Cascade Golfer June 2017 by Varsity Communications

VOLUME 11 • ISSUE 2 • JUNE 2017 • COMPLIMENTARY

SERGIO’S WINNING STICKS

WHERE WE’RE PLAYING THIS SUMMER WILL NEW USGA RULES SPEED UP THE GAME? WIN TRIPS TO OREGON B.C., SPOKANE & MORE A REVERSIBLE GOLF COURSE? BELIEVE IT

YEARS

2007 2017

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A LOOK

Volume 11 • Issue 2 • JUNE 2017

GOLFER cascadegolfer.com

Cascade Golfer is published and owned by Varsity Communications, Inc. This publication is mailed free to more than 95,000 registered Puetz Golf Preferred members. Additional copies are printed and distributed throughout the Puget Sound region.

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PUBLISHER’S PITCH

SHORT GAME

• The Northwest’s first reversible 18 • How will golf’s new proposed rules affect you? • Pick Washington’s 10 best tracks • Boeing Classic returns in August • Duke’s Scholarship winner • Bill Wright paved the way • Kalispel G&CC comes back strong • And more

16 IN THE BAG 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 FOR EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS AND INQUIRIES: Brian Beaky • (425) 412-7070 ext. 103 editor@cascadegolfer.com

VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR OF SALES Kirk Tourtillotte SALES & MARKETING Simon Dubiel, Ian Civey, Alex Mroz

FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, CONTACT: Simon Dubiel • (425) 412-7070 ext. 100 simon@cascadegolfer.com

ACCOUNTING STAFF

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Bobbi Kramer ACCOUNTS PAYABLE & RECEIVABLE Pam Titland

• Japan’s hottest imports • Sergio putts to glory • Justin Rose’s cool grips • ZJ’s classic kicks • Father’s Day treats

20 TEEING OFF

• Huskies’ Mike Hopkins lets the big dawg bark

23 RISK VS REWARD

• Mount Si Golf Course No. 2

ADVERTISING & MARKETING STAFF

48 TRAVEL BAG

• Whistler by the back door

Features

10 For 10 The 10 biggest local golf stories of CG’s first 10 years (and a look at the next 10 to come). Plus: Your favorite features, covers and more!

52 SAVE SOME GREEN

BEAVER STATE BONANZA

54 POSTGAME

BY TONY DEAR

• Sweet summer road trips

Photo by Simon Bruty/Courtesy USGA

CASCADE

INSIDE

• Rock me, Amadeus

Central Oregon’s best 18 holes, as picked by the men who built them.

PUETZ GOLF SAVINGS 4-5 | 24-27 | 50-51

PRINTING

Consolidated Press • Seattle, WA COPYRIGHT 2017 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

Congratulations to the winners April’s Enter-to-Wins! You want winners? We’ve got ‘em — three of them, in fact, along with whatever lucky souls they choose to take with them on their golf outings this summer: Palouse Ridge Foursome & NW Golfers Playbooks Diane Ginther • Kirkland Bradley Golf Putter Ted Calvert • Lynnwood 2 Hours at Clubhouse Golf Center Judy Stuart • Edmonds

cascadegolfer.com cascadegolfer.com

And we’re not stopping there, no way — in fact, we have some of our best giveaways of the year lined up for this issue, including TWO different stay-and-play trips! • Spokane Stay-and-Play • Page 10 • Aspen Lakes Foursome • Page 47 • CG JACKPOT: British Columbia Stay-and-Play • Page 48 • 36 Holes in Central Washington • Page 54

Log on to CascadeGolfer.com for your chance to win. And follow us on Facebook (Cascade Golfer) and Twitter (@CascadeGolfer) for even more giveaways and contests!

JUNE 2017

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JUNE 2017

PUBLISHER’S PITCH

DICK STEPHENS

A decade of blessings and a farewell to our founder

en years is a decade. When you do something consistently over that many years — whether raising kids, running a business, maintaining a relationship, remaining committed to a cause — you have a story to tell. Well, after 10 years, we have a story to tell here at Cascade Golfer. This issue is dedicated to everyone that has made this possible. First and foremost, our readers. You pick this up, read it, reflect and take action. Maybe you play a course for the first time, or try out a new piece of equipment and add it to your arsenal. Maybe you travel somewhere new to experience golf in a different light. Perhaps you play in a tournament, attend a professional event or even just participate in a conversation based on something you read. Whatever it might be, if we have played any part in your golfing love and life over the last 10 years, we are grateful and blessed to have been a part of it. At the end of the day, that’s what Cascade Golfer is all about. And to be in your mailbox and online for 10 years is a privilege and an honor. Over the years, we have given props to the team that makes it happen – our editor Brian Beaky, sales manager Simon Dubiel, art director Rob Becker, designer Katie Erickson, director of finance Bobbi Kramer, accounting guru Pam Titland and our Puetz partners, Mike Livingston, David Puetz and Dave Sanders. It’s a real dream team. There are others

JUNE 2017

that make this happen, but these folks have their oars in the water and help run CG true each issue. I am hugely grateful. Recently, we lost our mentor, who taught my business partner, Kirk Tourtillotte, and I everything we know about the publishing business. Ozzie Boyle was a local legend. He brought confidence and stability to the Pacific Northwest Golf Association when we published Pacific Northwest Golfer, played a huge role in growing the base of support for the Evans Scholarship, and helped expand the Merrill Lynch Invitational in the ‘90s. Ozzie was the driving force behind the Seattle Golf Show in 1998, and brought a love and spirit to any project he touched. Although he’s been out of golf for nearly 20 years, Ozzieisms such as, “Hard on the issues, soft on the person,” and, “Put your ski tips out over the edge,” still ring through our team. Without his spirit, drive and compassion, Cascade Golfer and its parent company, Varsity Communications, may never have lasted all these years. He taught us well and we love him, his legacy and his family. It’s ironic that our 30th year in business, 10th year with Cascade Golfer, 40th issue and 90th golf expo production all took place within the same year. Decades. Blocks of time connected to form something real and tangible. Enjoy this issue and thank you for 10 years – here’s to 10 more. Enjoy the summer and TAKE IT EASY.

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SHORT GAME

The first hole on Silvies Ranch’s Hankins Course is also the 17th hole on the Craddock course, played the opposite direction.

Dan Hixson Son Reverses Course(s) at Silvies Valley Ranch

hen last we saw Dan Hixson, the golf pro-turned-architect from Portland, it was 2009, and the golf world was falling in love with the massive scale and myriad strategies of Wine Valley. This summer, Hixson will open Silvies Valley Ranch in remote Burns, Ore. – a sustainable ranch and travel experience with two Dan Hixson courses. Or, you might say, one with a twist — the course is reversible, and will play in opposite directions on alternating days. It’s been a long time coming. Shortly after Wine Valley opened in 2009, Hixson received a call from Dr. Scott Campbell, an Oregon veterinarian who had transformed the local Banfield Pet Hospital into a national enterprise with more than 800 locations, many of them in PetSmart stores. Campbell had acquired some 140,000 acres in his native Grant County, deep in eastern Oregon, and cultivated a vision for a groundbreaking, sustainable ranching development that would not only function as a working enterprise, but also as a modern tourist destination. Golf was part of his plan. “I was actually at Wine Valley when the first call came in,” Hixson says. “I knew Scott was ambitious, and I had heard how big the land was.“ The timing, however, could have been better, with the recession entering full swing. “Needless to say, given the economy, development took place in a number of deliberate stages,” Hixson adds. Some architects might have gotten restless. Hixson, however, used the time to his advantage. He made countless trips to the property — roughly a seven-hour drive from Seattle, or a two-hour jaunt over from Central Oregon — and walked and walked and walked. Those long strolls made him sure of one thing. “A good golf course, a normal golf course – that

JUNE 2017

wouldn’t work,” Hixson says. “The land is so vast. There are so many good holes.” Among the themes at Silvies Valley Ranch are innovation and conservation, which add together to create sustainability. Hixson’s idea for the golf side of the project followed suit. “It didn’t start out as reversible,” he says. “The idea was to do six fixed holes, then six reversible holes, then six fixed holes to finish. But when I pitched it to Scott, he loved the concept of reversibility and said, ‘Let’s do the whole thing.’” The result is two completely different 18-hole golf courses – the Hankins and the Craddock. The complex sounds, well, complex. Nine greens play on both courses. Of another 18 individual greens, nine play in the Hankins configuration and the other nine in the Craddock configuration. Golfers who find themselves in a greenside bunker one day may the next day find themselves in the same bunker, but now it plays as a fairway bunker going the opposite way. “It can be a lot to get your head around on paper,” Hixson confesses, “but I think it all fits together on the ground.” In fact, it was the fitting together on the ground that created the reversible-ish approach. “There were no rules other than ‘no bad holes,’” Hixson says of his marching orders. “There are six holes that, in the end, could only play in one direction due to elevation changes. In order to make them go both ways, you would have had to create a bad hole to make a good one.” For his part, Hixson thinks that golfers who make the trek to this most remote of the new generation of remote golf Meccas will be not only challenged, but engaged and entertained. “I hope the answer to this whole riddle is going to be

golf that captures the imagination and provides a new and different way of enjoying the game,” he says. Hixson did get a chance to visit Tom Doak’s truly reversible layout at Forest Dunes, Mich. – The Loop. He loved it, while noting the differences between his and Doak’s work. “The Loop is a lot different,” Hixson says. “What Tom did, with 18 greens and tees, is remarkable. This was a different program.” While Doak worked with a compact piece of property, Hixson faced the challenge of finding a way to communicate intimacy on a massive and complicated canvas. “This is its own big theater,” he says of Silvies. “We get up to some high points that afford great views of golf. But we also get down into the valleys and into some forested areas. There are four distinct environments, and it adds something to experience those in different ways each day.” The Hankins and Craddock courses are not the end of golf at Silvies Valley Ranch, either. A nine-hole short course will also open this summer. And next year, the resort will unveil a seven-hole “fun” course, McVeigh’s Gauntlet. “The Gauntlet is like those old calendars, the fantasy golf holes,” Hixson says. “They wouldn’t really work as part of a serious golf course, but man, are they spectacular. It will be a totally new way to connect with golf and golf shots.” And so, almost a decade after Hixson’s comet blew past the golf world with Wine Valley (and, previously, with Bandon Crossings), the light returns this summer at Silvies Valley Ranch. It won’t be the last you hear from Dan Hixson. Already, he has another – as yet, unannounced – commission, and once golfers discover what he has been working on these past eight years, the stars might just align to make Dan Hixson the next 25-year-overnight sensation. — Tom Ferrell cascadegolfer.com

Duke’s Scholarship Winner Won’t Let Hearing Loss Curb Her Dreams

na-Christine Louie is an outstanding student. A 14-year-old eighth-grader at Seattle’s St. George School, Louie boasts a 3.9 grade-point average, consistently makes the school’s honor roll and volunteers her time with younger kids, helping them with their homework. Louie is also a passionate golfer. At the age of six, she picked up her first set of clubs and hasn’t put them down since, starting off in the Jefferson Community Center’s Bogey Bear program, then joining The First Tee of Greater Seattle, and ultimately — thanks to her grandfather — earning a place in the junior golf program at Rainier Golf & Country Club. In the years since, her talent has grown, leading to consistent top-three finishes in club tournaments and a dream of pursuing golf in high school, college and beyond. She’s also passionate about serving her community. Inspired by her father and brother, both of whom have required kidney transplants, Louie has worked with the Northwest Kidney Center, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Seattle Children’s Hospital, dedicating parts of her days to brightening the days of others. Ana-Christine Louie is also mostly deaf. At school, her teachers use a special FM system that includes a microphone transmitting directly into Louie’s hearing aid in order for her to follow along in class. Louie could have used her hearing as a handicap — instead, she turned it into fuel, to study harder, focus more and out-work the typical teenage girl to achieve the lofty goals she’s set for herself. “Winning this scholarship would bring more to Ana than just monetary value,” wrote her mother, Ann Marie Louie, in one of the most inspirational nomination let-

Introducing Premier Golf Text Clubs! Join our Premier Golf text clubs to ters we’ve ever received. “Yes, the scholarship will enable her to take more lessons to improve her golf game, but it encompasses a life change. It will empower her as a female. It will empower her as an individual who is hearing-impaired. And it will teach Ana, and others like her, that there are organizations that care about people like her and support her passions.” Honestly, we can’t sum up the purpose of the Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship program much better than that, which is why we are proud to give the second $1,000 scholarship of the 2017 calendar year to Ana-Christine Louie. “Ana has overcome so much and inspires us to be better and appreciate what we have,” says John Moscrip, COO of Duke’s Chowder House. “We are absolutely thrilled to give her this scholarship, and expect to hear more great things as she progresses in golf and life.” If we could just run Ann Marie Louie’s nomination letter for her daughter in place of this article, we would. Here are a few more things that Louie had to say about young Ana: “Ana will show others that anyone can be successful.,” Louie writes. Although there are many women golfing, golf is still under-represented by females. Ana wants to not only be a positive golf role model, but a successful female one, with a diverse background. She wants to show the world that, ‘If there is a will, there is a way.’” Having read Louie’s letter, nobody at Duke’s Chowder House or Cascade Golfer has any doubt about the will, and we’re happy to help with the way. If you want to see your young golfer recognized with $1,000 from Duke’s Chowder House, send your own nomination letter to editor@cascadegolfer.com.

