Is Druids Glen poised to become one of Washington’s best courses?

In August, we published Washington’s top 10 (top 20, actually) public courses as voted by our readers. And, not for the first time, Druids Glen came in 19th. The Covington course, located 30 miles southeast of Seattle, had finished 19th twice before and only once slipped outside the top 20. The majority of the state’s courses would have been very happy with such a position, certainly. But for many, it seemed the 1997 Keith Foster design, once owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, could battle for top 10 course honors each year given its amazing layout.

The course was purchased in 2019 by Parks Legacy Project (PLP) of Phoenix, which owns several properties in the western U.S. Its mission, as stated on its web site, is to ‘provide for the improvement and long-term financial sustainability of public parks and recreation facilities’, its goals realized through a ‘careful process that follows three primary principles: planning for the future, funding improvements, and creating new neighborhoods.’

In July of 2021, PLP hired course architect Forrest Richardson, then President of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, and his design partner, Jeff Danner, for a major renovation. Its aim, said Danner, would be to “create a more aesthetic and thought-provoking golf experience.”

“We really want to see Druids Glen climb into Washington’s top 10 public courses,” Richardson told us on the phone in November. “It is a great course but has definitely begun to show signs of wear and tear.”

Richardson and Danner — the company operates under the name Richardson Danner Golf Course

Architects — issued a press release shortly after being hired, stating that the project would focus on a bunker renovation, turf reduction, irrigation enhancements and the addition of forward tees. Richardson now says that only a “small portion” of the work began last year, specifically turf reduction (reducing the total amount of maintained turf from 113 acres to 80 would reduce water consumption by about 15 percent).

But work stopped for multiple reasons: the ongoing pandemic, PLP’s investments elsewhere, and in order to establish a new restaurant at Druids Glen — Grill in the Woods — which offers 30 beers on tap and has been getting some very positive reviews. It is unclear when the golf course project will kick back into action and what exactly will happen when it does.

We contacted PLP in November, but it wasn’t ready to reveal exactly what improvements will be made. Our hope is the proposed bunker work (more naturalized edges) and the addition of heather will go ahead. Danner has plenty of experience playing in the English heathland southwest of London where the beautiful, purple-colored, low-growing shrub proliferates. In the July 2021 press release, he said Calluna Vulgaris is actually well-suited to the Washington climate.

“While heather is traditionally associated with regions of western Europe, especially Surrey and Berkshire in England, the many varieties and colors can be fast-growing in North America,” he added.

We’re also keeping our fingers crossed for the new forward tees which, Danner said in 2021, would “help make the course more enjoyable for those just learning the game as well as those keen on hitting approaches into greens that are more in line with the design intent of the holes.”

Like most public courses across the country, Druids Glen has seen a significant rise in the number of rounds played over the last couple of years and new forward tees would certainly help new golfers enjoy the course more.

We’ll be following the Druids Glen renovation project closely and fully expect that, when completed, it could potentially push the course into the state’s top dozen public courses, or higher.

Druids Glen is consistently a fan favorite in Puget Sound.