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WAVERLEY
Country Club
PAR 3 130 YARDS
Portland, OR
503.654.6521
www.waverley.cc
At Waverley Country Club it has always been about the total experience. So it is not
surprising that the venerable venue should dwell on its ninth hole, a mere 130-yard
par 3. Taking the tee at the ninth, there lies before you the magnificent clubhouse
and lawns sprawling down to the edge of the Willamette River. But it is best that your
attention is not lost in the euphoria of the scene and the length of the hole, for painted
across the front of the square green is a bunker that is more of a moat than a simple
sand trap. Find the bunker and lose all thoughts of a birdie or even par.
While the 1896-founded Waverley is about history—six USGA championships,
including Tiger Woods' third of three junior titles—it has enjoyed a rigorous update
at the hands of Gil Hanse, designer of the 2016 Olympic Games' course in Rio de
Janeiro. A relative unknown at the time, Hanse was selected by the folks at Waverley
from an esteemed field that included David McLay Kidd, Tom Doak, and Tom Fazio.
The renovation by Hanse in 2010 included the removal of many trees, occasionally
replacing them with fairway bunkers. The tree removal improved growing conditions,
opened up views of the river, and changed the Waverley mantra of "keep the ball
between the trees."
Hanse touched every hole on the course, always aware of Waverley's history for
serving as "the center of the golf universe in Oregon since 1896" while adding
elements of decision-making. Waverley, as typified by the ninth hole, is a course to
be enjoyed, not feared, now more than ever.
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Photograph by Jim Gibbons
