Cascade Golfer — July 2020

VOLUME 14 • ISSUE 3 • JULY 2020 • COMPLIMENTARY

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ALL-IN-ONE AFFORDABILITY NO RTHWEST GO LF N EWS & VI E W S

Black Golfers Speak Up: Why There Aren’t More, And What We Can Do M’s Scott Servais on Golf, Cigars and Baseball’s Reopening

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PUBLISHER’S PITCH

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SHORT GAME

• Duke’s awards another young golfer $1,000 • Win a trip to Bandon in the Cascade Golfer Cup • CG takes first place in regional contest • Get away to Salish Cliffs this summer • Kids can play 18 holes for just $5

16 TEEING OFF

• Mariners’ manager Scott Servais goes long

INSIDE

Features

PUETZ GOLF SAVINGS 24-29

ON THE COVER Northwest Montana’s Indian Springs Ranch Golf Course is one of our top picks for golfers looking to get away from the crowds this summer. Story on page 42.

Black Lives Matter Why aren’t there more Black golfers?

And, what can we do to change that?

STORY BY JOSH KERNS

THIS PAGE Gene Bates’ Circling Raven is one of America’s top public courses — and, it’s offering special rates this summer that make it more enticing than ever. Story on page 42.

22 IN THE BAG

• Everything you need to get back in the game

31 RISK VS REWARD

• Druids Glen | Hole No. 2

58 SAVE SOME GREEN

• Peninsula pleasures

62 POSTGAME

• New to golf? We can help.

Get Me Outta Here Need to get away? Here are some driveable golf getaways that will wash away your quarantine blues.

STORY BY BRIAN BEAKY

Circling Raven Golf Club • Worley, Idaho

cascadegolfer.com

JULY 2020

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Volume 14 • Issue 3 • JULY 2020

CASCADE

GOLFER cascadegolfer.com

Cascade Golfer is published and owned by Varsity Communications, Inc. This publication is e-mailed free to over 100,000 readers throughout the Seattle area.

VARSITY COMMUNICATIONS, INC. varsitycommunications.com

EDITORIAL STAFF

P U B LI S H E R S Dick Stephens & Kirk Tourtillotte E D I TO R Brian Beaky ART DIRECTION Robert Becker GR APHIC DESIGNERS Robert Becker, Joal Chiu FOR EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS AND INQUIRIES: Brian Beaky editor@cascadegolfer.com

ADVERTISING & MARKETING STAFF SALES & MARKETING Simon Dubiel, Ian Civey, Elijah Prokopenko

FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES, CONTACT: Simon Dubiel simon@cascadegolfer.com

ACCOUNTING STAFF

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Bobbi Kramer ACCOUNTS PAYABLE & RECEIVABLE Pam Titland

COPYRIGHT 2020 Cascade Golfer. PRINTED IN THE USA. All rights reserved. Articles, photos, advertising and/ or graphics may not be reprinted without the written permission of the publisher. Advertising and editorial contained herein does not constitute endorsement of Cascade Golfer or Varsity Communications, Inc. Publisher reserves the right to edit letters, photos and copy submitted and publish only excerpts. The publisher has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all material contained in this issue. However, as unpredictable changes and errors do occur, the publisher can assume no liability for errors, omissions or changes.

All photos are courtesy of the course or individual unless otherwise noted.

PRODUCER AND OWNER OF THE PROUD CHARTER MEMBER

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JULY 2020

PUBLISHER’S PITCH

DICK STEPHENS

We Need More of the “Wright” Stuff Now Black Lives Matter — here, there and everywhere

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ascade Golfer is not seen as a traditional “hard news” publication, nor should it be. It’s a place where you can kick back and learn about our region’s golfing gab and scoop. Since the beginning — 13 years ago this summer — we have been committed to our slogan: “Northwest Golf News and Views You Can Use.” (I am proud to say that I coined that one.)

As evidenced by us humbly picking up another first-place prize in the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual “Northwest Excellence in Journalism” contest, though — this time for the reporting and feature writing in last summer’s “Battle in Seattle” story on the City of Seattle’s public golf courses — when an opportunity arises for us to cover a hard news story in a way that allows us to add something new to the conversation (as opposed to just regurgitating stories the national media have already covered) and in a way that makes sense for our readers, we can do so with the best of them. My hat is off to my friends and peers, Tony Dear and Brian Beaky, for their work on that story.

When we do make the decision as a regional niche magazine to tackle a tough issue, it comes from the head and the heart. The Black Lives Matter movement, for us, is that kind of story. And, with the feature in this issue by award-winning journalist Josh Kerns, we have once again stepped into hard news with a light we felt needed to be cast.

As a journalist and human being, I can no longer watch the video of George Floyd having the life pushed out of his lungs and his brain deprived of function and thought. It’s sickening to witness. I felt the same way about 9/11 footage of the airliners piercing the World Trade Center; there was a point where I just had to stop watching. Instead, I am focusing my attention on stimulating and formulating thoughts and advocating for change. This is the best medicine for me and this title.

To that end, we examine in this issue the way that Black golfers — both in our area and nationally — see themselves and the sport, and how shape-shifters are viewing their opportunity to make impacts.

It’s a sign of how little these stories are told that one of America’s most famous Black golfers is a local that I’d bet nine out of 10 of our readers have never even heard of.

Bill Wright forever changed American golf history 60 years ago when he became the first African American to win a USGA championship, taking the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 1959. My father told me many times what a huge deal it was for Seattle and the local

Photo courtesy USGA Museum

loopers when Wright — a Jefferson Park and Fir State Golf Club product and a Seattle public golfer for much of his life — won that title. Wright also won the NAIA National Golf Championship at Western Washington — dominating an all-White field — played in the Hudson Cup, U.S. Open, and U.S. Senior Open, and blazed a trail as a PGA TOUR player, public golf advocate and teacher. We are fortunate to still have Wright with us and his connection to Seattle can be motivating for anyone who feels the sport isn’t for them – no matter their race, playing ability or financial standing. He rose above all that. HIS black life mattered. (Note: We reached out to Bill Wright for this article, but his health prevented him from contributing.)

This quote from Golf magazine strikes to the core of Wright’s spirit: “I wanted to be black. I wanted to be the winner. I wanted to be all those things. It just hit me that other people were thinking [about race]. I was just playing golf.”

Wright and his fellow Black golf heroes are few, and have carried the burden for many. Charlie Sifford, Calvin Peete, Jim Dent, Althea Gibson — all of these golfers paved the way for Tiger Woods, whose rockstar celebrity many of us thought would lead to a sea change in Black participation. Sadly, in the decades since, that change hasn’t happened, and in this issue, we address some of the reasons why. It’s certainly not for a lack of struggle and progress by leaders in the Black golf movement, some of which are quoted here.

We need to fuel, encourage, inspire, thank, reward, report on, fund and stand with all Black golf mentors who are working to grow the game for more Americans. And, in this case, more African Americans.

I wish to humbly thank those that stepped up and went on the record for this piece that we are proud to stand behind. And, I hope that it inspires a flicker into a flame of growth. Thank you, embrace the game and, AS ALWAYS, TAKE IT EASY. cascadegolfer.com

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SHORT GAME Tacoma Teen Bronwyn Byrne Is Latest Winner of Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship

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ronwyn Byrne has the bug.

We’ve all been bitten at some point. For some, it might have been the first time they ever made clean contact with a golf ball, that powerful-yet-effortless feeling that sends the ball soaring in the right direction. For others, it might have been their first time on a real golf course, or their first birdie, or even just watching golf on TV and falling in love. Somewhere in our past, the golf bug dug its claws into each of us and has never let go.

While most of us can’t probably recall that first experience that hooked us on the game, Bronwyn can — because it was only five years ago. Just eight years old at the time, Bronwyn attended a First Tee summer camp and fell in love, quickly adding other First Tee programs to her schedule; then PGA Junior League events; Drive, Chip and Putt; and, finally, WJGA tournaments.

Flash forward five years, and Bronwyn is a 13-year-old, soon-to-be eighth grader at Mason Middle School in Tacoma who thinks about little other than golf from dawn

to dusk — literally. Bronwyn’s day usually starts with The Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” program over breakfast, and after school includes daily practice and rounds with her father at Meadow Park Golf Course as long as the light allows. Yep, Bronwyn’s been bitten hard — and, as we can all attest, once that bug bites, there’s nothing you can do to shake it.

So, we’re steering into it instead. Bronwyn has been selected this month as the recipient of the Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship awarded by Duke’s Seafood in each issue of Cascade Golfer. Applicants need only to be of high-school age or younger, with a proven commitment to golf.

“We were excited to read about Bronwyn and her passion for the game,” says Duke’s COO John Moscrip, who founded the scholarship in 2015 and has awarded more than $20,000 to local golfers. “Like Bronwyn, I first started playing at a young age and immediately felt the pull of the game, not only for the challenges that it presented, but also for the life lessons I’ve learned.

Hopefully, this scholarship will help Bronwyn along in her golfing career, and allow her to further grow and develop her game.”

Indeed, it’s those life lessons that Bronwyn’s mother, Holly, has been most excited to see develop in Bronwyn over these past four years.

“As her parent, I have seen how the game of golf, her coaches, and her fellow players have all helped her develop more confidence, perseverance, and a strong work ethic, both on and off the course,” Holly says. “Her parents and coaches are impressed by her dedication and respectfulness.”

Her game is developing, too. Last summer, Bronwyn became the first girl to reach Eagle level with First Tee of South Puget Sound, and represented Washington in the Gearhart Cup, an annual tournament matching First Tee golfers from Washington and Oregon. With Bronwyn’s help, Washington defeated their Oregon counterparts; as a testament to her success, Bronwyn was invited to speak about her First Tee experiences at the annual Harbottle Golf Classic at

Congratulations to the Winners of June’s Enter-To-Wins!

We’re off to a fast start this season when it comes to giving out free golf to courses all over the state! Last month, we sent readers to all points of the map to check out our favorite courses — and there’s more to win in this issue!

Twosomes to Wine Valley and Highlander G.C. Nate Ferrier • Redmond Twosomes to Salish Cliffs, Alderbrook and Auburn G.C. Ryan Voelkel • Bellevue Twosome to Whidbey G.C. • Susan Lavin • Bremerton 6

JULY 2020

All it takes to give yourself a chance to win is to login on to CascadeGolfer.com and click the “Enter to Win” tab at the top of the page. Here’s what we’re giving away this month: • Twosome to Loomis Trail • Page 8 • Foursomes to Whidbey G.C. & Alderbrook G.C. • Page 15 • Circling Raven Stay & Play • Page 56

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This year, she will begin volunteering with First Tee’s Little Drivers classes, in addition to a busy practice and playing schedule that now takes her all over the Northwest (her favorite course is Palouse Ridge). Bronwyn also studies French, participates in the school’s Environmental Club, and gets consistently good grades.

“Thank you to Duke’s and Cascade Golfer for this scholarship! I feel really humble to have been chosen,” she says. “It’s been hard not to be able to golf or practice as much during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that courses are opening up again, I plan to use the scholarship money to pay for lessons and to travel to more tournaments this summer.

“I love golfing, and am so lucky that I have a lot of support from my parents; my coach, Shane Henderson; and my First Tee coach, Dave Tison. It was with First Tee of South Puget Sound that I first got interested in golf, and I’ve learned a lot and gained more confidence. I hope I can begin mentoring younger golfers through their programs this summer.”