Nominate Your Favorite Course for Washington’s Top-10!

ascade Golfer’s ranking of the state’s top golf courses is back, and we need your help! In the coming months, we’ll be canvassing the state to collect as much data as we can for our third bi-annual ranking of Washington’s top public golf courses. Chambers Bay captured the top spot in both 2013 and 2015 — but David McLay Kidd’s Gamble Sands nearly dethroned the king in its U.S. Open year, finishing second in 2015 despite having been open for fewer than 12 months. Can Gamble Sands — or Wine Valley, Gold Mountain or any of the state’s other highly-rated tracks — take over the No. 1 spot? And where will your favorite course finish? In addition to gathering input from our team of golf writers and industry experts, we want to hear from you! What are your favorite public courses in Washington state? Are there any hidden gems that

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SHORT GAME

Kalispel Golf & Country Club

Kalispel Tribe’s Investment in Golf Paying Dividends Northern Quest Resort & Casino

Spend the Weekend in Spokane

oes the idea of a day or two in the Eastern Washington sun, playing some of the state’s top courses while crashing at night at one of Washington’s most luxurious casino resorts sound too good to believe? Well, believe it, because that’s exactly what we’re giving away in this issue — including one night’s stay at the spectacular Northern Quest Casino Resort, twosomes of golf to both Palouse Ridge and Kalispel Golf & Country Club, plus $50 to spend at Kalispel’s 1898 Public House or Kalispel Grill, and $40 at the Northern Quest’s award-winning Masselow’s Steakhouse. That’s four rounds of golf, one night’s lodging, and $90 in restaurant trade — all going to one lucky CG reader! Enter to win today at Cascade Golfer.com!

JUNE 2017

hen Spokane’s Kalispel Tribe of Indians stepped in to buy the venerable Spokane Golf & Country Club last year — with plans to rename it Kalispel Golf & Country Club and open up limited tee times to non-members — there were a fair share of skeptics. The Tribe owns and operates the Northern Quest Casino, but what do they know about golf? And furthermore, Spokane Golf & Country Club was one of the oldest and most reputable private clubs in the country — Bing Crosby was once a member there. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson all regularly stopped in to play. The first U.S. Women’s Open was held there 71 years ago. Would bringing in public golfers lower the course’s cachet? Luckily for golfers, the answers to both questions have turned out to be more positive than anyone could have hoped. In the year since the club was converted to Kalispel Golf & Country Club, membership has increased by nearly 20 percent, GPS has been installed on every cart, and the greens crew has been tripled from 10 to 30, vastly improving course conditions beyond even the high standard that had been previously set. In addition, the Tribe brought in Executive Chef Tyler Schwenk from Coeur d’Alene’s renowned Beverly restau-

rant to open a new gastropub, the 1898 Public House, and added a fitness center and two golf simulators to the clubhouse, investing just as much off the course as they put into ensuring a fantastic time for golfers from tee to green. “This is a must-see place,” said head pro Gary Lindeblad in a recent interview with The Spokesman Review. Lindeblad worked 31 years as head pro at Indian Canyon G.C. before coming to Kalispel last year. “There’s a goal with the tribe to make this the best place in the Northwest. The reception has been phenomenal.” In addition to the investment at the course — which, according to GM Bob Castle in the Spokane Journal, came through the region’s rough winter “perfect ... conditions are ahead of where they were this time last year” — the Tribe is also investing in the Northern Quest Casino Resort, with a specific focus on family-friendly amenities. Ground was broken this year on a resort expansion including a high-end RV park, a video arcade focused on non-violent gaming, a children’s entertainment center, daycare and more dining and shopping alternatives. The new wing of the casino is expected to open in 2018. To learn more, visit www.northernquest.com or call 877-871-6772.

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The Difference Makers: Bill Wright In our 10th anniversary year, we’re celebrating some of the contributors who have made our local golf scene what it is today. Last issue, we highlighted “The Legend,” Ken Still. In this issue, Craig Smith sits down with “The Pioneer” — Bill Wright.

ne of Seattle’s proudest golf legacies is producing the first African-American to win a United States Golf Association championship. Bill Wright was a multi-sport, 6-foot-2 athlete who had played on the 1954 state-champion basketball team at Franklin High School and, later, on an AAU team with Elgin Baylor. In 1959, he won the U.S. Public Links Championship at Wellshire Golf Course in Denver. A year later, Wright won the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) national championship while playing for Western Washington University. Wright is now 80 and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Ceta, who taught elementary school for 43 years. He remains friends with Baylor. Ceta handled my questions, because Wright’s memory isn’t what it used to be. She said that Wright’s father, Bob, used reverse psychology to get his son interested in the game, pointing out the city junior champion to Bill one day at Jefferson Park and saying, “You could never beat him.” One year later, Bill did precisely that. As with all minority golfers from the 1950s and 1960s, Wright had to deal with discrimination. Golf Magazine did a major story on Wright in 2009 on the 50th anniversary of his U.S. Public Links triumph. In the article, he cited multiple slights. At Western Washington University, he didn’t practice at the country club because there were indications he might be jeopardizing the team’s privileges to play there. At the 1959 U.S. Amateur, the players in his scheduled practice round group refused to play with him. Chick Evans, winner of the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open and namesake of the national caddie scholarship program, saw the snub and invited Wright to join his threesome. The other members were future PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman (a two-time U.S. Amateur champ), and a promising young golfer from Ohio named Jack Nicklaus. Wright played some on the PGA TOUR, but never received exemptions into tournaments, or any had financial backers. Money was always a concern and many white golfers were either unfriendly or condescending. Wright had always just wanted to be a golfer, not a “Negro golfer.” Immediately after winning the U.S. Public Links, he was handed a telephone and asked by a Seattle reporter how it felt to be the “first Negro golfer to win a USGA tournament.” He threw the phone down.

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Bill Wright

Instead of a career as a Tour player, Wright taught school with his education degree from Western, owned a car dealership in Pasadena for nine years and spent his final active years giving golf lessons at a par-3 course and driving range near the Los Angeles airport.

Ceta says the couple have chance encounters with former golf students. She said they seem proud to have had him as their teacher. Seattle is certainly proud to have him in its golf legacy. As some wordsmiths have put it, “There is nothing wrong with Mr. Wright.” — Craig Smith

CORRECTION In the April issue of Cascade Golfer, our “Difference Makers” article on Ken Still was accompanied erroneously by a photo of John and Pat (Lesser) Harbottle, who are to be the subjects of a future “Difference Makers” feature. We sincerely regret the error. Pictured at left are Ken and Linda Still.

JUNE 2017

SHORT GAME USGA Proposes Sweeping Changes To Rules Of Golf

f there’s one thing just about all golfers can agree on, it’s that golf has a lot of rules, and many of them quite simply make no sense. Take what happened to Lexi Thompson at April’s ANA Inspiration, the first major of the 2017 LPGA season. During the third round of the tournament, Thompson marked her ball on the green, then replaced it half an inch to the side of her mark — a mistake which gained her no advantage, but was certainly of her own making and, by the rules, subject to a two-stroke penalty. The catch is, nobody noticed — nobody, that is, except a television viewer at home, who called into the tournament after the conclusion of play that day to report the infraction. Officials reviewed the tape, confirmed Thompson’s error, and assessed the two-stroke penalty. But, they didn’t stop there — since the scorecard Thompson signed at the end of her round had not accounted for the penalty, she was penalized another two strokes, for signing an incorrect scorecard. The resulting four-stroke penalty — reported to Thompson in the middle of her final round — dropped her from the tournament lead back into the pack; she’d rally to force a playoff, but ultimately lose to Ryu So-yeon. The fact that viewers at home can impact rule deci-

JUNE 2017

sions is absurd enough, as it creates an unlevel playing field where the players whose shots are shown on TV are subject to a more rigorous officiating standard than those who are not. But, the idea that a player can be penalized for signing a scorecard made incorrect by a penalty they were never made aware of seems to violate all concepts of common sense. And do you know who agrees? The USGA. Well, maybe not with that rule specifically, but with the general idea that some of golf’s rules just don’t make sense. As such, the USGA has proposed sweeping changes to the Rules of Golf in 2017, a series of proposals that, if implemented, would mark one of the biggest overhauls to golf’s rules in more than three decades. The proposals are part of what the USGA calls their effort to “modernize” the game — that is, to make it faster, with rules that are shorter, simpler and easier to read and understand. More than 100 changes have been proposed, the net effect of which would reduce golf’s 34 core rules to just 24. These rules are currently open for public comment, with the final changes to be implemented in 2018. Here are a few of the most notable changes, and/or those most likely to impact your game:

1. The DJ Rule

You can now bring a DJ with you onto the course, and play music as loud as you want. OK, just kidding — this, of course, refers to the rule that infamously cost Dustin Johnson a stroke at the 2016 U.S. Open, when Johnson’s ball moved ever-so-slightly after he addressed it with his putter. Starting in 2018, should your ball accidentally move on the green, you will no longer be assessed a penalty.

2. Green Repair

One of our least favorite rules has stated that you can’t fix a spike mark, footprint, hoofprint or other blemish in your putting line. Should this rule change be approved, you will now be able to repair or remove almost anything in your line, with the exception of natural imperfections of the green surface.

3. Pace of Play

The allowable time to search for a lost ball will be cut from five minutes to three.

4. Easier Drops

Currently, the rules say you have to drop the ball from shoulder height — a rule that can often lead to deep lies

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4 CAN PLAY FOR THE PRICE OF 3! in tall grass, or balls that have to be re-dropped over and over because they bounce or roll too far away. Now, you’ll be able to drop from as low as you want, provided the ball isn’t touching anything (ground, grass, etc.), saving time — and likely a few strokes here and there, as well.

5. Embedded Ball

8. Relief from a Bunker?

You bet. Should you decide that there is simply no way you’ll ever make it out of that bunker (maybe you’re stuck in the pit on the 18th at Chambers Bay, for example), you may drop anywhere back from the bunker, on a line from the hole through the lie, for a two-stroke penalty.

Here’s one specific to our rainy season: currently, you’re only allowed relief from an embedded lie on the fairway or green. That area will now be expanded to include any area through the green, with the exception of a bunker.

9. Get a Move On

Under the current rules, any putt that hits the flagstick results in a two-stroke penalty. That will no longer be the case, even if the flagstick is left in the hole — another rule change that should shave a few seconds here and there.

The USGA proposed various rule changes that would create more lateral hazards, meaning less time spent hitting mulligans, or driving back to re-tee.

6. Keep The Flag In the Hole

7. Grounding Club/Loose Impediments in Sand & Hazards

Have you ever accidentally touched the sand in a bunker with your hand or the club? Starting in 2018, so long as the contact was accidental and didn’t occur directly behind the ball, or as part of a practice swing, it’s OK. Likewise, you will now be able to remove loose impediments in a bunker or hazard without penalty. And, you can ground your club in a hazard (not to be confused with a bunker) all you want.

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It is proposed that players be allowed no more than 40 seconds to make their stroke from the time they first address the ball. Currently, there is no official time limit.

10. More Lateral Hazards

Some of these rules, of course, will have a minimal affect on your weekend foursome — I’m guessing most amateurs already tamp down those spike marks, and I doubt any of your buddies are calling penalties on you if your ball moves a hair after you address it. But others — more lateral hazards, and the ability to ground clubs in hazards, drop outside particularly deadly bunkers, and keep the flag in the hole, etc. — should help to speed up the game, and also generate lower scores. And if you’re trying to grow the game, those two outcomes are a great place to start.

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FALLS C O U R S E

4 CAN PLAY FOR THE PRICE OF 3!

Only good for 4 players with same day tee time. Not valid with any other offers or discounts or on holidays. Expires 7/31/17.

