West Seattle Golf Club - Public Review

Course Review and Comments

A challenging course best suited to longer hitters, West Seattle has six great holes, three of them par fives, and only two boring holes. The fourth is an uphill par five. If you are playing the right tee for your game you should just crest the hill with your drive. Pick your level of risk on your second shot as the fairway narrows progressively and the out of bounds left comes more and more into play. A great 3 wood can reach the flat green for an eagle putt.

Nice is a joy as well, with an elevated tee to a wide landing area. Again the fairway narrows, but only huge hitters are going to reach in two. The penalty for trying and failing is West's Valley of Sin, a deep depression in front of the green that makes judging your pitch difficult. A better ploy is to hit to your best wedge or short iron distance and hit a full shot into the small, but receptive green. Putts always break less than you read on this green.

Twelve is the postcard hole, with the port and Seattle skylines looming in the background. From the right tee you should be able to drive within 20 yards of the steep slope to where Longfellow Creek used to run. You can still hear the stream crashing through the thick woods to the right, but in the interests of easy play it has long since been piped under the fairway. Your second shot should seek a flat spot on the uphill slope toward the green. If you go for the green in two aim right as everything kicks left and the bunker under the green left is a very hard up and down.

Fourteen and sixteen are brutal uphill dogleg par fours. Hit your best high fade off the tee and take at least an additional club for the distance on your second shot. In the summer you don't dare go behind the green, as these two slope steeply toward the fairway and a chip from behind the hole will need luck to stay on.

In all a great round for the price.