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ROCK ISLAND
Golf Course
PAR 4 340 YARDS
Rock Island, WA
509.884.2806
www.rockislandgolfcourse.com
The past for Rock Island Golf Course includes the dramatic flooding of the original
course when a dam backed up the Columbia River. The present might not be quite
as dramatic, but you can't be sure of that walking onto the 11th tee when you see a
lake sculpting the entire left side of the fairway.
The hole isn't long—340 yards for the big boys and 300 for the rest of us—but the
temptation is always there to try to drive the green. A good, strong draw with the
driver will get the job done, or so they say. A smarter play is to lay up to a good
wedge distance while using a hillside along the right side of the fairway to get the
ball in front of the green.
The evolution of Rock Island involves not only the drowning of the first course, but
a rescue by the Barth family that included the recent addition of a second nine and
a general revamping of all 18 holes. Don Barth, who also owns Alta Lake, Bear
Mountain Ranch, and Desert Canyon, did the design and construction of the new
holes with the help of superintendent and nephew Jon Roberts.
Amid huge ponds, Rock Island presents a formidable challenge. Its slope rating from
the back tees is a healthy 129. Once you get past the 11th hole, along comes Don
Barth's favorite, the 13th, a par 4 that makes a direct dogleg to the right and against
where there is yet another pond: a true oasis or a watery grave.
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Photograph courtesy of Rock Island Golf Course
