though we’re certain those accomplishments pale in comparison to her appearance on the cover of the second-ever issue of Cascade Golfer in 2007). Early in 2014, when back surgery forced Mackenzie to take a break from her usual busy touring schedule, producers at The Golf Channel offered her the chance to stay busy, co-hosting “Big Break Myrtle Beach” and “Playing Lessons,” while making occasional appearances on “Morning Drive” and “Golf Central.” Originally, it was supposed to be short-term work, just something to do until Mackenzie got back on her feet. Two years later, though, Mackenzie’s role with the network has only grown — so much so that, in 2015, she packed up her home in Scottsdale and relocated to Orlando, to be closer to Golf Channel headquarters. We caught up with Paige this spring while she was out furnishing her new home, and trying to figure out the next step in her always-interesting career. How long have you been in Orlando? “Officially, just over a year. The first year I was working for The Golf Channel, I was commuting from Arizona, living in hotels a lot. I figured it was time to make the move. It’s a big difference from the West Coast. For one, it rains more here than it does back home. It’s just days and days of pouring rain every afternoon in the summer. Or maybe I’ve just blocked the Seattle rain out of my memory; I only remember the good weather days.”
What’s been your favorite part of the experience? “Being part of a team. Living on the road for seven or eight years before working with Golf Channel, it’s tough; it’s tough to be out there by yourself. I didn’t realize how much I missed being part of a team and all working together towards the same goal. I really, really enjoy all of the people I work with. Plus, just the whole experience of learning something new. I haven’t learned something new in ages.”
How did the TV gig come about? “I actually made my first appearance on ‘Golf Central’ at the end of the 2013 season, and then it wasn’t until six months later that I got the call for ‘Morning Drive.’ I don’t think I was very good on ‘Golf Central,’ so I think that’s why they waited so long to call me. I didn’t qualify for the U.S. Open in 2014, so I agreed to come on ‘Morning Drive,’ because as anyone who knows me knows, I say yes to new experiences and new things, because I’m willing to go out of my comfort zone. But then I’m on this flight to Orlando and I’m thinking, ‘Why are you doing this on your week off?’ I thought I’d be miserable talking about my peers. But I loved it. I was able to take a step back and look at players objectively, and watch for things that I could take to the show the next day. I kind of fell in love with it. I’m glad I said yes.”
What’s the biggest challenge in this new role? “Learning this new skill. In other new jobs, you can kind of muddle your way through it a bit and figure it out, before you really hit your stride, but I’ve had to do that on live TV, where the margin for error is slim.”
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Was there a moment you realized, ‘Hey, I can do this!’? “Yes. Tiger Woods was going through some chipping struggles, and none of my peers, to my knowledge, had discussed that his technique was different — they were attributing it to mental issues, which was certainly part of it. But I was able to pull video and demonstrate exactly what was different about his stroke now, compared to when he was successful. I got supreme validation for that after the fact, when one of his friends, Notah Begay, told me that I’d hit the nail on the head. For me, to be
able to break down Tiger Woods, and then get validation that I was right, felt really, really good.” I imagine your family’s happy to see you every day on TV? “My family is great, so they’re supportive of whatever I do. I think they’re disappointed that the studio is in Orlando, but they’re happy that I’m happy. A lot of athletes, at the end of their careers, don’t have this kind of option, they don’t have a plan B, they don’t have a way to continue in a meaningful way. I feel very fortunate because I love what I do, it’s in an industry I’ve spent my entire life in, around people I like. So, they’re happy that I’ve found my next step.” Have you officially stopped playing competitively? [sighs] “That’s a great question. I’m not officially retired. I still have status to play at the beginning of the season. But ... I really love what I do. And I’m really healthy right now. I’ve kind of reached the point where I don’t really think it’s worth it to beat up my body for another couple years on Tour. I don’t think I’ll ever really announce anything, I’d just prefer to sort of seep into the background, and start this new chapter without having to officially say goodbye.” So no photos of your golf shoes dangling over a telephone wire? “Yeah, that’s not really my style. I think I’ll just quietly not be playing tournaments. I was able to play four events last year, which was my goal, to come back from back surgery and play again. Right now, I’m in the best position any athlete can be in, where I have status, and it’s my choice to play or not play. I feel very comfortable with where I’m at right now.” CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
Play a round at Pebble Beach or St. Andrews! Join our Spring Golf Leagues! • Over 50 PGA courses to choose from! • Great food and drinks from our full bar • Largest indoor golf center & sports bar in WA state • Corporate and Private Parties • Watch your favorite sporting events on the giant screens • Online Tee Times
www.clubhouse-golf.com (425) 582-9813
3105 Alderwood Mall Blvd, Suite A, Lynnwood, WA 98036
Book Your Tee Time Today!
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APRIL 2016
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RISK vs. REWARD Rope Rider at Suncadia
Hole No. 12 Par 4 314 yards (Blues) The Setup: Rope Rider recently reversed their nines, so the former third hole now plays as the 12th hole of your day. Although 314 yards may not be reachable for many, the fairway runs downhill for the last 100 yards or so before the green, and gives any well-struck tee shot a real chance to roll onto the putting surface. That is, of course, if you avoid the front bunker and don’t roll through the green and into the bunkers back left or right.
The Risk: A dead-pull left is, well, dead. Either you yanked it into the water or further, into the OB, and you get to experience that horrible feeling of re-teeing. The further
By Simon Dubiel
right you hit it, the closer the junk comes into play, and the more lost your ball is. Have fun with that. Hopefully you played holes 10 and 11 well, because you just gave it all back with one swing. The easy play is to pop a 5-iron down the fairway and hit wedge in. Pay attention to the pin placement, as you will want to miss in the right spot.
The Reward: Any short par-4 brings eagle into play, or the beautiful-sounding, “two-putt birdie.” Some might prefer to lay up and hit a wedge, but there is nothing more frustrating than fogoing the reward, and still getting hit with the risk. If I am going to play out of the bunker, I would prefer it to be a sandy for bird, not an attempt to save par. Plus,
the green is one of the deeper ones on the course. And, once you get past No. 12, the following six closing holes at RR are not a walk in the park, so make your money while you can.
Final Call: After two easy holes to start the back nine, even a mid-handicapper could realistically be 1-under. Now, you find yourself with a shot at going even deeper into the red. The real question is, do you bring in your prevent defense this early in the game, or decide that now is the time to get even more aggressive? Some might play not to lose. We are going for broke, in full attack mode. “Dealer, I would like to double down!”
