Lives
San Juan Islands (Washington)
Handicap
10-14
Gender
Male
Skill
Intermediate
Plays
A few times a week

Review Statistics

Average Rating

4.5
4.5
Total 2 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

2 Reviews
5 Stars
1
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Recommended Courses
2
Not Recommended Courses
0
Helpful Votes Count
1
Not Helpful Votes Count
0
First Review
12/06/2015
Last Review
12/06/2015

Reviews Map

Reviews

4.5
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Course Difficulty
First time playing this course
Recommended
Review has

San Juan Golf & Country Club

Played On 11/18/2015
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Walked

Biased Review by Member

This just might be the best 9-hole course in Washington State. Full disclosure - we have been members for nearly 20 years. Over time it has gotten better and better through the efforts (and generosity) of the members.

The San Juan Islands are a prime tourism destination. It gets 1/2 as much rain as Seattle - and 250 days of sunshine annually. If one is vacationing in western Washington, it is worth the 1.25 hour ferry ride from Anacortes to make a day trip to San Juan Island to play this course. The ferry ride alone is worth the time, money, and effort. Walk on and take a cab to the course. Rental clubs are available. Tee times are recommended in summer months.

The golf course is very compact, but plays longer than the card. It is an easy walk. In the summer the pace gets slow because of outside play (typically tourists who aren't serious golfers). The greens are VERY small and poa, but they roll true. They are moderately fast, with subtle breaks. New drainage makes the course conditions very playable year around. Water hazards located where they shouldn't bother you. Lots of roll in August and September when it bakes out, not much the rest of the year.

The club's restaurant may serve the BEST LUNCH on San Juan Island, but is rarely crowded. Good staff. Friendly membership. Green fees in the $40's for 18 holes, but it is the only game in town.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Walked

Very good, but remote

A new DMK design, Gamble Sands is intended to be a links style course (which I love) set in the desert scablands of central Washington State. That is a tough concept to carry off, but he did it. (There is one other such course in Washington that does so MUCH better, and I'm not spilling the beans where it is.) I felt the value at GS is good, and I'm a tightwad.

It takes some time and effort to get to Brewster and it's not close to anything else notable except Grand Coulee Dam. It will help if they build at least one more course to attract people to the area. Alone, it may not be worth a special trip, unless you stay and play two or three rounds. The family that owns it has at least another 1,000 acres to work with surrounding Gamble Sands so I'm hopeful.

The routing of GS is superb. Many of the individual holes are very good - especially the par 3's on the back nine. The greens are huge and roll as true as any I've played. You can have 100 foot putts on several holes. The course is VERY walkable. Being in the middle of Nowhere, it is very quiet. A barking dog was very noticeable for a few minutes - it was on the OTHER SIDE of the Columbia River, a mile or more away. Serious quiet.

The fairways at Gamble Sands are generous and the greens were very receptive - even at the end of the summer when we were there. Significant risk/reward on several holes, including a nominally driveable par 4. Numerous blind shots from the tees and fairways, and lots of angles and waste areas bordering fairways that often make short drives better than long. I hit 3 irons off the tees on several holes simply because I couldn't figure out what problems lurked out ahead or how far away they were. Some of the fairways are very sloped. Buy the course book! Given it was my first time on this course I played the 6,100 yard routing #white tees). Next time I'll play the blues because the ball rolls and rolls and rolls.

Matt G rated it #32 of the courses in the USA that we common people can play. Not sure it is worthy of that lofty rating, but it is very good. Fescue predominates throughout. Given a couple years of seasoning it may be up to that rating, but right now I would only put it somewhere in the middle of the Top 20 in Washington State. I'll definitely play it again and will recommend it to friends as part of a multi-day golfing trip.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Now Reading