Top 10 Best Public Courses In Washington

PRESENTED BY FRESCA MIXED

Thanks to our loyal readers, we present to you the public’s view of the top places to play — recognizing not 10 but 20 amazing courses with Chambers Bay retaining its No. 1 ranking

By Tony Dear & Bob Sherwin • For Cascade Golfer

Two years ago, in the introduction to the Top 10 Public Courses in Washington feature, we stated that with the gap between fifth-placed Salish Cliffs and the course in sixth position — Palouse Ridge — “widening significantly”, the top-five (Chambers Bay, Gamble Sands, Gold Mountain Olympic, Wine Valley, Salish Cliffs) was becoming “ever more solid”.

There’s some exciting changes in this year’s results and it's possible that with more votes and our new system for casting your ballot, we saw increased opportunity for courses moving up and down the rankings.

This time, we’ll just say the top-three is looking strong, because there’s been a bit of a shake-up. Wine Valley is still in the top-five but has dropped a spot, but in fourth place now is…drum roll…The Home Course.

The Michael Asmundson design which opened in DuPont in 2007 surprised us by overtaking not only Wine Valley but also Salish Cliffs and Palouse Ridge. To be honest, we didn’t see that coming but now that we’ve tallied everything up, we’re not surprised.

Factors? The cool Performance Center opened a couple of years ago, but that has no bearing on the course itself. Perhaps voters had a good experience in the new facility and decided to rate the course higher as a result. Positive association and all that. Whatever it was, The Home Course is in at No. 4, and it’s not as if it very marginally beat Wine Valley as 250 points separate the two.

The Home Course was ranked second-best public course in the state in Golfweek’s highly respected rankings the year it opened and, though it has since slipped outside its top 10, it’s important to note five of the courses in its current list weren’t even open in 2007. In Cascade Golfer, it’s never been outside the top 10, finishing seventh, ninth, seventh, sixth and eighth (respectively) in the five previous iterations of our polling. So, we know it’s good.

Elsewhere, Desert Canyon’s own four-spot jump into seventh is less surprising. The Orondo beauty enjoys such a magnificent location overlooking the Columbia River and has so many exciting holes we’re a little surprised every time it finishes outside the top 10 which it did in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022.

Another welcomed surprise is the return of Washington National, not so much because of the fact it’s in the top 10 after nine years on the outside, but rather how far it climbed. In 2022, the now 24-year-old John Fought design fell to its lowest ever position of 17th, meaning a rise of seven places this year. That’s the biggest jump we’ve seen inside the top 20 since the contest began.

Covington’s Druids Glen was another big riser, moving from 19th to 15th. Avalon is back in the top 20 for the first time since 2015, and Rope Rider at Suncadia is surely now where it belongs having risen 10 places from 26th in 2022 to 16th this time.

That’s a little more volatility that we’ve seen in recent years though that probably has as much to do with the new voting system as it does any of the courses.

And we’re certainly expecting there to be changes at the top the next time we run the contest in 2026 as David McLay-Kidd’s second 18 at Gamble Sands will have been open for a year.

As we’ve said before in these pages, the terrain over which the second course has been laid is possibly even more thrilling that that of the original course. We’re confident the new course could crack the top 10 in our polling — perhaps even higher — in two years when we roll this out again, but that all depends on the readers and their experience at the new Gamble Sands DMK beauty. Washington state is fortunate to have some exciting prospects like this waiting in the wings to join and measure up with the Sands course already there in Brewster and the stiff competition that is represented here in this issue.

For now though, let’s enjoy the 2024 results. Chambers Bay still reigns supreme with the usual suspects all present and correct. A hearty thanks to all who voted and shared your views.

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1 • Chambers Bay

University Place

For years, inside those Chambers Bay shuttle vans that take golfers from the high-on-the hill clubhouse down 500 feet or so to the driving range, drivers put up world maps and used pins to keep track of visitors’ home cities and countries. It's difficult to find open space anymore. Golfers far and wide, from just about every burg on Earth, have played here.

They have sought out the 17-year-old University Place links course, no doubt, because they wanted to play on the renowned layout that hosted the 2015 U.S. Open (won by Jordan Spieth) and 2010 U.S. Amateur. Most importantly, they have come because the Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout is rated among the best courses in the world. So, it’s no wonder that Chambers Bay is ranked by Cascade Golfer as the best in the state. For the first dozen years, however, it wasn’t so heralded. It wasn’t until April 2019 that it was given a fateful invigoration. The decision was made to strip out all the fescue grass greens — which can be inconsistent and stressed out under constant wear — to more durable and reliable poa annua grass. The result has been dramatic. The greens are receptive, consistent and true. The poa retrofit was the answer.

