Played Trophy Lake on Sunday 7/10. This has always been one of our favorite courses in Washington and Sunday's round did nothing to disappoint. The course is about an hour's drive from Seattle across the Narrows bridge or you can take a ferry. It is set on a good site with plenty of trees and enough elevation change to keep things interesting. The architect did a good job with long holes and some shorter ones with demanding shots into some tight greens.

The gimmick for this course is that it is both a golfing and a fishing destination but in our experience fishermen are few and far between. The clubhouse is not imposing but is quite attractive with a good restaurant. A waterfall is right outside and there are impressive flower displays so this has a bit of a resort feel. The course is in great shapre and is well worth the drive.

We played Washington National on July 4. The course was in great shape. The only problem we had was the sand was so soft and deep that we actually nearly lost two balls in the sand traps. They were invisible but we knew they were in there. So we used the rake to uncover our balls. Not sure how legal that is but we've never had an invisible ball problem before.

This is an unusual golf course for the northwest. Basically they tore down all the trees except around the periphery of the course and added many sand traps and waste bunkers. So it plays more like a desert course in some respects than a northwest traditional course. Originally they had hoped to lure a US Open here but the course was never held in high enough esteem. Nevertheless, it is a good one and very challenging from some of the tees. As much as I like it I would probably give this "Home of the Huskies" a second place among collegiate courses in Washington to Palouse Ridge "Home of the Cougs" in Pullman. The collegiate theme is strong here, get a cart in the colors of any of the Pac 10 schools. Well worth the 45 minute drive from Seattle.

Played on a decent evening in June in less than 3 1/2 hours. The course is in excellent shape. We enjoy this course and the experience here a lot. It is more forgiving than Coal Creek but has one or two slightly funky holes (#6 is a dogleg par 4 shoehorned into a housing project - impressive houses anyway!). It doesn't have as many views as Coal and has homes on several holes. But the combination of the course, clubhouse, service and views make this a great experience.

Played on a gray Saturday in June (aren't they all?). The course was mostly empty so we could play at our own pace. In most respects the course is in good shape. However, they have not maintained probably half of the sand traps so they are played as ground under repair. Fairway bunkers that used to create a challenge are now no challenge. I'm not sure if the idea is to speed up play or whether they just don't have the budget to maintain many of their traps. But I don't like it.

A little history of this course... It used to be named Vicwood and was quite an excellent golf course until a retirement community developed the land around the course. Nearly identical mediocre cookie cutter homes line virtually all the fairways. This really detracts from the atmosphere. The combination of the homes and the removal of challenges on the golf course mean it is no longer worth a special trip IMHO.

Played on a great Sunday 6/5. The course is in good shape. I have never thought much of the greens but they are now fairly fast and true. They don't look healthy... almost like dirt in some spots... but I guess that's fescue. I still question whether these are truly US Open caliber greens.

I enjoy the design of the course and the people helping us were all very friendly and helpful. I don't know that it's as atmospheric and special as the Bandon courses but for a local course it is a good stand in. For those coming to Tacoma to play here, there are a few courses (Gold Mountain, Trophy Lake, McCormick Woods) within 45 minutes across the Narrows bridge that are great northwest style courses that we probably enjoy playing as much as Chambers Bay. Very different experiences indeed but well worth your time.

We have always considered Apple Tree to be one of the most enjoyable courses to play in the state. It is built in what was formerly a rolling apple orchard but they have done a lot to make it interesting (although some might say a bit contrived). The front 9 has lots of variety and lots of water. The back 9 used to be pretty boring for holes 9-15 but they jazzed that up too with more water. The theme is apples and the downhill apple shaped island green is a very fun hole and a northwest golf icon of sorts. We played Memorial Day weekend and found the course to be in great shape. Worth a special trip!

Played 4/21. Despite an awful spring the course is in good shape. Great care had been taken in the sand traps especially to create just the right consistency. This is the most expensive public course in the Seattle area and it is a good experience despite some quirks of the golf course. The clubhouse resembles what one would expect in a high end private club - almost castlelike - with sensational views of the region. Service is excellent.