Do you know of a young golfer who could benefit from $1,000 from Duke’s Seafood? Send an email to editor@cascadegolfer.com with the subject line “Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship” and tell us all about them. Be sure to include evidence of their commitment to and passion for golf, as well as any academic, extra-curricular or community service information that you think might help them stand out. We know there are hundreds of amazing young golfers out there who could use this scholarship to grow their game — but, we need your help to find them! Help a deserving young person grow by nominating them for the Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship. For more information, visit CascadeGolfer.com. cascadegolfer.com

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SHORT GAME The Most Fun You Can Have Playing Tournament Golf — The Cascade Golfer Cup Comes to Washington National in July, Home Course in August

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esides the fact that they both have 18 holes, are well-maintained and are among our favorite courses to play, it’s hard to find too many similarities between Gamble Sands and Druids Glen. The former is a links-style course with no trees or water, massive fairways and greens, hole-length bunkers and tons of undulation, while the latter is a more traditional, Western Washington-style track, packed with trees, ponds, elevation changes and smaller target areas, making shot placement key.

There must be something we’re not seeing, though, because it seems that the Cascade Golfer Cup players who succeed at one are better prepared to succeed at the other. Indeed, the winning teams at our season-opening Muckleshoot Casino Players Championship at Druids Glen were an exact match of our 2018 tournament at Gamble Sands, with Steve Cook and James McElroy taking the net division title at 61, and Bryson Agnew and Nick Miller winning the gross at 67.

Perhaps the answer lies in the way each course challenges golfers

mentally. When Miller struggled early, Agnew carried the team at two-under par through three holes; then, Miller bounced back and played the next 13 holes at an incredible four-under par, helping guide his twosome to a best-ball gross score of five-under and the overall title, including a stay-and-play package to Central Oregon.

Cook and McElroy, meanwhile, ham-andegged their way to a net 61, just edging out the longtime Cup duo of Keith Stevens and Floyd Bangerter in a tiebreaker for the title — their fourth in the Cup’s 10-year history, but first since 2018. In fact, it’s a testament to the fairness of the series that they’re one of the few teams ever to win more than one event — the 80 tournaments we’ve run over the last decade have produced nearly 70 different net winners, ranging in handicaps from scratch to 25.

Nearly 40 teams played at Druids Glen in June, the first of four events we’ll be running this summer in the Cascade Golfer Cup. Next up is the Cascade Golfer Challenge at Washington National (July 18), followed by the Michelob ULTRA Open at The Home Course (Aug. 15) and the

Enter to Win a Twosome to Loomis Trail!

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oes all this talk of great golf have your mouth watering? Well, you’re in luck, because we are going to send one lucky CG reader and the playing partner of their choice to one of our favorite destinations in all of Washington state — Loomis Trail Golf Course. Rated by many among the top-10 courses in the Evergreen state, it’s a Siren of the Washington golf scene, both pretty enough to take your breath away, and tricky enough to break your heart. Do you have what it takes to tame it? Find out by entering your name to win at CascadeGolfer.com!

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Puetz Golf Shootout at White Horse (Sept. 5).

All four tournaments are played in two-person teams, and are open to anyone with an established handicap, with prizes including trips to Mesquite, Bandon and Hawaii, twosomes and foursomes to our favorite courses across the state, and more. Nineteen of the 38 teams in the field at Druids Glen prized out, plus an additional six hole contests; indeed, with prizes in both net and gross categories, it doesn’t matter what your handicap is, so long as you play your best.

Each tournament is its own unique event, so there’s nothing to prevent you from jumping on board at Washington National or The Home Course, even if you missed out on Druids Glen.

We created this series to be the kind of tournaments we’d want to play in — fun formats, incredible courses, a low-pressure atmosphere, terrific camaraderie among players and teams, and a killer list of prizes. If that sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, we’d love to see you out there. Visit CascadeGolfer.com to learn more, or contact tournament director Simon Dubiel at simon@cascadegolfer.com.

JULY 2020

Loomis Trail G.C. • Blaine

cascadegolfer.com

2020

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

Don’t Miss These Upcoming Tournaments!

Michelob ULTRA Open at The Home Course August 15 • 12 pm Puetz Golf Shootout at White Horse Sept. 5 • 8 am

Net and Gross Prizes 2-Player Format

“The most fun an amateur golfer can have playing tournament golf”

Great Competition • Great Camaraderie

Great Fun!

To register or for more information visit

cascadegolfer.com Click on the Cup! PRESENTING

Contact: Simon Dubiel simon@varsitycommunications.com

SUPPORTING

SHORT GAME Chambers Bay Hosts All-Day Golf-a-Thon — For The Kids, Of Course

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Chambers Bay • University Place Photo by Marvin Miller

t the crack of dawn on Sun., July 26, up to 128 players will tee it up at Chambers Bay. When they finish is entirely up to them.

The first-ever Chambers Bay Solstice will be an all-day marathon to raise money for First Tee of Seattle and First Tee of South Puget Sound, programs that teach area youth life skills like managing emotions, resolving conflicts and setting goals, through their application on the golf course. Many of today’s top young golfers across the country got their start in First Tee programs, while numerous other alumni have gone on to success in college or the business world.

In the Solstice tournament (which was originally scheduled for June, but delayed a month by the pandemic), players will compete as individuals and teams over 54 holes, with net and gross prizes, plus hole contests and other goodies. In addition, players can seek pledges from family, friends (or Cascade Golfer readers) to support their efforts. While the tournament will formally end after players step off their 54th hole, there will be no limit on how many holes they can play that day — as long as their bodies are willing to keep carrying them up and down Chambers’ sand-blasted ridges, they’re welcome to keep knocking balls around and racking up those donations.

“The Chambers Bay Solstice is going to be such a unique opportunity,” says Evan Johnsen, Director of Programs and Development for First Tee of Greater Seat-

tle. “Not only to play 54 holes or more at Chambers Bay, but to support local First Tee programs and help fund golf and life skills education for young golfers.”

One player you might consider sponsoring is 16-year-old Danny Auffant, who is no stranger to epic golf feats. In 2019, Auffant won the Junior Golf-A-Thon at Jefferson Park by completing an incredible 250 holes on Jefferson’s par-3 course in a single day. Oh, and he walked the whole thing, too. To be 16 again, right?

“That’s probably my favorite story to come out of this so far,” says Johnsen.

“That’s just incredible.”

Thankfully, pledges at this event won’t be on a per-completed-hole basis — otherwise, Auffant might find some folks a little leery about extending themselves to back his effort, which will no doubt be prodigious. Instead, those wishing to support a specific golfer, or just First Tee in general, can point their browsers to the website https://pledgeit.org/for/chambers-bay to give a specific amount. Johnsen notes that it costs about $250 to cover a full season of programming for one youth player, but is, of course, grateful for any (tax-free!) donations that donors can give.

“We are so thankful for all those avid and crazy golfers who have signed up to play, and for those who are supporting golfers with their pledges online,” Johnsen says. “It’s going to be a really fun day, and hopefully something we can make an annual tradition.”

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SHORT GAME Cascade Golfer Wins First Place in Regional Contest

Battle Battle

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A comprehensive look at what the City of Seattle can, can’t — and, perhaps, should — do with its four municipal

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t’s darkly ironic that while Seattleites have easy access to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the country, if not the world, there is precious little green space within the Emerald City itself. The Seattle Times reports that just 12.5 percent of the City is devoted to parks, whereas 21.7 percent of New York City is used for public recreation. Nearly 20 per cent of San Francisco, 19.4 percent of Las Vegas, and 15.2 percent of Phoenix are similarly zoned.

Of Seattle’s 6,414 park acres, only 528 are reserved for public golfers, with just three and a half municipally-owned courses — or, 72 open-to-all holes, including three 18-hole championship courses and nine-holers at Jackson Park and Interbay — available to a population of 750,000 people.

It’s not pushing the boat out terribly far to suggest that Seattle is not a big golf town, but the three 18-holers — Jefferson Park, Jackson Park, and West Seattle — have served the City since 1915, 1930, and 1940, respectively, and are held dear by those who have been playing them for decades.

Regulars got quite a jolt, therefore, in April when reporter Erica C. Barnett revealed on thecisforcrank.com that the City had spent $104,000 on a 131-page study completed by Lund Consulting, Scanlan Consulting and Cocker Fennessy, that looked into the ongoing feasibility of Seattle’s publicly owned golf courses and whether or not the land upon which they sit might be better-suited to other purposes, most notably low-income housing.

As expected, reactions to the Lund Report ran the gamut of opinion.

First came shock and alarm from golfers. Margaret Anthony, a former Parks employee and a member of the West Seattle Women’s Club, organized a “Save Seattle Golf” meeting at Jefferson Park in late May, and was astonished when hundreds of fellow golfers turned out.

A week later, the issue surged to the forefront when Scott Hanson published a story in The Seattle Times under the headline, “Booming Seattle questions future of City courses,” in which Mayor Jenny Durkan was decidedly non-committal, stating that, “It would be a breach of our duty to the people of Seattle not to be really looking at what is the best use of those golf courses, from everything to continuing as golf courses, to finding a way to use part of them as parks, to use part of them for affordable housing.”

Multiple editorials followed — include from those in support of golf, like Chris Daniels at KING-TV and Aaron Levine at Q13 Fox, each of whom aired fierce defenses of the sport on their respective stations; those opposed, like Mike Eliason at The Urbanist, who lashed out at golf’s environmental impact, falling popularity and elitist mindset; and those like Times columnist Danny Westneat, who didn’t so much defend golf as park space in general.

Lost in much of the back-and-forth discussion, though, were the facts. Golf’s opponents claim that the city’s courses are “bleeding money,” and that they are used by a small — and, largely older, white and male — segment of the city’s population, while tens of thousands

THE his one will be quick, beOF cause it’s not cool to toot your own horn, but it’s important that we give due credit to one of our outstanding writers and, hey, it’s a slow news month.

Last August, we published an extensive story covering all angles of the City of Seattle’s inquiry into the costs and benefits of city golf courses, and public statements by city officials that indicated the city was at least considering other possible uses for those lands.

In that story, writer Tony Dear (and editor Brian Beaky) cited published statistics, city laws and numerous other sources to examine, one-by-one, the various claims made or questions asked by city leaders. Among other conclusions (including the fact that Seattle already has fewer golf courses per capita than other Western U.S. cities, and that golf in fact helps fund many other less profitable civic recreational activities like pools and community centers), the facts cited in the feature (and, indeed, the City’s own commissioned study) supported the conclusion that not only should Seattle not convert its golf courses to affordable housing, but that it should increase its investment in growing municipal golf throughout the area. And, as a sidebar, we posited the idea of doing so by converting just 150 of Discovery Park’s 600-plus acres into a stunning, world-class course to rival Chambers Bay, Harding Park and other major-worthy civic venues.

It was one of the most talked-about stories we’ve ever written, and was cited by reporters on Q13 Sports, KJR Radio and numerous other media outlets in the days and weeks following its publication.

As golf writers, we don’t get the chance to do “hard news” all that often — when we do, and especially when we get the response we did to it, it’s pretty fun, and reminds us why we got into this business in the first place.

And, apparently, the regional awards committee liked it, too. In June, the Society of Professional Journalists announced the winners of its annual Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest, and “The Battle of Seattle” was chosen as the first-place winner in the “business” category — the first story we’ve ever submitted as anything but “sports” or “features.” Second place went to Stefan Milne of Seattle Met (“Checking Out: Amazon, Microsoft, and the Future of Automated Grocery”), while winners in other categories included The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, KING 5 TV, KUOW and plenty of other heavy hitters.

In fact, this is the third time in the last five years that Cascade Golfer has received a first-place honor from the SPJ. Our 2015 story about Robert Trent Jones., Jr., (“Bobby’s Opus,” CG, Apr. ‘15) and John Black’s 2018 story about PGA pro Joel Dahmen and his caddy, Geno Bonnalie (“Walking With Tigers,” CG, Apr. ‘18), both won first-place honors, while other stories have received second- and third-place recognition over the years as well.