JUNE 2017

SHORT GAME CG Cup Crowns First Winners of 2017 at Chambers Bay — Four More Tournaments (Including Gamble Sands!) Still On Tap

here’s a formula for winning a Stableford-scoring event, in which one point is awarded for bogey, two points for par, and so on. Put a couple of net eagles on the scorecard, and don’t blow up too many times, and you’ll be in good shape. The duos of Tom Garrett and Lenny Russo, and Seth Nickerson and Patrick Nugent, apparently never got that message. Despite nary an eagle (net or gross) between the four of them in the Cascade Golfer Cup Season Opener at Chambers Bay, the two teams rode consistent excellence from start to finish for their first-ever Cascade Golfer Cup wins, and a couple of golf getaways to enjoy later this year. In fact, Nugent is a repeat winner — playing with a different partner, the plus-four handicap also captured the gross-division title last year. Of course, when you shoot 71 on one of the most notoriously difficult courses in the state (and your partner, a plus-one, fires a 73 of his own), that’s not that hard to do. In fact, the pair were the first ever to record more points in the gross division (42) than in the net (40). Russo (a 10) and Garrett (a 14), meanwhile, ham-and-egged their way to scores of 78 and 89 en

route to 46 Stableford points and the net division crown, never recording a score better than a net birdie, but only once dropping below a net par. Both pairs — and the 56 teams of husbands and wives, fathers and sons (a record total at this event), siblings, best friends and weekend playing partners who joined them at Chambers Bay — enjoyed a glorious day on the state’s most celebrated course, including lunch, beer, hole contests and a coupon good for $75 greens fees at Chambers Bay later this year. They also earned points towards the season-long Cascade Golfer Cup title and the overall grand prize Summer of Golf package, including 15 twosomes to the top courses in the state to enjoy in 2018. With three events concluded (both the Washington National and Salish Cliffs tournaments took place after this issue went to print), four still remain, including the Michelob ULTRA Open at Oakbrook Golf Club (June 24), the Srixon Invitational at McCormick Woods (July 22), the Invitational at Gamble Sands (Aug. 12) and the Puetz Golf Shootout at White Horse (Sept. 9). As with the Chambers

Seth Nickerson and Patrick Nugent won the gross division at the 2017 CG Cup Season Opener at Chambers Bay.

Bay event, each tournament is its own, self-contained competition with both net and gross divisions and up to 25 team prizes, plus hole contests, tee prizes, meals, coffee, beer and more. “The CG Cup is a brother and sisterhood of golfers from every walk of Northwest life,” says series regular and 20-handicapper Sam Cameron. “We play the best courses and really anyone can win any day. The nervous excitement when the competitive juices start flowing is great. Sinking any putt feels good, but sinking a putt late in a tournament round, when you and your partner are having a good day — that feeling is unmatched! If you’ve never tournament golfed, it’s so cool!” To learn more, visit www.CascadeGolfer.com/Cup.

Cascade Golfer Cup Over $10,000 in prizes at every event!

Michelob ULTRA Open at

Srixon Invitational at

Invitational at

Oakbrook G.C. June 24

McCormick Woods July 22

Gamble Sands August 12

2-Person Scramble

2-Person Stroke Play Combined Score

For more information or to register visit cascadegolfer.com/cup PRESENTING

JUNE 2017

SUPPORTING

cascadegolfer.com

Save The Date! Boeing Classic Returns Aug. 21-27

he U.S. Open was great. So was the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last year. But as fun as those events are, they only come around once in a blue moon — or even more rarely, really. Even blue moons can be counted on every couple of years. There is one event, though, that brings PGA TOUR stars to the Northwest every year — and regularly provides thrilling finishes. The PGA TOUR Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic returns to The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge this summer, bringing 81 of golf’s biggest names to the Eastside for 54 holes of incredible golf, all with a $2.1 million purse on the line. One of the most exciting elements each year is anticipating the newly-50-year-old players who might make their Boeing Classic debuts — last year added fan favorite John Daly to a field that in the past has included legends of the game like Bernhard Langer, Tom Kite, Larry Mize, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara, Jesper Parnevik, Mark Calcavecchia, Brad Faxon, Lee Janzen and, of course, hometown favorites Fred Couples and Kirk Tripplett. Both Steve Stricker and David Toms will be joining the Champions Tour this spring; a specific announcement of the 2017 Boeing Classic field will be made later this summer. In addition to the big-name players and beautiful golf course, what we’ve always loved best about the Boeing Classic is how easy it is to follow your favorite players. The course’s most exciting holes — the eagleable No.s 1, 14 and 18, the par-3 No. 9, the uphill No. 10 and the par-3 13th — are all within a short walk of each other, and all close to the spectacular clubhouse above the 18th green. Or, you can choose to pitch camp in the Alaska Airlines VIP Canyon Club and watch golfers go for the green over Bear’s Canyon’s at the par-4 14th, enjoying big-screen TVs, upgraded concessions, live scoreboards, covered seating and discounted beers with every birdie. Tickets start at just $20 for a single-day pass (and just $10 for seniors), with discounts for advance purchase at www.BoeingClassic.com. If you have time, you can also consider volunteering — for $95, volunteers receive two weekly passes (a $120 value), two Cutter-and-Buck golf shirts, one Cutter-and-Buck jacket, a hat, preferred parking and an invitation to the Volunteer Appreciation Party. Plus, of course, the chance to go inside the ropes at our region’s coolest golf event of the year. So, let’s keep showing the PGA TOUR and the USGA what fan support of a golf tournament looks like — not only will it show we’re worthy of another U.S. Open, but we’ll have a darn good time while we’re at it.

cascadegolfer.com

JUNE 2017

IN THE

BAG

4-Star

PRODUCT REVIEWS and equipment news you can use

BY BRIAN BEAKY — CG EDITOR

Dad’s Secret Weapon

hen my father died a couple of years ago, my uncle and I went through his golf bags, digging through decades worth of club purchases to figure out what was worth keeping, what we should sell, and what — like those old Ping Eye irons — it might just be time to give away. It was then that I discovered that Dad had been keeping a secret from me the last couple of years — an obsession with high-end Asian golf clubs. Having no familiarity with the brands, we took them to the driving range ... and never wanted to let them go. My uncle crushed Dad’s mysterious driver and, despite never being able to hit a fairway metal clean, I couldn’t miss with the matching 3-metal. We thanked Dad for his investment, divvied up the sticks and have been playing them ever since. Over the last two years, Asian manufacturers have made significant inroads into the U.S. market. Once merely the stuff of rumor and legend, you can now walk into any Puetz Golf store and hit clubs from Honma, XXIO, Fourteen Golf and other top Asian brands. Hand-crafted to rigorous specifications, they’re truly works of art — and top peformers, as well. More and more American golfers are taking notice, with the brands grabbing an increasing share of the market from U.S. giants like TaylorMade and Callaway. In this issue, we dive into Honma’s artisan clubmaking process, and the impeccable craftsmanship that goes into each club. And since Father’s Day is right around the corner, we also share a few extra items Dad might have on his list — including Sergio’s Masters-winning flatstick, Justin Rose’s unique grips, and the latest kicks from Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson. Whether you’re taking care of Dad, or just taking care of yourself, we’re sure you’ll find something you like — and no one has to keep it a secret anymore.

JUNE 2017

HONMA

Be ZEAL 525 Driver

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

$604.99

ost manufacturers want you to buy as many clubs as possible over the course of your life. I mean, duh, right? The more clubs you buy, the more money Callaway, or Titleist, or PING makes. Thus, the constant cycle of new technologies, and new must-have releases, all designed to get you to open your wallet one more time. High-end Japanese brand Honma, though, is different. Their goal is to sell you one club that you’ll use for the rest of your life — and, of course, tell your friends to buy, too. That’s one of the reasons Honma’s prices are higher than your typical golf brand — the other, though, is that they are just plain incredible clubs. Take the Be ZEAL 525, a high-launch, “optimal-spin” driver targeted at mid-handicappers, but effective for any golfer. A thin crown, low-back CG and differentially thickened face gets balls flying higher and straighter from the get-go, while adjustable weights (new to the Honma line and available from 2-7 grams) allow golfers to adjust ball flight and trajectory. The company also designed its own low kick-point shaft for the Be ZEAL, using a trademarked material called Zxion for the tip, reducing vibration and energy loss.

2-Star

HONMA

BERES S-05 Driver2 PUETZ GOLF PRICE

2-Star $687.99 3-Star $899.99

ne reason Honma’s prices are higher than other manufacturers is that their goal is to sell you one club you’ll use forever, instead of cycling you through clubs every 2-3 years. Another is that both the shafts and heads of every Honma club are manufactured on-site, allowing them to design parts specifically for each club’s intended performance, and ensure that their high standard of design and construction is met. The S-05 is focused squarely on golfers looking to hit the ball straighter, or for what Honma calls “straight and smart” performance. The face is made of an ultra-lightweight, ultra-strong titanium called Ti-5N, spread at variable thickness. Combined with a stronger, lighter honeycomb crown, the result is a maximum face deflection, significantly increasing ball speed and distance. As with many Honma clubs, the driver comes in various “star” levels, from the entry-level twostar to the gold-plated four-star, each level corresponding to the quality of materials used in construction and the seniority of the Master Craftsman who oversaw the club’s construction. We’ve listed prices for the two- and threestars above, though by all means, if a gold-plated driver is for you, Puetz will happily put a four-star in your hands.

Order online at puetzgolf.com • Call Toll Free (866) 362-2441 cascadegolfer.com

3 HONMA

HONMA

BERES E-05 Driver

Be ZEAL 525 Irons

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

Starting at $687.99

omething else you didn’t know about Honma? Not only is every club manufactured entirely on-site, but nearly the entire club-making process is done by hand — indeed, of the company’s 700 employees, one out of every seven will handle every single club before it leaves the factory, either shaping the head, polishing the interior components, making the grips or hand-painting the shafts and heads (yes, hand-painting the shafts!). That attention to detail is what makes the clubs so effective, and what creates the demand that allows Honma to charge what it does for its high-end products. The E-05 is the most forgiving of Honma’s driver line, designed for players with slower swing speeds or those with a tendency to lose distance to a slice or fade. An extremely lightweight head and shaft (the result of a titanium 811 alloy crown and other weight-saving materials) allows players to generate more speed with slower swings, which, combined with a crown rib structure arranged parallel to the clubface, produces higher ball speeds and longer shots. Likewise, the club’s ultra-deep center of gravity keeps your drives on-target. With two-star, three-star and four-star models, there’s bound to be one for you.

cascadegolfer.com

$959.99

n the United States, the Honma name is just catching on. In Japan, they’ve been one of the market leaders for years, during which time pros and weekend hackers alike have put the clubs in play. Until 2016, though, Honma was missing a mid-range club, one that would help golfers bridge the gap from their ultra game-improvement IS- and IE- iron lines, and their high-end Tour World sets. That gap has now been filled by the Be ZEAL line, including the aforementioned driver (and fairway woods) and the all-new 525 iron line. That’s both in construction — the Be ZEAL’s soles are neither as thick as the IS-05s or as narrow as the Tour Worlds — and performance: a large, titanium face and stronger lofts than a typical iron produce longer ball flights, while internal weights in the head and toe produce a deep CG for more consistency on shots across the face. The standard set comes in a 6-11 iron, though the lofts — 25.5 degrees in the six iron up to 46.5 in the 11 — are equivalent to a 4-9 iron in a standard set. Additional irons can be added on either end of the set to match the lofts you need; be sure to go through a fitting at Puetz to make sure you have the right set for your swing.

4 HONMA

BERES IS-05 Irons5 PUETZ GOLF PRICE

2-Star $2,199.99 3-Star $3,599.99

s is the case with its drivers, the BERES line is Honma’s game-improvement offering, and the IS-05s are its leading game-improvement iron. A new face structure concentrates the force at impact into the ball, creating a longer carry distance, while the “effective repulsion area” of the face — that is, the part of the face that produces the most flex and ball speed at impact — has been increased by 25 percent over Honma’s previous game-improvement offering. The head size has also been increased overall to give golfers a greater sense of confidence at address and improve turf interaction, for longer, straighter shots. As with the Be ZEALs, the lofts are significantly stronger than a standard set — 25.5-46.5 degrees in the 6-11 iron, again equivalent to a standard 4-9 iron — to further increase carry distance, though without sacrificing launch angle thanks to a low, deep CG. Two-star, three-star and four-star models come with varying levels of materials and craftsmanship, though even the two-stars adhere to Honma’s strict quality-control standards. It’s a lot to pay for an iron set, sure — but if Honma is right (and their 40 years of success in the market suggest that they are), it’s the last iron set you’ll ever need.

FREE SHIPPING on orders of $99 and more • exceptions apply

JUNE 2017

IN THE BAG

TAYLORMADE

ODYSSEY

Spider Tour Putters

O-Works WBW Putters7

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

$299.99

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

hat do Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Sergio Garcia all have in common? If you said, “They’re all professional golfers” — well, c’mon, jeez, get more creative. Not only are they all major champions, and all ranked among the top-10 golfers in the world (see how easy that was?), they all use the same putter — the 2017 TaylorMade Spider Tour. Day used it to crush the field at THE PLAYERS (yes, that’s really how we have to write it). DJ used it to win the BMW Championship and climb to No. 1 overall. Then, Garcia used it to win The Masters, first nailing a 12-footer for eagle at 13 to get back into it, then draining the 15-footer that every golfer in America was sure he’d miss to claim the green jacket. So what’s so special about the mid-mallet Spider Tour? TaylorMade’s trademarked PureRoll insert combines an oversized, high-MOI head, 45-degree grooves and an insert that flexes on impact to impart topspin and get the ball rolling more quickly along its intended line. Each of the three models — Tour Black (DJ’s), Tour Red (Garcia’s) and Tour Platinum come with slightly different faces and hosels; test each one to find the right fit for you.

