Best Golf Courses in Washington State: Pacific Northwest Links
Washington State golf is anchored by Chambers Bay in University Place — the Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that hosted the 2015 US Open and is the closest thing to a true links course in the Pacific Northwest — and surrounded by a strong collection of public and semi-private courses that benefit from the region's dramatic scenery and, in the summer, its extended daylight. The Pacific Northwest golf experience is distinct: the fescue fairways, the coastal exposure, the evergreen backdrop, and the late summer evenings that allow rounds until 9 PM create conditions unavailable anywhere else in American golf.
Chambers Bay — University Place
Chambers Bay hosted the 2015 US Open, which Jordan Spieth won on a course that generated more discussion than almost any other US Open venue in the championship's recent history. The course was built on a former gravel mining site on Puget Sound — the industrial history is part of the visual character, with the fescue-covered mounds and firm, fast terrain producing links-like conditions that the US Open setup exploited aggressively. The greens were a specific point of contention; players found the poa annua surfaces inconsistent, and the controversy contributed to subsequent US Open Green committees specifying fescue surfaces for links-style venues.
Chambers Bay is a public course operated by Pierce County. Green fees are accessible, the walking-only policy (no carts) is strictly enforced on certain days, and the views of Puget Sound and Mount Rainier — visible on clear days from the upper portions of the course — are as dramatic as any golf setting in the American West.
Salish Cliffs Golf Club — Shelton
Salish Cliffs Golf Club near Shelton, operated by the Squaxin Island Tribe, is one of the finest public-access courses in the Pacific Northwest. Gene Bates designed it through the old-growth forest terrain of the Olympic Peninsula foothills, with the towering Douglas firs defining the corridors and the elevation changes producing demanding approach angles throughout. It is less well-known than Chambers Bay but consistently rated as highly or higher by players who have completed both rounds.
Gold Mountain Golf Club — Bremerton
Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton has two courses — the Olympic Course and the Cascade Course — with the Olympic providing the stronger test. John Harbottle designed the Olympic Course through the forest terrain of the Kitsap Peninsula, and the combination of elevation change, tight corridors, and demanding green complexes makes it the most challenging public course in western Washington outside Chambers Bay.
The Olympic Peninsula Courses
Port Ludlow Golf Course on the Hood Canal in Jefferson County provides resort golf in one of the Pacific Northwest's most scenic settings — the Olympic Mountains visible across the water from the elevated sections of the course, the Douglas fir forest framing the fairways throughout. It is a resort course rather than a championship venue, but the setting and the quality of the layout make it the most enjoyable day's golf on the Olympic Peninsula.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chambers Bay a links course?
Chambers Bay is designed in the links style — fescue turf, firm and fast playing conditions, dramatic elevation changes, minimal trees, coastal exposure — but is not technically a links course in the geological sense (true links courses are built on sandy coastal land deposited by ancient sea levels). It is the closest approximation to links conditions available in the Pacific Northwest.
What is the best public golf course in Washington State?
Chambers Bay in University Place is the most acclaimed public golf course in Washington State, having hosted the 2015 US Open. Salish Cliffs Golf Club near Shelton is the most underrated and consistently rivals Chambers Bay in player assessments of overall experience.