It’s your feedback — in person, via email or on our social media pages — that has kept us going all of these years. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, and for continuing to hold us to a high standard that we work hard to uphold. Next year, we’re going for win No. 4.

Seattle Seattle

golf courses

By Tony Dear and Brian Beaky

West Seattle Golf Course • No. 16

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Salish Cliffs G.C. • Shelton Photo by Brian Oar

Make Your Vacation a Staycation This Summer at Salish Cliffs

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e’re guessing that, like us, your summer vacation plans have been thrown out the window. Maybe you were going to go down to Disneyland, or to Hawaii — shoot, one of our friends was even planning to take that bucket-list trip to Scotland and Ireland this summer.

Whatever your vacation plans were, you likely find yourself recalibrating, and looking at options closer to home. Just because your travel options are limited to a smaller radius, though, doesn’t mean you can’t still have that stay-and-play golf vacation you’ve been looking forward to.

In fact, it’s a perfect time to finally head out to Salish Cliffs and the Little Creek Casino Resort.

If you’ve played Salish Cliffs (maybe with a Cascade Golfer Players Card?), then you won’t need us to tell you about its impeccable conditioning, exciting terrain and thrilling mix of elevated tee shots, white-sand bunkers and risk-reward holes. If you play your cards right, it’s possible to go birdie-birdie-birdie right out of the gate, with both the 490-yard, par-5 first and 250-yard, par-4 second (both distances from the 6,300-yard white tees) daring players to go for the green for a shot at eagle, while the 211-yard third represents a stiffer test. Over the next 15 holes, you’ll climb to the top of a ridge overlooking the rolling hills below, then descend back down into valley, and finish with one last chance to take aim at the flag on the 492-yard, par-5 18th.

Ranked among the top-5 public courses in the state by CG readers in every year since it opened in 2011, Salish Cliffs is a favorite of scratch golfers and bogey golfers alike, each of cascadegolfer.com

whom can find a fair challenge and the chance to score well with well-placed shots. It’s no coincidence that we hold the quarterfinal through final rounds of our Cascade Golfer Match Play Championships at Salish Cliffs each year — no matter your handicap, it’s perhaps the fairest test in town.

It’s also a great place to call home base, either for a weekend on the property, or for exploring the other courses on the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas. As Puget Sound residents, we often fail to take advantage of the stay-andplay opportunities in our own backyard, preferring to bed down in our own homes assuming the opportunity is there.

But, these days, the idea of being anywhere but home sounds amazing.

Stay-and-play packages at the Little Creek start at $329 per twosome, which includes a deluxe room at the resort, a twosome of golf and a $50 food credit. The golf itself can run as much as $119 in the summertime (one thing that makes that $240 Players Card, including a round at Salish plus 10 additional rounds, such a great value); add in the food credit, and you’re basically paying just $50 extra to have a room for the night, and a chance to get away from your quarantine lifestyle for a day or two. Plan enough time to add in a second round each day at one of Trophy Lake, McCormick Woods or Gold Mountain — all just a short drive away — and you may just decide you never want to come home.

To learn more or book a package, go online to www.salish-cliffs.com.

JULY 2020

13

SHORT GAME Whidbey Golf & CC Oak Harbor

WA Golf Gets Kids, College Students Out of the House And Onto Golf Courses For As Little As $5

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ant to get your kids out of the house? Of course you do.

If your kids are anything like ours, they’ve spent the last four months with their butts parked firmly on the couch, bed or comfy chair, doing a little bit of schoolwork online and a whole lot of watching YouTube, playing video games and making TikToks. (If you have no idea what that last one is, be grateful.)

With WA Golf’s Youth On Course program, however, and the current phase of Governor Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start Washington” program, you can get your kids out of the house and onto the golf course for as little as $5 a round.

We first wrote about Youth On Course in 2018, when the program was just ramping up in the state of Washington. In the two years since, participation has exploded, with young golfers around the state enjoying thousands of rounds at some of our most celebrated courses.

Here’s how it works — kids aged 6-18 pay $20 to WA Golf (formerly the WSGA) to become a Youth On Course member and receive an official YOC card. After completing a brief on-line curriculum covering the rules of golf and common golf etiquette, golfers receive their card in the mail and are then eligible to play at any WA Golf YOC Participating Course for just $5.

The program was started in 2006 by the Northern California Golf Association, which recognized that in order to create the next generation of golfers, the game needed to be more affordable and accessible. In the decade-plus since, Youth On Course has expanded to 39 regions in North America and subsidized more than 950,000 rounds of golf.

With so much time on our hands these days, members of our CG staff have been taking advantage of the program to hit the golf course with their children during the pandemic, not only getting them out of the house and improving their golf game, but developing bonds and memories that they’ll take with them forever. And, shoot, with so much flexibility in our schedules, we’ve been able to play at weekday and twilight times,

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often getting our twosome out on the course for less than $40 combined.

Youth On Course membership includes most of the regular benefits of WA Golf membership as well, including the ability to keep a handicap, participate in WA Golf Championships and more.

And, since we last wrote about Youth On Course, WA Golf has also started U On Course, a similar discounted-play membership program targeted to college students. U On Course players pay a $25 up-front fee for their membership, and can then take advantage of rates ranging from $10-$23 at participating courses throughout the region, including all of the Puget Sound area’s Premier Golf facilities.

To learn more or sign up, visit wagolf.org/join.

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hat’s the only thing better than winning a foursome of golf on a scenic course overlooking Puget Sound? How about two? That’s what the winner of this month’s contest will receive, including foursomes to both Whidbey Golf Course and Alderbrook Golf and Yacht Club. From the windswept fairways of Whidbey G.C., to the tight, tree-lined holes at Alderbrook, you’ll get the full Puget Sound experience at two courses historically reserved for just residents or members, but now open to all public golfers. You can’t lose, so you might as well try to win! Log on to CascadeGolfer.com and find out if today’s your lucky day!

JULY 2020

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TEEING OFF

PRESENTED BY

Mariners Manager Scott Servais has been in tough spots before — you try calling pitches against Mark McGwire in 1998.

But, planning for a 60-game season in the middle of a pandemic might top them all.

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AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BEAKY • CG EDITOR All photos courtesy Seattle Mariners

hen the quarantine first hit, Mariners manager Scott Servais figured it was an opportunity — a few extra weeks to coach up his young staff, and then bring everyone back together. Then, a few weeks became a month, then two, then three.

“That’s when it started to wear a little thin,” he jokes.

Servais has spent more than 40 years in baseball, so to be without it this spring has been one of the stranger experiences of his life. An 11-year MLB veteran, Servais had front-row seats to the careers of some of the greatest players in the history

of the game, including Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Larry Walker and Mark McGwire. In fact, not only was Servais in Chicago during the epic 1998 home run chase, he called the pitch that Big Mac lined over the left-field wall for the record breaking No. 62, and was the first player to greet McGwire at home plate.

At least the quarantine has been good for Servais’ golf game. A self-taught, single-digit handicapper who takes his golf clubs with him on any Mariners road trip that includes a scheduled off day, Servais has been making his way around the Seattle area’s top courses over the past few weeks,

from Aldarra to Chambers Bay. That’s all going to come to an end soon, though. In late June — less than 24 hours before this interview — Servais, and the rest of the world, learned that Major League Baseball would be officially returning in July to play a 60-game season, with an abbreviated spring training starting July 1.

So, we picked up the phone to find out a little more about that golf game, whose name has more pull at golf courses around the country — his or his daughter’s — and exactly how one goes about planning for a season unlike any other in baseball history.

I believe your daughter, Jackie, works for the PGA TOUR? “Yeah, she does PR and media stuff for the Champions Tour. The guys she’s around are all the guys my age — Fred Couples, Jay Haas, the guys that I was watching on TV back when I was still playing. So, getting the chance to be on the driving range and talk to those guys about whatever — baseball, golf, different things — has been really neat. Last year, at the Boeing Classic, she was able to hook me up with a spot in the Pro-Am, where I got to play with Miguel Angel Jimenez. It was awesome. He’s one of her favorite players, and was really great to play with. Miguel knows nothing about baseball, so it was fun to be able to have a conversation that was just about golf, and learning about him.”

Where do you play golf around here?

“I’ve been pretty fortunate to touch just about all of the better courses in the area — Aldarra is at the top of the list for me, Snoqualmie, Sahalee, Seattle Golf Club, Overlake, Chambers Bay. The first time I ever played Chambers was last fall, after the season was over. It was just me and one of our scouts. We got lucky and got one of those perfect days, probably 60 degrees in mid-October with not a cloud in the sky, and I shot 82. I walked away thinking I had the course figured out, then went back a couple of months ago and ... didn’t shoot 82. (laughs) But, that was a really fun round. I have a friend visiting from out of town this weekend and plan to take him there if I can.”

find a good course in the area when we have an off day. Last year, we had an off day in Milwaukee and got out to play Erin Hills; played Firestone, in Akron, on an off day in Cleveland; played Harding Park, in San Francisco, where the PGA Championship will be this year.”

Did he have an extra cigar for you? (laughs) “Yeah, actually, he did.”

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Do you have a regular group that you play with?

“No, not really. I play a lot with my fellow coaches, especially when we get off days out on the road.

I don’t play on game days at all, but we do try to

Why is it that so many baseball players play golf?

“I think the eye-hand coordination is similar.

And, guys love the challenge, they love the competition. Certainly, when guys get older and can’t play their sport, it’s a way to keep competing and bullshitting with each other. People say golf is a lot easier than baseball, but even though the ball is just sitting on the tee, and not moving, it isn’t so easy some days.”

How did you pick up the game?

“I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, where there weren’t many opportunities to play golf. There cascadegolfer.com

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TEEING OFF ed my equipment a couple of years ago and that’s made a big difference. I had been playing with an old set of Nike clubs that someone had given me years ago, so it was great to get a new set. I hit a bunch of different clubs and ended up being fit for some PINGs, which surprised me, because it wasn’t what I had gone in there planning to get. They made them a little bit longer for me, with a thicker grip, and the ball really jumps off the face. That said, I can still shoot 92 with the best of them, and then go shoot 79 or 80 the next day. But, that’s golf.” was a par-3 course in LaCrosse, though, where my mom would drop me and my brothers off when she had to go into town to run errands. We were nine, ten years old, and could play as long as we wanted for like ten bucks. So, that was really how I got started. I’ve still never had a lesson — that’s the next thing I really need to do.”

How is your game?

“It’s OK. I don’t hit it very far, but I am probably indexed around eight-and-a-half or nine. I upgrad-

Do you have a go-to club or shot?

“I like my 8-iron. I get a good feeling when it’s in my hand.”

Do you have a favorite round you’ve ever played?

“Back in the day, there used to be a thing called the World Series of Golf, where a bunch of bigleague baseball players would get together at different locales — Pebble, Palm Springs, Kapalua. It was at Pebble for a long time, and we’d basically

just take over the courses for four days — you’d play a competitive 18 at Pebble or Spyglass with your partner, then another 18 in some sort of different game, like a racehorse or a skins game. That was a lot of fun. You really got to know players from other teams, which was a totally different vibe. And, I’ll tell you, I’d much rather stand at the plate with 50,000 people in the stands than stand on that tee box with 40 fellow ballplayers standing around watching me hit a tee shot.” (laughs) What do you like best about golf?

“The mental side of it. My first exposure to a mental skills coach came when I first started getting into golf. The guy I worked with worked with a lot of professional golfers, and also with the Astros, where I was playing at the time. It really helped me understand how powerful your mind is. In golf, you’re really competing against your inner thoughts, and all the swing adjustments and other things that are going through your head at all times. What happens when you make double. Can you bounce back and recover before the next hole?

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TEEING OFF Or, the kiss of death, when you look at your scorecard and think, ‘Man, I just need to go one-over over these last four holes to shoot whatever,’ and then you know what happens. The wheels fall off.