PRESENTED BY
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
APRIL 2016
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A YEAR IN THE LIFE
OF AN
LPGA ROOKIE The new-look LPGA Tour is YOUNGER,
TOUGHER
and BETTER THAN EVER — and these two Husky undergrads want their piece of the pie
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s the day dawned on Dec. 15, 2014, the University of Washington women’s golf team was ranked No. 1 in the country, with the nation’s top-ranked collegiate player, and one of the most promising freshmen in the nation. By the time the sun set, only the No. 1 ranking remained. On that day, senior Soo-Bin Kim and freshman Jing Yan both declared their intention to forgo their remaining eligibility at Washington and immediately join the LPGA Tour. It was a decision forced as much by LPGA rules as by the desires of each player to leave — and the ramifica36
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BY BOB SHERWIN & BRIAN BEAKY tions, for both the players themselves, and the program they left behind, have been significant. Washington held onto its No. 1 ranking for much of the spring and reached the quarterfinal round at the NCAA Championships, losing 3-2 in match play to USC. It’s easy to imagine a different outcome with two LPGA Tour-caliber players in the lineup. Stanford, whom the Huskies had beaten handily earlier in the season, went on to defeat Baylor for the national title. Kim and Yan, meanwhile, were thrown to the wolves on the LPGA Tour, forced to battle the world’s best golfers each week on a Tour where the expenses (airfare, food,
hotel, equipment, coaching, etc.) and effort are identical to the men’s, but the purses a mere fraction. In 2016, PGA TOUR players will compete in 47 events for $325.2 million, with an average purse of $6.9 million per event. The women? Thirty-four events, for a total of $63.1 million, and an average purse of just $1.9 million — and that’s actually an increase of 6.8 percent over the total LPGA purse in 2015. World No. 1 Lydia Ko won five tournaments, including a major, in 2015 — and made less money than 26 men on the PGA TOUR, eight of whom failed to win even a single event. That Kim and Yan volunteered to leave behind athCASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
“If you ask a rookie, they’re going to say, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s tough.’ But it’s not until your second year that you realize how difficult it was,” says Paige Mackenzie. “Experience cannot be taught, and as a rookie, you’re behind everyone else. And it’s a frustrating place to be.’’
letic scholarships and a No. 1-ranked program to pursue their dreams in a field where working just as hard as your male counterparts is worth less than 20 percent of the salary, and being the 100th-best person in the world at your job just barely covers your expenses ... well, let’s just say it takes a lot of guts, and a strong belief in yourself and your abilities.
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he decision to turn pro wasn’t an entirely surprising one in either case — Kim was always destined for the LPGA, either at the end of her four-year career, or sooner, while Yan had won multiple elite amateur championships as a junior golfer, and even made the cut in two professional events. Kim, 22, immigrated to British Columbia from South Korea as a young girl. Immediately upon arriving at UW, it was clear Kim was special — she finished second in her first collegiate tournament, and her five top-10s were, at the time, the seventh-most in a season for any Husky women’s golfer. By the spring of her sophomore year, she was America’s top-ranked collegiate golfer; by that fateful December day in the middle of her senior year, she had set UW career records for wins and scoring average, and was a two-time WCGA All-American. Yan, meanwhile, came to UW from Shanghai, China, having won the 2013 Girls British Open Amateur Championship and the Ladies British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, and having made two LPGA cuts as an amateur player. In her two appearances with the Huskies, she had already earned her first win. During the three-month winter break in the collegiate season, however, both players opted to participate in the LPGA’s Q School in Daytona Beach, Fla. Kim tied for 11th, earning full status for 2015 — if she wanted it — while Yan placed 34th, good enough for conditional status. The timing of the LPGA’s Q School poses what many from the college perspective believe is an unfair choice for the women who qualify. All of them must decide — at that moment — between potential college success or professional riches. There’s no waiting, debating or pondering. It’s an intractable divide between the LPGA and the NCAA that creates a situation where no one really wins. “The timing couldn’t be worse,’’ says Mary Lou Mulflur, now in her 33rd season as the UW golf coach. “Virtually all of the players say yes, because of the degree of difficulty it takes to be among the top qualifiers. That means college teams who have just lost their best player(s) have to scramble. At that point in the season, it’s not like they can recruit and recover. They have what they have. It would be like the NFL holding its college scouting combine in December and requiring players to immediately declare as professionals before bowl games or the College Football Playoff.” Yes, or no. Go pro, or stay amateur? Players must decide right then — as Mulflur notes, “They can’t defer their status to start (the Tour) in June.” Both Kim and Yan said yes.
T
he first thing that comes across about Yan is that she truly takes pride in her time at Washington — even if it was over before Christmas break of her first quarter. “I absolutely loved my time at UW. Being a Dawg, there’s nothing like it,’’ says Yan, who also goes by Jennifer. “It really resonated with me, and even now that I’m on Tour I still feel a need to represent my school by wearing my UW hat and having head covers with Washington on my bag. I get recognized as a Husky all the time, and the support is lovely. Also, I’m a huge dork and actually [did] like going to class and learning these amazing things. My favorite class was astronomy.’’ Now, the sky is her limit. She’s hoping to be a rising star in a galaxy of talented Tour players from around the world. Class dismissed. No more grades. Now she’s involved in a green business, measured primarily by how many dollars she collects during the season. Yan said that earning her full status was a means to a bigger personal goal. Golf has
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
After leaving UW midway through the 2014-15 season, Jing Yan (opposite, center) and Soo-Bin Kim (above) combined to make just over $100,000 in their rookie years on the LPGA Tour. PHOTOS COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
been re-introduced into the Summer Olympics this year in Rio de Janeiro, and she wants to be part of the fun. “That’s the primary reason that I chose to leave our UW team, my goal of competing in the 2016 Olympics (for China),’’ Yan says. “As an athlete, representing your country at the biggest world stage for sports is incomparable and that’s the only reason I turned professional when I did, to pursue that.’’ Her first season on the LPGA Tour was a mixed bag. Yan made her LPGA debut in January and proceeded to make her first four cuts — only, because of her conditional status, those four cuts were spread out over five months. Still, by the end of May, she had earned roughly $30,000 — not a bad haul for four weekends of golf, but when taxes, travel, equipment, coaching and other expenses are factored in, it’s not exactly a fortune. The next four months, though, illustrated the challenge of trying to make it in professional golf — from June through the end of August, Yan posted just three competitive rounds under par, failing to make a single cut. A tie for 20th at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Alabama brought in another $14,000, but that it would be it for Yan in 2015 — 14 events, and $51,590 in gross earnings. Kim likewise struggled, grossing $63,522 in 15 events, including three top-25s. Remember, though, that on the LPGA Tour, purses are roughly a fifth of what they are on the PGA TOUR — Kim’s $63,522 placed 103rd on the LPGA money list, giving APRIL 2016
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her position No. 141 on the LPGA’s priority list. Yan, by virtue of a top-20 finish in her return to Q School, holds position No. 138. With most tournament fields capped around 140 players, both should be able to play in the events of their choosing this coming season. “Right now, the competitiveness in professional golf is cutthroat because of the Olympic Games,’’ Yan says. “The rookie class of 2015 being exceptionally strong is an example of this. I was going up against players in the top-40 of the world who had already won several tournaments on their home circuits — Japan’s Sakura Yokomine, Europe’s Charley Hull and Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim, Sei Young Kim and Ha Na Jang. Regardless, I believe that I am good enough to compete at this level and I established myself quickly, gaining full status on Tour this year. It was a big accomplishment and out of all the girls with conditional status from Q-School, at the end of the year, I finished second behind Charley Hull. Right now, I believe I am on the right track.’’
A
nother factor in many young women’s decisions to turn pro is the fact that so many young players, particularly teenagers, have impacted the LPGA Tour over the past decade. Players such as Amy Alcott, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel were once exceptions when they joined a more veteran Tour. Now, teenagers are pouring in — and winning. Players like Hull, Jang, Hyo Joo Kim, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, In Gee Chun, Xi Yu Lin, Ariya Jutanugarn and Minjee Lee. And then,
CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
of course, there’s New Zealander Ko, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, who boasts 15 professional wins, one major, and nearly $5 million in career earnings — and won’t turn 19 until April. Last year’s 31 LPGA Tour events produced just four winners over age 30. The window of opportunity in today’s women’s game is brief, so players enter earlier, hungrier, readier — and more unprepared than ever. “You don’t know where you’re going — both figu-
Despite spending just five months on the UW campus, Yan proudly displays her Husky apparel and gear at LPGA Tour events. PHOTO BY HUNTER MARTIN/GETTY IMAGES
ratively, and literally. It’s very difficult to play a new golf course every single week,’’ says former UW star Paige Mackenzie, who turned pro in 2007 and is now a studio
APRIL 2016
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Inbee Park
Win Two Passes to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship!
