SE Washington Solo Road Trip

[spud3]

So I had some vacation time to burn, and have been wanting to get over to this side of WA to play a few courses I've heard a lot about, so it's a solo golf road trip this week. I'll be posting for the next few days.

 

The general plan is Elk Ridge (Carson, WA) today, which is a favorite of one of my regular playing partners and bills itself as the 'Best course in Washington you've never heard of.' Following that tomorrow with a double header of Wine Valley in the morning and Walla Walla Country Club in the afternoon. Next day is a drive to Pullman for a round at Palouse Ridge, drive back to WW for one more night and then a final round at Wine Valley before heading home to PDX. Four days, five rounds and somewhere north of 800 miles through some gorgeous country. Walla Walla is the home base, staying at the Whitman hotel, which has a very nice stay/play deal for WV and WWCC, and includes daily buffet breakfast, as well. The room is old skool comfy, lots of velveteen paisley and dark wood. I think this place has been here since 1928 and has hosted a couple presidents back in the day.

 

Day 1: Elk Ridge Golf Course, Carson, WA

This is the golf part of the Carson Golf and Spa Resort, some hot springs that have been a regional favorite for decades. The course is built on top of a large ridge overlooking the Columbia Gorge. Overshadowed by it's neighbor Skamania Lodge, this course probably doesn't get the play it should. WRXer WishIPlayedMore made the drive out (~ 1 hour east of Portland through the Gorge National Scenic Area - and yes, it's that beautiful), and simply put, we both really enjoyed the round. Fescue surfaces everywhere, lots of elevation changes and very fast, very undulating greens. We agreed that this would be a splendid Bandon Prep course, as the walk is stiff (like Trails), the greens are heaving (like Old Mac, just not as big), the weather is dramatic and changes rapidly, the wind can really blow, and the fairways run.

 

Minor quibble with some of the pin placements (SOMEbody had a rough Saturday night), but we agreed that this is a course that could be played a lot, as the greens would take quite a while to get down. Warming up on the practice green, which is also full of humps and slopes, I was thinking the course couldn't be that intense... I was wrong. Three 3-putts and a 4-putt on the front nine ruined an otherwise decent driving and ball-striking side with at least three rounds of rain gear on/off and I cruised in with a smooth 45. The rough is tall fescue, and I had a couple opportunities to remind myself that you really don't want to go into that stuff.

 

The back nine was much better, especially putting, with no 3-putts and a good string of pars that brought me in for an 86 overall. Considering tha atrocious putting performance, I was ok with that. One of the nice things about the round was there was hardly anyone there, so we got around a pretty hilly course on foot in 3:40. If it was very warm at all, I'd probably take a cart, as there are not a lot of trees and the hillside is very exposed to whatever weather is coming at you. Fortunately, the same exposure allows you to see the weather that is coming at you, so you have a few minutes to get the raingear on.

 

All in all, a great start to the trip. We agreed that this course will get more of our attention, as it's only another 30 minutes travel time compared to our home course, and the rounds appear to be much faster. A long day tomorrow, so more to come.

[Drofdarb23]

Nice write up Spud.

 

Looking forward to your review/thoughts on Wine Valley. Have fun!

[spud3]

Day 2: Wine Valley, Walla Walla Country Club

 

Executive Summary: Wine Valley is one of the best courses I've ever played (mic drop). WWCC, eh, not so much...

 

The second day started early, with an 8AM tee time at Wine Valley GC (Dan Hixson, 2009). I've heard a lot about this course and seen several rave reviews on WRX and elsewhere. Checking out the photos on the course website and reading through the fantastic hole-by-hole description by One Golfers Travels, I was eagerly anticipating teeing it up there. Light winds (5-10 mph) and lots of sunshine helped the mood, as did the magnificent views of the Wallowa foothills to the south. The giant windmills are everywhere.