That’s exactly what happens in baseball.”

What are the biggest ways in which baseball players have changed over the last 20 years or so?

“First of all, they’re just physically bigger, stronger and faster. When I was playing, the strength and conditioning coaching was just getting started, but players now are training 11 months out of the year with highly trained specialists who know exactly how to get the most out of their bodies. Even the pitching and velocity — back when I played, each team might have one, maybe two guys who threw 95 miles an hour; now, a team might have 10 guys throwing that hard. The next thing that’s changed a ton is the information that we have on not just the opponent, but about our own players, too. And, really, a lot of that comes from golf. When Trackman came from golf into baseball about seven, eight years ago, that

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really changed things. We can measure and track everything now — spin rates, the spin and axis the ball comes out of the pitcher’s hand, the exit velocity off the bat, the launch angles. And, then we can use that information to analyze what guys do and don’t do well. Back in my day, any adjustments you made or coaching you got was mostly off of memory, off of feel, or maybe watching some video. Now, the scouting and analytics just blows away what we used to do. And, the last thing that’s really changed the game is social media, and just how accessible the fans are to the players, and vice versa. Everybody weighs in, everybody has an opinion. And, that can be hard, especially, for baseball players, because there’s so much failure in the game — no matter how good you are — that there’s going to be a lot of negative feedback out there. That’s obviously something that didn’t exist at all when I played, and represents a unique challenge for today’s players to navigate.”

What has this spring been like for you?

“This is probably the first time since I was five or six years old that I haven’t had baseball in my

life. It’s kind of gone in different modes for me, personally. When the virus first hit and we got shut down, I really looked at it as an opportunity. We have a number of new, young coaches this year, so I looked at it as an opportunity to really coach those guys up and learn more about each other. And, that was good — for about six weeks. (laughs) One of the things we did over the last two months was to run a computer program that simulates games against real teams with our real players. We would basically just decide who was in the game, and then

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TEEING OFF

the simulation would run it just like a regular-season game. In terms of our preparation and our in-game decision-making, we treated it just like a real game, and it gave some of those younger guys the chance to see how I like to work during a game, and get up to speed on our terminology and process. I want guys around me who are giving me good input and advice, so that gave me an opportunity to model for them how I think, and to figure out the ways in which they can challenge my thinking. I learned a lot, and our staff learned a lot. The hardest part is losing touch with players. Those relationships are my favorite part of the job. We did Zoom calls and different things, but it’s just not the same as having that back-and-forth that goes on in the clubhouse or on the field, building relationships. This whole thing has had its challenges, no doubt, and hopefully it’s something we’ll never have to see again.”

It was just announced yesterday that players will be returning in one week, to prepare for a 60-game season. What will that next week look like for you as you have to suddenly gear up for this season under unprecedented circumstances?

“The only thing I can compare it to is when we had the strike in 1994. That was a short spring training. So, we can take some lessons from that experience, but then we also have to be open to new ideas, because we’ve never been in a situation quite like this. When you have 60 players in spring training, you usually have four or five fields that you’re working with. Now, we’re only going to have one field, so we are going to have to get creative with maybe morning groups or afternoon groups — that’s what I’m going to be on calls over the next few days trying to figure out. The most challenging thing is that, with the protocols in place, you can’t really have any team meetings. So, I can’t sit in a room with 60 guys and talk about building our culture and our environment, which is something I’d cascadegolfer.com

usually spend a lot of time on at the start of the season. So, that’ll be the biggest challenge. It might have to be like what we used to do in high school, and just have guys sitting out in the stands at the ballpark and have the meetings outside. And, realistically, I don’t quite know if it’s behind us yet. I still question whether we are going to be able to start the season based on what’s going in different parts of the country right now. It’s one thing if you’re going to put us all in a bubble, but we have to get on an airplane and fly and go play games, and there’s so much stuff that can happen when you start moving around. So, we’ll have to wait and see.”

It sounds like you have some doubts as to whether this season will play out as MLB has proposed.

“I don’t know. Nobody knows. When everybody starts reporting to their cities and they all get tested, a lot of people are going to show up positive. And, I know a lot of people say, ‘Well, that’s what the taxi squads are for.’ Well, OK, but what happens when one team loses eight to ten of their key players?

What does that do to the game? Now, our situation is a little bit different; we are planning to give a lot of young players opportunities this season and then looking to build upon that, so we’re in a much different mode than teams like the Dodgers, who are built to win right now. And, with just sixty games, there’s a lot of things that can happen. There will definitely be some surprise teams, and I hope we’re one of them.

But, the biggest thing will be that hopefully we can play, give our fans something to be excited about, and kind of distract from all the things they’ve had to deal with these last couple of months.”

Do you have any coaching advice for youth sports coaches, maybe something you wish you’d known earlier in your career?

“I coached my son for years, so I’ve gone through the whole gamut. The biggest thing — and, quite frankly, it’s the same thing I tell our coaches at the Major League level — is that they have to have fun.

You have to have fun. Kids often quit baseball not because they couldn’t hit the curveball, or because they had an injury, but because it’s not fun anymore.

Baseball is challenging to coach, because there is so much failure involved. So, trying to keep it fun is so important. Make practices competitive, come up with creative games and contests when running the bases, fielding ground balls, etc. If you do that, then kids want to come back, because they enjoy it.”

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IN THE

BAG 1 PRODUCT REVIEWS and equipment news you can use

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BY BRIAN BEAKY — CG EDITOR

WELCOME — OR, WELCOME BACK

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hen we spoke with golf course owners, professionals and general managers for our June feature on the impact that COVID-19 has had on the local golf economy, many reported seeing higher numbers of golfers than ever before — especially new golfers, taking advantage of what has really become the only game in town.

It’s been the same at retailers like Puetz Golf, where new or returning golfers have represented an increasingly large portion of the customers buying online or taking advantage of curbside pickup at Puetz locations throughout the Puget Sound region.

Many of those golfers are using old clubs that haven’t been taken out of the garage in a decade or more, or hand-me-downs from friends and family, and struggling to get by with old technology that most of us have long since forgotten.

For that reason, we wanted to focus on some complete golf club sets in this edition of “In The Bag,” from low-cost starter sets that will get you fully outfitted at a minimal cost, to more advanced sets incorporating the latest advancements in perimeter weighting and other golf club technologies.

Whether you are new to the game, or just coming back after a long break — welcome.

We’re glad to have you on the team, and look forward to seeing you out on the course.

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he Wilson Profile set isn’t just one set, it’s seven, and while the basics are similar — a bag, driver, five-wood, five-hybrid, four irons (6-9), two wedges and a putter — the specifics within each set are designed to maximize the potential of various types of golfers. The SGI teen set features shorter clubs, graphite shafts and a 10.5-degree driver, perfect for young players in the 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-8 range. The SGI women’s line includes three offerings — petite, for golfers under 5-foot-3; standard; and tall, for golfers over 5-foot-9 — all with 13-degree drivers, while the SGI men’s set comes in standard (under 6-foot1) and tall lengths, each with 10.5-degree drivers.

Finally, there’s an SGI senior line that includes standard-length clubs, a 13-degree driver and all graphite shafts. The teen and men’s clubs come with a choice of cart or carry bag, while the women’s and senior clubs include a cart bag only.

Head down to Puetz to find out exactly which set is best for you.

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he LG23 and MG23 (the former for women, and the latter for men) are Puetz’s top-selling entry-level sets, and for good reason. First, there’s the price — a full set of clubs, bag included, for less than the cost of a top-of-the-line driver is tough to beat. Then, there’s the quality — both sets feature a 460cc black PVD driver, low-profile Titanium Matrix metalwoods and cavity-backed, stainless-steel irons, plus an offset alignment putter and deluxe stand bag with dual straps for carrying, and that all-important rain hood. Graphite shafts on all clubs help players who may be just starting out, or a little rusty, generate faster swing speeds, while high-MOI, perimeter-weighted hybrids and cavity-backed irons help keep balls in play. Both sets are available in right- and left-handed setups, plus a minus-oneinch option for smaller women, and a plus-oneinch option for taller men.

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he Bloom has long been the perfect set for those who want something a little bit above the entry level, but still on the affordable side of the spectrum. This year’s Bloom set includes a large, forgiving driver with a high loft and low center of gravity, the perfect combination for longer and straighter tee shots. The set also includes a forgiving 3-wood, hybrid 5- and 6-irons and cavity-back 7-9 irons, each manufactured to be light enough for players with slower swing speeds, while strong enough to deliver consistent, solid results. Also included are the wide-sole wedges that made the Cleveland brand famous and improve contact and control around the greens, a perimeter-weighted mallet putter and one of the best-looking cart bags on the market.

XL Speed PUETZ GOLF PRICE

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hile the Cobra brand is well established on the PGA TOUR, the fact is that the company produces clubs for players at all levels of the game — even beginners. The XL Speed — also available in both a men’s and women’s makeup — features lightweight, easy-to-hit clubs that will benefit any golfer, from the first-timer to the stronger player just getting back into the game. The men’s stock set features a choice of steel or graphite shafts (steel for stronger players, graphite for those desiring a little more flex), plus a driver, two fairway metals (3- and 5-wood), 4- and 5-hybrids, four irons, two wedges and a blade putter. The women’s XL Speed comes with all graphite shafts, plus an additional fairway metal (7-wood) in place of the 4-hybrid, a 5-hybrid, four irons and a mallet putter. Both sets also feature a premium cart bag with a 14-way top, a nice feature for a starter set, many of which offer more basic bags.

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he F-MAX AirSpeed is Cobra’s lightest and most forgiving set, and a popular choice among beginners, high handicappers and older golfers who find they just can’t swing their old clubs the way they used to. The shafts in the F-MAX AirSpeed are five grams lighter than those in Cobra’s other lines, resulting in faster swing speeds and longer ball flights. Likewise, the F-MAX driver is 50 grams lighter than a standard driver, with PWR Ridges for alignment and back-heel weighting to help correct a slice. Hybrids and irons are offered with a progressive offset that maximizes distance and accuracy in the long irons, and control and trajectory in the short irons, plus perimeter weighting and deep undercut cavities for maximum forgiveness. The men’s set comes with a 10.5 or 11.5-degree driver, 3- and 5-woods, two hybrids, four irons, two wedges and a blade putter, while the women’s set substitutes in a 15-degree driver for maximum launch, a 7-wood in place of the 4-hybrid, and a mallet putter for the blade.

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RISK vs. REWARD Druids Glen

Hole No. 2 Par 5 461 yards (Blue Tees)

By Simon Dubiel

Druids Glen G.C. • Covington Photo by Rob Perry / robperry.com

The Setup

The Reward

This hole, named “Temptation,” is just that. Spot A is down the left side of the fairway, giving a great angle if you choose to gamble. A pond starts 50 yards from the green and extends all the way back around it to the right. Two bunkers protect the left side of the green and make a bail-out not so great. The green is wide, but only 17 yards deep, so choosing the correct club is a must.

On a course with a few risk/reward holes, this marks your best opportunity to put a birdie on your scorecard early. If you navigate the tee shot and sit in the “go” zone, it is hard to lay up from 200-220 out. A left-to-right ball flight, starting at the bunker left and fading back into the middle of the green, is the play. If you are unsure of clubs, take a little less, as short is just fine. Long, however, is dead-man’s land.

The Risk

Final Call

If you miss right whatsoever, just start digging into your bag for another ball.

Miss left and, well, you get one of those great bunker shots back at the green with water waiting for anything long. Miss long and you may very well find water as well, or the road. But, who doesn’t hit their 210-yard club perfect?