T
he U.S. Open was fun, but we’re looking forward to a major where we can actually see the competitors as they play — or even follow them for a full 18 holes! If you’re like us and you’re excited to see Michelle Wie, Lydia Ko, Natalie Gulbis and the top women’s golfers from around the world compete for a major championship on one of our most celebrated (not to mention exclusive) tracks, log on to CascadeGolfer.com and enter for your chance to win two tickets to the 2016 KPMG LPGA Championship at Sahalee this June!
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host on The Golf Channel. “The funny thing is, if you ask a rookie, they’re going to admit that. They’re going to say, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s tough.’ But it’s not until your second year on Tour that you realize how difficult it was. “Every single week you’re learning something new — you’re learning where the airport is, where the locker room is within the clubhouse, the bounces on the green, where to hit it and where not to hit it,” Mackenzie continues. “Experience cannot be taught, and as a rookie, you’re behind — you’re behind everyone else who has been out there for a year or more. And it’s a frustrating place to be.’’ Mackenzie has the luxury of perspective. A decade ago, she was in a similar situation as Yan and Kim when she embarked on her professional career. She was UW’s first Pac-10 champion, capped her junior year with a tie for 13th at the U.S. Women’s Open and was named Golfweek’s Amateur of the Year as a senior. Yet, in her first full season on Tour, she made a meager $25,464, missing the cut in 11 of 15 events she entered. Over the decade since, Mackenzie has banked $669,684 in career earnings, including a career-best $94,000 in 2012. “It’s hard to figure out how to balance your life,’’ Mackenzie says of the college-to-Tour transition. “In college golf, these girls are coming from U-Dub, where you’d go play a tournament for three or four days, then you’d come back and work on your game for a few days. You can’t do that in Tour life. You’re playing four weeks in a row, five weeks in a row. “If you’re struggling, you need to figure it out on the road, on these foreign golf courses, when you’re not
next to your coach every day,” she adds. “It’s a huge adjustment from a preparation and competition standpoint, just managing how to get better, when you’re never home.” At this point, Mulflur says that Kim (who couldn’t be reached in time for this article) is at a slight disadvantage. “It’s harder for her,’’ Mulflur says. “There’s not as much guidance or financial support quite yet, [and] she has a tendency to be hard on herself. But she’s one of the purest ball strikers you’ll ever find. Jing is really mature beyond her years. Even as a freshman in college, she was the consummate pro. She’s not rattled out there. She has a good demeanor for her to have a nice, long career. “In the next few years, she’s going to be one of the players you’ll have to contend with.’’ One more reason, Yan added, why she misses U-Dub and her coach. “It’s part of why I love coach [Mulflur], she has unique insights and beliefs in others,’’ Yan says. “I’ve wanted to play on the LPGA Tour since I was nine years old. Everyone on Tour is hungry for a win and there are winners every week. Hopefully I can be one of them soon. “I think that’s the reason we are all out there, trying to be world No. 1. And I’m no different.’’
Brian Beaky is the editor of Cascade Golfer. Bob Sherwin is a longtime Seattle sportswriter and co-founder of GolfersWest.com, who writes regularly for Cascade Golfer, The New York Times, the Associated Press and MLB.com.
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Short
Sweet
Washington’s Top Par-3s INTRO BY BRIAN BEAKY • CG EDITOR
The Golf Club at Echo Falls • No. 18 PHOTO BY ROB PERRY
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here’s nothing more fun in golf than standing on the tee box of a great par-3. Sure, we love those risk/reward par-4s and short par-5s — that’s why we dedicate a feature in every issue of Cascade Golfer to one. But for as fun as those shots can be, they rarely come without a price — sure, it’s rewarding to hit the green, but even as we’re lining up our shot, that risk is ever-present in the back of our mind (which, frankly, is probably why we plunk it in the water more often than not). A great par-3, though? Yeah, we might have some sand or water in our way, but all that stands between us and a par — or even a birdie — is one well-struck iron or wedge, and that’s nothing to be afraid of. There’s also that little bit of extra adrenaline that comes from knowing that maybe — just maybe — this will be the moment that we’ve been waiting our whole lives for, when that perfect shot lands on the green, rolls towards the pin ... and disappears. You certainly can’t get that on a par-5. That’s why we’ve always said if we were to design a Cascade Golfer Golf Course, we’d have five par-3s, five par-5s, and only eight par-4s — heck, we might even go with six of each. For most amateur golfers, par-5s represent the best
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chance for birdie, while par-3s (typically) limit the damage to our scorecard — and offer that tantalizing tease of a hole-inone. We’ll take that over another 400-yard, par-4 any day. Great par-3s come in all shapes and sizes. Lone Fir, the 15th at Chambers Bay, is just 120 yards from the sand tees, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a player whose heart doesn’t flutter every time they step on the tee. Conversely, the 12th at Gold Mountain’s Olympic Course is a full 200-plus from the blues, but isn’t any less spectacular for its length. There are unforgettable par-3s surrounded by water — like the 18th at Echo Falls, the third at Druids Glen, the 14th at the Home Course or the 12th at Semiahmoo — and others tucked deep in the woods, like the 7th at McCormick Woods, the 12th at Battle Creek or the 13th at Meadow Park. There are breathtaking, downhill par-3s like No. 6 at Gamble Sands, No. 9 at Chambers Bay, No. 12 at Druids Glen (yes, we’re aware we already mentioned Druids — they have great par-3s!), No. 15 at Eaglemont or No. 16 at Legion Memorial, and still others that plot a direct course, or even — like the fourth at Palouse Ridge or the sixth at Port Ludlow — send your ball careening uphill to what you can only hope is a pleasant fate. And when you combine water, a severe downhill shot and a panoramic vista — well, that’s when you get cover-wor-
thy gems like the 17th at Apple Tree and the seventh at Bear Mountain Ranch. Now, we haven’t even reached the meat of this feature, and we’ve already named a full 18 outstanding par-3s — and those are just the ones that immediately come to mind. So, you can see the predicament we were in when we decided we wanted to try to rank Washington’s best par-3s — no matter which ones we chose, we were inevitably going to leave out at least as many that were equally outstanding, unless we decided to rank 30 or more. So, rather than try to generate our own list, we reached out to some friends in the local community to find out what their favorite par-3s are to play in Washington state. You may have heard of a few of our panelists — they include a threetime NBA All-Star, a four-time PGA TOUR winner and, oh, only the greatest American goalkeeper of all-time. There’s also additional PGA and LPGA Tour players, ESPN television and radio hosts, plus a handful of local experts whose opinions we just couldn’t pass up. And, since this is Cascade Golfer, after all, we asked our readers, too — check out some of your responses on page 51. When it comes to par-3s, everyone has a favorite. Here are some (but most certainly not all) of ours. CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
Kasey Keller • U.S . Soccer Legend Twitter: @KaseyKeller18
Indian Summer
No. 11
When we pick our favorite par-3s, we usually go with the ones where we make the most birdies — or at least the ones with the prettiest views. Not Kasey Keller, though. Ask him for his favorite par-3, and he comes back at you like a wounded cat ready to take on a pack of stray dogs. “Hole 11 at Indian Summer,” he says. “It’s over 200 yards, with a narrow approach through old-growth timber, and a long, narrow, multi-tiered green. I’ve had few pars, let alone birdies.” Ohhhh-kay ... sounds like a blast, Kasey. But what would you expect from the man who singlehandedly held off a Brazilian barrage in the Americans’ infamous 1-0 upset of Brazil in 1998, making 13 saves? He’s always up for a challenge. And 200-plus through a narrow opening to a tricky green is certainly that — and that’s from the white tees. Go all the way back to the tips, and you’re looking at 256, with almost no room to miss. PHOTO BY ROB PERRY
Brock Huard • ESPN Twitter: @BrockESPN
Chambers Bay
No. 9
“There’s just something redeeming when you conquer a cliff,” Huard says. No kidding — and there’s no cliff quite like the one at No. 9, where the whole world appears to drop off below your feet. While the tees can be placed almost anywhere along a 100-yard strip from about 130-230 yards out, most golfers play it between 170-200 yards — though the steep drop-off and the wind that blows in off the Sound in the afternoon can wreak havoc with your club selection. Pin placement is key — if it’s to the right, you can loft a shot to the center of the green or even off the back slope, where Jason Day had his famous fall, and let it run down to the front-right corner. Go too high on the slope, though, and you’ll either lose it in the junk, or watch it run too far across the green and wind up in a deadly front bunker. If the pin is front-left, a knock-down shot to the apron will run right up to the hole, or run a little ways up the back slope before settling down. Take a picture and soak it all in, because birdie or bogey, it’s one you’ll remember.
