Kenny B Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 I really wanted to attend the Texas Spy Tournament this weekend, but it was scheduled on our 10th wedding anniversary. For those of you who haven't heard this story, I met my wife on a golf course; I proposed to her on the first tee 4 years later, and a year after that we got married on the first tee. We said our vows, and turned around and teed off; everyone could play and drink all day!! So to celebrate we decided to play two courses that we have never been to before - Gamble Sands and Desert Canyon. Both are in north central Washington State, north of Wenatchee, WA Desert Canyon Golf Resort was renovated a few years and is the only true desert course in the state, according to the WSGA course rating committee that I followed around last year. We have one course locally that's close to being a desert course, but houses are growing up all around it now. http://desertcanyonresort.com/ Gamble Sands is a new course in the last few years, and they just completed a new lodge. It is literally out in the middle of NOWHERE!! http://www.gamblesands.com It is a true links course in the high desert of Washington with sandy soil, traditional fine fescue grasses, firm playing surfaces, wide fairways, and massive greens. The course overlooks the Columbia River. The course architect is David McLay Kidd who designed Bandon Dunes, the Castle Course in St. Andrews, and Tetherow GC in Bend, Oregon. I'm sure it will kick my butt... but I will thoroughly enjoy every minute of it!! Here are some website pictures, but I will post my own when we return. The reachable par 4 #2 with the Columbia River in the background The par 3 #16 The par 5 #18 Jiro, SuperDave, PlaidJacket and 2 others 5 Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MmmmmmBuddy Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Have a GREAT time!!! I bet you will score better than you think at Gamble.. It is supposed to be fun. Kenny B 1 Quote Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR Hybrid - ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S 2 Iron - ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S Irons - ZX7 MKII 4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat Wedges - RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat Putter - L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDGolfHacker Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Very cool story on how you met, proposed and celebrated your wedding! The closest I got to this was playing on the day of my wedding in the morning. Apparently I was pretty distracted and shot a large score. Didn't matter though as I was out with my best man (my brother) and a old neighbor of mine and looked forward to marrying a wonderful girl. We certainly hacked up the course that morning though, lol. MDGolfHacker Kenny B 1 Quote What's In This Lefty's Bag? Driver: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex Fairway Woods: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft Fairway Woods: Hybrid: TSR2 18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft Irons: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex Wedge: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot Putter: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75" Bag: Three 5 Ball: PRO V1 / Z*Star RangeFinder: In search of new range finder Social Media: Facebook: MD Golfhacker Twitter: @mdgolfhacker Instagram: mdgolfhacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Awesome pics.. I've heard about Gamble Sands...I think they say the wind blows 30 mph 24 hours a day there...ha Great story obout you and your wife...One of the most original "you may now kiss the bride" stories I've heard!! Kenny B 1 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaidJacket Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 I like what I see with the Gamble course and I see a lot of Bandon there. Even better is the green fees are much lower than Bandon which is a good thing. That's going to be a fun trip. I couldn't get my browser to open the Desert course so I'll try and take a look later on. Have a great anniversary and trip. Kenny B 1 Quote My Sun Mountain bag currently includes: 771CSI 5i - PW and PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges EXS 10.5*, 929-HS FW4 16.5* Willimette w/GolfPride Contour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny B Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 I like what I see with the Gamble course and I see a lot of Bandon there. Even better is the green fees are much lower than Bandon which is a good thing. That's going to be a fun trip. I couldn't get my browser to open the Desert course so I'll try and take a look later on. Have a great anniversary and trip. Thanks! I think it's still pricey, especially if you ride in a cart; $25/person for a cart, but I at least they have carts. I don't have an issue walking since it's fairly flat. My wife seems to think she can walk it, so we will take our push carts, but may ride depending on how she feels. No pics of Desert Canyon to speak of. I read about their renovation last year in our PNGA golf magazine but have never been there. I'm not sure what to expect. PlaidJacket 1 Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesedw Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Kenny: Played both of them.. Desert Canyon several times.. LOVE the course I think