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WINE VALLEY
Golf Club
PAR 3 160 YARDS
Walla Walla, WA
877.333.9842
www.winevalleygolfclub.com
At Wine Valley Golf Club, you are unmistakably in the tawny, windswept wheat fields
of eastern Washington, yet the course's design is straight out of the British Isles, and
the area's overriding allure of the nearly 100 wineries is absolutely French. Indeed,
it was a French farmer who, long ago, planted a runaway Italian onion on the fertile
landscape that would eventually turn into the famed Walla Walla sweet. As the 21st
century unfolded and wine approached wheat as the area's number one crop, the
need for a top-notch golf course emerged.
Wine Valley Golf Club is the design of Dan Hixson, a former club pro from Portland
who was praised for his first design, Bandon Crossings on the Oregon Coast. The
14th hole at Wine Valley is the shortest and—according to handicap rankings—
easiest on the course. It looks simple enough, even from the back-tee distance of 160
yards, and the second largest green on the course is relatively easy to hit. The good
news is you're on the green. The bad news? You're on the green.
There are actually three greens in one that blend together to create an interesting
challenge. Bunkers front and back leave one of the few forced carries on the course,
appropriate for such a short hole and such a big green. But putting from one section
of the green to another can be taxing and an invitation to a three- or four-putt. The
most difficult pin placement is a small shelf in the top right corner of the green.
Wine Valley is a wonderful design and so at home in its vast, rolling landscape. The
bunkers are large and deep. They fit the prevailing terrain and are filled with dark,
indigenous sand.
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Photograph by Brent Stewart