JUNE JUNE2017 2017

$219.99

olfers like Odyssey’s new O-Works putters. No, we mean they really like them. The new putters, which we wrote about in April’s “In The Bag,” feature a new metal “Microhinge” insert that performs like Odyssey’s industry-changing “White Hot” insert, but with a more pleasing sound and feel. That’s what has made O-Works popular not only with casual players who have favored the White Hot for years, but also with PGA TOUR pros who maybe wanted a little more feedback than White Hot could provide. Phil Mickelson has played an O-Works since the Ryder Cup; hometown favorite Andres Gonzales reps the O-Works as well. About the only thing holding some golfers back was the color scheme — black with white highlights, as opposed to the white-black-white combo that some golfers prefer (including Danny Willett, who used a white-black-white #1 to win last year’s Masters). So, Odyssey has released whiteblack-white (WBW) version of its three of its most popular O-Works models, the #1 Wide, mallet-style #7, and blade-style #9. Swing away.

Order online at puetzgolf.com • Call Toll Free (866) 362-2441

cascadegolfer.com

Don’t Forget Dad! Whether you’re male or female, it’s likely that you became a golfer because of your dad. Just under 80 percent of golfers are male — and given that that number has been steadily going downward for years, odds are that when you were a kid, it was your dad who stuck a golf club in your hands for the first time and took you out to the range. So, with Father’s Day right around the corner, how can you say thanks? We’ve thrown together a six-pack of ideas that we think will fit the bill:

FLAT CAT

TITLEIST

Putter Grips PUETZ GOLF PRICE

Limited-Edition U.S. Open Hats

$24.99

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

versized putter grips are nothing new, even on Tour. Jordan Spieth has used SuperStroke grips his entire pro career, while Sergio Garcia used one in his recent Masters win. It was Garcia’s playing partner in the final round at Augusta who caught our eye this year, though. Justin Rose, winner of the 2013 U.S. Open, used a new grip from a company called FlatCat — fully rectangular in shape, the grip’s sides mirror the angle of the clubface. Thus, if you can hold the grip straight, the clubface will be straight as well. We’re eager to check them out — because as that final pairing indicated, oversize grips are having a huge impact at all levels of the game.

emorial Day just passed, the U.S. Open is right around the corner, and the Fourth of July is hot on its heels. So what better way to show off your national pride than with a limited-edition Titleist Sport mesh hat in red, white and blue, emblazoned with the American flag? At under $30, it’s a low-cost gift that your dad is certain to enjoy — heck, buy two and you can celebrate the season together.

FOOTJOY

UNDER ARMOUR

DryJoy Tour Shoes PUETZ GOLF PRICE

Spieth One Shoes

$169.99

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

f there’s one thing in life that has proven true time and time again, it’s that everything old will become new again. So it is with the vintage-style FootJoy golf shoes, which were on the feet of Zach Johnson, James Hahn and several other players at this year’s Masters. These aren’t quite the same shoes your dad wore, though — while the exterior look is similar, they’re a modern marvel under the hood, with TPU stability pods to keep your feet steady through the swing, Cyclone soft spikes for grip on all kinds of surfaces, and modern-material construction to ensure breathability and comfort — plus, a two-year waterproof warranty.

ADIDAS

Tech Response 2.0 Shoes

$59.99

cascadegolfer.com

ver since the Air Jordan debuted in 1985, you’re not somebody in the sports world until you have your own shoe. Sure, Jordan Spieth may have won two majors, made millions and reached No. 1 in the world — but it wasn’t until this past March that he really made it. Under Armour’s new Spieth One shoe is the first signature shoe the brand has ever released. It’s lightweight and flexible, with an upper that keeps moisture out — both from the outside, and from within (i.e., sweat). It’s also stable, comfortable, blah, blah, blah — the point is, it looks great, it performs well, and it’s the same shoe the world’s best wears. That was good enough for the Jordans, and it’s good enough for these.

PUMA

Grip Sport Shoes PUETZ GOLF PRICE

efore we go any further, check that price again — $59.99. No we didn’t leave off the “1” — these are name-brand golf shoes, for under $60. A combination mesh and synthetic upper gives flexibility and breathability, while the adiWEAR outsole with TRAXION provides stability, and the lightweight midsole maintains comfort on a long day at the course. It’s important to note that they’re not waterproof, but every golfer needs a slick-looking summer shoe to go with their wintertime mudders. This one could be yours.

$199.99

PUETZ GOLF PRICE

$29.98

$79.99

r, how about this one? At only $80, it’s another terrific bargain for a golfer looking to add some sizzle to their summer style on the course. The roomy fit, breathable materials and SmartQuill spikes make the Grip Sport a particularly solid choice for golfers who prefer walking the course, maximizing comfort and stability over all other attributes. Heck, they’re so comfortable that we’d happily wear them as a tennis shoe off the course as well. Like the Tech Response 2.0, they’re not waterproof, but we’re confident you’ll get much more than $80 worth of use out of them during the sunny season.

FREE SHIPPING on orders of $99 and more • exceptions apply

JUNE JUNE 2017 2017

19 19

TEEING OFF

PRESENTED BY

Huskies’ Head Coach Mike Hopkins Isn’t Complete Without His Clubs AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BEAKY CG EDITOR

t can’t be said that Mike Hopkins has ever prioritized his golf game when it comes to career choices. First, he left sunny southern California for Syracuse, N.Y. — the snow capital of the United States — where he spent the next three decades playing, and later coaching, for legendary head coach Jim Boeheim. As one of Boeheim’s lead recruiters, Hopkins developed players that led the Orange to multiple Big East titles and the 2003 NCAA Championship, and served on numerous USA Basketball staffs. Then, in 2017, with the chance to take a job somewhere that would let him finally get his golf game back in shape, he accepted the head coaching job at ... the University of Washington, in the middle of the wettest winter since Noah beached his ark. The truth is, though, Hopkins knew exactly what he was getting into. His father was raised in Laurelhurst and graduated from Roosevelt High School before attending UW, while his mother was raised in Seattle before moving to Wenatchee. As a kid, the Hopkins clan used to vacation in Chelan and Seaside, Ore., though he says he doesn’t recall hitting any local golf courses when he was in town. That’s O.K. — as the Huskies’ new top Dawg, we’re sure there’s no shortage of die-hard fans out there who will be more than happy to show Hopkins around.

How old were you when you started playing golf? “I was probably 9 or 10, but I wasn’t very good; I preferred basketball, which I was good at. And so it wasn’t really until 1995 or 1996 that I bought my first set of clubs — Jack Nicklaus Golden Bears, which I still have to this day — and started taking lessons.” What have you heard about golf here in the Northwest? “I haven’t heard a lot, really. My father was a member of Sand Point Country Club, so he’s told me about a few courses. I’m sure there’s a ton of world-class golf, though, and I can’t wait to get out there — just as soon as my clubs make it here from Syracuse.” It wasn’t your top priority after taking the job? “Ha, oh my God, it was ‘survive and advance’ there for the first few weeks. Keep the team, build a staff, and try to put this thing together. But I’m really looking forward to getting my clubs and getting out there.” How’s your game? “Inconsistent. Some days, I’m unbelievable getting off the tee, and then my short game is all over the place. Other days, it’s the opposite. When I became decent, like a 15, I was able to put myself in the fairway pretty regularly.” Do you have a particularly memorable round? “Probably my greatest moment was in a tournament at my local club. It was a six-hour round, and I was really struggling. We reached Hole 13 — which is about 175 yards 20

JUNE 2017

over water — and by the time we were ready to tee off, there were two other groups lined up on the tee box behind us. I get up there and hit it, and the darn thing goes right at the hole. There was a little ledge on the green, so you couldn’t tell for sure if it went in or went over the ledge. So I just did the ‘father-son-Holy Spirit’ and walked up there and sure enough, it was a hole-in-one.” And with a gallery, too. “It made me nervous! It’s like shooting a free throw — only, I’m doing something that isn’t part of my natural skill set. I just took a deep breath and let it go. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I had to miss the banquet, but I got the ball, the scorecard, the skins, the closest-tothe-pin prize ... “ ...and the bar tab, too, right? (laughs) “They should have. Actually, the guy I was playing with took care of that for me. It was very nice.” What do you like best about golf? “The thing that I love about it is being out in nature, with a friend, no cell phones. And it’s an incredible mind game. To be able to do it on a high level, you have to have emotional intelligence, and be confident and positive. That’s a challenge that I love.” Have you been able to use the Husky Golf Performance Center in Alaska Airlines Arena? “No, but I can tell you one thing — for an hour a day, once this thing slows down, I’m paying the golf coach whatever she wants to get me going.”

Has anything surprised you in your first couple of months? “Not really. The thing that’s so impressive is that the people have been so welcoming. They’re just good people. It’s one of the big reasons that I made the decision to come. My parents used to always call this place ‘wholesome.’ There’s a lot of wealth around here, but also a very blue-collar feel, which I think is who I am and matches my personality.” What defines a Mike Hopkins team? “Toughness. Compete at the highest level. And togetherness. We’re a team first. Those are qualities that are non-negotiable. The only way you grow is by stressing your body and stressing your mind. So, right now, we’re trying to push our players to areas they’ve never been before. What I’ve seen are a bunch of kids that are inspired by the challenge, and are becoming closer together.” If you weren’t coaching basketball, what would you be doing? “When I finished playing basketball, I was going to go back to work for my father’s company, which made absorbency products for hospitals and companies. I figured I’d do that, get married, and that would be that. I never actually thought I’d get into coaching. The only reason I didn’t end up working for my dad was because he couldn’t hire me! (laughs) But, after coaching for so many years, I can’t see myself doing anything else. I want to serve and I want to help people; that’s what inspires me as a coach.” cascadegolfer.com

Duke’s Annual Junior Golf Scholarship

Nominees for the Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship are welcome for the 3rd quarter of 2017. Young women and men can be nomincated at cascadegolfer.com!”

RISK vs. REWARD Mount Si Golf Course

Hole No. 2 Par 5 521 yards (Blue Tees) The Setup: Last summer, the course put in a new tee box slightly up and to the left, which is used about 50 percent of the time. For this round, we will assume you are playing this tee, which moves the risk/reward on this hole from your second shot, to your tee shot. Trees line the entire hole. The green sits back to the right and is guarded by fir trees short and right, and by a small marsh behind the green that, in the rainy season, will dash all hopes of a good score. OB stakes line almost the entire right side.

The Risk: Have you ever been on a tee box, amped up to take a risk for birdie, then one minute later, cursing your greed and wishing you’d just played it safe? Welcome to Mt. Si

By Simon Dubiel No. 2. Although a well-executed tee ball can leave you under 200 in, a poor shot will have you mumbling four-letter words. An overcooked draw can easily leave your ball in the nasty rough with no angle to the green, or even worse, a sideways chip out of trouble. Now, you have 200-plus in for your third. Fun! If you happen to push your shot right, the result can be worse, as you watch your ball run through the fairway, past the poplars and in between the white stakes.

The Reward: This is your best bet to get home in two on any of Mount Si’s par-5s. The aggressive play is a slight draw off the tee to cut the corner over the trees above. Hit this shot pure and you can be looking straight down the flagstick from as close as 150 yards. With a short iron, you should be

able to keep from running off the back into the marsh, while the better angle should take the right-side trees out of play.

Final Call: If you aren’t living on the edge, then you’re taking up too much room. Although you can’t lose what you don’t put in, you also won’t make a living by folding. Time to push a stack forward, take O.B. out of play, aim left and cut the corner. Even a poor shot that rattles around in the trees will most likely give you a chance to get back into decent position for your third. But that ain’t the plan. Today, we are playing to win and are blasting away. Let your buddies play it safe and then pull out their rangefinder to find out how far in front of them your drive is. They can try to save par while we survey our 40-footer for eagle. Stack those chips!