Jim Moore • ESPN Radio Twitter: @CougsGo
Gold Mountain (Olympic)
No. 12
Sure, we all figured Washington’s proudest Coug would go for one of the outstanding par-3s at Palouse Ridge, like the uphill 11th or the treacherous 13th. Instead, he showed that while his heart still lies east of the mountains, the mountains in question — at least in this case — are the Olympics, not the Cascades. He also certainly didn’t back down from a challenge — the 12th is easily Gold Mountain’s toughest par-3, measuring 175 from the white tees and an absurd 251 from the tips, which at nearly 7,200 yards, we assume only the college teams and pros that come to Gold Mountain for championships and qualifiers ever dare attempt. Its saving grace is a significant downhill slope, which makes the hole play a club or two shorter than the scorecard indicates. Don’t take too much off, though, or you’ll find yourself in one of two deadly front bunkers, while players who go long run the risk of hacking out of some tall grass towards those very same traps. Just don’t Coug it. PHOTO BY ROB PERRY
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Ryan Moore • PGA Tour Twitter: @ryanmoorepga
The Classic
No. 8
This is one course Ryan Moore knows like the back of his hand. The son of Classic owner Mike Moore, Ryan honed his game among The Classic’s towering pines — a game that has carried him to four PGA TOUR wins and a consistent top-50 world ranking. So it’s no surprise that he’d pick a hole from his home course, and of The Classic’s par3s, none leaves a more lasting memory than No. 8. From an elevated tee box anywhere from 100-150 yards from the hole, golfers play across water for the only time during their round, to a well-guarded green. As Ryan notes, there’s no truly safe play — other than a good shot: “No. 8 is a great, short-to-mid-range par-3. A pond guards the front, but if you try to play safely long of a front pin, the bunkers behind leave a scary next shot.” Short, scary sweet — and loads of fun.
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Detlef Schrempf • NBA All-Star Twitter: @Dschrempf
Chambers Bay
No. 15
Yes, Chambers Bay has two holes on this list. And you know what? They might not even be the best two par-3s at the course. The third hole, with its Redan-style green just begging you to miss right, is a dream for slicers everywhere, while the 17th and its seemingly never-ending green is one of the most photographed holes on the course. While our former NFL quarterback preferred lobbing bombs into the green at No. 9, our former Supersonic favors the sublime beauty of Lone Fir, where the best strategy is usually to aim for the backboard, and let your shot fall down to the rim ... of the cup. If you can avoid the pot bunker to the left, the sand on three sides, and the distracting beauty of the sun glistening off the Sound behind Lone Fir itself, it’s usually not too tough of a par — or better. And the only thing sweeter than the sound of a basketball swishing through the net, is your birdie putt dropping into the bottom of the cup.
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READERS WEIGH IN
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e didn’t just ask the region’s biggest names for their opinions — we asked you, too. Here are a few of the holes readers on Facebook and CascadeGolfer.com saw fit to mention: “No. 4 at The Home Course, with a front-middle pin just the other side of the beautiful, sod-faced bunker, deep as — well, it’s deep, baby. Club up and don’t be short.” — Mike Devine
PHOTO BY BRIAN OAR
Andres Gonzales • PGA Tour Twitter: @Andres_Gonzales
Salish Cliffs Golf Club
No. 3
We could tell you all about the third at Salish Cliffs — how, played into the wind from its 211-yard Players tees, we often pull the same club we use on the tee of the 250-yard, par-4 second hole just below it, which plays the opposite direction. Instead, we’ll let one of our favorite local pros, Lakewood’s Andres Gonzales, speak for himself: “My favorite par-3 for a public track is the third at Salish Cliffs. It’s a downhill par-3 that makes the hole play shorter than it really is. There is a catch — from the championship tees, it is 291 yards. There is nothing too tricky about the hole except the fescue lining both sides. There’s a bunker protecting the left side of the green as well, preventing wayward balls from bouncing hard left into oblivion. The hole can be played as short as 180, but length is the main challenge golfers face in this exceptional par-3.” Exceptional is the right word — both for its length, its beauty, and its sheer enjoyment.
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“The sixth at Gamble Sands is awesome. Aim right, over the hill, and watch your ball disappear for a minute before coming back into view as it rolls onto the green, headed straight for a middle pin.” — Kirk Schwarl “Apple Tree, No. 17. Not only is the view from the tee box amazing, but it’s also equally challenging. It’s all carry, with just the tiniest bit of life in the form of a small, leaf-shaped sand trap off the back if you go long.” — Jason Meadows “No. 9 at Highlander. There’s few more pressure-packed shots in the state, with a chasm between you and the green, and that sign warning you not to pursue lost balls at risk of death.” — Kelly Sanders Join the conversation with fellow CG readers on Facebook (Cascade Golfer) and Twitter (@cascadegolfer)!
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PHOTO BY ROB PERRY
Paige Mackenzie • Golf Channel Twitter: @Paige_Mackenzie
Washington National
No. 16
“Sixteen is really, really tough,” says Mackenzie, who should know — as an All-American golfer at Washington before launching her LPGA TOUR career, she’s played it plenty of times in competition. “It kicks off a perfect finishing stretch for a golf course — hard par-3, hard par-5, then you get to 18 and you get to take it easy, with the widest fairway on the golf course,” she says. “That’s how I like to finish a round.” Sixteen may not look like much on the scorecard, at just 146 yards from the blue tees — but until you’ve found yourself hunting for your ball among the rocks that line the creek running down the right side, or hacking out of one of the steeply faced bunkers, you can’t entirely appreciate its challenge. The backto-front slope of the green, too, makes staying below the pin key to any serious birdie attempt — an extra-challenging task when coming in with a long iron from the 198-yard tips. And of course, there’s always the looming vision of 17 — one of the state’s most bedeviling holes — in the background.
John Fought • Golf Architect Trophy Lake
No. 17
You may not realize it, but John Fought has two holes on this list — this one, and the 16th at Washington National, a hole he designed in 2000. Fought’s name is on some of the most famous courses in America — Indian Wells, Sand Hollow, Crosswater and Windsong among them — but the Oregon native has always had a fondness for the Northwest, and especially the two courses he designed here, Washington National and Trophy Lake. So, asking him to pick his favorite par-3 in Washington is like asking him to pick a favorite child. Fortunately, golf holes can’t read, so he did it for us anyway: “I suppose my favorite is the 17th at Trophy Lake. While being a short hole (118-155 yards), it can be quite challenging. The setting is beautiful, tucked into the trees with wetlands and water areas that surround. What I like about this hole is that if someone is brave and precise with their tee shot, it will provide a reward. But errant shots are punished.”