Hopefully, you navigated the short opening hole and corked a solid drive on No. 2. Oh, and I hope you loosened up on the range, because it is time to put your chips in the big game. We aren’t interested in going wedge-wedge today, so take out that trusty hybrid or long iron and play with confidence. Sure, you can’t lose what you don’t bet, but you can’t win much, either. Tweet, tweet!

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JULY 2020

31

Golf ’s

Toughest Test

I

t’s been nearly 25 years since Tiger Woods debuted on the PGA TOUR, and many expected a huge influx of Black golfers to follow. But, it never happened. With a national conversation on race at the forefront of the country’s consciousness in the wake of the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis, many are again asking why there aren’t more Black golfers playing recreationally or competitively, and what can be done to change that.

In talking with a number of Black golfers around the Puget Sound region, some common themes emerge: cost of equipment and greens fees; a lack of fellow players, coaches and professionals that look like them; a lack of developmental programs and other entryways into the game.

And, outright racism.

Jesse Jones, a prominent investigative journalist at KIRO-7 TV in Seattle and passionate golfer (pictured in the bottom left photo on the opposite page), has experienced far more than his fair share of negative encounters that would chase many others away from the game.

“There were specific incidents where people 32

JULY 2020

BY JOSH KERNS

would refuse to play with me in a foursome when I was a single,” he says. “And, then they’d turn around and let a white person play with them.”

He’s heard plenty of racist comments, too, such as the time a guy in line behind him in the pro shop muttered, “I didn’t know they let monkeys play here.”

Durel Billy (pictured at top right) has plenty of similar stories. For years, the Clover Park High School graduate and avid golfer has been organizing group golfing events around the region. He says there have been many times when he’s had white golf course staff members who were perfectly friendly over the phone or email completely ignore him when he’s arrived with his group — or worse.

“I’ve brought 25-30 people to a course, only to be told, ‘We don’t want your group back,’ for no reason,” Billy says.

Myles Veal (bottom right, with Brooks Koepka) has been more fortunate. The 20-year-old Auburn-Riverside grad hasn’t experienced such overt racism, but he has certainly felt the spotlight of being among the few Black golfers to

play competitively in Washington state.

“I definitely noticed from a young age that there weren’t many of us,” he says. “There are people who say, ‘Why are you even playing this game? You should be playing a Black sport, like basketball or football.’

“That’s kind of upsetting to me,” he continues.

“But, at the same time, it’s their view. I just move on with my life and try to prove to them that it’s not all about race. It’s about your ability to play the game and, hopefully, your love of the game.

That’s why we all play ... because we love it, right?”

That love for the game we all share should be equal among all races, but, much like many other facets of American society, the numbers underscore huge disparities.

A National Golf Foundation report says only three percent of recreational golfers are African American. The PGA Tour — where Tiger’s impact was supposed to have the greatest effect, inspiring a new generation of young Black men who should now be in the peak of their careers — has just three Black players.

The LPGA Tour? One. cascadegolfer.com

A quarter-century after Tiger Woods seemingly changed the game for golfers of color, the game is barely more diverse than it was in Old Tom Morris’ day, while local Black golfers report encountering racism right here at home.

What needs to change in order for Black participation to increase? And, is there anything we can do about it?

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T

he question then becomes — what can we do to change that? Jones, Mills and Veal all agree that exposure to the game at a young age is key.

All were introduced to golf by their fathers or friends and encouraged to play.

“I was in a cocoon while I was playing with my father and his buddies,” Jones says. “And, remember, this is the early seventies — things weren’t all that great.

But, they had this core group of guys that played all the time. So, I felt protected.

Then, I started caddying, and that allowed me really to get into the game.”

But, this is where the systemic problems start to come into play. Many Black kids don’t have friends or family members who golf, and thus never have that crucial moment where someone puts a club in their hand and a ball at their feet. Then, because they don’t play, they don’t pass it down to their friends and family either, and so on, and so on. Golf is a generational game — but, how do you develop that first generation?

The Seattle area has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to creating opportunities and supporting Black golfers, whether juniors or adults.

The Fir State Golf Club – the nation’s first black social golf group— was founded at Jefferson Park. According to the club’s official history, “the Fir State Golf Club was founded by a racially diverse group of 15 men and women who, because of their race, were not welcome in the existing golf clubs in Seattle at the time.”

Fir State would go on to create the Fir State Golf Foundation to promote youth participation in golf and the community.

Fir State boasts a rich legacy of accomplished players. Perhaps its bestknown member was Bill Wright, Jr., one of the club’s first junior golfers, who would become the first Black golfer to win a USGA championship when he captured the prestigious U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 1959. In 1994, Fir State junior member and high school freshman Tyson Lanore would duplicate Wright’s feat by winning the title and earning a spot in the national Maxfli Junior Championship.

Several other minority golf groups have also been created over the years to expand opportunities for Black golfers, including the Maple Valley-based HyTee Golf Club.

But, the largest and most prominent organization working to expand minority access is First Tee, which operates a variety of programs at courses, schools and community centers across the country.

First Tee of Greater Seattle operates out of Jefferson Golf Course in Seattle and serves thousands of golfers each year, many of them minorities.

“First and foremost, it’s just getting a club in their hand at all,” says Evan Johnsen, Director of Programs & Development for First Tee of Greater Seattle, of potential young Black golfers. “For the most part, their family’s not going to be the one to introduce them. It’s just not a part of their life.”

According to Johnsen, First Tee of Greater Seattle membership comprises over seven percent Black youth – double the national average, and a little higher than the 6.8 percent of Seattle residents who self-identified as Black in 2018 (the most recent data available). Johnsen says the organization is doubling down on its efforts to recruit and support Black golfers to continue growing that number, not only to expose them to the game, but to keep them playing.

Veal could be the model for First Tee’s goals to expand Black participation in golf. While his father, Howard – a long time member of Fir State and HyTee – introduced him to the game (with some help from PGA TOUR video games), it was First Tee that propelled his passion. Veal joined a First Tee program in Colorado before a job brought the family to Washington, where he joined the Jefferson-based program and progressed rapidly through the various levels to reach the pinnacle and become an accomplished player and youth coach. He says the game needs more Black mentors to encourage others to give it a shot.

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Many agree that everyone — from the PGA TOUR and other national associations, to courses and manufacturers — are going to have to come together to tackle a primary barrier to entry for Tiger Woods in action at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Photos courtesy USGA.

“I really want to be a trendsetter and inspire others,” Veal says. “The game needs more diversity and is something that really has the potential to bring the Black community together for the greater good.”

Johnsen agrees. One of the big efforts going forward to is recruit more Black mentors.

“If we’re fortunate enough to have a Black coach ... man, that makes a huge difference for that one Black kid. And then, maybe that one Black kid sticks with it and recruits a friend, and then you’ve got two; then maybe you get to three, and so on,” he says. “When Black adults get involved as coaches and volunteers, kids have somebody to look up to who looks like them.”

A number of prominent Black men are answering the call. NBA great and golf fanatic Steph Curry has been at the forefront of fundraising efforts, tournaments and other activities to increase opportunities for Black golfers. He’s even funded the golf team at prestigious Howard University in Washington, D.C. KIRO 7’s Jones recently signed on to volunteer with First Tee of Greater Seattle.

“I love this game,” he says. “And, I love to go out with Black kids and show them that golf is about so much more than just hitting a ball. A lot of these kids are really smart, but, they don’t have the opportunity to see it. You don’t even need to know cascadegolfer.com

how to play, man. I tell them all the time that they don’t have to be great at golf to have a good time playing golf.”

Billy has long advocated for more formal curricula in schools, and after-school programs far beyond First Tee and others.

“We had to take a swimming class to graduate,” Billy says. “But, golf should be right there, in my opinion. Not only for just the social aspect of it — it’s a game you can play for life — but the economic aspect of jobs, all the stuff that comes with it. There’s so much opportunity in this damn game.”

Jones agrees. He points to the lack of Black faces around the golf industry, from the pro shop to the cart barn to the superintendent’s shop. He’s among many who’ve called on various facets of golf to create internships, apprenticeships and other training programs and opportunities, and actively recruit more Blacks into the business side of the game.

“This is going to sound controversial, and I’m just putting it out there — but, you know, I see a lot of retirees working golf courses on weekends,” Jones says. “God bless them, but Black folks would love to go out and work cutting grass, being a starter or working the cart shack. I think it’s imperative that we grow the game. If there’s an opportunity, there’s a place for people to learn.”

many Black Americans: cost.

Veal agrees. And, he hopes to be among a new wave of golf professionals paving the way for more African Americans to pursue a career in golf. He’s about to start his junior year in the Professional Golf Management Program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

“My mom has raised me to be very respectful of everybody and try and be inspiring to other kids, — especially in this time,” he says. “I just hope that I can use my platform and, even though it’s small, to be an inspiration for other kids. The way I’ve always looked at it is that if I can help one person, I’ve made a difference.”

B

ut, it’s going to take more than individual effort.

Many agree that everyone — from the PGA TOUR and other national associations, to courses and manufacturers — are going to have to come together to tackle a primary barrier to entry for many Black Americans: cost. Due largely to the systemic racism that has historically limited their access to the higher incomes that come with higher education, administrative positions and generational wealth — not to mention a criminal justice system that incarcerates JULY 2020

37

Toughest Test black men at a rate six times higher than their representation in the population, breaking up Black families and exacerbating economic pressures — many Black Americans simply can’t afford to play golf.

Many of the state’s courses are working together to try and change at least the cost of greens fees.

Over 55 courses in Washington and Northern Idaho have partnered with WA Golf – the state golf association – to offer $5 green fees to juniors through the Youth on Course program (see page 15 for more information), an effort that supports all young golfers, but especially those with greater economic needs.

But, acclaimed golf journalist Michael Williams says that programs like Youth on Course just scratch the surface, while others have suggested that they do little to attract new golfers, and instead only help those who are already playing. In a blistering editorial in the African American Golfer’s Digest published not long after the murder of George Floyd, Williams took the industry to task for not doing more, and accused it of merely paying lip service to equity in the past.

“An organization should be fostered to ... introduce the game to underserved communities and to make the continued pursuit of the game more

cascadegolfer.com

affordable and accessible for those that wish to participate,” he wrote. “Providing funding for the cost of equipment, apparel, instruction and course access will allow the game to be enjoyed by those not necessarily of the affluent.”

Billy agrees.

“It’s great that they have a First Tee chapter at Chambers Bay,” he says. “But, kids from the Hilltop area (Tacoma) in their Air Jordans aren’t going to be comfortable having their parents drop them off at the front door at Chambers Bay. They’re not going to see enough kids that look like them, to even want to walk in there and do that. It’s very intimidating.”

While First Tee boasts several South Puget Sound locations in addition to Chambers Bay — including Allenmore, North Shore and others — several local groups are aiming to increase junior golf opportunities for minority golfers even more. One such group is the Hi-Tee Little League Golf Program, a junior golf program founded last year by several members of HyTee Golf Club, a golf and social club for Black golfers throughout the Puget Sound region. (And, yes, the founding group is “HyTee” and youth program “Hi-Tee.”) HyTee founder and CEO

Lenard (Bo) Reeves says that he felt that most local junior golf programs were dominated by white kids of means, mirroring the ever-changing economic gap in Seattle overall.

“The rapid gentrification of Seattle and, particularly, the historically and culturally people-of-colored neighborhoods, were being most affected,” he says. “The Hi-Tee Little League Golf Program is our attempt to reintroduce this sport to our young African American youth.

“We aspire to expose the youth to all aspects of golf, from learning how to play, to learning how to caddy,” he continues, “and we want to expose them to the business of golf, from learning how golf courses are designed, to learning how to produce and fit

JULY 2020

39

clubs, to learning how to maintain the grounds.”

First Tee’s Johnsen says increased efforts are already yielding results. While COVID-19 safety restrictions have limited the program’s offerings, he says recruiting and outreach efforts to families who were unaware that the program had resumed operations this summer have helped bring in a number of young Black golfers who would not have otherwise taken part. And, he says, it’s just the beginning.