PRESENTED BY

% 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

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18-Hole Golf Course located just one mile from the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth JUNE 2017

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10 10 FOR

The 10 Biggest Stories

Our First 10 Years

OF VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 2 • AUGUST 2007 • COMPLIMENTARY

Volume 2 • Issue 2 • June 2008 • Complimentary

Volume 2 • Issue 1 • April 2008 • ComplimentAry

Volume 2 • Issue 3 • august 2008 • Complimentary

Scott oki Puget Sound’S golf Robin Hood

FEAST IN THE EAST PROSPECTOR

Volume 2 • Issue 4 • DeCember 2008 • Complimentary

Volume 3 • Issue 2 • June 2009 • Complimentary

Volume 3 • Issue 1 • April 2009 • ComplimentAry

tiPS to get youR kidS in

tHe game

BeHInd tHe scenes BoeInG classIc

Road HoleS

swING At the eCoNomY

at tHe

PoRtland’S toP PlaceS to Play

World’s coming to Chambers Bay

Northwest golf News & views

dAN hIxsoN CrAFts A mAsterpIeCe

PenInsula GolF

FINDS HER WAY ON THE LPGA

By aIr, land and sea

JEFF GOVE

Road Trippin’

GRINDS IT OUT

Inland GolF emPIre

Summer & Fall are the time to put the top down and hit the road, Cascade Golfer style

P.32

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"I loved the stories on the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in 2015. It was a great event for the Pacific Northwest, with beautiful weather and great golf on a tough course. I don't care what the prima-donna nay-sayers had to say about the course. SHOWTIME That was the chalDEMO DAYS lenge of it, playing the course and your competitors at the same time. I felt privileged to have witnessed this this great tournament." VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 2 • JUNE 2015 • COMPLIMENTARY

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— Tim Pratt, Port Orchard Photo by Simon Bruty / Courtesy USGA

2007 2017 By Brian Beaky CG Editor

’ll be honest — when our company, Varsity Communications, launched Cascade Golfer 10 years ago this month, we weren’t thinking a decade into the future. A Seattle-area publishing and events company known mostly for youth soccer publications and food-and-wine expos, we just thought it would be fun to channel our love for golf into a publication that we’d enjoy reading — one written not for the country-club set or the aspiring Tour pro, but for the 14-handicapper and his or her buddies, who go out on weekends and take the occasional golf vacation in the summer. In other words, golfers like us. We were just happy to get that first issue out the door, and hoped that someone out there would read it. And if they didn’t? Oh, well, at least we’d enjoy it. Today, Cascade Golfer is the foundation that supports much of what we do as company, from the magazine itself — mailed out to nearly 400,000 Puget Sound readers each year — to the Cascade Golfer Cup and Match Play tournaments, CascadeGolfer.com, the Cascade Golfer Players Card, the Northwest Golfers Playbook and our thriving social media community. Even most of our family vacations are booked around magazine-related golf trips of one type or another, to places we have or are planning to cover. What was little more than a fun idea 10 years ago, has quite literally become our entire lifestyle. While we can certainly take this occasion to point to many stories, features or issues with pride — and over the next several pages we

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will — what’s been most fulfilling over this past decade are the connections we’ve made with our readers. One of my favorite things, when paired with golfers I’ve just met at a local course, is to find out what they think about Cascade Golfer, before telling them what I do for a living (indeed, many times, I never confess). It’s incredibly rewarding to hear golfers say how much they enjoy the magazine, and how they’ve used it to plan trips or try new courses that they may not otherwise have tried. And if I’m being honest, as editor of the last 38 of our 40 issues (tip of the cap to founding editor Charles Beene, who pulled this train out of the station), it’s been personally rewarding, too. We put a lot of ourselves into every issue, and to have readers say that resonates or inspires them means a lot. Over the next 10 pages, we look back at some of the biggest stories in the local golf scene over the past 10 years, along with some of our favorite features and CG issues, and some of yours, too. We also look ahead to the next 10 years, and imagine what we might be celebrating in our 20th anniversary issue, assuming you all decide you want to keep us around that long. Our stated goal from the beginning has been to give our readers the “news and views you can use” — putting local interest first, and considering the value of your golf dollar first and foremost in everything we do. I know I speak for everyone when I say that being a part of the Cascade Golfer community along with each and every one of you has been a true privilege.

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FEATURES 1. U.S. Open Coverage (2007-2015) — From beginning to end, an unforgettable experience. 2. Bobby’s Opus (Apr. ‘15) — Robert Trent Jones, Jr., and the creation of Chambers Bay. 3. Higher Education (Aug. ‘14) — Steve Kelley broke the story of local teacher and part-time Chambers Bay caddy Michael Greller, on the bag for PGA TOUR rookie Jordan Spieth. 4. The Shoemaker’s Son (Dec. ‘09) — The story of Ballard native and UW grad Karsten Solheim and the creation of PING Golf. 5. Pulling the Pursestrings (Aug. ‘12) — Asked (and answered) the question, “What would it take to bring an annual PGA TOUR event to Seattle?” 6. Diamond In the Rough (June ‘11) — How Suncadia’s all-new Rope Rider course pays tribute to Roslyn’s mining history. 7. 36-Hole Day Trips (Multiple) — Our one-day whirlwinds to Wine Valley, Palouse Ridge and Gamble Sands all received votes, and have been some of our favorite memories, too. 8. Big Momma’s House (Dec. ‘15) — Revisiting Seattle native and LPGA legend Joanne Gunderson Carner. 9. Brown Is The New Green (June ‘10) — A look at the shift towards minimalist golf course design. 10. The Land Time Forgot (Dec. ‘14) — The rich history of Kauai, through its golf courses and resorts. 30

JUNE 2017

Gamble Sands • No. 10

1. The 2015 U.S. Open

2. Opening of Gamble Sands, 2014

I mean ... duh. In our very first issue, in June 2007, we were given a sneak peak at Chambers Bay before its official opening later that month. From the announcement a year later that it would host the Open, through the 2010 U.S. Amateur and the tournament itself, we covered every story there was to cover. In a way, it’s always sort of felt like Chambers Bay was our “home” course — not only did we both make our debuts in June 2007, but it’s the kickoff venue for the Cascade Golfer Cup each year, and its municipal nature speaks to what we’re all about at Cascade Golfer, with our focus on daily-fee golfers. Plus, between agronomic issues, the new driving range, ongoing discussions about clubhouses and hotels (which should be coming soon!), and of course, the endless stream of news stories provided by the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open themselves, we’ve written something about Chambers Bay in practically every issue of Cascade Golfer. The four days we spent covering the tournament onsite — Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging to our website, CascadeGolfer.com — and sharing that experience with over 40,000 people who engaged with us online, was incredible. We can’t wait to do it again — and we’re certain we’ll have the chance.

I’ll never forget being at a meeting of golf writers in 2013 and hearing CG contributor Tony Dear casually mention that David McLay Kidd — the designer of Bandon Dunes and Tetherow, two of America’s top-100 public courses — was about to open a new golf course in Central Washington. Things like this don’t just happen. There’s a cycle to stories like this: architect signs on and draws up plans, funding is approved, construction begins, etc. The notion that a golf course could be built in our own backyard, in the middle of a recession, by such an acclaimed designer — and nobody would know about it until it was nearly finished — was absurd. But, sensitive to the many pitfalls that stall a golf course project, that was Kidd and owner Cass Gebbers’s plan all along — don’t talk about what you’re going to do, talk about what you’ve done. The remote location in Brewster (just north of Chelan) helped, as did the media’s focus on Chambers Bay and the upcoming U.S. Open. In the three years since Kidd and Gebbers pulled back the curtain on Gamble Sands, it’s joined Kidd’s other Northwest designs on the “top-100” lists, and could very well become the first course to knock Chambers Bay out of the No. 1 slot when our bi-annual rankings of Washington’s top public courses come out this fall.

"At Puetz Golf, we have valued our partnership with Cascade Golfer throughout the last 10 years. We feel strongly that Cascade Golfer readers have always received a first-class publication, with superior content and engaging stories. We look forward to our continual journey with such a great team!" — Mike Livingston, Puetz Golf

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4. Fred Couples Comes Home

3. Native American Investment One of my favorite stories we ever wrote was Tony Dear’s article in the April 2011 issue on the increasing role that Native American tribes were having in the local golf scene. For the previous few years, the golf media had been filled with mostly gloom and doom — the recession was eating up revenues, young players weren’t picking up the clubs at the same rate that old golfers were laying them down, and courses nationwide were being forced to close their doors forever. We certainly weren’t immune — Sumner Meadows, Tall Chief, Tyee Golf Course, Tanwax Greens, Wellington Hills, Ballinger Lake and others all folded up shop during the recession. But, while much of the nation was seeing nothing but cuts, our region was offsetting those cuts with growth and investment, both in new courses and remodeling of existing ones, thanks almost entirely to our local Native American tribes. White Horse nearly went under in 2009, when general manager Bruce Christy had to “beg, borrow and steal” enough maintenance equipment and fertilizer to keep the course in playing shape, even selectively choosing which holes to mow on which days. That’s when the Suquamish Tribe stepped in with millions of dollars to

JUNE 2017

The professional return of Fred Couples in 2010 stirred audiences.

save the course, oversee a redesign of several of its holes, construct a new clubhouse and throw the full marketing power of the Clearwater Casino Resort behind it. Now, White Horse is thriving again — as are Cedars at Dungeness, Circling Raven, Salish Cliffs, Wildhorse, Kalispel (formerly Spokane) Golf & Country Club and Swinomish (formerly Similk) Golf Links, all built or bought by Northwest tribes over the last decade. It’s scary to think where we might be without these investments; thankfully, our tribes aren’t going anywhere soon.

Look, we’re not saying that the 2015 U.S. Open wasn’t a big deal. But other than Tiger Woods, we’re not sure we saw galleries as big — or as loud — for any golfer at Chambers Bay as those that followed Fred Couples at the 2010 U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee. Playing in a competitive event on home soil for just the second time since his junior golf days at Jefferson Park, Couples put on a show, crushing impossible drives, nailing long putts and seemingly feeding off of the crowd’s energy at every turn. After Couples fired the low round of the day on Saturday (65) to move into a tie for first with Bernhard Langer, the region was ready to explode on Sunday to celebrate the dream homecoming for its favorite son. Langer compared the crowds to those at Ryder Cups — loud and overtly partisan — and those that follow the biggest names in golf history. “They were definitely against me and for Freddy,” he said. “When you play in the same group with Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer, certainly the Ryder Cups ... you get a lot more of this,” Langer said. “I knew what was coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier.” Langer handled it well, though, firing a final-round

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67 to best Couples’ 70 — the latter including a chunked shot into the water on the second hole of the day. Less than a month later, Couples returned for his first-ever Boeing Classic — only to have Langer spoil the party again. Regardless, though, the summer of Freddy’s return was the most excited we’ve ever seen Northwest golf fans outside of the U.S. Open, and his ongoing presence in the years since has kept the Boeing Classic among the Champions Tour’s most celebrated and well-attended events.

5. The Transition to Minimalist Design As Tony Dear wrote in his June 2010 article, “Brown Is The New Green,” most new courses in the 1980s and 1990s were built as the centerpiece of high-end real-estate development; to attract buyers, the course needed not only to be of good quality, but also to “pop.” (This feature also included one of my favorite photos we’ve ever run in the magazine; this seems like a great excuse to use it again on page 38.) Around the early part of this century, however, golf course architects began to realize that brown could be ... beautiful. Call it the “Bandon Dunes Effect.” David McLay Kidd’s links-style course — firm and fast, using fescue grasses and the natural shape of the land — was a massive hit

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“I have enjoyed traveling and sharing experiences around the globe about golf away from home. But, my favorite thing is to read about how we see our home as a destination and treat it with the respect it deserves. Few places on Earth have deserts, oceans, mountains, rivers, hills and prairies, all in one place. We glorify that each issue, and that is pleasing to this publisher.” — Dick Stephens, Publisher

with U.S. golfers, shooting to No. 1 on many “best public” course lists and proving a theory that golf course designers and superintendents had been sharing for years, one that owners and developers just couldn’t believe: Americans can handle, and enjoy, a British Isles-style golf course. Most of the major openings of the last decade have followed suit — Palouse Ridge, Wine Valley, Gamble Sands, Tetherow and, of course, Chambers Bay at the local level; Whistling Straits, Erin Hills and others on the national scene. Cheaper to build, cheaper to maintain and friendlier to the environment, minimalist courses have been the story of the last decade (or two) in golf course construction. And they’re a heck of a lot of fun, too.

6. Ryan Wins the Ryder Cup Earlier, we wrote how it feels like we’ve grown up alongside Chambers Bay. We feel the same way about Ryan Moore. The Puyallup native carried our very first cover (at right), and we’ve charted every milestone of his career — his first PGA TOUR win; his early struggles with injuries, equipment and confidence (“Scratching the Surface” Apr. ‘10); the creation of TRUE Links footwear in 2010 and RMG Golf in 2012; his father’s influence (“Home Grown,” June ‘13); and, finally, his rise into the upper echelon of American pro golfers, starting with his second win in 2012, and continuing through his selection to the Ryder Cup team in 2016. When the U.S. needed a putt to clinch its second Ryder Cup victory of this century, the man they turned to was a kid who grew up playing at The Classic in Spanaway, where his dad still works the counter. And, of course, he nailed it. We were among the first media outlets to talk to Ryan in-depth after the Ryder Cup, and the changes in his voice compared to earlier interviews — the confidence and pure happiness — were palpable. It’s been incredibly cool to cover Ryan’s first decade in professional golf, and we wish him and his family the best of luck in the next 10 years to come.

JUNE 2017

3 • AUGUST 2015

• COMPLIMENTARY

FOR

With the overall number of golfers on a steady decline for the past 20 years, the golf industry has had to get creative to figure out new ways to bring people out to the course — or to simply get them to pick up a club. Frisbee golf has become more popular, while Footgolf’s popularity has soared — Meadow Park was the first course in Washington to offer Footgolf (where “golfers” kick soccer balls towards oversized cups in the ground) in May of 2014; today, more than 20 courses do so, including Suncadia Resort, Gold Mountain, Semiahmoo Resort, Jefferson Park and many others. Likewise, Topgolf has drawn in an uncountable number of golfers who may never have picked up a club in the first place. While we don’t yet have a Topgolf in Washington — though we’re doubtful that will be the case for very long — the company has 40 locations across the United States and four more overseas, combining a cool bar setting, great food and comfortable lounges with a functional driving range. Players hit GPS-embedded balls to colorful targets on the range that light up when you hit them, and earn each player points to compete against their friends. We recently visited a Topgolf in Dallas with two golfers and two non-golfers — all four had a fantastic time; as, seemingly, did the thousands of other Topgolfers whacking away into the night. What mini-golf was for families and friends in the 1970s, Topgolf will be to the 2020s. The USGA’s recent focus on Pace of Play — the Play It Forward initiative, and proposed rule changes for 2018 — plus courses creating three-hole and six-hole routes, or allowing golfers to spread 18 holes over multiple days, are also important, necessary changes to grow the game. Over the last decade, the focus has been on making golf faster, easier and more accessible for golfers of all ages and abilities — and if we’re going to still be writing stories like this in 100 years’ time, that’s the direction the game has to go.