Chambers is now held in high regard again from folks around here, as well those willing to travel across the globe to play the virtual treeless course (one tree) in the Evergreen State. The question now is whether it’s enough for the course to host another major, men’s or women’s. Whatever happens in the future, we benefit by having it in our backyard.

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2 • Gamble Sands

Brewster

Every year, it’s a raging debate here over who’s No. 1. Since Gamble Sands opened, going on a decade now, it has swapped places with Chambers as the best course in the state. The 10-year-old Gamble Sands links course, set amid Okanogan County apple orchards on a scenic bluff above the Columbia River (10 miles east of Brewster), has slipped back to No. 2.

However, there is one category in which Gamble is unrivaled. It continues to make its case as the best golf complex in the state by a country mile. Since Cass Gebbers — the apple magnet who employs more than 100,000 people in the Okanogan Valley — authorized Bandon Dunes’ famous architect David McLay-Kidd to build Gamble Sands in 2014, the building and the planning haven’t stopped. In 2017, the 37-room Inn at Gamble Sands was completed, along with the adjacent 100,000-square-foot Cascade Putting Course. The 14-hole, par-3 course Quicksands (also designed by Kidd) opened in 2020.

This past March, The Barn — a new rural restaurant featuring craft beers and craft pizza — was opened on the grounds. Currently under construction, and slated to open in 2025, is a second 18-hole course along with some additional lodging. None of this would have been possible without the laudatory response to the original Gamble Sands course, which was selected by Golf Digest as the best new course in America at the time. The debate over who's No. 1 will continue.

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3 • Gold Mountain Olympic

Bremerton

It’s a tribute to Gold Mountain Golf Club’s Olympic course, one of two lush and forested 18-hole beauties among the Bremerton pines (the other is Cascade — 18th on our list), that the course record is still 65. It has been around for nearly 30 years now. Plenty of shots at it.

It has hosted the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links, NCAA men’s regionals in 2008 and 2015, the Husky Invitational and the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur (won by Jordan Spieth, who was 17 at the time). Yet, the best they could do is 65. It can’t be tamed. It’s also a tribute to the course designer, the late John Harbottle. He made it playable, enjoyable and diabolical. Harbottle, who has another course here in the top 10 (No. 8 Palouse Ridge), is a Northwest son who created a quintessential Northwest course.

While the top two courses on our list have a combined number of trees that can be counted on one hand, Olympic has just shy of perhaps a billion. The green fairway ribbons are brackets in woodsy corridors. It’s always well maintained, like a walk — sometimes a hilly hike — through a lush park. It’s no wonder it’s a Northwest treasure and a consistent top five finalist.

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4 • The Home Course

DuPont

Something has happened to The Home Course. Did the golfing public just suddenly discover it 16 years after it opened? The DuPont, Wash., course, just a few miles off I-5, has shot up the Cascade Golfer’s best course list in the readers’ poll. It is now at its highest level ever, passing perennial reader favorites Wine Valley and Salish Cliffs, among others.

It was ranked ninth last year. For a course that is always in the shadows of the more illustrious Chambers Bay (they both opened within weeks of each other in 2007), The Home Course finally might be standing on its own merits. Folks have a better appreciation of the 7,420-yard layout, its architectural nuances and the history of this special piece of land. The land dates to the Salish People, 1,000 years ago or more, then the Hudson’s Bay Co. had a trading post here — when virtually nothing else was around (there is evidence that a six-hole golf circuit was outlined around the post). Then it was owned by E.I. du Pont de Nemours Co., which made explosives to clear stumps and debris to cultivate the land, and finally Weyerhaeuser before golf made its mark on the gentle, hilly terrain.

It could be that the readers understand this is their course, for and by the people. It is owned cooperatively by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association and Washington Golf. It’s our course and we’re No. 4. Also playing a role in its popularity, green fees are just $58 at peak times (for association members), cheapest on our list.

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5 • Wine Valley

Walla Walla

One day, an enterprising promoter will figure it out — the Dan Hixson Golf Trail. Hixson, the innovative Northwest golf course architect, is building a creative resume, with more to come as his reputation grows.

His anchor masterpiece is Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, No. 5 in our poll. The course, which opened in 2009, is a links-like design amid the rolling fescue hills.