PHOTO BY ROB PERRY
Rob Perry • Photographer Gold Mountain (Olympic)
No. 16
Compared to many of the names on this list, you’re probably not all that familiar with Rob Perry. But if you’ve read a golf magazine, or walked into a pro shop, or visited a golf course website in this state at any time in the last 20 years, you’ve almost certainly enjoyed a Rob Perry photograph. The state’s pre-eminent golf course photographer, Perry’s shots are ubiquitous in the Washington golf scene — if you’ve ever seen a photo of a local course, and thought, “Wow, that’s a great shot,” odds are good it was a Rob Perry. So, we naturally included the man with the golden eye on our panel (even if he prefers to stay behind the camera, hence the lack of a headshot above), knowing he’d pick a beauty — and did he ever. Seemingly all of Gold Mountain’s par-3s could make the list, but none are prettier than 16, which usually plays about 150 yards, entirely over a water to a green backdropped by lodgepole pine. Provided you get it there, it’s not a particularly tough par, which makes the scenery all the more memorable. That image you have in your mind? Credit Rob Perry.
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PHOTO BY ROB PERRY
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ROAD HOLES
Rocky Mountain High The golf courses and resorts of WESTERN have to been seen to be believed
ALBERTA
Fairmont Jasper Park Resort • Jasper
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ven from several thousand feet above them, the Canadian Rockies are awe-inspiring. The view from my third-row window seat featured snow-capped mountain peaks, too many lakes to count, and lush green valleys, a combination that assured me that “Golf That Inspires” — the tagline of Canadian Rockies Golf, who had invited me on a six-day golf adventure — was more than just a slogan. As the plane continued its descent into Calgary International Airport, following barely a 90-minute flight from Seattle, a golf course came into view. From 20,000 or so feet above the ground, the dark green fairways and white sand traps stood out, and I wondered if that was one of the five golf courses I would be playing over the next six days. It wasn’t, but as I soon discovered, there are enough superb courses in western Alberta to more than satisfy any golfer. Not to mention a plethora of other activities to keep you busy, like rock-climbing, horseback riding, kayaking, fishing and bicycling. Clearing customs was a breeze, taking about two minutes to negotiate a short line and engage in a brief chat with a customs agent, who asked why I was in Canada and how long I would be there. He must have been a golfer, as there were no further questions. My host for the week was Canadian Rockies Golf, a collection of golf courses located in this historic, dramatic and largely untamed mountain destination. Founded in March 2009, the CRG currently offers stay-and-play opportunities at six golf courses in five locations, including three Canmore-based properties (the Canmore Golf & Curling Club; Stewart Creek Golf and Country Club; and Silvertip Golf Resort) and two Fairmont properties designed by the legendary Stanley Thompson — Banff Springs and Jasper Park Lodge. (The popular Kananaskis Country course remains part of the consortia as well. Ravaged by a 100-year flood in 2013, the facility received funding last October to completely rebuild the Robert Trent Jones-designed
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BY JIM STREET course, with a projected re-opening in 2017.) The legendary Thompson is to Canada golf design what Robert Trent Jones, Sr., is to America. Thompson designed more than 200 courses during his epic career, most of them in his native country. Banff Springs and Jasper Park were constructed with horses, wagons, picks and shovels in the 1920s, yet are so good to this day that both are continuously ranked among the top-10 courses in the country. And with the U.S. dollar worth 20 percent more than the Canadian buck, now is a good time to visit our northern neighbors. The golf is great and the scenery is even better. “Our objective is to have people from the (United) States look a little farther north,” says Gordon Schultz, President at Golf Canada’s West Ltd. “We can send pictures, but until you see it, you don’t know. Almost to a person, the reaction has been, ‘I had no idea.’” I’ll admit it — I had no idea that what I was about to experience was destination golf at its best.
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pre-round briefing at Silvertip Resort stressed the importance of being aware at all times — because we were in bear country. “If you encounter a grizzly bear, stop and evaluate the situation,” I was told. “Identify yourself by speaking in a calm, appeasing tone. Back away slowly, preferably in the direction you came. Walk, don’t run, and keep your eye on the bear so you can see how it will react.” Gulp! “If you encounter a black bear, hit it with rocks, pots, pans, sticks or fists – anything handy. The odds may seem against you in a fight, but bears generally do not see humans as prey, and a bear that makes a predatory attack is usually immature, starving or wounded, and may easily be scared away if you hit it.” Double gulp!
My choice would have been the 4-rescue club, with emphasis on “rescue.” But, I didn’t encounter either kind of bear on the course, which offered plenty of its own beauty and challenge. My two favorites were No. 15, a 145-yard, par-3 over water looking directly at multi-million dollar homes and a section of the Canadian Rockies, and No. 18, a 415-yard, par-4 with a 600-foot elevation drop from tee to green. If you like elevated tees, this is the place to go. It feels like you’re standing on top of the world on nine different tee boxes at Silvertip. Continuing the theme, I capped my round with a 12-minute excursion aboard a chopper from Alpine Helicopters, including closer views of the Three Sisters (Faith, Hope and Charity), before dinner (a delicious Elk burger) at Tavern 1883 and visits to a couple of local watering holes.
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f the three golf courses I played in the Canmore area, Stewart Creek Golf and Country Club is the baby of the bunch. It opened in 2000 and has received numerous awards for preserving the natural habitat, and was named a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International in 2004. For a course that is nestled so close to the mountains, the fairways are remarkably level from tee to green, preventing side-hill lies. There are some water holes, the most daunting being on No. 18. Hit your approach shot just a few yards to the left and it’ll go splash. Also, be sure check out the entrance to a mine shaft, located on the left side of the 14th hole. After the round, I boarded a luxury motor coach for a four-hour ride to Jasper and the Fairmont Jasper Park Resort – a journey on a mostly two-lane road past numerous glaciers, lakes, rivers and wildlife. The driver, Michelle, provided the commentary and mentioned that despite numerous such trips, she never takes the incredible scenery for granted. “In my mind, it’s the most beautiful drive imaginCASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
LINKS TO THE LINKS WHERE TO PLAY Silvertip Resort, Canmore silvertipresort.com Canmore Golf & Curling, Canmore canmoregolf.net
Silvertip Resort • Canmore
Stewart Creek G&CC, Canmore stewartcreekgolf.com Fairmont Jasper Park Resort, Jasper fairmont.com/jasper/golf/ Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff fairmont.com/banff-springs/golf/
WHERE TO STAY Blackstone Mtn. Lodge, Canmore | blackstonelodge.ca Stoneridge Mtn. Resort, Canmore | stoneridgeresort.ca Fairmont Banff Springs • Banff
Fairmont Jasper Park Resort, Jasper | fairmont.com/jasper Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff fairmont.com/banff-springs
able,” she said. After a night’s rest at the Fairmont Jasper Park’s Milligan House, an eight-bedroom, eight-bath log cabin with an expansive meeting room in the middle, I made the short walk over to the resort’s renowned golf course for one of the most pleasant rounds of golf imaginable. By the fourth hole, I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world Stanley Thompson pulled this whole thing off. Without any heavy machinery, fifty teams of horses and 200 men turned an area of rock and trees into a gem of a golf course that has stood the test of time. Trains hauled in loads of topsoil to spread over the rocky soil, ensuring that the course would drain well to this day. Nearly 100 years later, the Jasper still ranks among the top five golf courses in Canada – and is No. 1 on several lists. The Jasper course underwent some alterations during its first 70 years, but in 1994, course staff used Thompson’s original blueprints to help restore the course to its original layout. Bunkers and tee boxes received special attention, with many of the tee boxes now incorporating boulders that were unearthed during the restoration. Clouds obscured portions of the mountains, but our “four seasons” round was superb. It rained on us a few times and hailed on No. 8, but the sun eventually came out and the clouds lifted enough in the late morning for us to get a good glimpse of the peaks that rise more than 10,000 feet, adding to the overall beauty of the 6,663yard, par-71 course. The featured hole is No. 14, a 355yard, par-4 over the edge of a lake.
