Trophy Lake

The United States has a range of clubs founded for the pursuit of multiple passions, including the title pursuits in the acclaimed clubs at Myopia Hunt Club and the Philadelphia Cricket Club. The Pacific Northwest is noted for its fly-fishing prime, and so the existence of the Trophy Lake Golf & Casting Club should be no surprise. The difference here is that this club is entirely open to the public on both fronts.

The golfing half comes from the pen of Todd Schroeder, who was working with John Fought as the new millennium approached. The course is almost as ornately-decorated as some of the most complicated flies tied by experienced anglers; that includes more than 80 bunkers awaiting misguided shots. The biggest of which comes during the No. 7 par five, where a lengthy, vertical trench divides the fairway into two. Those who think they have the distance to reach this 550-yard par five in two will find it much more likely if they go left.

There are only a few water hazards in play, and most are simply scenic. No. 17, playing along Trophy Lake, is stocked with trout and therefore the best opportunity for the duffer and angler to give each other knowing nods.