Course Tour

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #2

346 Yards Par 4 – Colin Gants, PGA Head Professional, calls hole #2 his favorite on the course. It is a great short hole that gives a couple of options off of the tee to either drive it within 50 yards of the green or lay back safely not risking the hazard on the right. Longfellow Creek protects the entire length of the hole on the right side making your tee shot and approach shot into the green much more difficult. The approach shot into the deepest green on the course (45 yards) must be precise as there is a greenside bunker left and the water hazard less than 3 yards right of the green. Most putts on this green break AWAY from the hazard.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #3

121 Yards Par 3 – When designing the course, Chandler Egan, saw four distinctively different par 3’s. Each of the four holes are quite unique in that they not only point in all four directions of the compass but will require a different club for each hole. The third is the shortest hole but golfers are required to hit over Longfellow Creek to the small, crowned, push up green with two pot bunkers protecting it on the left. It is a classic short hole that you don’t see designed in modern golf anymore. You can’t help but think that Chandler Egan used the 8th hole at Royal Troon (The Postage Stamp) as his inspiration for this hole.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #4

540 Yards Par 5 – The long uphill hole takes three perfectly placed shots to reach the green. This hole is only one of 3 holes on the course without a bunker yet plays as our most difficult par 5 in relation to par. The uphill drive is protected by Out of Bounds left and trees right. The second shot is the most difficult on the course and needs to be threaded perfectly into the throat of the landing area that is only 20 yards wide. The crowned fairway and overhanging trees makes this narrow opening all that much more of a challenge to find. The putting surface is quite flat but be careful of OB lurking 5-yards left of the green and deep swale right of the green that is more than challenging to pitch from.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #5

435 Yards Par 4 – Keep your drive on the left side of the generous landing area as there are several overhanging trees on the right side of the fairway. Crossing the fairway is an eight foot ridge at the 150 yard post. Use this downhill slingshot wisely and you can add 30 yards to your tee ball. The second shot is played downhill to a beautifully framed green with towering trees on all sides. The flat green is protected by a greenside bunker on the left side and a shallow swale on the right.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #6

198 Yards Par 3 – A long uphill par 3 guarded by two bunkers make this hole especially difficult. Longfellow creek comes into play on the entire right side of this hole and encroaches within 15 feet of the putting surface. This hole normally plays much longer than the given yardage as it is more uphill than it appears from the tee and often times plays into the prevailing south wind.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #7

320 Yards Par 4 – Despite its length, hole #7 has a number of hazards waiting for you. Longfellow creek protects the entire length of the hole on the left side of the fairway. There is a fairway bunker on the right that pinches the landing area and is positioned 220-250 yards from the tee. A green side bunker also guards the left front portion of the putting surface. With any hole location near the front of the green, you must be careful to control the spin on your wedge or you will risk the ball spinning off the green.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #8

403 Yards Par 4 – The eighth hole is one of our most difficult on the course. The dogleg left hole is quite narrow as it is protected by Out of Bounds on the left and Longfellow creek on the right. The tee ball requires you to precisely control the distance and shape of your shot. If you hit your tee ball farther than 250 yards then it must be shaped right to left to avoid going through the fairway and into the hazard. The uphill approach shot to the green plays much longer than the yardage indicates and is protected by a deep bunker on the right. Once you find the putting surface, give your full attention to the hard left to right slope on the left portion of the green.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #9

564 Yards Par 5 – The longest of the par 5’s at West Seattle GC has a blind tee shot with OB down the entire length of the left side. The second shot is quite challenging in that you are trying to hit a fairway wood off of a downhill / side hill lie to a narrow neck of the fairway near the 100 yard disk. You must stay away from the trees on the right side with your lay-up or you will be forced to pitch out of ‘Bogey Garden’ back to the fairway. A good line for your second shot is the Big Leaf Maple on the left side of the fairway. The left side of the green is guarded by tandem ‘pot’ style bunkers.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #11

182 Yards Par 3 – Beautiful downhill hole that is framed by a backdrop of trees. The green is guarded closely on the left and behind by Longfellow Creek. The flag often times hangs lifeless as it is protected on all sides – look up to the top of the tall Poplar trees to see really how hard it is blowing. The secret on the green is that this is the only putting surface on the course that breaks to the back of the green.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #12