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friend of mine once wrote that Banff is his “favorite place in North America.” I can see why. Thompson must have played in the sand quite often as a child. How else could you explain building 147 sand traps into the design at the Fairmont Banff Springs? One golfer in my group landed in 14 of the bunkers, two more than me. On the picturesque No. 14, there are six sand traps separated only by small strips of grass. Your approach shot onto the green, however, gives you a stunning view the world-renowned FairCASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
mont Banff Springs Hotel, also known as the “Castle in the Rockies.” Virtually every hole on the 18-hole, 6,938 yard, par-71 course has its own personality – none more so than No. 4, a slight downhill, 165-yard, par-3. “Devil’s Cauldron” is so well-regarded, in fact, that it was once selected as one of the top 18 holes in the world. My final round of the week came at the semi-private Canmore Golf & Curling Club, which, in addition to being the least flashy of the courses I played, was also the only one with a price tag under $100. Schultz summed it up the best, noting that “Canmore is sort of like going to Cheers, where everybody knows your name.” The club boasts more than 600 members — no surprise in one of the world’s most outdoor-active communities. (Nearly one-third of the city’s 15,000 residents have a membership at the nearby Elevation Place, a 77,000-square-foot facility that includes, among other things, an eight-lane swimming pool and 60-station rock-climbing structure.) Despite the high number of regular members, leading to about 34,000 rounds per year, 90 minutes of tee times are set aside each day for the public, who must remain focused on the narrow fairways, as opposed to the top-notch views. As my scorecard would attest, it’s a challenge easier said than done.
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s my flight lifted off the following morning, I reflected on the week — six days in some of the continent’s most beautiful country, playing incredible courses, dining on steaks and unique local fare, and holing up at some of the most luxurious resorts in all of Canada. Schulz had suggested at the start of the week that I “had no idea,” and he had certainly been proven right. Now, I do — and so do you. Jim Street spent 30 years covering major-league baseball in Oakland and Seattle. He now lives in the Seattle area and works as a freelance journalist, and is the co-publisher of the sports website, GolfersWest.com.
WHERE TO EAT The Iron Goat Pub & Grill, Canmore | irongoat.ca Grizzly Paw Pub, Canmore | thegrizzlypaw.com Tavern 1883, Canmore | tavern1883.com
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TRAVEL BAG
Sweet Home
Alabama Golfing and gorging through the
Heart of Dixie
The Crossings at Magnolia Grove • Mobile
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o sports fans, seeing the state of Alabama and the phrase “top-10” in the same sentence is no surprise. The state’s college football powerhouses, the University of Alabama and Auburn University, are among the winningest programs in the sport’s history, and have combined for 17 national titles. (Though, as Alabama fans would be quick to point out, that’s 15 for the Crimson Tide, and just two for the Tigers. Roll, Tide.) In recent years, though, Alabama has begun popping up on a different top-10 list — America’s top-10 golf destinations. Carried in large part by the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, a collection of 26 courses scattered across the state designed by the legendary RTJ Sr., along with rates that haven’t quite yet caught up to the state’s “premier golf destination” reputation, Alabama is quickly becoming a go-to spot for golfers seeking an alternative to the well-traveled paths to Palm Springs or Florida. Need more reasons to set course for the Yellowhammer State this year? No problem — we have plenty.
Golf The Robert Trent Jones Trail In the late 1980s, the directors of Alabama’s state public pension fund sought a way to ensure the fund’s solvency for decades to come. The stock market was unreliable at the time, so CEO David Bronner had another idea — bring America’s pre-eminent golf architect to Al52
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By Brian Beaky CG Editor abama to design 26 courses in all corners of the state, essentially creating a golf destination from scratch. Bronner’s board members must all have been golfers — it’s the only way to explain this crazy idea becoming reality. Even crazier? It worked — the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has become renowned throughout the country for its unique courses, beautiful layouts and reasonable rates. The New York Times called it “some of the best public golf on Earth,” while The Wall Street Journal called it America’s best golf bargain. And it’s true — despite several top-100 tracks, rates at most of the RTJ Trail courses top out between $50-$85 for 18 holes.
See The USS Alabama Had you stood aboard the USS Alabama in 1945, as it steamed across the Pacific Ocean, you would have been overwhelmed by the deafening booms of the 16inch guns, the non-stop chatter of the anti-aircraft weapons and the constant hum of the 1,793 officers and men that called the battleship home. In recognition of its service, the battleship has been given a comfortable retirement in Mobile Bay, where it
welcomes thousands of visitors each year, and occasionally takes a starring turn in Hollywood movies. Visitors can tour the decks and gun turrets, and even see the bunk where Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Feller resided from 1943-45, when he served as a Gun Captain and Chief Petty Officer. In addition, the battleship is part of a large memorial park, including a former U.S. Navy submarine and numerous other aircraft and military equipment. Of course, we can’t forget the golf — Magnolia Grove, an RTJ Trail attraction whose Crossings course was named one of the Top-50 Courses You Can Play by Golf World magazine, is just 13 miles away.
Soak Up The Civil War History In February 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as President of the Confederate States of America on the steps of the Alabama State Capital, in Montgomery. Today, visitors can tour that spot, along with the First White House of the Confederacy, and countless battlefields and museums that chronicle the state’s role in the American Civil War. Numerous sites offer full-scale re-enactments at certain times of the year, while others — like Mobile’s Bragg-Mitchell Mansion — give visitors a glimpse of Alabama in the antebellum era.
Experience The Iron Bowl Auburn and Alabama have been playing football games against each other since 1893, making the Iron Bowl one of the oldest and most storied rivalries in all of college football. To experience the Iron Bowl, though, means far more than just watching a football game, no matter the stakes. Wander through the parking lots at Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium or Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium and inhale the aroma of barbecued ribs, grilled chicken fingers or fried fish (give a shout of “Roll Tide” or “War Eagle” and you’re likely to find a cold beverage and a mouth-watering piece of meat in your hand before long, the product of Southern hospitality). Listen to the marching bands rally the fans at the Tiger Walk or the Elephant Stomp. Then head inside and feel the emotion of tens of thousands of friends, family and neighbors cheering passionately for their teams. Best of all, if the game’s in Auburn — as it will be in 2017 — you’re just 15 minutes from Grand National Golf Club, the gem of the RTJ Trail.
Go To Space Camp Since 1982, tens of thousands of young, aspiring astronauts have made their way to Huntsville’s U.S. Space and Rocket Center to fly simulated shuttle missions, conduct CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
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MEN’S INVITATIONAL May 28-29 (practice round Fri May 27th)
Entry: $200 Format: 36 Hole Stroke Play 3 Days of Golf In Gulf Shores, golfers can spend a day at the boardwalk (opposite), or a Civil War re-enactment at Fort Morgan (above). experiments and engage in other space-related activities at the world-famous Space Camp. Featuring day camps, week-long camps and even family programs, it’s an unforgettable way to learn about space in a hands-on environment. In addition to Space Camp, the Space and Rocket Center is also a museum for some of America’s most famous space memorabilia — see the Apollo 16 capsule that returned astronauts John Duke and Charles Young to Earth after their 1972 Moon mission, stare in awe at Saturn-, Mercury- and Jupiter-class rockets, or hop in a simulator to experience the 4Gs of liftoff or 2-3 seconds of weightlessness. While you’re there, visit Huntsville’s Hampton Cove Golf Club, featuring two courses with distinctly different designs, including the links-style Highlands course and the more classic River — the latter notable for being the only RTJ course in the world without a single bunker.