“It is incumbent upon us, and it takes extra work, just like all the other aspects of their lives and ours. And, we don’t have to be bashful about that,” Johnsen says. “It’s something that needs to happen.

It’s the right thing to do.”

“It is incumbent upon us, and it takes extra work, just like all the other aspects of their lives and ours.

And, we don’t have to be bashful about that,” Johnsen says.

“It’s something that needs to happen.

It’s the right thing to do.”

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hile change isn’t easy, Billy, Jones and Veal all hope that the many off-course benefits of golf — patience, honesty, respect, communication and problem-solving skills, among others — will ultimately lead to a more inclusive future for the game, and society as a whole.

“I love the game. I just love what it teaches. And, I’m hopeful we can apply those lessons to life,” Jones says. “I wish I could find more 21-year-old Black kids who wanted to play, because they can bridge the gap between [my generation] and kids who are younger and playing with their parents.

“I’m not even going to challenge anyone’s earnestness in trying to get this done,” he continues.

“People made some wrong moves, but I also believe that people’s hearts were in the right place.

“But, we have to figure out how to grow this game.”

Josh Kerns is an Edward R. Murrow and Emmy award-winning journalist, and a longtime fixture in the Seattle-area golf scene. He is the host of Golf Talk Washington on KJR 950 and Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. He last wrote about COVID-19 in the July issue of Cascade Golfer.

cascadegolfer.com

EAST PROMIS ERN

Road Trippin’ Ready to throw off the shackles of quarantine and start seeing the world again? Yeah, so are we.

Here are three trips East across the mountains that we can’t wait to take this summer.

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cascadegolfer.com

BY BRIAN BEAKY CG EDITOR

W ISES

Palouse Ridge Golf Club • Pullman cascadegolfer.com

e tend to have a Western-centric view of our state. It’s not our fault, really — more than 60 percent of the state’s population lives west of the Cascade Mountains, which are also home to most of our more prominent businesses, including Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, etc.

It’s also home, of course, to nearly everyone reading this magazine.

So, it’s natural that when we think about Washington state, we tend to consider primarily our own little sliver over here, without too much thought for anything going on east of the mountains.

That way of thinking, though, is really rather quaint. You see, for the first, oh, 175 million years of its existence, Eastern Washington was where the action was; it’s only in the last 150 years that Western Washington has been notable at all.

It was in the east where molten basalt bubbled through the Earth’s crust to form the land we now call home, in the east where Ice Age winds brought the silt that formed the rolling hills of the Palouse, and in the east where Glacial Lake Missoula — the largest lake formed by an ice dam anywhere in Earth’s history — burst forth in 2,000-foot waves to scour out the terrain. It was also in the east where Lewis and Clark first set foot in the Pacific Northwest; where 19th-century missionaries built their homes; and where farmers, laborers, miners and railroad workers traveled from across the world, lured by the promise of one of America’s most abundant regions.

Thus, it’s to the east that we are traveling this summer.

Of course, it’s not silver we’re looking for, or the promise of a new life. We’re simply on the hunt for most memorable golf experiences we can find. And, for that, the east is still king.

While we may crow — and rightly so — about the rich abundance of quality golf courses that we are able to enjoy in Western Washington, it’s nothing compared to what one can find with a quick trip to the other side of the state. Spokane’s municipal courses are the stuff of legend, while tracks like Wine Valley and Palouse Ridge never finish outside the top-10 in Washington state. Go a little farther — just a few miles across the border — and you can add Circling Raven and the Coeur d’Alene Resort to that list; just a little farther than that and you’re among the towering mountains of Northwest Montana, and another glut of unforgettable tracks.

Yes, Western Washington is on the come-up, for sure, and has plenty to offer the recreational golfer. But, when it comes to crafting incredible landscapes on which to route golf courses, the lands east have a 175-million-year head start — and they’re putting them to use.

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Americas ’

Downriver Golf Course • Spokane

Muni Golf Capital

Liberty Lake Golf Course • Liberty Lake, Wash.

Esmeralda Golf Course • Spokane

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here’s great golf to be found out here; it’s just a matter of how far you’re willing to drive.

No destination in this part of the country is more versatile than Spokane, which offers a mix of top-flight municipal courses that can be played for as little as $20 at twilight times, to world-class resorts that rank among the most iconic courses in the world.

It’s been said that Spokane might be America’s greatest municipal golf city, and you certainly won’t get any argument here. The city’s four courses — Indian Canyon, Downriver, The Creek at Qualchan and Esmeralda — along with the three county-owned tracks (Hangman Valley, MeadowWood and Liberty Lake) are considered not only some of the state’s top munis, but among its best courses, full-stop. In last year’s ranking of Washington’s top public tracks, Cascade Golfer readers ranked Indian Canyon and Qualchan among the top-20 courses in the state, ahead of such high-powered notables as Newcastle’s Coal Creek and China Creek, McCormick Woods and more. The only muni to earn a higher ranking? Chambers Bay. And, every single one costs less than $50.

While it’s hard for locals to pick a favorite, Indian Canyon is the one with the strongest pedigree. Designed in the 1930s by H. Chandler Egan — who would later help oversee the redesign of Pebble Beach that still stands today — Indian Canyon has played host to PGA TOUR events and USGA championships, and seen its fairways walked by some of the game’s greatest legends, including Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. With over 200 feet of elevation change, Indian Canyon gives you plenty of opportunities to let loose with the driver, while notoriously difficult greens put a premium on a solid short game. More than 85 years after its debut, the course continues to evolve — just last year, the city removed several trees and replaced the course’s entire irrigation system in an effort to improve drainage and create better playing conditions year-round. cascadegolfer.com

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cascadegolfer.com

The Creek at Qualchan • Spokane

Kalispel Golf & Country Club • Spokane

Like Indian Canyon, most of the Spokane-area munis offer a similar mix of elevated tee shots, rolling terrain and routings that pass from treelined fairways to open meadows and wetlands.

And, everywhere, the stunning scenery that has been drawing pilgrims to this region for centuries. If you’re a destination golfer on a budget, there’s no better choice.

That’s not to say, though, that they’re the only choice — far from it.

For decades, while Spokane’s daily-fee golfers trod the fairways of the celebrated munis above, its more affluent residents gathered at Spokane Country Club, which was more exclusive, but no less appreciated. Just as Hogan, Snead and Nelson made their way around Indian Canyon, so did America’s top female golfers come to Spokane C.C., which hosted the very first U.S. Women’s Open, in 1946.

See, we told you Spokane was a golf town.

These days, Spokane C.C. is adding to the city’s reputation for great public golf, having been purchased by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in 2015 and reopened to the public as Kalispel Golf &

With over 200 feet of elevation change, Indian Canyon gives you plenty of opportunities to let loose with the driver, while notoriously difficult greens put a premium on a solid short game.

cascadegolfer.com

Country Club (509-466-9813, kalispelgolf.com).

A Robert Muir Graves design that has seen very few changes to its original design in the last 110 years, Kalispel regularly earns raves for the way it shuts out the clutter of city life and immerses the golfer in nature, resulting in the kind of quiet, peaceful atmosphere that puts you in a perfect state of mind for making birdies.

It’s also well-known for a creative routing that features seven-straight holes without a single par4. Starting at the par-3 seventh hole, every other hole is either a par-5 or par-3; given our long insistence that those are the most enjoyable kinds of holes to play, you can probably predict that we love this particular stretch, especially for the unique ride up to the 10th tee that you get in the back of a 1931 Ford Model A. Non-member rates start at $140 in the summer months, but can be reduced by combining the golf with a stay at the Tribe’s Northern Quest Casino & Resort, about a 25-minute drive away. A AAA Four-Diamond resort with the full amenities of a major Tribal casino, the Northern Quest offers stay-and-plays at Kalispel for as little as $250 a night.

Indian Canyon Golf Course • Spokane

Hangman Valley Golf Course • Spokane

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Coeur d’Alene Resort • No. 6

The Holy Trinity

I Coeur d’Alene Resort • No. 14

Coeur d’Alene Resort • No. 3

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f you’re willing to drive a little further and, yes, spend a little more, then you open up yourself up to what we generally consider the “Holy Trinity” of golf in this particular region — Coeur d’Alene Resort, Circling Raven and Palouse Ridge.

Sure, two of those courses aren’t technically in Washington. (Though, given the large number of people who, every two years, nominate Circling Raven for our list of Washington’s top-10 public courses, we’re guessing some of you may forget that from time to time.) But, neither Circling Raven or Coeur d’Alene are more than 30 minutes from the border and, when teamed up with Palouse Ridge, make for an extended golf weekend that you won’t soon forget.

We like to start at Coeur d’Alene, which is not only a memorable golf experience, but a full vacation in and of itself. Last year, we pointed out that, if you’re short on time, you can do Coeur d’Alene as a mid-summer day trip, leaving at sunrise and returning at sunset. But, you’re better off driving over on day one — maybe even stopping off in Spokane to play one of the munis along the way — then checking in at the Coeur d’Alene Resort (855-703-4648, cdaresort.com), which offers stay-and-play packages combining golf and lodging starting at $299 per player in the summer months, and dropping as low as $149 per player in the offseason. With the golf alone valued at $250 for players just walking in off the street, that’s obviously a heck of a deal.

Spend that first night enjoying the steak and wine at Beverly’s, overlooking the lake (whose wine cellar includes more than $2 million in inventory from around the world, including all of your Washington favorites), and crashing in a modern room with all the fixings you’d expect of a five-star resort. cascadegolfer.com

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Then, in the morning, throw your clubs aboard a speedboat — yep, a speedboat — and zip across the lake to the golf course for one of the most memorable golf experiences you’ll ever have. After receiving a complimentary massage and hitting range balls at floating targets in the lake, you’ll slide into a mahogany-lined cart and set out into one of America’s great resort courses.

The floating green gets all the attention it deserves, but by the time you reach the tee box at No. 6, you’ll have realized that Coeur d’Alene has plenty more to offer than that one signature shot. The par-4 second, played into the breeze off the lake, is a favorite, as are the back-to-back par-3s at No.s 5 and 6; the bunkering at No. 5 is like something out of a video game, while the elevated tee box at No. 6 provides the best views on the course. On the back nine, No. 11 will have you channeling your inner Tiger Woods as you ponder whether to go for the green on this par-5 styled after the famed 13th at Augusta National, while No. 13 bursts out of the trees and onto the shoreline, with an exciting forced carry across the lake to a fairway lined entirely by water down its left side.

That leaves you, of course, on the tee box of that famed 14th hole, facing an island green roughly 150-175 yards out into the lake. The brainchild of resort founder Duane Hagadone, the green floats on giant foam blocks that can be moved closer to or further from shore via a system of underwater chains.

After striking a tee shot you will certainly remember all your life, you’ll board the Putter for a brief sail across to the green; when you return, you’ll be handed a photo and monogrammed bag tag to commemorate the experience.

In addition to being a great destination in its own right, or a first stop on a weekend adventure, Coeur d’Alene is also a great home base for exploring Spokane (30 minutes west), the Silverwood Amusement Park (30 minutes north) or — our preferred secondary destination in this particular adventure — Circling Raven (30 minutes south).

Like Coeur d’Alene, Circling Raven, located in Worley, Idaho, is not only a great golf course, but a full-service resort, and itself a centrally located hub from which to visit Coeur d’Alene Resort and Palouse Ridge. Resort amenities include a full-service spa, an expansive gaming floor, events and eight different restaurants featuring all kinds of cuisine.

