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From the first moment I laid eyes on this emerald green Pacific NW classic I knew I’d found my spot in Washington.

The course is up and down, carved through a lush forest of giant cedar and fir trees, and it really makes you think on every shot. The fairways are lushious, and you’ll take huge perfect divots with every iron shot. And, the greens are in excellent condition, and they can be very, very tricky to read, especially for first time players.

Before you play Port Ludlow, be sure to read the pro’s playing tips on their website, because every hole slopes in one direction or another, that’s not always obvious from the tee box. And, without local knowledge, you can easily find yourself in the trees or in a lake when you thought you’d hit a perfect tee ball.

Port Ludlow is my favorite course in Washington, and it’s a terrific bargain too, especially late in the day when you can book a tee time for 18-holes on GolfNow for just $25, including cart. I’m sure you’ll love it too, but don’t be surprised if this deceptive little gem kicks your butt the first few times you play it.

De Anza is a nice course that seems to play much longer than the scorecard appears to indicate, probably because the fairways are so lush that drives get little rollout.

The greens are very firm, and it’s virtually impossible to get any spin around the greens, even on bunker shots. And, to further complicate matters, the green surrounds appear to be bluegrass, which makes chip shots shoot off the club face much faster than most other grasses, so chips and pitches are all very delicate shots that can make even the simplest strokesaving shots difficult for even low handicappers.

We actually played the course twice, in very gusty winds the first day, as high as 70mph at times, which was pretty brutal. However, the next day was beautiful, with hardly a puff of wind. The course played a lot easier without the gusty winds, but it’s still not easy to score on this tract, though it’s still fun and in great condition.