(1 practice rd., 2 tourn rds., 2 lunches)
Saturday Night Dinner Tee prizes
10,000
$ Over payout Hosted Beer Garden Optional Horse Race (Fri.)
Come join us for an exciting weekend!
WhidbeyGolfClub.com • (360) 675-5490 2430 SW Fairway Lane, Oak Harbor WA 98227
Fish for Marlin in Gulf Shores What the Iron Bowl is to college football, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are to deep-sea fishing. Anglers travel from across the country Gulf Shores to fish for red and black snapper, king mackerel, grouper, tuna, marlin, swordfish and wahoo, along with the bluefish and flounder that stay closer to shore. Chartered cruises take anglers out on the Gulf of Mexico seven days a week for anywhere from a few hours to a few days, chasing down some of the most famous trophy fish on earth. And if you need to take a break from the waves, RTJ’s nearby Lakewood Golf Club, in Point Clear, has been named among America’s top golf resorts multiple times, while the Earl Stone-designed Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club in Gulf Shores proper is as fine a test as you’ll find in the state.
The Food Whether to golf, fish, attend a sporting event, browse the Civil War battlefields or lay on the beaches at Mobile Bay, there’s one thing every Alabama visitor enjoys — Southern cooking. Fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, deep-fried ice cream ... uh-huh, there’s a theme here ... baked grits, gumbo, jambalaya, blackened catfish, hush puppies, crab cakes, cornbread, biscuits, molasses cookies, pecan pie and anything slathered in barbecue sauce, all washed down with a tall, cold glass of sweet tea. And the best part is, this is one activity you can enjoy no matter where in the state you are — just follow your nose. CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
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SAVE SOME GREEN IN WITH THE OLD BY BRIAN BEAKY • CG EDITOR
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n our business, we tend to focus on whatever’s new — new courses, new clubs, new players. “News” is the first word in the Cascade Golfer slogan, after all. Most of our most cherished golf memories, though, aren’t new at all. (If yours are, then your golf game must be in better shape than ours.) They’re times that we spent as a child learning the game alongside a parent, or times we spent with our own kids on the course when they were young. Our first birdie, our first eagle, and each time we broke a significant scoring margin for the first time. Hours spent watching Nicklaus, or Trevino, or a young Tiger Woods. Tom Watson sprinting across the green at Pebble Beach; Payne Stewart knocking down that 20-footer on the 72nd hole at Pinehurst. It important to remember that everything new will one day be old, and that being old doesn’t make a thing less significant — it just makes the memory of it that much sweeter. So, we tip our cap to a few of our state’s oldest courses. They’ve been giving golfers top value for their dollar for most of the last century — in fact, it’s a good bet that at least some of your favorite memories were made on these “golden” greens.
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Two Hours of Indoor Golf — Free!
inding 5-6 hours of daylight in April to play a round of golf is tough, and even when we do manage to get a tee time on the calendar, we have to cross our fingers and hope for good weather. Not at Lynnwood’s Clubhouse Golf Center, though — golfers at the Clubhouse hit real balls with their own clubs on full-size simulators, playing courses like St. Andrews, Pebble Beach and others. Heck, not only can you play in the rain, you can even play after dark — most rounds take less than two hours, meaning you can hit the Clubhouse after work, or once the kids are in bed, and play a full 18 while watching the M’s on big screens and enjoying a cold beverage with your buddies. To make it even easier on you, we’re giving a CG reader two hours of simulator time on us — so log on to CascadeGolfer.com for your chance to win!
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Jefferson Park Golf Course • Seattle
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Jefferson Park Golf Course SEATTLE
There’s no public course in the state of Washington with a history to match that of Seattle’s Jefferson Park. The narrative begins in 1915, when Jefferson Park opened as the first municipally owned golf course in Seattle, and just the third golf course, period, in all of King County. The concept of municipal golf was so new, in fact, that locals simply assumed the “park” would be like any other in the city — that is, free to use. True to the populist Seattle spirit that our forebears have passed down through the decades, the concept of green fees was met with harsh criticism and public outcry. Horse-drawn mowers trimmed the fairways; goats kept the rough in shape. During World War I, the Army used Jefferson’s fairways as a runway, since there was no Seattle airport. When World War II came around, the Army returned, this time to build anti-aircraft batteries on one of the city’s highest points. In 1947, a local group of minority citizens founded the Fir State Golf Club for African-American golfers at Jefferson Park, the second-oldest organization of its kind in the U.S. (and one that would later count retired NBA legend Bill Russell as a member). A similar association for Chinese golfers soon followed, again among the first of its kind.
Bill Wright, the first-ever black champion of a USGA event, honed his craft there. So, of course, did Fred Couples, hopping the fence to sneak in rounds as a teen. Even Tiger Woods put in an appearance, dazzling locals in a clinic as a 16-year-old junior in 1992. It’s a rich history, unmatched by almost any municipal course on the West Coast. And, true to the saying about “everything old,” Jefferson Park is now new again, having entered a new phase in its history last year with the opening of a brand-new, twin-deck, covered (and heated) driving range, an all-new practice area, plus a new clubhouse with a pro shop, restaurant and banquet facility. The next time you go back, try and locate the runways those planes might have used, the ideal spots for anti-aircraft batteries, or the exact spot in the fence where Couples and friends used to sneak through. Or, just tee it up and let it fly, and know that, like a century’s worth of golfers before you, you’re getting a great deal.
YARDAGE (PAR) 5,208-6,278 yards (70) RATES $12-$40* TEL (206) 762-4513 WEB www.premiergc.com * See website for current rates
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4 CAN PLAY FOR THE PRICE OF 3!
Leavenworth Golf Club • Leavenworth
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Scenic 18 Hole Public Golf Course In Fall City, Washington, East of Seattle
Leavenworth Golf Club
Golf Digest Best Places to Play
LEAVENWORTH History is central to the experience of any Leavenworth visitor. The Bavarian-themed buildings, surrounded by jagged, Cascade peaks, evoke in every visitor the sense of not just traveling to a different place, but a different time, when communities were smaller, simpler and more at peace. Which, of course, is exactly what it’s intended to do. The “history” that we see when we visit Leavenworth, of course, isn’t its real history at all — spoiler alert: Leavenworth is not, in fact, located in the German Alps, nor was it founded by German immigrants looking to recreate their beloved homeland. Instead, the city began as a prime stop for fur traders making their way across Stevens Pass, before the logging boom sent the town skyrocketing in the early part of the 20th century. It was only in the 1960s when, the logging business having moved elsewhere, community leaders voted to transform the town into the tourist wonder it is today. It was at the tail end of the logging boom when a few local youths began knocking balls around the Chelan County racetrack, eventually pooling their resources to cobble together a three-hole golf course, with cinder greens that were conditioned not with mowers, but with mops. As the game caught on, they expanded to eight makeshift holes, reworked those into six good ones, then added three more in the late 1930s, converting the cinder greens to sand in the process. Just like the community itself, the course spent the better part of the next three decades keeping its head above water, before the influx of tourism money in the 1960s led to the construction of nine additional holes, finishing the layout golfers play today. Leavenworth can get lost sometimes among the bigname destination courses that draw golfers to Central Washington — Desert Canyon, Bear Mountain Ranch, Gamble Sands, Highlander and the like. But plunk down $25 on a weekday evening during your summer vacation, and imagine what it was like to pull a hickory wood and hit to cinder greens nearly a century ago. In a town as rich in history as Leavenworth, it’s not that hard to do.
in 2004 and 2008!