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“One of my favorites was the Top-10 Courses feature from August 2015. Unlike in 2013, our first rankings, the 2015 list included inSAVE put from everyday golfers, along with those in the golf industry. What I really like about our content is that we connect with what our readers want to read. I hear this over and over when I am talking with golfers in the group I am playing with. Ranking-type features (Courses, Favorite Holes) offer a great way to get feedback from our readers and let their voice be heard.”

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“I’m proud of times we were able to break news or tell an under-reported story. We ran Steve Kelley’s piece on University Place’s Michael Greller (Jordan Spieth’s caddie) nearly a year before Spieth won The Masters. Jordan’s mom was so excited, in fact, that she had both Jordan and Michael autograph a cover for us that now hangs on our office wall. I was also proud of Bob Sherwin’s story about the challenges facing LPGA Tour players and the stark economic difference between life on the men’s and women’s Tours. There’s still a long HEAD OF THE CL ASS way to go there.” VOLUME 8 • ISSUE

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AND 10 MORE ...

It’s no fun to just look back. What might we be talking about in our 20TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE? 1. Our Next U.S. Open — It’s not a question of “if,” but “when.” Despite media and player criticism of the greens, the USGA was thrilled with the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, which produced one of the most dramatic endings in tournament history. They’ll be back. 2. Our Own Bandon Dunes — We’re just going to keep predicting this until it comes true. There’s too much Washington coastline for us not to have a world-class golf resort. 3. Ryan Moore’s major championship win — He’s won several times on Tour, and if his Masters performance was any indication, his Ryder Cup success has bolstered his confidence in pressure situations. It’s going to happen. 4. Fred Couples’s Boeing Classic title — He’s won just about every other thing on the Champions Tour, but his hometown title still eludes him. Give him 10 more tries, though, and he’s bound to win one — assuming the back holds up. 5. The Next Ryan or Freddy — There’s a junior golfer in our state right now — likely somewhere between 14-18 years old — who will make a big splash on the PGA and/or LPGA Tour in the next decade. We can’t want to find out who it is. 6. The Rise of Topgolf — As rounds of golf decline, Topgolf — where players eat, drink and hit golf balls to light-up targets on a real driving range to score points and compete with friends — is exploding in popularity. By 2027, we predict that more new players will swing their first stick at a Topgolf than at a course or driving range. 7. Faster Rounds — Many of the USGA’s proposed rule changes are targeted at speeding up the game. Combined with new technologies like Topgolf’s GPS golf balls, or drones that marshal the course and let you know when it’s safe to hit, the increased pace of play could be a big boost to golf’s fortunes in the next decade. 8. Holograms — They’re already being used in concerts and other venues. Why not golf? Imagine if an instructor could show you a hologram of your swing; or better yet, if you could swing along with a hologram of a PGA TOUR player to learn proper setup, swing plane and body mechanics. 9. The First Martian Tee Shot — Humans have hit a golf ball on every celestial object we’ve set foot on. Mars, you’re next. 10. How To Hit It Longer and Straighter — As long as there’s golf, this one isn’t going anywhere.

JUNE 2017

Bob Sherwin did a terrific story on this topic in our April 2017 issue. Where mom-and-pop golf courses owned by a local family who worked the pro shop, made your sandwiches and cut the grass were once the backbone of the golf industry, the game is slowly but surely turning over to corporate hands in downtown office towers — or, other countries entirely. Over the last decade, we’ve seen local courses like Redmond Ridge, Harbour Pointe, Washington National and Trophy Lake become part of the Oki Golf conglomerate (the latter two in 2005), before being sold once again to a Chinese holdings group in 2016. Family-owned tracks like The Classic, McCormick Woods and Oakbrook Golf Club merged business operations under the RMG Golf banner, before handing over management responsibilities to Columbia Hospitality in 2015, which then also added North Shore to its roster last year. Cedarcrest and Crossroads teamed up with Premier Golf, while others just disappeared entirely, lost in the economic shuffle. Today, five groups — HNA Holdings, Premier, Access Golf, RMG and the various Northwest tribes — account for more than 40 Western Washington public courses. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing for golfers — having corporate money behind a course generally (though not always) means more investment and greater resources — it’s definitely left some of our local favorites out in the cold, struggling to compete with their deep-pocketed neighbors.

9. The Oregon Coast Explosion No, you didn’t miss some dramatic news event. We’re talking about the fact that the Oregon coast — that place where you probably went as a kid to run down the sand dunes, eat salt-water taffy, visit the sea lion caves, or try to find One-Eyed Willy’s treasure — has become a magnet for golfers worldwide. Ten years ago, Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes were well-established as golf Meccas, and Bandon Trails had just come onto the map. In the decade since, the Trails course has become a top-20 track in its own right, while Old MacDonald and Bandon Preserve have turned the Bandon Dunes Resort into an 85-hole ocean golf brain freeze that every golfer in the world must experience before they die. It’s also drawn attention to the region’s other great tracks — Dan Hixson’s Bandon Crossings just down the road (same designer as Wine Valley), Ocean Dunes and Sandpines in nearby Florence, and others. And in a decade’s time, we could be writing about how the long-rumored Pacific Gales — slated to begin construction later this fall 30 minutes south of Bandon, in Port Orford, Ore. — put them all to shame. In 2007, it was reasonable to think that the Oregon golf renaissance had already happened — instead, it’s only gaining steam. cascadegolfer.com

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10. Hello and Welcome In 2006, the top-five courses in Golfweek’s rankings of Washington’s best public tracks were Gold Mountain (Olympic), Trophy Lake, Semiahmoo, Port Ludlow and Desert Canyon. In 2016, when Golf.com published the most recent rankings, not a single one of those courses made the list, replaced by newcomers Chambers Bay, Gamble Sands, Wine Valley, Salish Cliffs and Palouse Ridge. Our bi-annual rankings will come out in August, and I suspect they’ll look much the same. We may not be building courses at the same clip that we were in the mid-to-late 1990s, but the ones we’re building are spectacular — in addition to those listed above, the last decade has also seen the opening of White Horse, The Home Course and Rope Rider at Suncadia, each of whom joined the five aforementioned tracks in our 2015 top-10. Of courses built before 2007, only No. 4 Gold Mountain (Olympic) and No. 10 Bear Mountain Ranch cracked the list — and BMR is a relative newbie as well, having opened in 2005. While much of the country is talking about golf’s contraction, we’re watching the game grow right before our eyes. It’s just one more reason why there’s no better place to live.

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Newcomer Palouse Ridge was one of many courses that proved brown can be beautiful.

“I really enjoyed ‘Diamond in the Rough.’ Our editor, Brian Beaky, wrote this piece telling the story and history of Suncadia. Not only was this a well-written and intriguing piece, but it is something I think about every time I am at Suncadia. I dig knowing the history, whether it be knowing the hill separating the last three holes is called Tipple Hill and is comprised of coal tailings, or knowing where the term ‘Rope Rider’ came from. Suncadia is a neat place and this was one of my favorite reads from our magazine.” — Simon Dubiel, Golf Sales Manager

JUNE 2017

ROAD HOLES We picked the 18 best holes in Central Oregon — now it’s up to you to go prove if we’re right

Central Oregon’s

By Tony Dear

Dream

s the name of this publication suggests, we like to celebrate golf on and around the glorious snowy spine of the Cascade Mountains, and we’re not sure there’s anywhere better to do it than Central Oregon, with its collection of first-rate public courses. On the northwestern corner of the high desert plateau, at roughly 4,000 feet above sea level, not only can you frequently use brilliant white Cascade peaks as your aiming point, you invariably play in comfortably warm temperatures (mid-to-high 60s in May, rising to the 80s in July, and dipping to the 60s again by October) and on superbly-conditioned fairways and greens kept firm by a paucity of rainfall – just four inches typically fall between the beginning of April and end of September. Central Oregon’s golf region is anchored by the delightful city of Bend, just a three-hour drive from Portland, or five-and-a-half from Seattle. Besides golf, you’ll find numerous other activities to enjoy such as hiking, rafting, mountain-biking, lava tube-exploring, fishing and, if you appreciate a skillfully crafted adult beverage, a thriving artisan beer scene that has earned the town nicknames such as Beervana and Beer City, USA, and which currently provides one brewery for every 9,000 residents or so. Bend distills some high-quality spirits, too, if you need something a little stronger. Speaking of distilling, we’ve condensed the area’s 500-plus golf holes into 18 we consider the best of the best — five par 5s, nine par 4s, and four par 3s — holes that showcase the beauty and splendor of one of our favorite destinations. We spoke with owners that built them, architects that designed them, and PGA pros lucky enough to play them as often as they like.

Tetherow Golf Club • No. 17

JUNE 2017

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Tetherow Golf Club No. 2 Par 5 • 514 Yards • Tan tees It didn’t take long for David McLay Kidd’s 2008 design to gain a reputation for being excessively difficult and just a little too quirky. The steepest grades and most unconventional features needed to be softened, and when they were, the brilliance of Kidd’s layout shone through. Full of interest, variety and strategy, the course is now rightly considered among Central Oregon’s finest, with numerous candidates for our Dream 18. We chose the second, 13th and 17th, but several others — first, sixth, ninth, 10th and 18th — came close to making the cut. “Thirty years ago, I suspect a lot of earth would have been moved to level the ground,” Kidd says of the split-level fairway at No. 2. “These days, there is thankfully a move to retain more of the landscape’s natural features. The step in the ground was there, so it was pretty obvious to us to keep it and have two separate fairways. And it splits right at the point you lose sight of your ball, which I think gives it a real sense of mystery.” And, as Kidd says, you have to check the position of the pin, the wind, etc., before deciding which side to approach the green from. “It’s a real game of chess,” Kidd adds.

Tetherow Golf Club No. 13 Par 5 • 541 Yards • Tan tees Another stellar par-5, the 13th begins with a great view of Broken Top Mountain between two pines and falls away to the right, before finishing on a right-to-leftsloping green with a pond short left. “It takes two great shots to reach this hole in two,” says Kidd, “so unless you’re really comfortable hitting the driver, I suggest going with something safe that will put you in the fairway. I love the view from the tee, and the decision you need to make with your second. The green is right on the edge of the pond, so going for a left pin can be very dangerous. The green slopes toward the center from the right, so it makes sense to err toward that side, and let the ball funnel downhill toward the hole.”

Tetherow Golf Club No. 17 Par 3 • 164 Yards • Tan tees The 17th is surely Tetherow’s most recognizable hole. Set in a depression with the green surrounded by sandy banks, it is immediately striking and, thanks to Kidd’s post-opening revisions, a tough but playable challenge. “Seventeen is set in an old pumice quarry,” says Kidd, “and, as I understand it, it used to be a place where organic garden waste from Bend was dumped. After we

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JUNE 2017

ROAD HOLES cleared it all, it seemed fairly obvious that something similar to the 17th at Sawgrass, with sand instead of water, would work well. We’ve doubled the size of the green since it opened, which means the putting surface is certainly easier to hit than it was, but you can leave yourself some awfully long putts if your distance control is out.” To leave yourself an uphill birdie putt (and you will want an uphill putt), take a club less than the yardage to the hole suggests.

Crosswater at Sunriver No. 4 Par 4 • 368 Yards • Member tees Crosswater opened in 1995, and may well be the best course Bob Cupp designed in his long and distinguished career. A private club on which guests of the Sunriver Resort can play, Crosswater was built on an environmentally sensitive area of wetlands, and is part of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses. One good hole follows another, but PGA Assistant Andrew Tyrholm has picked No. 4 and No. 12. “The fourth really requires you to think,” says Tyrholm of the hole named “Left Be Gone.” “Where you place your tee shot is key, because you want to leave yourself your most comfortable distance into the shal-

JUNE 2017

Crosswater at Sunriver • No. 12 low green. You can’t be short or long as you’ll disappear into the wetlands, so you really need to have your distances dialed in. When the approach shot is in the air, you never know how it’s going to end up until it lands. I think it’s a great hole.”

Crosswater at Sunriver No. 12 Par 5 • 572 Yards • Member tees “This is definitely my favorite hole on the course,” Tyrholm says of the left-sweeping par-5 named “Endless,” which resembles a longer version of TPC Sawgrass’s finishing hole, with a lake all the way down the left side. “When you make your way from the 11th green

through the trees, you come out to one of the course’s best views. But with water on the left, trees on the right, and a really small green, it is a very demanding hole.” Mt. Bachelor rises majestically in the background, allowing you to take your mind off the challenge ahead of you just for a moment. “It’s so beautiful,” says Tyrholm. “Every time I play this hole, I want to take a picture.”

