Course Review | Gearhart Golf Links
Seaside links course hosts annual buddy trip
Every year, during the third week of July, my group of golf buddies heads out for our annual three days of golf, gambling, food, and drink. Each member of the group contributes, in one fashion or another, to the trip. The most valuable contributions coming from the organizer, who makes tee times, dinner reservations, and accommodation reservations. Another valuable member is the accountant for the many gambling endeavors we indulged in who must collect the modest buy-in, compile the data after rounds, make rulings, and pay the winners.
I’m sure that your golf buddies’ trips are similar. I hesitate describing the shenanigans that were involved (I’d like to be invited on future trips), I am more than willing to write about our destination.
What started many years ago as an annual trip to Gamble Sands has evolved with the group branching out to other destinations, in part due to the rising cost of playing Gamble for three straight days. This year, we headed south to the Oregon coast to play Gearhart Golf Links, and it was an incredible experience. The course and facilities are great and the peak season golf rates are not exorbitant at just $125.
Gearhart began as a three-hole course, laid out by visitors to the Gearhart resort on the Oregon coast in the late 1880s. Visitors to the Gearhart Hotel flocked to the three-hole course and with this history, Gearhart can boast of being “The Oldest Golf Course West of the Mississippi.” During these early years, there were no trees on the course, and it resembled the links courses of Scotland.
During the Depression, a work relief program planted many Shore Pines trees, a tree that has a lifespan of 50 to 60 years. By 2013 these trees had reached their end-of-life expectancy and presented a danger from falling limbs, or falling trees, every time a storm swept in across the beach. The trees were removed for these safety concerns, but the real benefit was in the restoration of the links-like beauty of the property that has been revealed. The natural dunes and the panorama of the course layout emerged once the trees that lined all the fairways were removed.
Being on the coast, the weather can be something of a crapshoot and one must embrace the uncertainty and constantly changing conditions. Visiting in early July, though, helps skew the odds in your favor. We experienced morning marine layers that gave way to cloudless, blue, sunny skies. The wind coming in off the ocean kept things pleasantly cool and had to be factored in when it came to playing shots.
While you are right on the coast, the course doesn’t feature any ocean views which are blocked by the dunes and the majestic, Cape Cod-style clubhouse and lodge known as the Gearhart Hotel and Sand Trap Pub. The building, built around 2001, was purchased by the McMenamin brothers around 2018, and they added hotel rooms to the third floor. The view of the golf course is fantastic, and it is a short walk to the beach.
All the rooms in the hotel were booked up by the time we made our trip arrangements, so we stayed in a motel in nearby Astoria, a short drive away. Astoria is a fun maritime town on the Columbia River and features many dining, and drinking options with the Fort George Pub & Brewery being one of the best choices. Their beers are fantastic, and the pizzas are great for a large group.
Our group was scheduled to play four rounds—one on Thursday, a morning round on Friday before the “Superintendent’s Revenge” scramble in the afternoon, and a final round Saturday morning before returning to Seattle.
The drive from Seattle to Gearhart takes 3 ½ hours utilizing a couple of different routes which were each tried by at least one of the carloads in our group. We all met in the Sand Trap Pub on the second floor of the hotel for lunch before our round at about the same time. If you’ve ever eaten at McMenamin’s establishment, you are familiar with the food, which is basic pub fare leaning heavily towards fried food, and the beers which can range from basic to wildly eccentric/exotic brews. Once fortified with food and drink, we headed out to discover the fun of playing the links-style course.
One of the things I truly enjoyed about the layout at Gearhart Golf Links is the ebb and flow of the difficulty level of the routing. You start out with a warm handshake on the first four holes before playing the more difficult stretch from the 4th to the 7th holes. Then you get some relief on the next two holes before the difficulty factor ramps up on the 10th hole, which features a risk/reward option of how much you want to bite off a forced carry over fairway bunkers. This stretch of difficult holes continues through the 13th hole. The stretch from the 14th hole to the 17th hole provides some respite before the monstrous 18th hole, a par-5, 588-yard hole that plays uphill to an elevated green. This finale provides one more giant challenge before you complete your round.
