“A course is a curiosity. Two courses are a destination.”
This quotation is first attributed to the founder of bandon Dunes Mike keizerhas grown in an industry axiom. And now applies to Hazardous sand.
For more than a decade, the central resort of Washington has been on the radar of the Golf world for his only course, an eponym with 18 holes, a David McLay Kidd The design that was opened in 2014. In 2021, Property added another McLay Kidd project, a PAR-3 layout called Quicksand. But from Keizer metrics, the resort remained a curiosity. This will change.
The next Friday-1 August-the cutting of the ribbon of a second 18-hole in the Sands Gambling. Her name is Scarecrrow, and he also holds tracks of McLay Kidd. Like her sister, it is a fiery design, with large shoulders with large streets and abundant ground game options. But it sits on a more wild terrain shocked, and its greens are richer in contours than those of its counterpart. The site it occupies is where McLay Kidd hoped to build the original course. At that time, however, the power lines stretched through the landscape, making a non-initial golf course. Just years later, after those power lines were buried, did McLay Kidd take a blow to what he considered the best ground.
Routing he dreamed of, in collaboration with his design partner Nick Schaan, captures the natural environment of the environment, running along the bluffs and ridges overlooking the Columbia River valley. The opening hole is a fun, friendly handshake that provides a loyal taste of what you expect: a short par-4, it plays on a forehead, with a bunker in the middle, in a speed slot that stands out towards the surface of the placement. Depending on the wind, Big knockers can direct the green. But there are residual problems, and a widespread right loss risks crossing the lower roads into interconnected local herbs. From almost anywhere on the street, it’s an approach or pitch to green, but the land rumors make it difficult to knock a narrow one. Call it a light arm, challenging the bird.
The course wins in momentum as it goes, increasing the hill and giving way to comprehensive spaces. Par-3 9 has vineyards and the valley of the river as its backdrop. PAR-3 11 plays at a point on a bluff that is ready for Instagram.
Gamble Sands belongs to a long agricultural family, which has a large part of the land around the resort. There is room for more golf in what now counts in Keizer Lingo as a full “destination”. Once Scarecrow has some time to settle, I’ll be curious to see what happens next.
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3 things i am thinking
USA’s 2025 receiver: Yeardo year, amateur elite championship stops in List courses, but rarely a formation becomes as good as this. Even as I write, the new 2025 US amateur is unveiling at the Trinity Forest Golf Club, at home a co-Christian design in Dallas who briefly hosted AT&T Bryson Nelson (the fact that some of the best deceived him for his Quirkiness just how interesting it is). On August 4, American women’s amateurs starts at the bandon Dunes in Oregon, followed by US amateurs at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. And to catch the season: Walker Cup in September at Cypress. With places like these, I am tempted to abandon my tour ambitions and simply adhere to my amateur status.
A pebble beach pro-am: Here is another way for amateurs to enter high-level courses: Sign up for a pro-am. And here’s an option for you: The Troon Invitational at Pebble Beach, a four-day tour that plays in Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay and-Daulle Roll, please-Pebble Beach, with good hospitality tone along the way. Starting this year, the annual event has a new title sponsor in Taylormade. There is still room to register for 2026. You can find more information here.
Sleeper coastal Reading links for return: Seven months Once ownership closed itRanch sea golf ties, a sleep of a rugged, remote coast of Sonoma, California, is on the verge of Renaissance. Although I have not yet taken words about the final details, I have been told from reliable sources that an agreement is in the works that the Ranch Kursi sea owners would have, with a management company to help them run it. Prior to its closure, the Sea Ranch had long been one of the excellent California values – a rare layout with the Pacific views that one could play for under $ 100. Reaching there is not easy. It is a winding journey, three-plus hours by San Francisco. But it’s a scenic journey, and the course is worth traveling.