It’s like Scotland, but with better wines. This is probably the most remote course in the rankings, on the state’s southern borderline, yet it continues to hold a steady spot despite fewer tee times than so many others on the list. The first four courses and seven of the top 10 are all on the west side of the mountains.

Hixson’s courses, mostly in Washington and Oregon, are long drives (by car, not driver.) It could be the reason why he is perhaps lesser known. He designed Bandon Crossings, which continues to hold up well against the heralded courses at the nearby Bandon Dunes complex in southwest Oregon. Another one of his designs is the brilliant Silvies Ranch complex and the two 18-hole courses there. Silvies, one of two reverse courses in the country, is in way-out rural and remote Burns, Ore. It needs to be played to be appreciated. You must figure far fewer golfers have played Wine Valley than the west-of-the-mountain layouts, but they are passionate and unified in their regard to give Wine Valley a top five ranking.

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6 • Salish Cliffs

Shelton

We should all have such an amenity. That’s what the Squaxin Island Tribe elders termed the Salish Cliffs Golf Course when it opened in 2011. An amenity, something that brings “comfort, convenience or enjoyment” to folks who might benefit from something else. In this case, something else is the tribe’s nearby Little Creek Casino.

Chips may be about the only thing in common between golf and gambling, but their somewhat symbiotic relationship has worked. Salish Cliffs debuted as one of the best new courses in the country. Subsequently, the casino also has seen a lot more Titleist hats and golf bags in the check-in lines over the past 13 years. It wouldn’t have happened if the tribe hadn’t put so much money, effort and heart into its creation. It’s a 7,269-yard test of golf and a model for natural harmony. The tribe made sure the course adhered to responsible environmental standards, respecting their ancient lands. The course showcases the natural elements, as virtually every hole is surrounded by lush forests. It also is a certified salmon-safe course.

It’s a long course but adaptable to all skill levels, with five tee boxes. The par-3, 161-yard 17th hole is one of those holes you might want to play again and again. You tee off from a panoramic elevated tee, 80 feet above the valley, trouble right, left and back. It's a grand way to close out your round and it keeps you coming back. Just a short distance away, you can unwind after your round with a casino amenity.

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7 • Desert Canyon

Orondo

What an opening hole! It’s totally distracting. How can you concentrate on your swing coming down Desert Canyon’s first fairway when, just beyond the first hole and across the Columbia River, is that towering and magnificent granite wall on the other side of the river. Breathtaking doesn’t do it justice. Sure, there are probably other opening holes around the nation as spectacular. We know of one, this one.

Northwest architect Jack Frei (and Rick Fehr), who has designed such courses as Bear Creek, Wing Point, Echo Falls and McCormick Woods, knew exactly what to feature in his design — that distinctive wall. Many holes face it and it’s in sight for all the first nine holes. The 10th hole, which runs parallel to the first, gives you the same awesome sightline as you descend the 515-yard par-5. Then the course swings back to more prairie terrain, the desert side. That rocky backdrop only goes so far.

Golfers return to the Canyon — and have voted it into our top 10 — because the course offers a variety of challenging holes, is always maintained well and it’s fairly cheap, $70 with a players card.

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8 • Palouse Ridge

Pullman

Back-to-back east-of-mountain courses in our top 10! That’s hard to accomplish, considering the west courses have so many more tee times and so much voting power. But Palouse Ridge Golf Club stands out as one of the state’s best no matter which side of the mountain.

It may be the late John Harbottle’s finest design. He passed away in 2008, the same year the course opened. Palouse, just three miles from the Washington State campus, replaced a nine-hole course built in 1925. The $12 million project was praised from the start. Harbottle’s design has intrigued golfers with a back nine that features three par 3s, three par 4s and three par 5s. Palouse Ridge was part of a wave of new state courses during that time, including Chambers Bay, Salish Cliffs and The Home Course, as well as celebrated debuts from courses on the east side — Gamble Sands, Wine Valley and Suncadia’s Prospector.

Look now, seven of those courses, including Palouse Ridge, are in our top 10. The new guard is taking over, as many of these courses continue to climb in our poll every year. Those eastside courses have attracted the attention from golfers all over the state.

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9 • Suncadia Prospector

Cle Elum

Prospector, opened in 2005 and built by Arnold Palmer Course Design, is the public centerpiece of the Suncadia Resort (the other public course is Rope Rider, which is 16th on our list this year). You can catch glimpses of both courses, on either side of the elegant shady road as you enter the resort. It’s like driving into a golf heaven. You can’t wait to get out, get on your shoes and embrace this golfing paradise. The course, off I-5 past The Summit at Snoqualmie ski facilities, also has a classy third course in distant view, the private Tom Doak-designed Tumble Creek. It just adds to the golfing ambiance. All the courses are pristine, not a twig or pinecone out of place. They pride themselves here on their maintenance but take no credit for the views of the surrounding Cascades. They come naturally. Rope Rider, which opened in 2011, is seven spots down but it’s hard to measure the differences between the two.