515 Yards Par 5 – Our signature hole was voted into ‘Seattle’s Dream 18’ by the Seattle Times and Seattle Metropolitan Magazine voted it ‘Seattle’s Most Difficult Hole’ but it simply should be considered ‘Seattle’s Most Beautiful Hole’. Your tee ball needs to thread the tight corridor of trees as you cross Longfellow Creek. The view from the tee lays out the entire hole in front of you with a gorgeous backdrop of Seattle’s skyline in the distance. The landing area demands a precise shot with a fairway bunker on the left and a hazard on the right. The second shot is guarded on both the left and right by Longfellow Creek which is re-directed under the fairway at about the 100 yard mark. The green is elevated some 30 feet which makes the yardage difficult to pinpoint as you are playing a blind shot. The back to front sloping green is guarded by the creek on the left, Out of Bounds on the right and a greenside bunker short left.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #13

195 Yards Par 3 – This hole is easily the most difficult par 3 on the course. The tee ball with a long iron, hybrid or fairway wood is quite the challenge as you try to find the small, tightly bunkered green. Less than 20% of players hit the green and even fewer make par. This hole is slightly downhill losing about 12-15 feet in elevation from the tee to the green. Careful on your shots around the green because the first few yards of the green are steeply sloped and will carry misplayed shots off the front portion of the putting surface.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #14

475 Yards Par 4 – From the Black Tees hole #14 is an absolute monster. The hole plays uphill all the way to a severely sloping green. The fairway bunker on the left and the dogleg-right promote a left to right ball flight off the tee but the greenside bunker on the front left portion of the green require a right to left second shot. Golfers should aim for the middle of the green because anything short will get deflected back down the fairway by the severe ‘false front’ on the front portion of this green. Your work, however, is not over once you reach the green. The putting surface is heavily sloped from back to front and you must take special care to two-putt if you are putting from behind the hole.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #15

413 Yards Par 4 – You are seemingly on top of the world on this tee with one of the most beautiful views you will find anywhere. Laid out in front of you is a long downhill dogleg-left hole with Seattle’s skyline as a backdrop. The space needle is a good line for long hitters but do not miss your tee ball in the left rough or you will be blocked out for your second shot. The green is guarded by a bunker on the right side and is difficult to hit because inevitably you are playing from a lie that is anything but level.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #16

382 Yards Par 4 – Simply said, this is the longest 380 yard hole you will ever play and more so it is the most difficult hole on the course. This dogleg right uphill hole seemingly does not have a level lie anywhere. Your normal tee ball will travel 30-40 yards less because of the ridge cutting the fairway at the 150-yard post. The hole also challenges your club selection on your approach shot as the 30 feet of elevation gain to the green coupled with the uphill / side-hill lie often require two more clubs than the yardage would normally dictate. The fun does not end when you reach the green. Hole #16 boasts the most interesting and difficult green on the course. Three puts are the norm on this hard right to left sloping green. Use the backstop on the back of the green to deflect your ball back towards the hole. While you are waiting your turn to putt, turn around and enjoy the panoramic view of Seattle’s skyline.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #17

366 Yards Par 4 – Another naturally beautiful teeing ground which faces north toward Harbor Island, Elliot Bay and downtown Seattle. The fairway falls gently downhill and golfers should favor the left portion of the fairway as balls hit in the right side of the fairway tend to trickle into the right tree line. The elevated push-up green is wonderfully framed by two greenside bunkers on both the left and right entrance to the green. Rich Beem, winner of the 2002 PGA Championship, played our course several times before he went on tour and said, “West Seattle’s back nine is one of the most beautiful nines you will find anywhere.” With these kinds of views it is easy to understand why he was smitten with West Seattle GC.

West Seattle Golf Course Hole #18

354 Yards Par 4 – The tee ball here plays slightly uphill to a right to left sloping fairway. Take special care not to miss left because there is a steep ridge that falls to hole #17 that will make recovery shots very difficult. The right side of the fairway is protected by a slope that leads up to the practice green but remember any shot right of the road could go Out of Bounds. The right to left sloping green is protected on the front left by a greenside bunker. A perfect shot into this green is a draw that avoids the bunker and takes advantage of the terrain to feed towards the hole.