Overlooking one of the many wetlands at Grandview Golf Course.
In 2014, I have decided to play all of the courses in Whatcom County in alphabetical order. Not being a member of the
Bellingham Golf & Country Club (or even knowing one who will invite me), I started out at
Dakota Creek a couple weeks ago.
This week I headed north to the dandy little track called
Grandview Golf Course and played with a member of Whatcom County’s first family of sports,
Casey Locker, the hard-hitting WSU safety and probably a future NFL player. Well… OK… he was with a foursome of his buddies teeing off on the 10th hole when I pulled in, so does playing at the same time on the same course count as playing “with?” If so, I also played “with” Bill Russell a couple years ago at Jefferson Park in Seattle, but I digress.
I like the Grandview course. What you see from the freeway—between the Grandview Road (266) and Birch-Bay Lynden Road (270) exits—is pretty much what you get. It is flat and very walkable; the narrow fairways are lined with tall poplar, alder and pine trees. There are no doglegs or anything tricky like that; just hit it straight, find your ball and hit it again. At least that’s the theory.
Here’s the reality. Mr. Mudd often makes a point of telling anyone who will listen how straight I hit the ball; no draw, no fade, no hook or slice; the ball just flies directly where ever I aim it. That means a course like Grandview should be really easy for me, right? Well the word “aim” came into play yesterday… a lot!
The ball did fly straight as Mr. Mudd would represent, but quite often got pulled “straight” into the trees on the left, or pushed “straight” into the trees on the right, so nearly every second shot I hit was either a punch out (the smart shot) or a really stupid attempt to be the “Bubba,” which of course always resulted in the ultimate penalty of an even worse lie or a plop into one of the many streams and ponds that dot the course. Suffice to say that on this day, fairways hit and greens in regulation were in high, but seldom realized, demand.
But so what? The weather was dry, the temp in the mid-50s, the fairways only had a couple of soggy spots and the greens were fair. One green—I think it was the 13th—was pretty beat up, but just as I was making a mental note to complain about it, my off-line putt bounced off one of the bumps and directly into the hole for a one-putt birdie. Gotta love this game!
While every course presents challenges for golfers of all levels (no matter how straight they hit the ball) at 6,109 yards from the whites, this is a very good course for families and beginners. There are several short Par-4s and just enough hazards to keep your attention. I did have to wait to hit my approach to #9 while four Canadian Geese strolled casually across the green to a pond on the other side; kind of distracting but in a good way.
There is a friendly, small café in the clubhouse to grab a hotdog and a beverage and they have installed a new chipping green and some warm up nets since the last time I was out there. All and all I’d have to say that Casey and I shared a great day on the links.
Go. Play. Golf.
P.S. My next post will be from
Homestead in Lynden... Casey, you in?