One thing is certain, you won’t find a better 19th hole. After your rounds, stop by the glorious Swiftwater Cellars, overlooking Rope Rider’s No. 9 green and Tripple Hill, for a taste of Washington wines.

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10 • Washington National

Auburn

Some of the best players in the country have tested their skills at Washington National. Most of them come from the same place — Montlake.

The course is the primary home for the Husky golf team. The course, opened in 2000, has seen such top Husky players as Nick Taylor, C.J. Pan, Brock Mackenzie, Joel Dahman and Yuehum Yuan come through. The UW golf team, which was ranked as high as fourth in the nation this past season, was anchored here. Could it be that the challenging layout has made these fellas better prepared for the professional game? Could be.

National has moved up in the poll this year, knocking top 10 perennials White Horse and Trophy Lake to the second 10. This course also prepares ordinary folks for better games. The practice facility is as good as anywhere, with an 11,000-square-foot practice green, with ryegrass tees, a practice bunker and bent grass chipping area. Play like a Husky. National was designed by John Fought, who also did dozens of courses around the country including Trophy Lake (12th in our poll). Remember that name when you play the short par-4 313-yard 15th at National, one of the trickiest holes in the state.

Even if you could, you dare not try drive the green, with a wide moat in front. So, whatever distance you’re left with, you need to wedge it gently onto the green and settle it quickly. But if the Huskies can do it, so can you, one day.

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How’d We Do It?

We debuted an entirely new voting system this year with readers filling in their lists online rather than emailing them to the editor, or even communicating their preferences over the phone.

Given the simplicity and efficiency of the new voting system, it’s probably not surprising we counted more votes this year than in previous years.

We’re confident it’s the best way to proceed and, as more and more readers discover how quick and easy it is to vote, we’re sure we’ll count everincreasing numbers of votes in future contests.

A course topping a voter’s list received 10 points, nine for second, and so on. Thirty-six courses were voted No. 1 by at least one reader with Chambers Bay being the top course on 35 percent of voters’ lists. Gamble Sands was second at 21 percent, followed by Wine Valley (eight percent) and the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain (six percent).

Course (Voting Points) .... Total

1. Chambers Bay .... 2,493

2. Gamble Sands .... 2,114

3. Gold Mountain (Olympic) .... 1,890

4. The Home Course .... 1,530

5. Wine Valley .... 1,280

6. Salish Cliffs .... 1,267

7. Desert Canyon .... 963

8. Palouse Ridge .... 954

9. Suncadia Resort (Prospector) .... 863

10. Washington National .... 861

Editor's note: See rankings 11-20 on page 42.

Over 70 other courses received at least one vote here they are in order: Apple Tree, Trophy Lake, White Horse, Port Ludlow, Druids Glen, Suncadia Rope Rider, Bear Mountain, Gold Mountain Cascade, Avalon, Loomis Trail, Cedar at Dungeness, Indian Canyon, Indian Summer, Newcastle (Coal Creek), McCormick Woods, Harbour Pointe, Bellevue Municipal, Auburn, Creek at Qualchan, West Seattle, Echo Falls, Alderbrook, Newcastle (China Creek), Eagle’s Pride, Links at Moses Pointe, Mount Si, Hawks Prairie (Woodlands), Lake Chelan, North Bellingham, Willows Run (Eagle’s Talon), Classic, Canyon Lakes, Hawks Prairie (Links), Snohomish, Highlander, Battle Creek, Legion Memorial, Latah Creek, Snoqualmie Falls, Meadow Park, Jackson Park, Desert Aire, Camaloch, Cedarcrest, Sudden Valley, Oakbrook, High Cedars, Redmond Ridge, Columbia Point, Jefferson Park, Foster, Riverbend, Walter Hall, Nile, Tumwater Valley, Willows Run (Coyote Creek), Capitol City, Shuksan, Gleneagle, Downriver, North Shore, Camas Meadows, Horn Rapids, Gallery, Riverside, Sun Country, Lakeland Village, Sun Willows, Swinomish, Ocean Shores

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Industry Colleagues

Two years ago, we decided to drop the expert tag, thinking it a bit presumptuous. Club professionals and assistant pros often comment on how little golf they play compared with how much they did before joining the golf industry and, after several years of working with people employed in golf, we realized that’s probably true of most people in the business, be they general managers, superintendents, food and beverage professionals, retailers, marketers, instructors, coaches, etc.