it's #6 on the desert course or #16 overall.. Long par 5, 600 yds.. over looking the Columbia.. absolutely one of my Favorite courses.. can get real nasty if the wind picks up too bad.. Gamble Sands.. Played once.. have not been for 2 yrs.. Love it also.. Have fun.. I got a deal through Campbell's resort in Chelan $300 for night at resort on the lake and a round for each of you at Gambles sands.. Play smart it will offer some risk reward shots... I'll play them both again just don't like the price at gamble.. Enjoy.. I think you'll love them both.. Dave Kenny B 1 Quote Dave- Follow me on twitter @GolfCrazyWA and on Instagram @GolfcrazyWA WITB: Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag Titleist TSR3 Hzrdus Black 65g shaft Cobra F8+ 3wd Hzrdus Red 65g shaft Cobra 3 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra 4 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra F8 irons 5-GW KBS tour 90 stiff shafts Cobra King Black Wedge 54* Cleveland RTX Zipcore Wedge 58* Snake Eyes Viper Putter. Ball: Taylormade TP-5X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesedw Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 If you need a 3rd round.. LOL Try Bear Mountain in Chelan.. Another good course.. Killer views of lake chelan.. Kenny B 1 Quote Dave- Follow me on twitter @GolfCrazyWA and on Instagram @GolfcrazyWA WITB: Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag Titleist TSR3 Hzrdus Black 65g shaft Cobra F8+ 3wd Hzrdus Red 65g shaft Cobra 3 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra 4 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra F8 irons 5-GW KBS tour 90 stiff shafts Cobra King Black Wedge 54* Cleveland RTX Zipcore Wedge 58* Snake Eyes Viper Putter. Ball: Taylormade TP-5X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny B Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 If you need a 3rd round.. LOL Try Bear Mountain in Chelan.. Another good course.. Killer views of lake chelan.. We have already played Bear Mountain Ranch... in the wind!!! I would play it again, but not in the wind. I play in the wind a lot here in the TriCities, and I don't think I would have a problem at Gamble Sands because it's reasonably flat. I hit a straight ball; but at Bear Mountain there was a left-to-right wind on a par 5 and I hit my ball left of the fairway which sloped to the right, and it almost went under the fence down the mountain on the right. My wife landed her ball on the left edge of the fairway and we never found it looking by the fence on the right. Some holes have pretty severe uphill/downhill shots, but the views of Lake Chelan are wonderful. Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesedw Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Have a great anniversary. And enjoy your trip.. Mine is next weekend and Hopefully we'll get a chance to get out and play also... Dave Kenny B 1 Quote Dave- Follow me on twitter @GolfCrazyWA and on Instagram @GolfcrazyWA WITB: Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag Titleist TSR3 Hzrdus Black 65g shaft Cobra F8+ 3wd Hzrdus Red 65g shaft Cobra 3 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra 4 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra F8 irons 5-GW KBS tour 90 stiff shafts Cobra King Black Wedge 54* Cleveland RTX Zipcore Wedge 58* Snake Eyes Viper Putter. Ball: Taylormade TP-5X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny B Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 I will break up my course review of Desert Canyon and Gamble Sands into separate posts just to keep them straight. There were some similarities. So, Friday April 21, 2017 was our 10th anniversary. To repeat, I met my wife at our golf course in 2003 and we played together in our gangsome for the next several years. I proposed on April 1, 2006 (a date I can remember) on the 1st tee of our golf course. On April 17, 2007 we were married on the 1st tee of the course in a ceremony that took maybe 4 minutes by a Seattle jazz musician who got a minister's license. We turned around and teed off. Everyone could play, eat and drink all day long. Desert Canyon GC - Orondo, WA So to celebrate, last Friday we drove 2.5 hours to Desert Canyon GC which is located north of Wenatchee, WA along the Columbia River. Neither one of us had played there before. (In my young crazy days, I did race my car at the Pine Canyon Hill Climb near there; took 2nd once, but that's another story.) The weather was beautiful with sun and a light breeze, temps in the 60's. After breakfast we spent an hour on the putting green, and I was impressed by how smooth the greens were, but NOT impressed with the speed. Super slow, at least compared to my home course. Desert Canyon is on the slope of a mountain and the Columbia River is about 600 feet below. Putting uphill is very slow, but I also left a bunch of putts short going downhill. Maybe it's because of the time of year; they haven't been open very long after a long snowy winter. Desert Canyon GC also has a lighted putting course. I thought about playing from the Silver Tees because my 70th birthday is in a few weeks, but my wife wouldn't let me. She played from there. We were a twosome, so I played the White Tees at 6144y which was fine. If you play from the tips, it's 7285y with a course rating of 76.3 and a slope of 144. Carts are included thank goodness as there are a lot of steep up and down slopes, and several tee boxes