Tahoma Valley Golf & Country Club

I only ever play this course if it’s a last minute booking! On multiple occasions I’ve had an hour wait for a cart. And they won’t tell you until after you pay that every cart they have is on the course. Also they will allow tee times to wait and hold up other tee times until they get their carts. It is beyond infuriating when you have a 1020 tee time and don’t get a cart until 1130. The club house manager is a real A-hole. No sympathy for the S-show they have going on there. Will not be back. I’d rather skip playing that weekend then give them anymore of my money! The course is what you would expect for $40. Some greens are torn up really bad. And the layout on 17 and 18 is terrible.

This course I fun to play until you get to 17 and 18. Tee boxes are next to each other which creates problems. Folks teeing off at the same time, extra noise on the tee in addition that you have to backtrack to get to the 18th tee. People on 17 have to wait for folks to clear out.
Easy solution. 18 is the third par 5 on the back 9. No need for 3 par 5’s. Turn 18 into a par 4 and move the tee box up on the hill. That would eliminate all the interference from needing to go back down next to 17 tees.
The carts are over priced. $15 per rider is a lot. We usually walk but my wife pulled a long shift the night before and got in after midnight.

This course is one of the better places to play in the NW. It is where I played my first round and where my curiosity of golf grew into a passion.

Let's start with the good; and I will give you the whole story from behind the counter and on the greens.

The course is excellent and the conditions are usually dryer than most around the PNW. Is it Chambers Bay? No. But the greens are super fast and will give you a challenge. I can tell you that from my time working there that the greenskeepers work really hard at keeping the greens and fairways top notch. Everyday I would get people complimenting how much fun they had and how fast the greens were. Some people would travel from Port Orchard just to play there because of the greens.

The staff are friendly, genuinely. From behind the counter, the only thing that all of us wanted was for you to have a great time and we would do everything we could to make sure that happened. Karl, who provides lessons there, is an excellent teacher. If you are in need of lessons, he is the guy to go to. He has a real passion for golf and a heart of gold.

Let's talk about the bad.

The wait for carts. By far the biggest frustration with golfers here are the carts. Tahoma Valley is a small country club. There are limited carts to go around. 40 in total. Usually this isn't an issue. Yes, you may have to wait for a cart during busy times, but they will make sure that you get one. Typically it is no more than 20 minutes, from my experience. There is a marshall that keeps rate of play going and as soon as a cart comes back it is cleaned and sent out again. Trust me when I say that it is as frustrating for the staff as it is for you who are waiting on a cart. The staff want you to be happy and have a good time.

Other than that, this place has a small town, small course charm that can't be beat. The thing to remember is that this is a place to relax and have fun playing golf. It's fairways are narrow, it's staff is friendly, it's greens are dry, and it is some of the best fun you can have playing a round of golf anywhere.

I hope to see you out there!

I liked the course, but I feel there are better courses to hit up within the same distance . Staff was friendly. The design of the course leaves too many opportunities for someone to get nailed. Hole 17 to 18 you have to backtrack forcing the people on 17 to have to wait. I don’t hate this place, but for me I probably won’t go back.

The rest was decent and pretty inexpensive. My GPS went haywire on 17 and a local told me that part of the course was sold for a new road and the course was restructured. 17 and 18 now tee off from the same place, not quite what it used to be, just a little funky but still fun. The bar & grill were nice. Large Mac and Jacks for $5.

Good playing conditions and course conditions. Pace of play excellent.

There was only two of us and mens club playing in front of us but it wasn’t real slow, been in a lot worst at other Coarse’s.

We had a 10:16. Was very disappointed with the cart girl. We started our round with the temperature at 83°. The time we completed our round it was 96° and the cart girl never came by once.

Cold beer. Immaculate greens. What more could you ask for in a solid par 3 course.