That doesn’t make the people who do work in golf any less expert than they once were perhaps, but we thought a reader playing 100 rounds or thereabouts every year might know more about Washington’s public courses than a clubhouse restaurant server, for instance, who got out now and again. Not all readers know or understand what makes Chambers Bay or Gamble Sands so good (and they most assuredly are), but a lot do. So, we changed Experts to Colleagues and, as in previous years, asked a few dozen for their lists.

And, as it did in 2022, Gamble Sands came out on top, with the gap between it and Chambers Bay even wider this time than it was two years ago. We’re not sure why the David McLay-Kidd design is so much more popular with industry folk than Chambers Bay, but it’s definitely a thing because it’s won this category every time we’ve published this list and the difference in points won between the two is growing. Well over half of the lists submitted by industry colleagues this year had Gamble Sands at No. 1, in fact. The list of courses in the top 10 is very slightly different than it was in 2022 with the order changing some and Port Ludlow replacing The Home Course in 10th spot. Yes, that seems strange — while The Home Course rose to an all-time high of No. 4 in the main poll, it dropped to 11th among people employed at a company somehow involved with golf. One thing we ask industry people to be wary of, is that all we’re really interested in is the quality of the course rather than the whole experience — value, food quality, hospitality and services, which could affect the outcome.

Course .... Total

1. Gamble Sands .... 460

2. Chambers Bay .... 372

3. Wine Valley .... 298

4. Gold Mountain (Olympic) .... 281

5. Palouse Ridge .... 237

6. Salish Cliffs .... 214

7. Rope Rider (Suncadia) .... 212

8. Trophy Lake .... 198

9. Druids Glen .... 175

10. Port Ludlow .... 159

Other courses receiving double-digit totals: Suncadia Resort (Prospector), Indian Canyon, Washington National, Desert Canyon, White Horse, Loomis Trail, The Home Course, Bear Mountain Ranch, Kalispel, West Seattle, Apple Tree, Avalon, North Bellingham and The Creek at Qualchan

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thank you to all the Northwest golf media, pros, GMs, club personnel, grounds experts and influencers who voted.

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Best By Region

Looking for ideas on where to play during a road trip, or weekend away with the guys, gals, significant other, or family? Our regional polling results should give you plenty to chew on.

Olympic Peninsula

1. Gold Mountain (Olympic)

2. Salish Cliffs

3. Trophy Lake

4. White Horse

5. Port Ludlow

6. Gold Mountain (Cascade)

7. Cedars at Dungeness

8. McCormick Woods

9. Alderbrook

10. Ocean Shores 

Seattle/Tacoma/Eastside

1. Chambers Bay

2. The Home Course

3. Washington National

4. Druids Glen

5. Indian Summer

6. Newcastle (Coal Creek)

7. Bellevue Municipal

8. Auburn

9. West Seattle

10. Echo Falls

North-to-the-Border

1. Avalon

2. Loomis Trail

3. Harbour Pointe 

4. North Bellingham

5. Snohomish

6. Battle Creek

7. Legion Memorial

8. Cedarcrest

9. Sudden Valley

10. Walter Hall 

Central Washington

1. Gamble Sands

2. Desert Canyon

3. Suncadia (Prospector & Rope Rider)

4. Apple Tree

5. Bear Mountain Ranch

Eastern Washington

1. Wine Valley

2. Palouse Ridge

3. Indian Canyon

4. Creek at Qualchan  

5. Latah Creek 

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Ladies’ Choice

We know that women may rank facilities differently than men when assessing a golf course. Major deciding factors will surely be rooted in how the round felt to them as a golfer, if the grounds stood up as a quality experience from start to finish and how the course is genuinely regarded by their golfing peers. We do know that hospitality and the authenticity of the welcome is very important to female golfers. And is there a set of tees from which they will be able to enjoy their round and appreciate the design of the course. Whatever the female golfer is looking for, these are the 10 courses that scored well in our polling. The scoring was so close for the majority of these that we are listing them alphabetically and tipping our hat to them collectively.