 

I got off the first tee right on time, playing solo, after a warmup on the very nice range and chipping area (balls and cart are included in the green fee) and some time on the practice green. Fairways are a mix of fescue and bluegrass, and the greens are a mix of several bentgrass varieties. The fairways were lively and good rollout was the norm, but not crazy. I could see WV becoming a racetrack in the later summer months, but the grounds crew have done a superb job keeping the course playable. The rough is tall fescue, and should be avoided. I sent one ball way offline from the generous fairway and doubt that it will ever be heard from again. Thankfully, a local rule says to treat the native grass areas as a lateral hazard.

 

The greens are very challenging, speedy, with lots of slope and elevation changes, and usually guarded by at least one bunker. They roll true, but position on the green is key. The course was obviously designed with the wind in mind, so a solid ground game is a very good thing to have. It's no secret around here that I'm a big fan of the Bandon courses, and a big part of that is they reward a good ground game. WV belongs in that club. It's kind of a blend of Pacific Dunes and Old Mac.

 

My only complaint was the bunkers, which are very penal (not a surprise, given the mostly wide and accomodating fairways). I can accept a penal bunker design, but the actual sand they contained was more grey dirt than sand. The pro shop guy said it was because they can't use normal sand, as the wind will just blow it out. Fortunately, I only found a couple bunkers, so it wasn't a big factor (today, anyway). Pace of play was great. I had a threesome ahead of me of guys who were...um...not professionals, and I still got around in 3:40. The course would be walkable, but there are lots of big ups and downs.

 

I really wish WV wasn't so far from Portland (but it is ~4 hours of a beautiful drive along the Columbia). Even then, I could see coming and spending a weekend and playing three or four rounds there. It's that strategic and that well-managed. I'm glad I had the good sense to schedule another round on the way home Wednesday. I might make it a double-header.

 

 

After a quick lunch, it was off to Walla Walla CC for the afternoon round. The course was originally designed by a local banker, then redesigned by AW Tillinghast in 1936, one of only a handful in the Pacific NW. The bunkering is definitely classic Tillinghast, but I'm wondering how much he had to do with the routing and overall layout, as the front nine is pretty forgettable. Things get more interesting on the back side, but it still left me underwhelmed. Granted, Wine Valley is a pretty tough act to follow, but still... The course is immaculately groomed, small-ish greens with subtle slopes that made reading putts challenging. The greens reminded me a lot of Eastmoreland in Portland (Chandler Egan design, 1917). And the rough at WWCC has to be some of the stickiest I've ever played. Dense bluegrass (I think) that was really challenging to hit out of.

 

I've played at a few country clubs, and WWCC has the least 'CC' vibe I've ever experienced. It was almost like a really nice muni. Usually, a private club has staff at a bag drop, caddies, drink cart service, etc. You can just kind of smell the money. None of that at WWCC. Also, no yardage books available (boooo!), and only colored plates at 200/150/100 yards for yardages on the course. The staff (one guy was all I saw) was friendly and helpful, and pace of play was great (3:20 walking solo).

 

All in all, not a bad round, and I'm glad I played there. Probably wouldn't give up a second round on WV for it, though.

 

Tomorrow it's up to Pullman to meet up with Bandon buddy Edaw68 and play Palouse Ridge. Next up tonight is dinner at the Whoopemup Hollow Cafe (yes, that's really the name) for some jambalaya and a good Scottish Ale.

 

Photos will be added after dinner :)

[Steele47]

Have played both Palouse Ridge and Wine Valley twice. Great tracks!

[spud3]

The vistas abound at Wine Valley

 

 

One of the flattest greens

 

 

Imagine hitting your drive right out over that cart path and watching it hit and bound down toward the hole. It's really fun...

 

 

WV Greens were superb

 

 

 

 

Pretty much every hole on the front nine at WWCC looked like this

 

 

I don't normally gush about the condition of a tee box, but WWCC's were impressive

 

 

As were the greens

 

 

Classic Tillinghast bunkering

 

[Edaw68]

You're gonna like the views at Palouse Ridge tomorrow.

[WishIPlayedMore]

Wowza! Those pics are amazing. Course looks immaculate. Great write up. Keep em coming.