The golf course also has sensational views and is very hilly. Not a reasonable walking course. Although there is much challenge here and plenty of interesting holes I think it is rather severe in places. Fairways are tight and if you're having directional issues it can be a long day here... often forcing billy goat climbs up or down the side of hills to recover. If we're playing well we enjoy it here although many of our friends actually prefer the China Creek course. China also has a couple funky holes but it is less severe than Coal, costs a little less, and is generally more women friendly.

Played Auburn on a beautiful Sunday. This has been one of my favorite munis in the greater Seattle area. They have sunk quite a bit of money into a new clubhouse and some good improvements to the golf course. Unfortunately today was a letdown. We quit after 9 holes. We were about 20 minutes late getting started then the front 9 took three hours. At hole #10, a long par 5, the group in front of us was still waiting at the tee box to tee off. The pro was nice enough to give us a raincheck so hopefully things will be better managed when we return.

The course itself was in decent shape considering all the rain recently. Greens were disappointing considering it had been three weeks since they were punched. They were still quite bumpy. Fairways were OK, a little soft. Some of the areas in the rough were muddy.

Despite a less than great review this is normally a good locals golf course and well worth a bit of a drive. They need to find a way to speed up play though!

Despite the massive amount of rainfall we have received lately Jefferson was in relatively good shape. We usually start our season here because it drains fairly well. The greens were good and the sand was outstanding. For those not familiar wth the course its claim to fame is it was the home course of Fred Couples growing up. They probably haven't put much into infrastructure since then other than updating the driving range. The clubhouse is in need of replacement but golf courses are not high on the list of Seattle priorities. I think it's a good tree lined northwest course that makes for a nice walk in the park although the back nine has a couple significant hills to climb. At $37 to walk, it's not a bargain.

Played Bali Hai on 3/28. This was a perfect day and the course was in great shape (except for a couple slightly beaten up tee boxes) and lots of fun to play. The only real drawbacks to Bali Hai are airplane noise and some warehouses and industrial areas that are visible from some of the holes on the front 9. The course is modeled after the south Pacific with the whitest sand imaginable and lots of water and palm trees. Considering the property they had to work with, a very impressive effort.

Compared to Shadow Creek, which we played the day before, the Bali Hai clubhouse and restaurant were more showy and obviously meant to impress. This course feels much more like Vegas. Great food in the restaurant and nice views of the golf course. We payed peak rates of $295 which is quite high but we were able to avoid renting a car for our long weekend and saved quite a bit doing so to somewhat offset the golf course fees. For those without cars who want a fun round of golf and a great meal, this is a good one and there are better rates available before 8AM or later in the day.

Played Shadow Creek on 3/27. The limo picks you up at your hotel and takes you down an unmarked road to the golf course. Basically they created North Carolina in the desert with all the trees and water. When you arrive at the golf course it is not at all pretentious... all the help is very friendly, not stuffy, not phony-friendly, just good people. The clubhouse is sort of an Augusta replica - white with green shutters, etc. The food service is surprising considering this is one of the most expensive and exclusive courses available to the public on the planet. Sandwiches and salads are in the $8-12 range - just like home - and are predictably quite good. We were really surprised by how un-fancy, comfortable and down home the whole experience was.

Every group has a fourcaddy and ours was a very jovial and helpful caddy nicknamed Moose. The golf course was quite beautiful, challenging and perfectly maintained as you would expect. They created about as good of a golf course as you could imagine given the land they had to work with. Nevertheless, due to the nature of the terrain, it really didn't blow us away with holes that were extraordinarily memorable. For visitors wanting a less traditional, but more memorable golf course I would suggest Wolf Creek in Mesquite.

The service from start to finish was the best we have ever had. The maintenance was as good as we have ever seen. The course was excellent but not the best we have ever played. If $500, plus tips for caddy and driver are not too much of a stretch for you I recommend this experience. For most, I would probably suggest playing some of the other good courses in the area instead.

We always play the Player course when in Palm Springs because we enjoy the experience and because we get 50% off green fees as villa owners at the resort. This year we found the course to be in excellent shape as always but not as spectacular as Indian Wells Celebrity. The normal green fees on 1/1/08 were $165 which is not a good value. The pro shop/restaurant are almost embarrasing for a club that charges that much. Celebrity at $130 is a much better value. We also payed Tahquitz Resort for $59 at twilight and the consensus was that course was pretty close to comparable with Player. So I recommend this course if you can get on at a good price.