Cedars at Dungeness

Chambers Bay

Desert Canyon

Gamble Sands

The Home Course

Loomis Trail

Port Ludlow

Salish Cliffs

Suncadia Resort (Rope Rider)

Wine Valley

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Movers & Shakers

Our reader-fueled Top 10 of Washington’s Best Public Courses was originally published in 2013, and nine of the courses that appeared in that first list are still there (White Horse is the one that has dropped into the second 10, replaced by Gamble Sands).

Given how good our best courses are, it’s hardly surprising there has been relatively little movement in and out of the top 10, but there are always one or two courses that enjoy a sudden surge in popularity for whatever reason.

The five biggest positive movers and shakers from 2022 to 2024 were: 

• The Home Course jumped from 8th to 4th

• Desert Canyon climbed from 11th to 7th

• Washington National leapt from 17th to 10th 

• Druids Glen rose from 19th to 15th 

• Both Avalon and Rope Rider moved into the top 20 after being left out in 2022.

Up & Down

This how our top 20 fared in this year’s rankings and how they moved up or down since 2022's results were published.

Course .... 2022 .... 2024 .... Change

Chambers Bay .... 1 .... 1 .... -

Gamble Sands .... 2 .... 2 .... -

Gold Mountain (Olympic) .... 3 .... 3 .... -

The Home Course .... 8 .... 4 .... +4

Wine Valley .... 4 .... 5 .... -1

Salish Cliffs .... 5 .... 6 .... -1

Desert Canyon .... 11 .... 7 .... +4

Palouse Ridge .... 6 .... 8 .... -2

Suncadia (Prospector) .... 10 .... 9 .... +1

Washington National .... 17 .... 10 .... +7

Apple Tree .... 13 .... 11 .... +2

Trophy Lake .... 9 .... 12 .... -3 

White Horse .... 7 .... 13 .... -6

Port Ludlow .... 12 .... 14 .... -2 

Druids Glen .... 19 .... 15 .... +4

Suncadia (Rope Rider) .... 26 .... 16 .... +10 

Bear Mountain Ranch .... 16 .... 17 .... -1

Gold Mountain (Cascade) .... 20 .... 18 .... +2

Avalon .... 22 .... 19 .... +3

Loomis Trail .... 15 .... 20 .... -5

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Next 10!

TOP 11-20 TRACKS

11 • Apple Tree Golf Resort

Yakima

A rise of two places since 2022 for this much-loved John Steidel design is not unexpected. Positive, recent reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor, Reddit, Top100golfcourses, golfcoursegurus.com, greenskeeper.com, golfreview.com and a handful of other credible websites confirm its jump is justified.

As we pointed out last time, most out-of-staters come for the famous apple-shaped island green at the par-3 17th, but all of them find so much else to like. The rest of the course features some pretty good holes, for a start. More than that, though, nearly every review you read about Apple Tree mentions the hospitality and the quality of the customer service. Those interested only in course architecture will be pleased they made the trip to Yakima but, for the vast majority of golfers, friendliness and an authentic welcome are a big part of the experience.

As is the food. In 2022, the chicken yakisoba and 12-ounce rib eye at the Slice Outdoor Lounge got a mention. Both are still on the menu, but let’s add to the list of recommendations the smoked Brazilian picanha which is described as “Tender and juicy sirloin cap smoked and charbroiled with Chimichurri sauce.” I mean, come on!

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12 • Trophy Lake Golf & Casting

Port Orchard

This 1999 John Fought design may have dropped out of the top 10, from No. 9 to No. 12, but that may have more to do with the quality above it that any shortcoming on the Kitsap Peninsula course’s part. The surroundings are dependable, pristine and continue to mature beautifully. The fact you can still play a course of this quality with architectural bones as good as this, for less than $80 outside of peak hours during the week, makes it a great value.

The 1977 U.S. Amateur champion, Fought reached his 70s in January of this year and has definitely slowed down in recent years, but he still has a couple of big jobs on his drawing board and his designs from the late 1990s and early 2000s clearly show how good he can be. Formerly owned and still operated by Oki Golf, Trophy Lake was named one of the top 10 courses in the state, public and private, by Golfweek magazine as recently as 2021.

Awesome views of the Olympic Peninsula and Mt. Rainier make the trip to Port Orchard a must for Washington golfers. A round of golf and visit to the Dry Fly for a beef brisket dip or lobster roll is still a great day out.

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13 • White Horse

Kingston

Who remembers when White Horse Golf Club really was a tough nut to crack? It’s no pushover now certainly, but Cynthia Dye-McGarey’s 2007 original was, perhaps, a touch strong. Golf Digest named it one of the best new public courses in the U.S. when it opened and, sure enough, Dye McGarey, niece of course architecture legend Pete Dye, built a cracker deserving of national acclaim. For the public golfer looking for a pleasant day out, however, it probably just had too many tough shots and bogey holes.