Unlike Coeur d’Alene, Circling Raven (800-523-2464, cdacasino.com) is not tucked against a lakeshore, but instead sprawls across more than 600 acres of rolling Idaho hills. While several notable designers bid for the job — including Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. — it was longtime Fred Couples collaborator Gene Bates who received the commission with his concept of a course that climbed the surrounding hillsides to provide expansive views of the surrounding landscape. With only a few exceptions, holes are isolated from one another — a fact which, combined with the towering pines, distant mountains and miles and miles of gentle, green-topped hills stretching to the horizon in all directions, lends the course a sense of natural grandeur.

Mother Nature is in charge here, and we are just cogs in the machine.

Just as he would later do at Salish Cliffs, Bates used fairway bunkers and creative routing to reward golfers who make smart decisions — starting with playing the correct set of tees. The four par-3s at the Raven are each unique — some short, some long, some requiring forced carries, and others situated on elevated tee boxes. Some par-4s are reachable (the shortest, the 10th, measures 336 from the tips, and 298 from the white tees), while others are cascadegolfer.com

Circling Raven Golf Club • No. 7

Circling Raven Golf Club • No. 7

Circling Raven Golf Club • No. 12

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Palouse Ridge Golf Club • No. 6

Palouse Ridge Golf Club • No. 3

Palouse Ridge Golf Club • No. 11

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most definitely not (like the preceding 474-yard ninth). Bunkering forces golfers to carefully choose clubs on every shot, while the scope and variety of holes give every golfer something to enjoy.

It’s been called a top-100 course by Golf magazine, Golf Digest and Golfweek, a top-10 tribal course, and made just about everyone’s “Best New” list when it first opened for business in 2004. And, it’s also been an industry leader during the pandemic, both in prepping the course (and casino, resort and other amenities) for its reopening last month, and in the deals that it’s making to take care of customers once they’ve arrived.

For 2020 only, Circling Raven has frozen its rates at the spring greens fees.

Peak rates would normally have begun May 21, but for the rest of the year, golfers will pay just $89 on weekdays and $99 on weekends, with the same discounts extended to resort stay-and-plays as well (starting at $249 per night).

For that reason, it’s perfect for calling home while you venture out on the final leg of this long weekend, back across the border to Palouse Ridge.

The three courses make a perfect complement — where Circling Raven is rugged, natural golf, the Resort course is a five-hour walk through the land of luxury, with forecaddies to clean your clubs and find your lost balls, and not a blade of grass out of place.

Palouse Ridge, meanwhile, is the linksiest of courses in the Holy Trinity, with long holes, undulating fairways and afternoon winds that blow across the Palouse and knock down any shot left too high. Opened in Pullman in the fall of 2008, Palouse Ridge (509-335-4342, palouseridge.com) immediately earned raves nationwide, popping up on lists of Best New Courses, Best Public Courses and, of course, Best College Courses. For a few years after it first opened, we tossed around the idea of having famous alums debate which Northwest college course was the best — then, we laid eyes on Palouse Ridge for the first time, and realized that the very premise of the article was flawed. There is no debate to be had.

From the elevated tee box at the No. 10 hole, the view seems to extend for 100 miles — the mountains of Idaho’s Palouse Range silhouetted to the east, with acres upon acres of untouched landscape unrolling towards you from the shadows at their feet. That’s just one of many breathtaking moments a golfer experiences as they make their way around the track, which, like Chambers Bay and Gamble Sands, offers golfers multiple paths to birdie on almost every hole, but will also punish those who stray too far from its generous fairways. An uphill par-3 played over two pot bunkers, where a miss onto the slope left is just as good as trying to fly your ball to the pin; multiple par-4s that are almost reachable from the middle (gray) tees, but also reward a safer play; three par-5s under 500 yards, though each presenting its own unique dangers; and stunning view after stunning view.

This year, more than ever, Palouse Ridge is likely going to need our help.

Each fall, Pullman’s population nearly doubles as close to 30,000 students return to campus, bringing with them many young golfers eager to take advantage of $42 student rates — and bringing along parents and friends who visit. Likewise, WSU home football games are boom weekends at the golf course, as thousands of out-of-town fans flock into Pullman for a weekend of beer, bonding and birdies. With both on-campus instruction and college football very much in doubt for the fall, however, Palouse Ridge is looking at a major loss of revenue — on top of what was already lost due to the twomonth closure this spring.

At just $109 for out-of-town residents, $51 for seniors, and $49 at twilight times, it’s a bargain no matter where or when you’re coming to town — and, you’ll be helping to keep our Holy Trinity going strong. cascadegolfer.com

YOUR FAVORITE GAMES AWAIT! We have missed you here at Muckleshoot Casino and are thrilled to welcome you back! We continue to offer you the biggest and best with more than 3,000 gaming machines, delectable dining and the largest smoke-free gaming area in the state. Visit us at muckleshootcasino.com for safety measures we’re taking to make your experience worry-free.

Muckleshoot Casino, the Biggest and Best in the Northwest!

THE BIGGEST & BEST IN THE NORTHWEST

Management reserves all rights.

Montana’s Mountain M ajesties

Whitefish Lake Golf Club • Whitefish, Mont.

I Glacier View Golf Course • Columbia Falls, Mont.

Several of the courses have been ranked among Montana’s finest by Golf Digest, Golf magazine and other national publications, while golfers give NMGA tracks four of the top-10 spots in Trip Advisor’s Montana golf course rankings.

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t was about 13,000 years ago that Glacial Lake Missoula began to release its floods on Eastern Washington, ravaging the plains approximately 40 times over a 2,000-year period with rushing torrents that reached heights of up to 2,000 feet (or a little over three Space Needles).

Montana treats us much better these days.

The Northwest Montana Golf Association, or NMGA, is a collection of nine championship courses, all located roughly between Flathead Lake and Whitefish Lake, approximately two hours north of Missoula. Several of the courses have been ranked among Montana’s finest by Golf Digest, Golf magazine and other national publications, while golfers give NMGA tracks four of the top-10 spots in Trip Advisor’s Montana golf course rankings.

Indeed, Golf Digest ranked Northwest Montana among the top-50 golf destinations in the world. One of the things that sets the region apart is the sheer variety of its courses — unlike many other hotbed golf regions, where courses are largely created in similar styles (Hawaii, Scotland), or spread over relatively large geographic areas (Southern Utah/Mesquite, Pete Dye Golf Trail, RTJ Golf Trail), the courses of Northwest Montana sit within a 40-minute footprint of one another, and offer an intriguing mix of mountain, parkland and links-style tracks.

Take Buffalo Hill, for example, a tight, tree-lined course that winds past the Stillwater River on the valley floor, requiring strong iron play and skill with the putter. Then, contrast that with Andy North’s Northern Pines Golf Club, a links-style course just 10 minutes away that is practically devoid of trees altogether, giving big hitters the chance to swing away, rewarding creativity over precision.

Just a few miles north, meanwhile, you’re knocking on the door of cascadegolfer.com

Sunriver Offering Unlimited Golf and Lodging for Under $80 a Day!

W

e figured that headline would get your attention.

For years, we’ve been making regular visits down to Oregon’s Sunriver Resort, one of the crown jewels of the Central Oregon golf empire.

Indeed, it was Sunriver that first put Central Oregon on the world golf map in 1968, when Bunny Mason declared that the region had a chance to be one of the finest golf destinations in America, and built the Meadows course — the first of four courses at Sunriver — to prove it.

By 1982, when Robert Trent Jones, Jr., came along to built the Woodlands course, Mason’s dream was quickly becoming reality; when Bob Cupp came back in 1995 to open Crosswater, the region was a full-fledged golf Mecca.

These days, Sunriver attracts thousands of vacationers and second-home owners of all stripes on a year-round basis, with hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, horseback riding, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a world-class planetarium, and just about every other amenity you could want in a high-desert resort, just a few minutes outside Bend and its incredible food-and-beverage scene, and a short drive from the summit of Mount Bachelor.

Many, of course, come for the golf, drawn not only by the three championship courses at Sunriver (plus Caldera Links, an award-winning short course that’s fantastic for families with young children, or new golfers afraid to bite off more than they can chew), but its proximity to the dozens of highly rated courses that have sprung up around Sunriver in the 50 years since Mason first had his vision.

Chief among the courses at Sunriver is

cascadegolfer.com

Crosswater Golf Club • Sunriver, Ore.

Crosswater, a track good enough to host USGA qualifiers and other premier events, but still a rollicking good time for those of us with an extra few digits in our handicap. Called by Golf Digest “the best-maintained golf course in the world,” Crosswater is the one course at Sunriver you have to play — not just because it’s consistently ranked among America’s top public tracks, but because it’s simply too fun to miss. Combining the best features of each of Sunriver’s other championship tracks, it’s a course that’s best played slowly, the better to plan each shot and consider approach angles. And, of course, to soak up those views.

The Meadows and Woodlands are strong offerings in their own rights. Redesigned by Oregon native John Fought in 1999, the Meadows starts in the open wetlands before turning into the pines, while the Woodlands remains entrenched in forest for much of its routing. Both offer plenty of chances to glimpse Mount Bachelor looming in the background, while the par-4 ninth hole at

the Woodlands offers a chance at an eagle for those daring enough to play a long forced carry over a lake that stretches from tee to green.

And, through Oct. 24, you can play as much golf as you want at Sunriver — including unlimited golf on the Meadows and Woodlands, and one round per day at Crosswater — for as little as $79 per person, per night. That’s right — just $80 will have you teeing it up as many times as you want at Sunriver this fall ($79 rate begins Sept.

1, rates for July and August are a still-excellent $179 per person, per night), then soaking up the resort amenities after hours. All rates assume double occupancy with a minimum two-night stay, with unlimited golf extended to arrival and check-out days. Carts, range balls and other benefits are also included.

Bunny Mason envisioned a future in which we were all clamoring to get to Central Oregon.

But, we don’t know if even he imagined deals quite this good. To learn more, visit destinationhotels.com/sunriver-resort.

JULY 2020

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Road Trippin’

EAST ERN PROMISES

Meadow Lake Golf Resort • Columbia Falls, Mont.

Polson Bay Golf Course • Polson, Mont.

Glacier National Park, with both Meadow Lake Golf Resort, in Columbia Falls, and Whitefish Lake Golf Club, in Whitefish, providing a more authentic mountain golf experience. Stunning peaks tower over the fairways, mountain lakes dazzle in the sun below, and dense rows of evergreens provide a sense of solitude on every hole. Meadow Lake is one of just four Montana courses to receive four-and-a-half stars from Golf Digest, while Whitefish Lake’s log-cabin clubhouse is a remnant of FDR’s Works Progress Administration.

Best of all, none carry a peak summer greens fee higher than $70, while lodging, restaurant and other associated travel expenses also run significantly cheaper than those in the most popular summer golf destinations.

The NMGA website, GolfNorthwestMontana.com, features stay-and-play packages with local hotels on its website, and has trip planners to help customize the perfect vacation to meet your needs and budget.

And, getting there has never been easier. While plenty of golfers make the four-hour drive from Eastern Washington, direct flights run daily from Sea-Tac to Glacier Park International Airport, while Amtrak will also deliver golfers direct from Seattle’s King Street Station to Whitefish, smack in the heart of Northwest Montana golf country.

“It’s such a special place,” says Alice Ritzman, a Kalispell native who played 20 years on the LPGA Tour. “They’re just beautiful golf courses.”

Play The Raven — On Us!

A

few days away on the wide-open fairways of Eastern Washington, Idaho or Northwest Montana sounds pretty sweet right now, right? Well, we can’t send you to all of them, but we can put you right in the middle of the action with a two-night stay at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort and two rounds of golf at Circling Raven — on us! Spend the whole weekend soaking up the glory of the Raven, or make the CDA Casino your home base for exploring nearby courses like Coeur d’Alene Resort or Palouse Ridge — it’s up to you! To enter to win, visit CascadeGolfer.com and click the Enter to Win button at the top of the page. Someone is going to be taking this trip later this summer — why not you?