were several hundred yards away from the last green. The carts have GPS with yardage to the pin but I found that yardages were off on some holes while others agreed with my Golf Buddy and Bushnell V3. Tips on how to play each hole was given to me when we checked in, and they are very helpful, IF you read them before you tee off on a hole!! I managed to shoot 83 with four 3-putts. Dang slow greens!! I'm sorry but I did not record which hole each picture represents, but here they are. Desert Canyon describes their course as 2 nines; the Lakes course and the Desert course. Probably their signature hole is #6 on the second nine or Desert course. It's quite a drop in elevation and the landing area is quite narrow. Don't worry, the ball will fit! Here is the view from the top. The green is the farthest green patch on the left side of the picture. From the tips it's 682y, I played it at 630y and made a 3-foot putt for birdie. PlaidJacket and MDGolfHacker 2 Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny B Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Gamble Sands GC - Brewster, WA After the round at Desert Canyon we hopped (well maybe dragged ourselves) into the car and drove an hour up the road to Gamble Sands. Gamble Sands is touting themselves as a destination golf resort, and they have to be because there is literally NOTHING else around it. They recently finished their Inn at Gamble Sands which has 5 two-level buildings with 4 rooms on each level; so 40 rooms. Rooms have 2 Queens or one King; King beds are more expensive, but because it was our anniversary we got the King at the cheaper rate. The rooms all look out over the Columbia River. Here is a picture from inside our room looking out the window, and one taken at sunset. Adjacent to the Inn is a huge practice putting green; must be a hundred yards long for people staying in the units to practice putting. It was just put in from seed and it was not open for use while we were there. Its a short walk or shuttle ride up the hill to the clubhouse and restaurant/bar. The restaurant/bar is not very big considering they could have 150 people staying on property. Most of the tables were reserved, so we sat at the bar… dang!! This place is very upscale and the prices reflect it, plus you are a captive audience. A breakfast buffet voucher is included with the room. After breakfast on Saturday we spent more than an hour on the putting green. Again the ball was rolling quite slow. The grass is a fine fescue, very smooth, but my wife swore she could hear the ball rolling on the grass; making a crunching sound! Somewhat similar to putting into the grain on Bermuda grass. The green speed was faster than Desert Canyon, but not by much. The problem is that the greens at Gamble Sands are massive, and if you don't get your ball to the correct level on the green, well… I did a lot of that!! The weather was a little cooler than on Friday at Desert Canyon with very little sun and a little rain started on our last few holes. We were paired with two young brothers from the “wet side†of the state. Almost everyone there on Saturday was from the Seattle area. The two young'ens did not play very often but they could hit the ball a long way. Unfortunately, more often than not, it was not in the fairway, and the fairways are HUGE. It took a lot of balls to play the way they did. The kids were impressed that we didn't lose a ball all day; they even called me “Professorâ€. We played from the Regular Tees which are 6200y; my wife played from the Intermediate Tees which are 5600y because she thought the forward tees at 4800y were too short. If you play from the tips (Medal tees that are pink in color), it's 7170y with a rating and slope of 74.2/128. The Starter said that they are adding an additional set of tees, but on some holes I don't know where they would put them. He also said that a local rule was in effect allowing you to pick rocks out of the groomed bunkers. Yes, there were rocks. Some bunkers were better than others, but none of them had what I would call nice sand. The Sands Course at Gamble Sands is designed by David McLay Kidd, designer of Bandon Dunes, and there are quite a few similarities. This course does not have as many views of the Columbia River as Bandon has of the Pacific Ocean, but it's what I would expect a true links course to look like. There are several blind shots off the tee and on some approaches. On a couple of holes there were no aim points, so unless you knew which part of the mountain in the distance to aim at, well... Alongside many dogleg fairways are waste areas that are not considered bunkers and you can ground your club, but don't get in them!! Some have steps to get down into them. There are several tee shots that require you to determine how much of the waste area to cut off. