6 minute read
Let’s Play Two & Toast
Pair these courses together, play 36 and raise a glass after for a full-day feast of golf
BY BART POTTER • CG STAFF WRITER
This article is for those who aren’t (yet) on a first-name basis with their podiatrist. It’s for those who like to follow a round of golf with a round of golf. We hear you. We were once you.
Each of the following pairs of courses are close in geography and provide an outstanding day of golf for you and your playing partner.
This is also where we aim to answer what might be the better question: What do you do after the round of golf that follows the round of golf? We have thoughts. Specifically, where to go after a 36-hole day for quality libations, locally made, to soothe your aching bodies and wounded souls.
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Eagle’s Pride & Oakbrook
Roughly a dozen miles separate these two venerable golf courses in Pierce County, which makes them perfect candidates for a Play 36 day.
Oakbrook (8102 Zircon Dr. S.W., Lakewood), formerly a private course now open to the public, has a justifiable reputation for some of the best greens in South Sound. The par 71, 6,715-yard course is much more open since the removal of hundreds of trees in recent years.
Eagle’s Pride, on Joint Base Lewis-McChord just off Exit 116 from I-5, boasts three nine-hole layouts — the Red, Blue and Green, all open to the civilian public — to be played in seasonally appropriate combinations. Eagle’s Pride also underwent a massive tree-removal project without altering its essential character.
TASTING NOTES:
Where to go after 36? This one’s a no-brainer: Forward Operating Base (FOB) Brewing Company is a veteran-owned and operated brewpub serving hand-crafted beer in Dupont (2750 Williamson Place, Suite 100). The taproom’s regularly updated rotation includes Heart of Darkness Imperial Stout, SNAFU Red Ale, and POG traditional cider. Taproom hours are 3-9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Friday 3-10 p.m., and Saturday 3-9 p.m.
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Hawks Prairie & Woodlands Links
Two golf courses, joined on one northeast Thurston County property, flowing seamlessly through unobtrusive residential neighborhoods. That’s Hawks Prairie (8383 Vicwood Lane, Olympia). A day here with 36 holes of golf couldn’t be easier to arrange.
The Woodlands (par 72, stretching to 7,170 yards) is the more rugged of the HP courses – a cart may be advised here, especially if part of a two-fer. Sprawling fairways meander through tall timber, ponds and wetlands, and its multi-tiered greens are among the largest in the region.
The Links (par 72, 6,887 yards) with its open fairways and rolling hills is a contrast to its wooded partner. The links-style layout reaches to the mouth of Puget Sound, with water on nine of 18 holes.
Best part yet: The Hawks Prairie complex offers a special for a two-course 36 – pay full rate with cart in the morning and your afternoon round will be at the twilight rate with cart included.
TASTING NOTES:
Thirty-sixers who are wine-inclined can get their tastes right in the neighborhood at Stottle Winery (2641 Willamette Dr. NE, Suite E), just minutes from the golf courses. Tastings are offered Wednesday through Saturday from 12-6 p.m. and Sundays 12-5 p.m.
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The Classic & Tapps Island
The Classic Golf Club in Spanaway and Tapps Island Golf Course in Lake Tapps are about 20 minutes apart, and a beautiful little drive between the two stitches together the 36-hole day. This gives you a chance to refuel your legs and mind and see the beauty of Pierce County.
Start your day at The Classic (4908 208th St. E.), home course of PGA Tour pro Ryan Moore. It offers a testy but fair experience for golfers, with elevated greens, rolling hills, natural ponds and distinctive bunkers and grasses. It’s another course where mass tree removal opened up the course and its sight lines.
A pause to do some math: You’ll need to play Tapps Island twice to eventually end up with 36 holes for the day — Tapps Island (20818 Island Park Way E.) is a ninehole course. If you’re up for it, Tapps (par 35) is more than up for you, with lots of water and ample challenge. Or … skip out after one nine and get a jump on the après part of the festivities.
TASTING NOTES:
How about a change of pace? Spanaway and Lake Tapps are light on distilleries, wineries and breweries that are open to the public when 36-trippers would need them to be. There’s a meadery, that makes mead, in Spanaway, but really? So temporarily set aside the need for locally crafted drinkables tasted at the source … and drop in on Captain Jack’s Bar and Grill (13501 Cannery Way, Sumner). It’s open, and it’s got microbrews … lots of ‘em. You could do worse than finish off the day here.
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Camaloch & Swinomish
It’s island time in northwest Washington when these two courses share a day’s golf itinerary.
Camaloch is situated in the Puget Sound “Sun Belt” on Camano Island and gets about half the annual rainfall of the greater Seattle area. Camaloch (par 71, 6,512 yards) also benefits from the marine breeze off Puget Sound and stays as much as 10 degrees cooler on the hottest days. It’s 15 minutes from I-5 and you don’t need to take a ferry to get there.
Swinomish Golf Links is on Fidalgo Island in Anacortes about a half hour or so from Camaloch. Driving these stunning, winding roads between the two will be part of the experience. Swinomish (par 72, 6,182 yards) offers open tree-lined fairways, approachable greens, and plenty of elevation change.
TASTING NOTES:
Both courses have good microbrews nearby. Bastion Brewing Company (12529 Christianson Road, Anacortes) is next door to the Swinomish Casino (which has amazing options as well) and the golf course. Bastion touts its use of grains grown and malted in the Skagit Valley in its rotating tap selection of 14 (sometimes 15 or 16) in-house beers and four rotating ciders. Ale Spike (1244 N. Moore Rd., Camano Island) has at least 10 fresh-made craft beers in rotation in its island taproom.
Ale Spike or Bastion? It’s an argument without a loser. For now, let’s say Bastion, for pure proximity, which means playing Camaloch in the morning and finishing on Swinomish. But consider this: Plan a future 36er at these two courses … and reverse the order of things.
And, if it was up to us, we’d bed down at Swinomish Casino and Lodge and make a night of it. They have stay and play options with lodging and unlimited golf for two for around $200. See SwinomishCasinoandLodge.com for details.