After the financial crash of 2007-09, the bank foreclosed on over 150 unsold residential lots in the development before going bankrupt itself. White Horse went through several more owners before eventually being bought in 2010 by the Suquamish Tribe, whose nearby Clearwater Casino had opened in 2003. The tribe invested heavily, hiring Tacoma’s John Harbottle to remove trees and bunkers and generally ensure guests had a relatively pain-free day.

For whatever reason, White Horse has dropped six places since the last time we did this, and we have no idea why. The polling is so close, we’re not talking about a lot of votes, but still. After much thought, we decided to chalk it up to “one of those things.” We still rate the course very highly and recommend a visit this summer.

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14 • The Resort at Port Ludlow

Port Ludlow

Though he designed more than 70 highly thought-of courses after setting out as a golf designer in the 1960s, Robert Muir Graves never did reach the pantheon of golf course architects. It’s probably fair to say he wasn’t a big-budget, top-100-type designer like a Robert Trent Jones or Pete Dye, but someone whose top priority was building fun and enjoyable courses. Graves didn’t seem interested in building holes that were “resistant to scoring” (Canterwood in Gig Harbor, notwithstanding) — a popular phrase before golf course architecture wised up and made golf more about playability and enjoyment that punishment and retribution.

Port Ludlow is perhaps the perfect example of Graves’s philosophy. The first 18 opened in 1975 while a third nine followed in 1990. Unfortunately, the financial crisis in 2007-09 was responsible for the loss of nine holes, but the remaining 18 were given a major renovation in 2016 by the course’s former superintendent Dick Schmidt, who had been a big part of the project in the 1970s and who came out of retirement to revive the course. The 18 holes he left rarely fail to put a smile on visitors’ faces.

In August, the course will host a qualifying round for the U.S. Mid-Amateur and Women’s Mid-Amateur –championships for amateurs aged 25 and older.

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15 • Druids Glen

Covington

In December 2022, we ran a story titled “Is Druids Glen Poised to Become One of Washington’s Best Courses?” The previous year, owner Parks Legacy Project (PLP) had hired Forrest Richardson and his then partner Jeff Danner to draw up plans for an ambitious renovation that would remove roughly 35 acres of maintained turf, replace a lot of it with beautiful heather, rebuild the bunkers, replace the irrigation system, and build forward tees.

Excitement was high but, as the article stated, COVID had made sure the project didn’t start when planned. And because of PLP’s subsequent work on other properties in its portfolio plus investment into Grill in the Woods, the restaurant at Druids Glen, work on the course is still to happen.

Which doesn’t really explain why it has jumped four places from its 2022 position of 19th. Like we said in the White Horse text above, the voting was so close a move of four places probably isn’t that big a deal though, of course, no one’s going to turn it down. Reviews elsewhere on the internet show a wide range of opinions, but ours and, it seems, that of our readers remain solid — Druids Glen is a very good design and most definitely worth a visit.

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16• Suncadia Resort Rope Rider

Cle Elum

Rope Rider makes a very welcome return to our top 20, having slipped down the list into 26th spot in 2022. We said above a move of a few places isn’t terribly significant but a jump of 10 probably is and, to be honest, we think it’s totally justified.

Rope Rider was named the best new public course in the U.S. by Golf Magazine in 2011 and, in our first Top 10 rankings in 2013, it came in 11th. Two years later, it was eighth but then it began an about-turn falling to 14th in 2017 then 18th and finally 26th.

Clearly, it is a course that divides opinion. A few of us in the office think so highly of it; we were astonished to see how far it dropped and are very glad to see it back. Oregon’s Peter Jacobsen and Texas’s Jim Hardy routed the latter holes of the front nine around Tipple Hill, a huge mound of mining waste material that grew during the nearby town of Roslyn’s mining operation between 1886 and 1963. The design team also formed three returning loops each with six holes giving resort guests the opportunity to play six-, 12- or 18-hole rounds before coming back to the clubhouse and a fortifying glass of wine at Swiftwater Cellars. Firm ground, beautiful scenery, good greens and well-designed holes combine to make Rope Rider a superb addition to Arnold Palmer’s Prospector Course, and we can’t recommend it highly enough.