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of one, but here's one of their website pics of the 5th hole; fairway on the other side of the waste area. Clearly, the course was made for walking, but Gamble Sands is not a flat course. I'm glad we took a cart, but they make you pay for it; $25/person to ride. I could walk the course, but I don't think my wife would have made it. Some tees for the next hole are only several yards from the green of the last hole. A mis-club or poor shot into a green could be hazardous to the group in front. For carts the layout is not clearly marked and cart paths are mostly dirt/dust; if you ride, be the cart in front. Many times we drove past the next tee box. There are very few signs, and it was not clear where the next tee box was located. Overall, the course is fun to play if your yardages are accurate. I mis-hit one approach shot and was on the front of the green with a 50-yard putt on very slow greens. No, I didn't 4-putt, thank you. Here's one of the massive greens. The course marshal said that the greens are usually slow because it can be quite windy, and because many people traveling to this location would find it very difficult to play huge, fast greens. I can understand that having putted at Torrey Pines before the US Open, but slow putts can also be quite aggravating. I managed to survive with an 84 and five 3-putts I was asked which course I preferred… Desert Canyon or Gamble Sands. I liked features of each one, but both are courses that have to be played more than once to really understand how to play them. They have caddies at Gamble Sands, and maybe we should have used one but the round would be double the price. A caddy might have shaved a few strokes off my round, but most of the extra strokes came around the green anyway. I would probably pick Gamble Sands as my first choice only because the layout is more straight-forward and although the greens were big, the slopes were not severe. If you are in the area I would recommend playing both courses and as @Ressedw recommended, Bear Mountain Ranch is also nearby outside Lake Chelan. We have played Bear Mountain Ranch, and I do not suggest playing it in a strong wind... just sayin'. Check them out. MmmmmmBuddy, PlaidJacket and MDGolfHacker 3 Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDGolfHacker Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Great review and fantastic photos! MDGolfHacker Quote What's In This Lefty's Bag? Driver: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex Fairway Woods: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft Fairway Woods: Hybrid: TSR2 18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft Irons: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex Wedge: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot Putter: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75" Bag: Three 5 Ball: PRO V1 / Z*Star RangeFinder: In search of new range finder Social Media: Facebook: MD Golfhacker Twitter: @mdgolfhacker Instagram: mdgolfhacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesedw Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Great review:.. the more you play desert canyon the better.. Have played it several times.. Every August we Vacation in Chelan and have a boys day golfing At desert canyon.. I have only played Gamble sands once 2 years ago. thought it was nice and fun.. but a little over priced.. I'm glad you had a great trip.. Congrats on 10 years.. Quote Dave- Follow me on twitter @GolfCrazyWA and on Instagram @GolfcrazyWA WITB: Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag Titleist TSR3 Hzrdus Black 65g shaft Cobra F8+ 3wd Hzrdus Red 65g shaft Cobra 3 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra 4 hybrid Rogue Pro 75g Shaft Cobra F8 irons 5-GW KBS tour 90 stiff shafts Cobra King Black Wedge 54* Cleveland RTX Zipcore Wedge 58* Snake Eyes Viper Putter. Ball: Taylormade TP-5X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaidJacket Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I'm not sure how I missed all this Kenny. Really a nice review and I enjoyed the photos too. I especially enjoyed your comment on the Gamble Sands course where you said you mis-hit one approach shot. Only one? LOL The scenery around there is pretty dramatic as well. Bet you guys had a fun time. Quote My Sun Mountain bag currently includes: 771CSI 5i - PW and PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges EXS 10.5*, 929-HS FW4 16.5* Willimette w/GolfPride Contour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MmmmmmBuddy Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I love that part of the world..... Quote Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR Hybrid - ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S 2 Iron - ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S Irons - ZX7 MKII 4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat Wedges - RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat Putter - L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiro Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Nice pics, the scenery at those courses looks fantastic. Looks like a fun way to celebrate 10 yrs. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy Quote Launcher HB Driver 10.5* | Launcher HB 5W | Launcher HB 3H and 4H | Launcher CBX Irons 5-PW | CBX Wedges 50*, 54*, 58* | TFI 2135 Cero Putter | Q Star Balls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny B Posted July 4, 2022 Author Share Posted July 4, 2022 I thought I'd provide and update on the Gamble Sands course here in Washington. It's been 5 years since I've been there, and after reading about their new course being built in this link... https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/07/02/gamble-sands-new-second-course-david-mclay-kidd/ clearly, I have to go back. Might have to wait though for the new course to open in 2025. Quote “We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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