Played today at Trophy Lake for the first time in several years, and really enjoyed myself. Teed off right on time at 6:42 am walking with a buddy and paired up with a very pleasant riding single. We ... Continue »

Played today at Trophy Lake for the first time in several years, and really enjoyed myself. Teed off right on time at 6:42 am walking with a buddy and paired up with a very pleasant riding single. We got around in a really fast 3:30. We waited on a couple of holes, but never more than a minute or two, and the group behind us was never pushing. Conditions tee to green are very good here, the fairways are really nice and always giving a good lie. They're firm, but not baked (at least not yet) giving a good amount of roll. Rough isn't very long, but it can be a bit sticky, and a little bit inconsistent in places. You're definitely going to feel the difference between it and the short grass. Greens are very good, they tended to be quick downhill but not rolling out uphill like you might expect. There was also the occasional bump, but nothing too bad. One thing we noticed over the course of the round is that as things warmed up and dried out, grain on the greens could affect a put more than you expected. Tee boxes weren't bad, although a few of them could be in better shape. I found several bunkers today, and while they all did have a decent layer of nicely raked sand, there were also a few too many rocks. I was lucky that none of them were really in play for me, but again I think that was my good fortune.

There's a decent grass range here to warm up on, and the nice, large putting green felt pretty much the same as the greens out on the course. I think they've got a short game area as well, but I didn't have time to check that out. We started so early, and played so fast, that breakfast was still being served in the clubhouse and that was pretty good as well. Trophy's a little bit pricey, and definitely hard to get to as it's on the other side of Puget Sound from Seattle, but if you've got the day to spend and you feel like a treat its definitely worth it.

This used to be a premier public course in the area. The course is no longer maintained as a premier course. The sand traps in particular are awful. It doesn't appear the traps have been raked in m... Continue »

This used to be a premier public course in the area. The course is no longer maintained as a premier course. The sand traps in particular are awful. It doesn't appear the traps have been raked in months. Greens a bit bumpy but better than they were in July. Tee boxes hadn't been mowed in a few days. A really good layout but a disappointment.

Took a day off work yesterday, 11/20/14 and walked a really quick round at Trophy Lake. I got there about 10:15, teed off right away, and never saw a single player in front of me, and very rarely saw ... Continue »

Took a day off work yesterday, 11/20/14 and walked a really quick round at Trophy Lake. I got there about 10:15, teed off right away, and never saw a single player in front of me, and very rarely saw anyone less than 2 holes behind me. It was really quite fun, feeling like I had the place to myself. Conditions were pretty good for late fall/early winter up here. It had rained the night before, plus there was some off and on rain during my round, so things were very wet. A lot of fairways and fringes had been recently punched, so you did find some sketchy lies. The rough was very nice, however. It looked as though the greens had been recently punched with very small holes, but the roll was not affected at all. They really did putt very well, albeit a little on the slow side. The bunkers I found were pretty consistent, lots of sand that was surprisingly not as compacted as I would have expected with the weather. I love this layout, and the setting is absolutely gorgeous. Once again, Trophy did not disappoint.

Having finished Gold Mt in great time, I had time to stop by Trophy Lake Golf & Casting. Was not planning to play here, but arrived in plenty of time to play another 18 and the pro shop gave me a grea... Continue »

Having finished Gold Mt in great time, I had time to stop by Trophy Lake Golf & Casting. Was not planning to play here, but arrived in plenty of time to play another 18 and the pro shop gave me a great rate, due to the fact no one was playing. So glad I decided to stop, as I found this course to be a great place to play. The course has wide fairways, large/deep bunkers (one was 100 yards in length) and large beautiful greens. While the greens are large, they are not like some courses that have mounds/humps, etc. Putting is wonderful. Put the ball online and it stays there. This is a course that reminded me of the courses in N Carolina with wide fairways lined with pine trees. Drive the ball well here, stay out of the bunkers (and there are many) and putt well and you will have a great day and a great round of golf. I totally enjoyed this course and would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of playing here.

Played Trophy Lake this morning, 7/20/14 teeing off just before 7:00. Pace was good, I caught up to a foursome that offered to let me through on the 5th hole and after that I pretty much never saw any... Continue »

Played Trophy Lake this morning, 7/20/14 teeing off just before 7:00. Pace was good, I caught up to a foursome that offered to let me through on the 5th hole and after that I pretty much never saw anyone in front of or behind me. Conditions were not quite what I'd hoped for however. The greens were decent, but a little on the slow slide, and I saw a few too many unrepaired pitch marks. Fairways were a bit burnt out, with a few areas that could have been marked as GUR. Tees were pretty good, but the bunkers had a lot of rocks in them. The sand was good, but the rocks really disappointed. Staff was super friendly and professional, but for as far as I had to drive, I think the rack rate might be just a bit too much considering how many other great courses there in this neck of the woods.

Day two of my local golf vacation got me out to Trophy Lake this morning. I've been hesitant to play here over the last couple of years because conditions seemed to be degrading a bit, but today the c... Continue »

Day two of my local golf vacation got me out to Trophy Lake this morning. I've been hesitant to play here over the last couple of years because conditions seemed to be degrading a bit, but today the course was awesome. Greens were nice and smooth, almost no pitch marks, putts held their lines nicely. Not too fast, but not super slow either. Fairways were a little wet at the beginning of the round (it did rain a bit last night) but they still offered some roll, and were quite pleasant to hit off of. Over the day both greens and fairways dried out and firmed up a bit, which made the round lots of fun. Rough, tee boxes, and traps were all good as well. Customer service in the shop and restaurant was really excellent too.

This is a really neat layout, just hard to get to because it is on the other side of Puget Sound from Seattle. I was really pleased to find that the conditions warrant the journey.