The green complexes allow for a wide variety of short game shots and, apropos of a links course, the well-executed chip and run shot is rewarded.
Like all great link courses, you are presented with challenges where you must not miss in the wrong place. Out of bounds is close behind the 2nd hole, and close to the tucked greens at the 13th and 14th holes that puts a premium on approach shot accuracy. Fairway bunkers are strategically placed, and tall fescue grass frames many holes, so accurate driving is rewarded while drives that are off-line can result in lost balls.
The green complexes allow for a wide variety of short game shots and, apropos of a links course, the well-executed chip and run shot is rewarded. The greens have subtle breaks and the difference between an uphill and downhill putt can be surprising.
But, again like all great links courses, there are places where you can take a risk and be rewarded. Thread your drive past the fairway and greenside bunkers on the 3rd hole, and you can drive the green. The hole plays to 263-yards and features a green with humps and swales to help defend par.
The 8th hole, a par-5 measuring 456-yards, usually plays into the wind, but you can get home with two well played shots. The green is challenging, but it is a birdie hole. The par-3, 15th hole, at only 116-yards, is also a birdie opportunity.
The most fun we had on the trip was the “Superintendent’s Revenge” scramble on Friday afternoon. This was played from the “Stones” tees, which are the tips at Gearhart that stretch the course out to 6551 yards. For the first two rounds, our group played the Black tees which measure 6176 yards. Don’t be fooled by these yardages as they are at sea level in often heavy marine layer air.
In addition to the added length, the course was tricked out with tucked pins and other surprises. For example, one hole had irrigation location flags, about 30, arranged around one pin. You couldn’t move the flags while putting. The 262-yard, par-3, 11th hole, played into a stiff wind, featured two cup cutting tools as obstacles on the green. The short par-3 15th hole had a half dozen holes cut on the green (and my group couldn’t even hit the green!).
It was required that you play the par-3, 4th hole opposite handed with left-handed clubs stationed on the hole. I managed to hit the green, 176-yards away, with a driver but I missed it by 40 yards the next day playing it right-handed. Players had to play the 339-yard, par-4, 7th hole with a 7-iron only. Happened to be one of my best drives on the hole all trip. On the long 13th hole, you had to tee off blindfolded.
Good times.
The staff at Gearhart Golf Links is superb going above and beyond to make sure your day on the links goes as well as possible. Jason Bangild, the PGA General Manager and Director of Golf, takes customer service to a new level. During our final round on Saturday, he was out on the 9th hole helping golfers locate balls in the tall fescue and running drinks to groups from the Sand Bar which is located between the 1st green and the 9th tee. The Sand Bar features a large putting green and fire pits making it a great place to unwind after a round.
There are a lot of choices out there to host your golf buddies trip including many “bucket list” courses, but for a laid-back, seaside links experience where the golf is challenging, you can’t beat Gearhart Golf Links.
Gearhart Golf Links
Address:
1157 N. Marion Ave.
PO Box 2874
Gearhart, OR 97138
Phone:
(503) 738-3538
Great review, Larry! I've come to love Gearhart even more than (Gasp!) Chambers Bay, due in no small part to the 2,000 % Awesome staff, led by Super GM Jason Bangild! He's who all golf course GMs should aspire to be. And you hit the nail (ball) on the head with your descriptions of the various holes and playing conditions. Having played in the US Hickory Open there in 2021, I became a member for a year, and have returned to play either hickory or modern clubs at least once a year since. The Northwest Hickory Players put on the Columbia Cup 3-day tournament there in July, and while my play was yin and yang, the camaraderie was unbeatable! Pro Tip: Lodging at Gearhart By The Sea, the huge condo complex across the street from the hotel, offers very reasonably-priced multi-bedroom accommodations, all with kitchens.