Pronghorn Resort Nicklaus No. 13 Par 4 • 330 Yards • Copper tees One of the finest private and residential clubs in the western United States, Pronghorn is also a resort which

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der to create it,” he adds. “The hole just naturally flows through the various rock outcrops and valleys. Jack very loosely compared this hole to the par-5 sixth at Pebble Beach, where players play down into a valley and then back up the hill to the green site.” And, just as you’ll probably never forget playing the sixth at Pebble Beach, it’s unlikely you’ll forget taking on this beauty, either. Pronghorn G.C. • Nicklaus No. 15

Aspen Lakes Golf Course No. 11 Par 4 • 407 Yards • White tees

welcomes guests to luxury homes that are part of a rental pool. There are two courses, one reserved for club members and designed by Tom Fazio, the other a public Jack Nicklaus design that is surely among the best of Nicklaus’s extensive design portfolio. Like Tetherow, the Nicklaus Course at Pronghorn offers several options for our list, but after speaking with Chad Goetz, an associate designer with Nicklaus’s company who was heavily involved in the project, we chose the 13th and 15th. “The irrigation lake at the thirteenth had to be created and blasted into this location,” says Goetz of the hazard that borders the entire right side of the fairway, creating a great cape-style hole. “Jack then decided to take advantage of the blasting and expand the lake to

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the green location in order to create the dramatic wall behind the green.” This allowed the putting surface to be lowered slightly nearer to the level of the lake. The pot bunker in the middle of the fairway was added during one of Nicklaus’s last visits to the course, to place additional emphasis on accuracy, Goetz notes.

Pronghorn Resort Nicklaus No. 15 Par 5 • 498 Yards • Copper tees While the 13th had to be manufactured, the amazing, uphill, par-5 15th was a very natural hole, says Goetz. “Very little was done to alter the landscape in or-

“’Faith’ is the signature hole here,” says Rob Malone, Director of Golf at the course the Cyrus Family built on a 1,084-acre parcel adjacent to its farm beginning in the late 1980s, and whose first nine holes eventually opened in 1996 (the second nine followed four years later). “It’s a medium/long par-4 with a lake down the entire left side, and a two-tiered green,” he continues. “As you make your way up the fairway following your drive, you will encounter trumpeter swans, geese, ducks and perhaps an osprey or eagle. If you’re really lucky, you may see the sturgeon roll.” When you reach the green, glance backwards to see the majestic Three Sisters in the background.

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ROAD HOLES Aspen Lakes Golf Course No. 18 Par 5 • 527 Yards • White tees “The home hole is a genuine, three-shot par-5 that dog-legs slightly to the right,” says Malone. “As you approach your second shot, you’ll be mesmerized by the contrast between the lush, green grass, red sand, ponderosa pines and snow-capped mountains. The approach is guarded by grass bunkers in front, and red sand bunkers to the rear, and requires a delicate shot to hold the narrow green.”

Black Butte Ranch Glaze Meadow No. 5 Par 3 • 147 Yards • Blue tees The 2012 renovation John Fought carried out to Gene “Bunny” Mason’s 1982 Glaze Meadow is more accurately classified as a redesign. Mason’s original had become overgrown, its irrigation system antiquated, and its challenge outdated. Fought added 400 yards, rebuilt greens and tees, reshaped certain holes, and opened up playing corridors to make room for the modern game. It was a total transformation that essentially created an entirely new course with a great many holes that would fit on our list. Fought chooses the par-3 fifth and par-4 closing hole.

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Aspen Lakes G.C. • No. 18 “The fifth (pictured on page 46) is one of the most spectacular holes at Glaze Meadow,” Fought says. “It was overgrown with trees, and there were perhaps too many rock outcroppings before the renovation. But now there are wonderful views of the lake that surrounds the back and right of the green. The putting surface fits against the lake with a creek running diagonally across the front, making it a challenging par from every tee.”

Black Butte Ranch Glaze Meadow No. 18 Par 4 • 398 Yards • Blue tees Like the fifth, the 18th was badly overgrown, says Fought, with huge ponderosa pines towering over the

fairway and green. “When the excess trees were removed,” Fought adds, “I adjusted the tees back so drives would challenge the top of the ridge. Bunkers were also added on the right in order to protect the ideal landing area. The putting surface sits directly in line with Black Butte in the foreground, making the hole both challenging and very beautiful.”

Brasada Canyons Golf Course No. 9 Par 4 • 406 Yards • Black tees Accessible to resort guests, this beautiful Peter Jacobsen/Jim Hardy design opened in the summer of 2007, and quickly established itself among the region’s best courses.

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ROAD HOLES Brasada Ranch is located 20 miles northeast of Bend, and has been voted “Best Resort in the Pacific Northwest” by readers of Condé Nast Traveler for the last three years. Portland native Jacobsen says the ninth is his favorite hole. “At 499 yards, it is a long and difficult par-four that requires two long, straight shots to reach the green,” he says. “The fairway is very wide, which allows the player to swing away and hit it hard. We built this hole intending it to be something of a par-four-and-a-half, balancing it with the par-five 18th, which is a definite birdie chance.”

Brasada Canyons Golf Course No. 18 Par 5 • 540 Yards • Black tees “From the elevated tee box, a slight draw will help you turn the corner and give you a chance to reach the green in two,” says Jacobsen. “There’s water short and left of the green, which forces you to hit an aggressive but precise approach shot to the flag. I like that each nine finishes with two distinct challenges.”

Sunriver — Woodlands No. 17 Par 3 • 175 Yards • Blue tees

The wonderful Sunriver Resort is the Granddaddy of

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Black Butte Ranch • Glaze Meadow No. 5 Central Oregon resorts, having opened in the late 1960s. The resort’s first golf course – Meadows – opened in 1969 and was designed by Fred Federspiel. Thirty years later, John Fought carried out a major renovation almost as extensive as the Glaze Meadow rebuild he would complete 13 years later. The Woodlands Course, Sunriver’s second, was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., and opened in 1982. Jones can’t be sure of the present-day routing, not having been back to Sunriver in many years, but says he is a big fan of the hole that plays toward Mt. Bachelor. “I believe Mr. Jones is referring to the 16th,” says Chris Points, the head professional at Sunriver. “That is certainly a very good hole, but my favorite is probably the 17th, a really challenging par three with water on three sides of the green, and a bunker protecting the front-left.”

Black Butte Ranch Big Meadow No. 14 Par 4 • 382 Yards • Blue tees Big Meadow at Black Butte Ranch opened in 1970, a year after the Meadows Course at Sunriver, and was designed by Robert Muir Graves, whose longtime associate Damian Pascuzzo renovated the layout in 2007. The course possesses a number of striking holes, but none stick so long in the memory as the par-4 11th, with its view of the Three Sisters, or the 401-yard 14th, whose elevated tee shot (75 feet above the fairway) gives you a superb look at Three-Fingered Jack, and where an intricate bunkering pattern calls for careful positioning.

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Black Butte Ranch • Big Meadow No. 14

Aspen Lakes G.C. • Sisters

Juniper G.C. • No. 5

Lost Tracks Golf Club No. 8

Quail Run Golf Course No. 11

Par 3 • 175 Yards • Tee No. 2

Par 4 • 355 or 393 Yards • Blue tees

By far the most talked about hole at Lost Tracks is the par-3 16th, whose island green is surrounded by water and reached via a bridge set in an old train car. A facelift in 2015 helped to maintain its position among the region’s most memorable holes. On this occasion, however, we will defer to course owner and designer, Brian Whitcomb — a former President of the PGA of America — who regards the par-3 eighth as the course’s best. Bob Garza, Lost Tracks’s Director of Instruction, agrees. “The green widens the further you go back, but it’s just 15 paces wide at the front,” he says. “So, with a front pin, the target is very tough to hit, especially with the pond short and left. The tree that used to stand guard to the left of the green was taken out a few years ago, which has helped the turf and made the hole very slightly easier, but it’s still one of the toughest pars on the course.”

Jim Ramey also built the first nine holes at Quail Run, 25 miles south of Bend, on 100 acres alongside expert shaper Phil Busekist of Par 5 Construction, in 1991. He returned 15 years later to add the second nine, bringing the course up to 6,897 yards from the blue tees. Ramey regards the closing hole highly, but is especially fond of the 11th, which he describes as a “really cool short par 4.” “There are two sets of tees, one that keeps the hole straight, another that turns it into a dogleg,” he says. “And it has a tough little green that makes four a good score whichever tee you play.”

Win A Foursome to Aspen Lakes!

o, what do you think of our picks? Did we hit a hole-in-one? Or did we shank it into the woods? We’re going to help you find out for yourself by sending you and three friends to Central Oregon to play one of our favorite high-desert tracks, Aspen Lakes, where you can see for yourself just how good that 18th hole really is. We’re confident you’ll agree with our choice — and if not, you’ll no doubt think one of those other 17 holes was just as deserving. Log on to CascadeGolfer.com for your chance to win!

Juniper Golf Course No. 5 Par 4 • 413 Yards • Green tees Since incorporating in October 1951, Juniper has had three homes, its most recent designed by John Harbottle and opened in July 2005, just a mile or two from Redmond’s Municipal Airport. Harbottle created a typically intelligent, thought-provoking course, full of intrigue and decision-making. Nowhere is that better illustrated than at the tough, par-4 fifth, which features a partition in the fairway, with the narrower right side giving a significantly better line for the approach shot to the narrow green than the wider left. This was Harbottle at his best.

Crooked River Ranch Golf Course No. 5 Par 4 • 260 Yards • Blue tees “The fifth quite rightly gets all the attention at Crooked River Ranch,” says Jim Ramey, the longtime superintendent (now retired) at Sunriver and Crosswater, who also designed a handful of courses in the area, including Crooked River Ranch’s second nine holes in 1994 — 15 years or so after Bunny Mason’s original nine had opened. “It’s a short par-four that plays across the Crooked River Gorge, and is a very exciting tee shot,” he adds. “And the 405-yard 17th, which I added, is another fun hole with the back tee set in the rocks.” cascadegolfer.com

JUNE 2017

TRAVEL BAG

Big Sky Golf Club • Pemberton, B.C.

A Little Slice of Heaven Away from the hustle and bustle of Whistler, Pemberton is our favorite B.C. summer getaway

By Brian Beaky • CG Editor

t’s been common to hear our friends and neighbors in recent months say that they’re moving to Canada. So, we figured, let’s go see what all the fuss is about. As we’ve written many times over the last 10 years, one of the best things about golfing in the Northwest is how easily we can find ourselves in the mountains, on the coast, in the sunny grasslands and vineyards of Central and Eastern Washington — or, in another country entirely, a trip made all the more attractive in recent years by the favorable exchange rate (as of this May, $1 U.S. gets you $1.37 in Canada). It’s less than two hours from downtown Seattle to the border, and barely two more to our favorite cross-border destination — Pemberton, B.C., home to Big Sky Golf Course and the Pemberton Valley Lodge. Now, you might ask — Pemberton? Not Vancouver, or Whistler? Yes, and here’s why. Vancouver is a fantastic city to spend the weekend in, but even its terrific municipal courses can’t match those you can find a little farther north, like Big Sky, Furry Creek, Chateau Whistler or Nicklaus North. Meanwhile, the high demand for the Whistler name and location creates higher prices — for lodging, golf, restaurants, you name it. By staying in Pemberton, you leave yourself less than a half an hour from some of Canada’s most acclaimed courses, while keeping money in your pocket to spend in the town’s shops and restaurants. It’s typically 5-10 degrees warmer than Whistler, too, and shielded by the surrounding mountain peaks from much of the valley’s wettest weather.

