Washington State University opens 18-hole course

With the beginning of construction of the Palouse Ridge Golf Club in spring 2006, the University launched an approximately two-year-long project to create a championship golf course that will become a destination course for golfers throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The estimated $8.4 million course and practice facility will cover a 315-acre site that includes the existing 92-acre, nine-hole course and additional land east and south of the existing course. Incorporating a links design created by well-known architect John Harbottle III, the course will be integrated with the natural beauty of the Palouse, preserving the open space on the east end of campus while making strategic use of limited water resources. Tees will range from 5,200 to 7,300 yards.

“We wish to create a facility that ranks with the best college courses in the nation, one capable of hosting the Pac-10 and NCAA Championships,” says Harbottle. “The site is highly contoured, which makes designing the course a more difficult task. However, the topography will also help create very dramatic and varied character for the holes.”

The practice facility will accommodate WSU athletics, visiting golf teams, and physical education classes at one end of the course, while student recreation users and the general public will access the other end. The practice facility is currently available for public use, daily 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Construction of a $4 million clubhouse, located near the center of the course, is expected to open to the public in early August. Lounge and dining under the name of Banyan's on the Ridge will be within the clubhouse, with seating for approximately 100 people.

John Harbottle III, the designer of Palouse Ridge, is one of the top golf course architects on the West Coast. He has designed such acclaimed layouts as the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain in Bremerton, WA, the Golf Club at Genoa Lakes outside Reno, NV, and the Savannah Course at Stevinson Ranch in Stevinson, CA. Harbottle also remodeled the famed North Course at Los Angeles Country Club in 1996.

By washingtonstateuniversity