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Circling Raven G.C. • Worley, Idaho

cascadegolfer.com

at Swinomish Golf Links!

FIRST-CLASS SERVICE

CONVENIENT LOCATION AFFORDABLE GREEN FEES

cascadegolfer.com

JULY 2020

57

SAVE SOME GREEN ACROSS THE POND

BY BRIAN BEAKY • CG EDITOR

W

henever we have polled our readers about their favorite golf regions in Washington state, the top choice has always been the same: the Peninsula, from the Strait of Juan de Fuca all the way down to the southern shores of the Salish Sea. And, while the region includes four of the courses ranked among the top-10 in the state by CG readers — Gold Mountain’s Olympic, Salish Cliffs, Trophy Lake and White Horse — what truly sets the Peninsula apart is the sheer depth of quality golf courses, at outstanding rates. Whether you want to pay $75, $50 or $25, you can find a worthwhile value within a short drive just about anywhere between Shelton and Sequim.

In this issue, we highlight three of our favorites, but there’s plenty more where that came from. Check out our readers’ rankings of the 10 best courses in the region, then plan your own summer getaway.

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Alderbrook Golf Club • Union

1

Alderbrook Golf & Yacht Club UNION

First piece of advice for playing Alderbrook Golf and Yacht Club – plan enough time in your day to spend 15 minutes on the range before teeing off.

First and foremost, you’ll want to shake off the car stiffness – located in Union, at the southern end of the Hood Canal about 30 miles southeast of the Bremerton ferry terminal (or about an hour from Tacoma, for South end golfers), it’s a good poke out there.

More than that, though, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking everything you brought with you to the tee at the par-5 first, which at just 468 yards from the back tees offers a rare opportunity for a leadoff eagle.

Knock your drive to the healthy side of 250 and you’re looking at no more than a 3-iron into a wide-open green, with just one small bunker short right to catch anything astray.

Now, that’s a sweet way to start a round.

Alderbrook is an amenity of Alderbrook Properties, a cluster of residential and vacation homes within a stone’s throw of the Hood Canal, and the Alderbrook Resort & Spa, a popular vacation getaway. For those who like to dip their toe in the water before diving in headfirst, the golf course is also open to the public seven days a week at rates as low as $25 per player.

If the 468-yard first is more reward than risk, No. 8 is its polar opposite. Hopefully, you took advantage of the low-number opportunity at No. 1, because the 536-yard, double-dogleg eighth threatens to take it all back, plus one or two. Trees lining the nar-

row fairway make trying to cut the corners a risky proposition. That said, the hole’s length prevents you from being able to club down too much on your first two shots, at the risk of a long third shot to a tight green. Take your par and be happy only two holes longer than 400 yards remain.

Between the trees and the large rural footprint on which the course sits, few holes are routed past each other – instead of the carts of fellow players and the glut of tiny backyards that line so many courses closer to the city, Alderbrook’s fairways afford views of only the green ahead, the canal below, and the Olympic Mountains above.

It’s a peaceful experience, made all the more relaxing by the relative brevity of the course itself, which plays to just 6,305 yards from the tips and just 2,990 on the back.

Long hitters will like it for the chance to put that power to use, leaving short-iron approaches and plenty of birdie opportunities.

The short-but-straight set also have their day, with a course that won’t punish you for hitting it just 230 off the tee, so long as you keep it on the short stuff.

As for the short-but-not-straight? Well … the driving range is pretty nice, too.

YARDAGE (PAR) 4,448-6,305 (72) RATES $25-$55* TEL (360) 898-2560 WEB alderbrookgolfclub.com * Check website for current rates cascadegolfer.com

2

The Resort at Port Ludlow PORT LUDLOW

Watch out for Port Ludlow.

That’s the advice that we’d give to all of the tracks ranked among Washington’s Top-10 Public Courses by readers of this magazine last fall.

No course saw a bigger increase in its standing than Port Ludlow, which jumped an incredible 19 spots over its 2017 rankings, finishing 11th overall, and just 29 votes shy of 10th-place White Horse. Ludlow also finished first in the entire state among women, and third among courses in its price range.

That increase is a testament to the work that has been put into Port Ludlow in recent years.

Once ranked among the top-10 courses in the nation by Golf Digest, Port Ludlow had fallen off a bit during the last recession, forced to shutter one of its three nines and cut back on all but essential maintenance. When new management took over in 2015, however, a significant investment was made into restoring Port Ludlow’s former glory, an investment that included hiring the man who built it for designer Robert Muir Graves more than 40 years prior, Dick Schmidt, to oversee the project as superintendent.

In the following years, Schmidt installed a new high-tech irrigation system, reconditioned the fairways and greens, and more. And, as the votes of CG readers indicate, he’s done so with fantastic results.

From the No. 2 tee box on the Tide nine, usually played as the front, one can look down past the gently 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. 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 (aka No. 11), 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, giving you a great chance to close your round with eagle or birdie.

Package a round with a stay at the nearby Port Ludlow Inn — as we were more than happy to do cascadegolfer.com

Port Ludlow G.C. • Port Ludlow

for our 2013 story, “Home Port” (CG, June ‘13) — and you’ll save a few bucks on the golf, while snuggling up in front of a cozy fire, a glass of red wine in your hand and gentle waters of Ludlow Bay lapping the shore outside your window. Find us a better way to cap a day of golf than that.

YARDAGE (PAR) 5,240-6,861 (72) RATES $35-$55* TEL (800) 455-0272 WEB portludlowresort.com * Check website for current rates

JULY 2020

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3

Cedars at Dungeness SEQUIM

There was a point midway through our most recent round at the Cedars at Dungeness where I stopped still and took a moment to appreciate just how cool it is to be a Washington golfer.

Barely 90 minutes after driving off the Kingston ferry, here I was enjoying a terrific public golf course, hair billowing in a stiff afternoon wind blowing in off the Strait of Juan de Fuca, barely 10 miles from the very edge of our nation.

Who else gets to do this?, I thought. Who can travel such a short distance to play by the sea, or in the mountains, or in the open farmland — or, yes, even in a different country?

I teed my ball up high and let that salty sea breeze carry it a mile down the fairway at the 580-yard No. 7, which can play like 480 at the right time of day. In fact, in the late afternoon, when the wind is at its peak, it’s not at all uncommon for a big hitter to need three shots to reach the 466-yard, par-5 sixth, which plays straight towards the Strait, then turn their back

Cedars at Dungeness • Sequim

to the water and knock their second onto the green at the much longer No. 7.

The course’s most photographed feature is its crab-shaped bunker at the par-5 third hole, but there’s so much attention given to “Ole Crabby” that the course’s other 17 holes — many of which are a blast — have actually become under-appreciated.

Unless you have to be back on the mainland by a certain time, play it twice — an all-day rate of just $78 on weekends ($67 on weekdays) means 36 (or even 54) holes cost about the

same as 18 closer to home. You can bang out two rounds in seven hours, revel in the scenery of the Olympic Peninsula, and still only miss one meal.

Now, that’s a heck of a way to spend a day.

YARDAGE (PAR) 4,460-6,582 (72) RATES $25-$52 TEL (360) 683-6344 WEB 7cedars.com * Check website for current rates

Leavenworth Golf Course

...Located in the beautiful Washington Cascades

15% OFF 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 cascadegolfer.com

P R ESENTED BY

So, You’ve Decided to Start Playing Golf!

Our Condolences.

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Gold Mountain G.C. • Olympic Course Bremerton

By Brian Beaky

ith so many new golfers hitting our local courses these days, we thought it marked a good opportunity to pass on some wisdom that we’ve accumulated over the years — things that we wish we’d have known when we first started playing the game, and some things that we still have to remind ourselves of from time to time. Think of this as a beginner’s guide to golf — the little things that you won’t pick up in a lesson or watching on TV, and can only gain from experience.

Photo by Rob Perry / robperry.com

1. The absolute worst golfer isn’t a bad golfer — it’s a slow one. My mother once shot 179 at Druids Glen, but did so in just four hours. Be my mom — but, hopefully, better. Sorry, mom.

2. If you are playing slow, step aside and wave up the group behind you. They’ll be out of your way in five minutes or less, and you’ll play better without the anxiety of having them breathing down your neck.

3

No matter how bad your last shot was, there’s a worse one in your future. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you’ll let go of your anxiety and just have fun.

4. To that end, don’t worry what other golfers think of you. We were all new once and, frankly, we all still have days where it looks like we’ve never played before. Just play at a good pace, and be respectful of the course and your playing partners, and you’ll be appreciated by all.

5. How you played yesterday has no bearing on how you’ll play today. Therefore, it’s good to go into every round with the goal not to play great — most days, you probably won’t — but instead to enjoy a beautiful day in a beautiful setting, surrounded by friends with whom you enjoy spending time, and to have fun. With this mindset, you can’t walk away disappointed — and, you just might play better, too.

6. If one of your fellow players tries to give you some swing advice, smile politely and say thanks, and then feel free to completely ignore him (let’s be honest, it’s probably a dude). That said, do get lessons — all the pros that we have ever worked with are incredibly friendly, patient and helpful.

7. Always have lots of extra balls. Don’t worry if your bag is too heavy, as you’ll lose most of them by the end of the round.

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8. The best place to find golf balls isn’t the golf shop.

It’s in the woods or waste areas, where you’ll usually find several — just, never the one you went in looking for.

9. Don’t be shy about hitting something other than driver off the tee. You’re almost always better off a little shorter, but in the fairway, than longer and in the woods.

10. Likewise, your worst putt will usually be better than your worst chip. If you’re in short grass just off the green, don’t be afraid to pull your putter (or a hybrid) and try to knock it close.

11. Spend more time practicing putting than anything else. Up to half of your shots will be putts, so not only is it the easiest thing to practice, it’s also the quickest way to start lowering your scores.

12. When practicing putting, remember that the goal for everyone but scratch golfers should be to limit three-putts, not necessarily to make more one-putts.

13. When your ball is only a little bit underwater, you may think you are good enough to hit it and avoid the penalty stroke. You’re not. You’re going to end up soaked, muddy, and taking a penalty anyway.

But, your buddies will sure enjoy it.

14. When you’re stuck in the woods, you may think you can get the ball through that tiny gap in the trees. But, in reality ... ah, who are we kidding, we will ALWAYS try to get the ball through that tiny gap in the trees. Does it work? Not usually. But, we keep trying anyway.

15

Wash your golf towel regularly. Seriously.

It’s a cesspool.

16. When taking multiple clubs for a shot, rest the extras on a tee and/or place them directly in your path back to the cart or your bag, so that you’ll be sure to see them. There’s nothing worse than finding a club missing and having to think back over the last several holes to remember the last time you used it.

17. Golf clubs don’t usually perform better after being thrown, smashed into the ground, or broken over your knee. And, your score definitely won’t improve if you have to start using a driver on the green because you tossed your putter into a pond on the previous hole.

18

No matter how well you think you’re playing, never count up your score until you’ve walked off the course. If you do, fate will immediately add 10 strokes to your final score — even if you’re already on the 18th tee.

19. Don’t go home thinking about that putt that you could have made, or that wayward drive you wish you had back. Unless you shoot 18, there will always be something you could have done better.

Golf is not a game of perfection, but of resilience and persistence — focus on regaining control when things go sideways, and you’ll not only improve your scores, you’ll also develop mental strategies you can apply off the course as well.

20. Last, and most important, always tip the beverage cart attendants, and say thank you to the maintenance crews, pro shop staff, restaurant employees and others who keep our golf courses open, beautiful and fun. Most of these people make less money than you do, and are here to make your experience better. Let them know how much you appreciate them every time you get the chance.

cascadegolfer.com