[oregongolf]

I knew you'd love Wine Valley. I've said it here before, but I think it's the best course in the entire state, public or private. It already shines, but it is magnified when you get it in tournament condition. There isn't a single weak hole and they are tons of ways to play a bunch of them.

 

Walla Walla CC leans heavily on their Tilly history. It's good, but was much better when it was the only game in town. Almost always great conditions and I like it, but I would choose to play Wine Valley 9/10 times.

 

With all that said, Palouse Ridge is awesome too.

 

It might have been a bit circuitous, but no Gamble Sands? So much good golf East of the Cascades... it's crazy.

[spud3]

I debated going up to Gamble, but ultimately decided that was probably worth a trip on its own. Looks like several good courses up there.

 

And I was admittedly going in to WV expecting a good course, but still had my mind blown...

[spud3]

Day 3: Palouse Ridge, Pullman, WA

 

Today was a 10 AM round with Edaw68 at his home course, Palouse Ridge (John Harbottle, 2009) in Pullman. That meant a 2.5 hour drive from Walla Walla, so I was on the road by 6. The drive to Pullman is more exquisite Eastern Washington farm country. Wheat-covered rolling hills, velvet textured from the green uniformity of the wheat, which stretches for as far as the eye can see. And the eye can see a long, long ways out here. More sunny weather, hardly any traffic and

,

and

for the soundtrack made the drive go quickly, and I pulled in at the club with plenty of time to get in a good warm-up.

 

 

Palouse Ridge is the Washington State University course, and it traipses around the other side of the hill from the college. There are no flat holes. There are few flat lies, and subtle greens that pretty much had my number all day. The course is an excellent design, and we had a lot of conversation during the round about how the pin placements and wind can really change the whole nature of the course. It's one of those that you can spend a lot of time on, without it ever getting stale. The folks in Pullman are lucky to have such a great track. It's a stiff challenge, to be sure (and a very stiff walk, should you choose to do that). We each did manage a birdie, and lots of pars (well, a few for me), but big number holes lurk everywhere, and we both fell victim on more than one hole. Blue tees are 6723 yards, rated 72.9/134. We played from those, and I was probably over my head, length-wise, especially with this being my fourth round in three days. It was fun watching Edaw play the course with full Local Knowledge. It's always great to play a round with another Certified Golf Nerd (CGN), and the discussions of course strategy from the view of someone who knows every corner of the course was a treat.

 

Sidebar: that is something that I am very thankful to WRX for, as the guys that make up my regular groupings now are almost all from meetups through WRX. And we're all CGN's...

 

 

The course is managed very well, with an excellent practice area and facilities. The greens were immaculate and rolled beautifully. My missed putts were all on me. Fairways and tees were in fine condition, and we even saw the GM out tending the rough around one of the greenside bunkers. The bunkers were well stocked and playable (and I had more than one chance to check those out). Lots of uphill and downhill approaches, and really good shot values, especially into the greens. Angles are required to be considered, particularly in layup shots. And the views are quite impressive, as well.

 

 

After the round, we were sitting on the patio enjoying lunch (order the Ridge Burger - trust me), and pondering All Things Golf, from rule bifurcation to the possibility that Mike Davis has been likely promoted beyond his level of expertise, when we noticed the tallest golfer either of us had ever seen on one of the tees a couple hundred yards away. None of his playing partners even made it to his shoulders, and we were thinking he must be close to seven feet. When he got in the cart, his knees were up in his chest. Must be tough to get clubs that fit (much less golf shirts). Since I'm just a shade under 6 feet, the pondering of what golf would be like from a height took up an embarrasingly large part of my drive home.

 

Arriving back in WW, I hunted down a great little taco joint (also part of the post-round lunch musings) and knocked down three carnitas street tacos without blinking. It will be the cheapest meal of the trip, and rivals today's Ridge Burger as the best. Tomorrow is a rematch with Wine Valley, then the long drive home. I'll post a quick summary tomorrow night or maybe Thursday.

