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GLENDALE
Country Club
PAR 5 515 YARDS
Bellevue, WA
425.746.7944
www.glendalecc.com
When the Washington State Open is played at Glendale Country Club—and it often
is—the final hole on the final day is, believe it or not, played shorter than longer.
The seductive 18th hole on the tree-lined Bellevue course becomes tantalizingly
reachable, as moving the tee forward makes it a 485-yard par 5 instead of its normal
515 yards from the tips. But to get to the green in two you must carry a pond that
slips stealthily into the fairway and is only a few feet from a front-left pin placement.
The "do-I-go-or-do-I-lay up?" decision has faced most of the state's good players and
even one of its great ones. In 1978, Fred Couples, then a shaggy-haired 18-year-
old amateur, won the Washington State Open at Glendale wearing, of all things,
tennis shoes.
Couples shot 65 the final day to win the Open by a stroke. He overwhelmed the tight,
tough course by hitting a 3-wood off the tee on most holes; a 3-wood in the pre-high-
tech era that still traveled the best part of 280 yards. Glendale has become a popular
tournament course, especially for the most important annual event in the state of
Washington, holding the State Open 13 times.
The 18th hole becomes pivotal, with the leaders protecting their positions by being
prudent, and the challengers going all out to get the ball on the green in two. In
2008, veteran pro Tim Berg saw his hopes of winning the Open go plop as he pulled
his 185-yard second shot into the pond, losing a playoff to Brian Nosler. Meanwhile,
Nosler's 4-iron from 208 yards landed softly on the green and he two-putted for birdie
and the championship.
Glendale has surprising elevation changes and is noted for its small, speedy greens,
making the course as delicate as it is delightful.
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Photographs by Rob Perry