S G O L F
FALLS C O U R S E
4 CAN PLAY FOR THE PRICE OF 3!
Online Tee Times and Web Specials Available at snoqualmiefallsgolf.com 425-441-8049 or 425-222-5244 Only good for 4 players with same day tee time. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Good Monday - Thursday. Expires 5/31/16.
YARDAGE (PAR) 5,241-5,699 yards (72) RATES $25-$46* TEL (509) 548-7267 WEB www.leavenworthgolf.com * See website for current rates CASCADEGOLFERDEALS.com
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Eagles Pride Golf Course • JBLM
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Eagles Pride Golf Course FORT LEWIS (JBLM)
It’s no secret that we owe many of the trails, campsites, mountain lodges and other elements of our “great outdoors” here in the Northwest to FDR’s Works Progress Administration, which put Americans to work during the Great Depression building parks, bridges and other civic works nationwide. What’s not as well known is that we can also credit the WPA for some of our oldest golf courses — including both West Seattle Golf Club and, in 1938, the golf course at Fort Lewis, now known as Eagles Pride. Golf had been proposed on the site as far back as 1917, when “Camp Lewis” was created to train soldiers for combat in World War I. At the time, though, military leaders felt golf was poor preparation for war, and instead sponsored sports like boxing and wrestling — I guess they’d never tried hoofing it through the mud and trees to find a wayward drive on a soggy January morning. In 1929, a group of eager soldiers carved out a ninehole track, before the WPA arrived in 1938 and built 18 brand-new holes — nine for officers, nine for enlisted men. All-day play was 50 cents — 75 if you needed to rent clubs. An officer-level membership, good for unlimited play, was $2 a month. In 1944, a Fort Lewis golf pro — Bob Hamilton — won the PGA Championship, in one of the greatest upsets in golf history. Both original courses still stand today — the officers’ nine is now Eagles Pride’s Red Course, while the enlisted nine is the Blue Course; a third nine, the Green Course, was built in 1979. The course opened to the general public in the 1990s (though military still receive preferred tee times) and has been a favorite of local golfers ever since — last year, our voting panel ranked Eagles Pride as one of the top-10 public courses in the “Seattle/Tacoma/Eastside” region; among the world’s military courses, it’s been ranked as high as No. 6. Stretched out to its longest distance — the 7,000-yard Red/Blue combination (the WPA’s original 18 holes) — it’s tough enough to host Washington State Amateurs and USGA qualifiers. We recommend any of the 6,300-yard routings, though — just enough to make you earn your good score, but not so much that a round of golf feels like basic training.
YARDAGE (PAR) 5,822-7,005 yards (71-73) RATES $20-$27* TEL (253) 967-6522 WEB www.jblmmwr.com/eagles_pride/ * See website for current rates 56
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POST GAME
Remember That? By Brian Beaky CG Editor
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n the nine years we’ve published Cascade Golfer, we’ve reviewed 565 different products, from seemingly every new driver, iron, putter and wedge to hit the market, to countless balls, bags, rangefinders, club carriers and other gizmos. Some, like Diablo Golf, which made its public debut in the pages of Cascade Golfer in 2010, have gone on to massive success — originally created by a couple of Cascade Golfer Cup players as a website to help them find other golfers to pair up with for friendly wagers at the local course, the Bellingham company’s smartphone app has evolved into the No. 1 handicap app in the world as determined by Apple’s App Store rankings. Others ... well, God bless ‘em, they tried. Here are some of our favorites.
On The Level Golf Tee
Sidekick Golf Caddy
First appeared: June 2012
First appeared: April 2013
You remember this one — the golf tee with a level built into it, so that you could tell if your tee was level before striking the ball. The tee was all the rage in 2012, and the inventors had studies that showed a non-level tee could affect distance by anywhere from 9-34 yards. The article also noted that while no long-term testing had been done on the tee’s durability, the inventor had taken about 1,000 hits on one tee, and even backed over it with his car. We were excited to finally get one that June, and took it with us to Wine Valley — and on the very first swing, it shattered into a million pieces. It was a good drive, though ...
Of all of 565 products we’ve reviewed, this is the only one that I take with me every single round I play. Sure, it’s basically just a tube of plastic with a handle and spikes in the bottom, and if you’re especially handy, you can probably make one yourself. But I use it all the time when I need to grab a few clubs because I’m not sure of a distance, or when I need a wedge and putter at the green. It makes the clubs easy to carry, keeps my shafts dry, and ensures I won’t leave a stick behind.
Energy Athletic IonX Shirt
Adams Golf DiXX BLU Putter
First appeared: December 2011
First appeared: June 2008
I’ll admit, this one is in here mostly because of my favorite headline ever written in CG (and one I can’t even take credit for): “One Shirt To Rule Them All.” Ionic bracelets had taken off by 2011; this Energy Athletic shirt used negatively charged ions to increase blood flow to the wearer’s muscles, for increased flexibility, strength and quicker recovery. We were skeptical until reading the studies, and an endorsement by Paul Azinger, who swore by the “magic shirt” and wished it had been around in ‘08, when he was captain of the Ryder Cup team. Five years later, the company is still going strong, probably as much evidence as any that the shirt really works.
In our June 2008 issue, we dedicated the “In The Bag” section to reviewing some of the wild products that show up on those Golf Channel infomercials. One of the most fascinating was the Adams Golf DiXX BLU putter, a putter with a computer in the clubhead. The computer measured your swing path and club face angle, then displayed that information on a LCD screen in the clubhead. Golfers could use it as a training aid, then switch to a USGA-approved playing module to take it out on the course. They’re not in stores any longer, but you can still find them online — if anyone has or owned one, let us know.
Bike n’ Golf
Prodigy Putter
First appeared: August 2008
First appeared: August 2010
This was another of our favorites, mostly for the picture (above) — that’s one rad-lookin’ dude. The local inventor wished he could ride his Harley to the course. So, he invented a golf bag that could be ingeniously split into three sections and attached to his chopper (for equal weight distribution), then quickly snapped back together at the course to go right to the first tee. It’s disappointing to see that the website is no longer active, but we’d love to hear from anyone who bought — and loves — their Bike n’ Golf.
Who can forget the putter that came with a mirror and level? I remember my first time seeing the putter at Jackson Park and thinking, What is that thing? The locally invented Prodigy had a detachable mirror and level which helped golfers learn to find and maintain the correct line; remove it, and you had a USGA-conforming mallet putter. It also had adjustable weights and a flexible shaft so golfers could fit it to their swing — in all, it was a cool product, which is why we were bummed to discover that it’s no longer on the market. It’s still one of our favorites.
We’re Sending YOU to Palouse Ridge!
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fter we released the 2015 list of Washington’s Top Public Courses, golfers everywhere were trying to figure out how many of the state’s top-10 they could fit into the golf calendar — and golf budget — in 2016. We’re going to give you a head start by sending you and a friend to the course ranked No. 6 in Washington state — Palouse Ridge. With 18 incredible holes routed across the Palouse, against the backdrop of Washington State University, it’s as fun and scenic a course as you’ll ever play — even if the blood in your veins is purple, not crimson. So log on to CascadeGolfer.com today for your chance to win! 58
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