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CANYON LAKES
Golf Course
PAR 5 527 YARDS
Kennewick, WA
509.582.3736
www.canyonlakesgolfcourse.com
The bold design at Canyon Lakes Golf Course means that
sooner or later there comes a moment of truth, and it can come
as early as the ninth hole, a devilish par 5 that commands
respect and often your golf ball. Rated consistently among
the best golf courses in Washington—4.5 stars by
Golf Digest
magazine—Canyon Lakes' 1981 design by local architect John
Steidel rewards length and precision. With two-thirds of its play
coming from an active membership, the majority of players know
to respect the ninth hole, originally conceived as Canyon Lakes'
finishing hole until the nines were flipped.
From an elevated tee, the drive must avoid a row of trees on the
right and a steep bank falling down a hillside on the left. True
drama lies ahead with an hourglass-shaped green behind a
large, rock-faced pond that totals more than 50 yards long and
annually attracts as many as 10,000 stray balls. The green is
trapped left and enjoys the protection of the pond on the right,
leaving players with either a heroic second shot or a well-played
third to keep from adding to the watery casualty list. Steidel did
provide a single land route to the green, but the winding path left
of the hole is no easy target either. Once on the green, getting
the ball in the hole is the challenge.
Canyon Lakes is most noted for its large, undulating greens,
which at high speeds can be about as tough as they come. As
they say, if you can putt at Canyon Lakes, you can putt anywhere.
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Photograph courtesy of Canyon Lakes Golf Course