After an hour spent driving past the snow-capped mountains and glacier-fed, turquoise rivers of the Sea-toSky Highway, you’ll be in the perfect frame of mind when you pull into the parking lot at the Pemberton Valley Lodge (pembertonvalleylodge.com). Consistently ranked among the area’s top resorts, the Lodge’s all-suite rooms are almost universally larger than those you’ll find for a similar price in Whistler, with complimentary parking, Wi-Fi and those breathtaking mountain views. Guests also have access to complimentary bike rentals and hiking trails — one of which just so happens to lead directly to our primary reason for coming, the incredible Big Sky Golf Course (BigSkyGolf.ca). Ranked No. 1 in the province and among the country’s top-50 courses by multiple magazines, Big Sky is one of the most unique courses you’ll ever play. For one, the entire course is surrounded by mountains, in every direction — none more impressive than the towering Mount Currie, which dominates the northern skyline. Sunset on the face of Mount Currie is one of the prettiest sights you’ll ever see. Unlike most mountain courses, Big Sky has few elevation changes and almost feels more like a links or wetlands-style course — indeed, the property is routed across land that was once a vast marsh, used for growing Pemberton’s ubiquitous potatoes. (Once used to feed hungry Canucks, they are now, happily, turned into vodka and other spirits by the folks at Pemberton Distillery, downtown.) The relatively level land and abundant water features make the course unique among Whistler-area tracks — and also put a significant emphasis on shot-making. Shots that miss the

fairways may well wind up wet, and even finding the greens isn’t a guarantee of success — Big Sky’s are some of the largest greens in the area, making club selection and accuracy paramount to a good score. Our publisher, Dick Stephens, wrote last year about his fondness for the split-fairway 12th hole; I’m partial to the 14th, a long par-4 with one of the course’s few elevated tee boxes. Crush a drive and watch it hang forever against the backdrop of those snow-covered peaks; it’s a sight, and a feeling, you won’t soon forget. Big Sky also leads the way when it comes to creating unique, on-course experiences for golfers, beyond simply what their 18 holes have to offer. We’re talking dog-friendly tee times, outdoor movie nights on the range, yoga on the golf course, live music, a five-hole par-3 course for families ... and that’s just the low-key stuff. There’s also a Wellness package combining yoga, golf and a farm-to-table lunch; Fins & Skins, which blends a round of golf with a half-day of fishing; and the coup de grace, a Heli Golf package, in which you’ll be flown up to the top of 8,500-foot Mount Currie to blast (biodegradable) golf balls into the ether, laughing giddily with every shot, before returning to the golf course for 18 holes and drinks on the patio. Hey, when we said Big Sky was one of Canada’s most unique courses, we weren’t kidding. Whether for the savings, the solitude, or the opportunity to hit golf balls straight through the front door of heaven itself, it’s tough to beat Pemberton in the summer. So, don’t beat ‘em — join ‘em.

YOUR Win Your Own British Columbia Golf Getaway!

ou know what’s better than a favorable exchange rate — FREE. That’s what you’re going to get with this month’s CG Jackpot — a free night’s stay at the luxurious Pemberton Valley Lodge, plus golf for two at one of British Columbia’s most celebrated tracks, the Big Sky Golf Club in Pemberton! Rated No. 1 in B.C. and No. 13 in all of Canada, it’s a round golfers travel the world to play — and we’re giving it to you for free! Enter to win today at CascadeGolfer.com!

JUNE 2017

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JUNE 2017

SAVE SOME GREEN HIT THE ROAD, JACK BY BRIAN BEAKY • CG EDITOR

t’s summertime in Seattle, which means tops down on the convertibles, tunes blasting from the speakers (check out some of our favorites on page 54), and a chance to hit the road in search of some truly excellent golf. June is when we start to expand our horizons — both geographically, to include courses on the peninsula, up north and across the mountains; as well as financially, upping our maximum greens fees into the middle ranges. As such, we’ve picked two of our favorite courses to hit when temperatures warm up and the days get a little longer, each of which pack plenty of value into their 18 holes. Play one of these or head out to your own favorite summertime track – because a day swinging the sticks under our warm summer sun beats a day doing just about anything else.

In the “Sun Belt”

At The Golf Course Download our new App for Great Deals

(Search “Camaloch” on the iTunes or android app store)

Featuring some of the best and most well maintained greens in the area! Located in the Sunbelt of Western Washington

We receive less rain during the wet season and less heat during the summer

Offering Discount Punch Cards No Expiration

Remember, we’re only 15 minutes from I-5 exit #212, in the “Sun Belt” on Camano Island.

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Camaloch Golf Course

(800) 628-0469

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Port Ludlow G.C. • Timber No. 7

The Resort at Port Ludlow PORT LUDLOW

I’ve seen Port Ludlow at its best – with tens of thousands of colorful flowers in full bloom around the greens, towering cedars splicing the sun into shafts of light like cathedral windows, stumps left over from the property’s timber-logging past rising from a low mist rolling in off the cove. I’ve also seen it at its worst – a few years back, the course’s irrigation system went out in the middle of our hottest summer on record. Greenskeepers tried their best to save the grass, literally filling garbage cans with water at the clubhouse and driving them out onto the course to pour over the rain-starved turf. Now, this was a few years back, so you might ask, Why is this relevant? Because even when he fairways were starved for water and the course staff were doing everything they could just to hang on – Port Ludlow was still a blast. Anyone can love a course when it’s in perfect shape – it takes a truly great course to inspire that same kind of loyalty when times are hard. In the years since, new management has taken over the course and pumped a significant amount of money into its maintenance – including a new, high-tech irrigation system, reconditioning of certain greens and fairways, and other work designed to restore the course to the way it looked the day designer Robert Muir Graves put on his finishing touches and Golf Digest declared it one of the top-50 golf resorts in America. They even brought back the course’s original superintendent to oversee most of the work – if Graves were to visit today, he’d smile. From the No. 2 tee box on the Tide nine, usually played as the front, one can look down past the gen-

tly rolling, green turf to the sailboats gently bobbing in Ludlow Bay, and just beyond, the cozy Port Ludlow Inn, all backdropped by Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains. Despite being built as part of a real estate development above the resort itself, practically no houses come into play anywhere on the course; furthermore, Graves routed the holes such that each is isolated from every other – when you’re out on the course at Port Ludlow, it’s just you, your playing partners, and the natural landscape around you. Other favorite holes include Tide No. 4, a fun par-5 that wraps around a wetland filled with heron, beavers and various waterfowl; Tide No. 9, a steep, uphill par-4 with one of the prettiest greens in the region; Timber No. 2, a downhill par-4 where you can let fly and watch your ball roll an extra 40 yards; and the two closing holes, Timber No. 8 (one of the Northwest’s signature par-3s) and Timber No. 9, a reachable par-5 that gives you a great chance to close your round with eagle or birdie. One of the first courses we reached out to when putting together our inaugural Cascade Golfer Players Card in 2012, Port Ludlow is one we’ve been proud to affiliate ourselves with ever since. Check it out this summer and let us know what you think – we’re confident you’ll be glad you did.

YARDAGE (PAR) 5,240-6,861 (72) RATES $50-$55* TEL (800) 455-0272 WEB www.portludlowresort.com * See website for current rates cascadegolfer.com

2017 Frontier Building Supply

5 PERSON BEST BALL July 28th-30th Entry: $160/player

(Member discounts available)

Eaglemont G.C. • Mount Vernon

3 Days of Golf

(1 practice rd., 2 tourn rds., 2 lunches)

10,000

$ Over payout Optional Side Games Hosted Beer Garden

Eaglemont Golf Course MOUNT VERNON

Eaglemont’s new-ish (I mean, it’s been five years, but it still feels new to us) clubhouse sits at the course’s highest point, at the crest of a hill overlooking the beautiful Skagit Valley. Farmlands and tulip fields extend far off into the distance — unless you’re there first thing on a summer morning, when you’re more than likely to look out over a vast expanse of low-lying fog in the valley below, with the course rising up from it like Heaven’s own private 18. The first hole, a 400-yard par-4 from the 6,300-yard gray tees, tumbles down the slope, while the next seven wind tightly across a hillside dense with trees, brush and occasionally hidden hazards, before the ninth brings you back up the clubhouse. The back nine is much the same — holes that traverse the various slopes, with bedeviling wastelands, copious bunkers and some of the region’s best greens. Certainly, the first time you play Eaglemont, you’ll want to tee it forward — while the course can be extended to as much as 7,006 yards, those many hazards and tight fairways make shot selection paramount. Allow yourself one time around to learn the best spots to place your drives and approach shots; then, if you feel comfortable, drop back a bit to your normal playing distance and let it rip. It’s a challenge, no doubt — one strong enough to host USGA qualifiers and other top-tier events, and rank 10th in the state by Golf Digest in 2011 — but one that any golfer should be eager to accept. Playing the red (5,140 yards, 124 slope) or white (5,766 yards, 129 slope) tees takes many of the longest carries off the tee box out of play; the grays (6,354 yards, with a slope of 141) are a good compromise for mid-handicappers or better golfers who want to feel a little of Eaglemont’s bite, without crossing all the way to the 6,700-yard blues or the 7,000yard blacks, with their 74.8 rating and 149 slope. Iron sharpens iron, the saying goes. You may shoot 75 at Eaglemont or you may shoot 95, but you’ll walk away better for the experience, and eager to try it again.

YARDAGE (PAR) 5,140-7,006 (72) RATES $32-$71 / Play all day for $75* TEL (360) 424-0800 WEB www.eaglemontgolf.com * See website for current rates cascadegolfer.com

ADIDAS Horse Race

Optional $10 horse race sponsored by Adidas featuring over $3,000 worth of prizes to the winning team. Come join us for an exciting weekend!

2 FOR 1 GREENS FEE if you mention this ad. Good after 1:00 p.m.

WhidbeyGolfClub.com • (360) 675-5490 2430 SW Fairway Lane, Oak Harbor WA 98227

77 Years of Continuous Operation Snohomish Golf Course

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SnohomishGolfCourse.com (360) 568-2676

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7805 147th Ave SE Snohomish, WA 98290

6006 Meridian Ave N Tulaip, WA 98271

Bring this ad in and receive 4 golfers for the price of 3 plus a small bucket of ball for all. Good 7 days a week after 11 a.m. Expires July 31, 2017

Free online tee times JUNE 2017

POST GAME

Rock It & Rip It By Brian Beaky CG Editor

nyone who has ever been to a professional baseball game has probably asked themselves at least once, “I wonder what my walk-up song would be?” You know the walk-up song — the one that plays through the stadium public address system as a batter approaches home plate, or a reliever enters the game from the bullpen. Nearly every major leaguer chooses their own library of songs — some of the more wellknown selections include “Hells Bells” for Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, “Enter Sandman” for the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, “Wild Thing” for the Phillies’ Mitch Williams (yes, directly ripped off from the movie “Major League”), “Bad to the Bone” for Jay Buhner, and, of course, Junior’s “Hip Hop Hooray.” (And then there’s Alex Rodriguez, whose choice of a then-obscure “Who Let The Dogs Out?” for his walk-up song in 2000 officially put that song on the map. It’s literally the worst thing he has ever done.) For fans, each song choice is a little window into the personalities of our favorite players. Which is why it was cool earlier this year when the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship brought the “walk-up song” to golf, allowing golfers to choose a piece of music to accompany them on the first tee. (How the Waste Management Phoenix Open wasn’t the first to do this, at its “Greatest Show On Grass” par-3 16th hole, I can’t understand.) We scoured the web for evidence of what our favorite Tour pros picked, and couldn’t find any clues. In the meantime, though, we asked our readers on Facebook and Twitter for their selections, and included a few of our own for good measure. For those about to rock, we salute you.

“You Could Be Mine” | Guns n’ Roses The song gets the juices flowing. Great drums as you enter the tee box and go through your practice swing, then “I’m a cold heartbreaker / fit ta burn / and I’ll rip your heart in two.” BAM! Flushed! At least that’s how it works out in my fictitious, walk-up-song dream scenario. — Simon Dubiel, CG Golf Sales Manager

“Another One Bites The Dust” | Queen Walking to the tee, with that song playing, fires up the crowd, which can impact the shot and affect whether the ball hits the green or not. Since I know I would shank it with the noise, I would, in effect “bite the dust.” — Jason Francis, CG Reader

“Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” | Wham I’m gonna need to get the crowd all jazzed up before I bust my tee shot into the stands. — Bryan McLean, CG Reader

“The Bitch Is Back” | Elton John For being a fun and competitive female golfer. — Teresa Miller, CG Reader

“Limelight” | Rush The opening 15 seconds of the song is powerful, and speaks about a humble person being on a world stage. — Dick Stephens, CG Publisher

“Fly Like An Eagle” | Steve Miller Band Just tee ’er high and watch it fly, baby! — Jason Meadows, CG Reader

“Bloody Well Right” | Supertramp Describes the direction of most of my drives. — Michael Johnson, CG Reader

“Puttin’ On The Ritz” | Irving Berlin Because I look so darn sophisticated when I slide those short putts past the cup! — Dave Hall, CG Reader

“Cherub Rock” | Smashing Pumpkins For my money, one of the best side one, track one cuts of all-time. A little snare drum riff, then James Iha’s rhythm guitar kicks in, the drum beat gets a little stronger ... that’s right around the time I imagine the patrons turning to each other excitedly and saying, “Oh, my gosh ... it’s BEAKY!” I’d let the anticipation build for 20 seconds or so before Billy Corgan’s distorted lead guitar explodes into the foreground, right as I step out from behind the crowd and onto the tee as men roar wildly and women pass out from excitement. Then, of course, I’d proceed to slice my drive well out of play ... but hey, we’ll always have that intro. — Brian Beaky, CG Editor

Win Golf in Central Washington!

summer wouldn’t be complete without a trip across the mountains. So, we’re going to help you out by planning your Central Washington golf getaway for you, including a twosome at Leavenworth’s Kahler Glen Golf & Ski Resort and a second at Highlander Golf Course in East Wenatchee. One lucky CG reader (and their favorite traveling companion) will be enjoying 36 holes of Central Washington golf on us, so log on to CascadeGolfer.com and enter to win today! 54

JUNE 2017

Highlander G.C. • No. 9 cascadegolfer.com