Gearhart Golf Links

Billed as the oldest continual golf course west of the Mississippi River, Gearhart Golf Links has brought Scottish style links golf to the Oregon coast since 1892. Starting as a three hole loop, the course was started by Scottish immigrants across the street from the historic Gearhart Hotel.

Firm, sandy soil spans the entire layout that makes the course truly live up to the “Links” in it’s namesake. Overall, the property is fairly flat, however, rolling undulations within each of the holes can provide unpredictable bounces as shots play across the turf. The compact green complexes also share the same firm ‘thump’ as the rest of the course and make getting onto the putting surface a real challenge.

The design itself provides a truly unique set of holes ranging from short and strategic to long and brutish. The front nine starts with a par-4 that is an incredibly authentic straight links hole with its fairway bunkering and turtle-back green. After crossing the street, the design embodies its more strategic self. A tight dogleg left second hole leads to an incredibly short 267-yd par-4. Despite looking like a sure birdie opportunity, severe undulations and wonderful natural bunkering throughout makes for one of the most engaging holes on the course.

The final two holes of the front nine serve as a preview for the second half of the round. The dead straight, uphill par-5 eighth plays at 487yds, but starts to hint at the lurking brutishness of what is ahead. Cross back over to the main piece of the property, the par-4 ninth is another straight-ish links hole that shines through its undulating fairway. Though the green site sits on much calmer ground, pushed up mounding and two bunkers encircle the putting surface to provide a ‘circus ring’ type of element.

The back nine plays across a wide open piece of land that is accentuated by rolling troughs and ridges in which the holes sit. The extreme nature of the back nine is shown in the par-3 eleventh. An eye watering 267-yds from ‘The Stones’ (the back tees at Gearhart), the hole plays very slightly uphill to a green guarded by two bunkers short and pushed up mounding in which making par truly feels like a birdie.

The second par-3 provides a great contrast to its much larger sibling measuring just 122-yds from the furthest tee box. However, with the green nestled into the corner of a mild dune with bunkering short, the hole is another true gem of the design.

Sitting on the counter of the pro shop is an iron piggy bank that provides a wonderful challenge on the final hole of the course. Deposit a dollar at the start of your round and if you achieve a birdie on the par-5 eighteenth, the current sum of its contents are yours. However, the 687-yd monster of a hole makes birdie a true accomplishment. Not only does the shear length make this hole tough, the green site sits well above the fairway below and features a severely sloping green.

The true variety and authenticity of Gearhart Golf Links makes for a worthy stop along the Oregon coast.