 

[Edaw68]

Good pics Spud, fun round despite the difficulty. Judging the elevation changes and the effect on yardage takes a lot of trial and error. And I owe you lunch at Bandon next year.

 

For the golf nerds, Spuds pics are from #3 blue tees, #10 blue tees, and #15 grey tees.

 

And that guy was 7 feet easy. He had to hunch over to sit in the golf cart.

[duffer987]

How late does the season run out there, in worth making the trip shape?

First couple weeks of October?

[Edaw68]

How late does the season run out there, in worth making the trip shape?

First couple weeks of October?

 

For Walla Walla it's fairly dry so if you can handle a bit of cold you'll probably be fine in early October. For Pullman and Palouse Ridge it's gonna be hit or miss depending on when winter hits. I've played into November before, and I've had the course close the first week of October because of snow. The average season is usually about halfway through October.

[BirdieRoll]

Great report. Thank you.

 

This got me thinking about planning a similar trip albeit in reverse.

 

Palouse Ridge

Wine Valley

Elk Ridge

Langdon Farms

Recuperate with copious amounts of Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley

 

From Pullman to Willamette, would these be the top four courses to hit?

[spud3]

If you're talking public courses, yes. If you have access to private clubs, then the Portland area has a bunch of good ones that others can speak to better than I.

[duffer987]

If you're talking public courses, yes. If you have access to private clubs, then the Portland area has a bunch of good ones that others can speak to better than I.

 

This was my impression and why I've not come up there, is anything worth getting on a plane for is either out in Central/Eastern WA or over to Bend/Bandon.

I see in the Portland thread the names of the courses bandied about, but not sure they'd be any 'better' than what I can play between Seattle and Vancouver.

[spud3]

Having said that, I do believe we are blessed in the PDX area with a number of really good designs in public courses. Some suffer due to being muni's but anyone who is a student of course strategy and design can find several really interesting public tracks here.

 

Heron Lakes (muni, 2 courses) - RTJ Jr

Langdon Farms - John Fought

Eastmoreland (muni) - Chandler Egan

The Reserve (2 courses) - Bob Cupp

Pumpkin Ridge Ghost - John Fought

[duffer987]

^Yeah I like the Fought courses I've played to date and assumed those would be the two I would play, if I was to head out to W.V./Paloose from Portland.

Thanks for condensing down a list of a few others too :)

[ryu123]

Duffer & Spud, I've played the Witch Hollow course at Pumpkin Ridge, Columbia-Edgewater, & Williamette Valley, and wasn't impressed by any of them.

 

Witch Hollow was in immaculate condition, but the holes were kind of dull.

 

Columbia-Edgewater felt cramped, with a weird berm / wall that ran north-south through part of the course. (The planes flying low to PDX didn't help the ambiance.)

 

Willamette Valley was flat & uninteresting.

 

As for publics, I really liked the Great Blue course at Heron Lakes and the Reserve Vineyards (south) is a good course.

[Edaw68]

One thing some people haven't considered is if you're making the journey to Pullman, it's only another hour drive to Worley, Idaho to play Circling Raven. It's been in the top 100 public courses in the past depending on which publication you look at.

[spud3]

Duffer & Spud, I've played the Witch Hollow course at Pumpkin Ridge, Columbia-Edgewater, & Williamette Valley, and wasn't impressed by any of them.

 

Witch Hollow was in immaculate condition, but the holes were kind of dull.

 

Columbia-Edgewater felt cramped, with a weird berm / wall that ran north-south through part of the course. (The planes flying low to PDX didn't help the ambiance.)

 

Willamette Valley was flat & uninteresting.

 

As for publics, I really liked the Great Blue course at Heron Lakes and the Reserve Vineyards (south) is a good course.

 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Pumpkin Ghost or Reserve North, but that's just my personal taste - there's lots of folks that love both, and they are well-kept for sure (at least in the summer months).

 

I love the Reserve South course, and Heron Lakes is a great place when I feel like playing 36. Two RTJ II designs, one easier, one really challenging. Scoring well on the Blue course makes me feel like a good golfer...