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WENATCHEE
Golf & Country Club
PAR 5 486 YARDS
East Wenatchee, WA
509.884.7105
www.wenatcheegolfclub.org
A quick look at the scorecard does little justice to the challenge of Wenatchee Golf
& Country Club. How difficult can a 6,400-yard golf course be? Difficult enough to
host qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, that's how. In the pines not far from the Columbia
River, Wenatchee is sneaky long, as they say, and it is just plain sneaky with its
celebrated "small, firm, fast greens."
Originally designed in 1923 by the renowned architect A.V. Macan, Wenatchee has
grown from nine to 18 holes with significant upgrades in the '90s by John Steidel.
Its own version of Amen Corner comes with the 13th, 14th, and 15th holes, the 14th
being a par 3 over water and the 15th a drivable par 4. But it all begins with the
13th, a 486-yard par 5 that requires precision whether you try to reach it in two shots
or three. The false front—which makes it feel at times as though you are playing
a Donald Ross design—rejects anything short of the green, chasing the ball back
toward a swale. Ideally, those laying up need to be at the bottom of the swale to have
the best chance to get a third shot close to the pin. Beware of the bunker on the left-
front of the green and the trees behind it.
The putting surfaces are notoriously quick—almost slippery—and generally break
toward the river, but not always. Wenatchee's big pines are not as pervasive as the
firs across the mountains, but they are positioned to do more damage than can be
imagined. This is a golf course that requires the precision of a jet pilot and the touch
of a safecracker.
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Photograph courtesy of Wenatchee Golf & Country Club