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17 • Bear Mountain Ranch

Chelan

Some places are just so beautiful, so enduringly appealing, it doesn’t really matter how good a golf course you build on it, people are going to play it. When you build thought-provoking holes that take full advantage of the site’s natural assets, however, you have something very special on your hands.

Bear Mountain Ranch opened in 2005 on a remarkable site high above Lake Chelan and about seven miles west of the town which gives the lake its name. The course owner is Don Barth (who also owns Alta Lake GC, Rock Island, and Desert Canyon, which he bought from Jack Frei in 2010). It was built on a hillside with major elevation changes, incredible views in all directions (but most toward the lake) and it stretches to 7,231 yards from the black tees with four other tee choices (and combinations of those) for those who don’t fancy taking on something quite so long.

The front nine is probably the more memorable of the two, but the back has plenty of exciting holes including the steeply uphill short par-4 13th and 680-yard closing hole. Combine your round at Bear Mountain Ranch with a visit to a local winery and maybe some time on the water for an absolutely perfect day.

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18 • Gold Mountain Cascade

Bremerton

Of course it is John Harbottle’s superb Olympic course that gets most of the love at Gold Mountain, but its neighbor and predecessor, Cascade, is popular itself — the 18th best course in the state according to our readers.

It was designed on the City of Bremerton’s 360-acre property, eight miles south of the Naval shipyard, by Ken Tyson and opened in 1971 — making it 25 years older than its sibling. Tyson is a name not many Washington golfers will be familiar with, but he also designed the excellent course at Lake Spanaway and Madrona Links in Gig Harbor. Trees are very obviously what people remember about the Cascade Course, but they tend to be back far enough from the playing corridors to allow you to shape a ball. This isn’t Sahalee claustrophobic, though we’d be lying if we told you the trees weren’t a concern. You definitely need to focus on keeping the ball in play rather than smacking it as far down the fairway as you can. The course measures 6,775 yards from the back so it’s not terribly long but, as we said, length is not your first concern on the Cascade course. In our opinion, one of the best 36-hole days in Puget Sound is at Gold Mountain and dinner in Bremerton.

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19 • Avalon Golf Links

Burlington

Just as we were pleased to see Rope Rider back in the top 20, so too are we smiling at the return of Avalon Golf Links, 70 miles up I-5 from Seattle and outside the town of Burlington. Avalon has made the list before but not since 2015 when it tied for 19th. The 27-hole course overlooks the Skagit River Valley with views south to the Olympics and north to the Cascades. It is Robert Muir Graves’ second course here and, like Port Ludlow (14th), is just a nice place to spend a day playing golf. None of the nines — North, South, West — will beat you up, at least they shouldn’t but, as with any good course, you’ll have to earn a score that corresponds to your handicap. No one nine stands out more than the others, meaning players aren’t in a mad scramble to play a particular nine. People have their favorites, naturally, but really any of them will do. The longest and probably toughest combination is the North/South with a slope of 129 and which measures 6,774 yards from the black tees. West/South also has a slope of 129 but measures only 6,580 yards, still plenty of golf but certainly not over taxing.

Whichever nines you play, head into the Sweet Bite Café where you’ll find all the burgers, sandwiches, salads and wraps you’ll ever need.

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20 • Loomis Trail

Blaine

White Horse (13th) may have been tougher than Loomis Trail when it opened in 2007 but, since the Olympic Peninsula course was softened by John Harbottle in 2011-12, Loomis surely overtook it. It has a slope from the back tees of 142 and, though you’d have to hit a pretty bad shot to find it on some holes, one could argue water comes into play on pretty much every hole. Most of the course’s marketing material says water is in play on 17 holes, but we’re betting we’ve found the wet stuff on whichever hole it left out.

The course opened in 1993 and was designed by Canada’s Graham Cooke together with Ted Locke who would later design the excellent course at North Bellingham. Despite finishing 20th on our list, Loomis

Trail is the only course here that gets a perfect 100 percent recommendation rate on golfpass.com, a measure of how highly it is regarded. Not surprisingly, perhaps, given how difficult it can be, Loomis is a genuine championship course, having hosted the NCAA Division II Men’s Championship in 2009, U.S. Amateur qualifying in 2006 and 2016, and U.S. Senior Open qualifying in 2015. Loomis can play 7,137 yards but, unless you’re a visiting professional, top-ranked amateur or collegiate golfer, you really don’t want it to. Head to the blue, white, or yellow tees for a more manageable round. There are numerous outstanding holes, but the split fairway, par-5 11th is part of the conversation for which is best as is the other three-shot holes, and the difficult par-4 17th.

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