Bellingham, WA Trip Report

[kaschreiber]

4 friends and I went up to Bellingham for our second annual Boys golf trip over the weekend. First year was Chelan with 8, and due to some softball injuries and pregnant wives, we had a reduced count this weekend. Gearing up for Bandon as a 12 man group in Oct 2019. Writing up a trip report of what we did and my thoughts. We played 4 competitive rounds over 3 days- 18 on Friday, 36 Saturday, 18 on Sunday on 4 different courses. We chose Bellingham as 3 of us went to Western and wanted an excuse to get back to town, it's a relatively easy drive from Seattle, and for my money has some extremely underrated golf.

 

Round 1 (and an optional practice): Loomis Trails.

We started the weekend with an afternoon round on Loomis Trails- 18 of the 36 that make up the Semiahmoo Resort. Me and one other guy went up early in the morning to get in a practice round, while the other 3 joined us in the afternoon. The courses rotate- Loomis/Semiahmoo are private on opposite days, so the public can still enjoy the courses. Loomis is ranked the #8 public course in WA in Golf Digest and while I've still got 3 to knock off on that list, I don't have a problem calling it an elite course in the state. The staff in the proshop and restaurant were top notch- when checking in they offered us a deal coupled with our replay in the afternoon that knocked the price down considerably- just over $100 for 36 with a cart and unlimited range, which I thought was a steal. The course is a really fun collection of varying terrain- links style at time, then backs you through some narrow tree lined holes, with water coming into play on nearly every hole. Bunkering is great, with bunkers making you think through every tee shot and approach. If it weren't so far removed at 2 hours north of Seattle, I'd be there much more often. The only thing lacking were the greens- they were in solid shape, just bumpy from some of the first rain we had gotten in the area. If they had been rolled out, they would have been absolutely pristine, but they weren't bad by any means. This was also the site of one of the coolest golf experiences I've had in a while- after letting a group play through on the 3rd hole, we didn't see another group the rest of the day- on fairways, greens, tees, you name it. We played as a fivesome in 70 degree weather, listening to music, drinks flowing and having a blast. We played the course as a 5 man game of wolf for the payout on the day, with individual scores going to the overall 72 hole tournament.

 

 

 

We ended the night at Boundary Bay reliving our old college nights, before turning in for the night.

 

Round 2: North Bellingham.

North Bellingham is one of my all time favorite courses. Granted that's due to it being my home course in college and where I picked the game up the most, but I absolutely love this trek. We got out early and were allowed out as a fivesome as well. Standing on the range we all had the sense that we were going to get some good weather, with the clouds looking like they were just about to burn off- we were wrong. By about the 3rd hole we were in a light drizzle and the wind picked up, making for a pretty cold round. The course was in fantastic shape, although it's night and day between how enjoyable that course can be on a gorgeous sunny day vs a snotty day. I thought the wind and the rain made for some fun conditions, but the others in my group weren't huge fans. They felt the course overpriced ($80 with a cart), although I think they would have felt very different on a nice day with Baker so clearly visible on the back 9. My only complaint for this round was the guy in the pro shop was not especially helpful and their restaurant was not open when we arrived. I understand a restaurant at a course opening late on a weekday, but we all assumed we'd be safe to eat at the course teeing off at 8 on a Saturday. When we asked in the proshop when the restaurant opens the response was "when the cook gets here." Thanks. That's helpful. Other than that, the round was still fun despite the conditions and like Loomis, I'd be there a lot more often absent a 90 minute drive.

 

 

 

Round 3: We ran the 10 minutes over to Shuksan for round 3, round 2 on Saturday. I was really torn on this round. I have always loved this course as well, finding it to be a really fun layout with great routing through a picturesque valley (lots of elevated tees to make for some cool views), but was put off from the start. When we arrived, we asked if we could go out as a fivesome due to our last minute bailouts. The proshop staff told us "that's impossible" and we had to go out as a 3 and a 2 as he was going to pair someone with us. Had it been a busy day, or even somewhat busy day, I would have understood, no questions asked. But the course was absolutely dead due to the weather. They also had a beer and a hotdog deal, which we all sprung for, with the beer being their crappy "Shuksan Lager" that we weren't able to sub for anything better. By the time we got to the first tee, there was a single waiting to pair with our 2 (I didn't play in that group but luckily was told the guy was absolutely awesome), but the starter had made him wait ~20 minutes to join us, rather than letting him go off. After asking the starter where their blue tees were, he pointed to black, explained that their blues are painted black and seemed rather aloof to our other questions on the course. All in all, it made for a really weird start to the round and not at all what I remember experiencing in past rounds there (probably played 12-15 rounds there prior). After teeing off, it became rather apparent that the course conditions have gone downhill as well. The entire first fairway was littered with range balls (the range parallels the first on the left hand side), with massive areas of the course burned out. By the time we made it to the 4th green- a long par 5 looking back where you can see the 1st, 2nd, and most of the 3rd hole, it was apparent that there was not another group behind us, yet going off as a 5some was "impossible" and the single was forced to wait on us, rather than being allowed to race ahead. Had the course been in better shape and the experiences with the starter/proshop been better, I likely would have thought very differently of the round, as my 4 friends who had never been there before really liked it (but agreed on the staff). The 12th hole they are placing in and the rerouting of 13 look great and will make for a really cool change to the overall course. Excuse the lack of pictures- I played like dog crap and was let down on the initial impressions and completely forgot to shoot any pics at all.

 

We finished the round, grilled at the house we were renting, then went out in dt Bellingham to visit some of our old haunts, having a great time.

 

Round 4: Sudden Valley. We finished our trip at Sudden Valley and this was my first time playing this course. I absolutely loved it. The amenities have a really cool old timey feel to me- the clubhouse is kind of tucked into woods, a nice- albeit outdated- locker room, massive restaurant, etc. The course itself was a lot of fun, with 5, 6, 7, 8 being one of the cooler stretches of holes on the trip. The weather sucked for this round as well, with constant drizzle/rain, but we still had a good time. We played as a 3 and a 2 again, but the course was busy enough that it was justified. The back 9 is drastically different than the front, with the front largely a bomber's paradise and the back with some very tight windows off the tee. Aside from the 1st fairway bunker (which was a rock pile and had me nervous for what we were going to find the rest of the way around), the rest of the course was in fantastic shape and a course that I will certainly be back up to play when we get some weather that warrants the drive. I'd go back up for a morning round at Loomis and afternoon at Sudden Valley in a heartbeat. Again, no pics as the weather was pretty snotty, but I can imagine this course is absolutely beautiful on a clear, sunny day.

 

Final thoughts: If you're already in western WA, looking for a relatively cheap and easy getaway for a golf trip, Bham is certainly worth considering. Homestead, Lake Padden, Semiahmoo would have been other courses we could have included but ultimately didn't. If you're coming from the east side, or Portland, or somewhere that's more of a hike, there are likely better options. I'd rank the courses we played as 1) Loomis, 2) NB, 3) SV, 4) Shuksan but that could largely be dependent on past experience and the varying weather we got all weekend. If Shuksan gets it's act together and acts like it gives a damn about the tract of land it's situated on, it would contend for one of the better/more fun rounds in the area, but from the moment we walked in the proshop, the bad taste I had in my mouth soured the entire experience for me.