The Sahalee Country Club is a private

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

and

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, located in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. In the

Chinookan The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American Communit ...

language, Sahalee means "high heavenly ground." The 27-hole course is located on a heavily forested

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides h ...

immediately east of

Lake Sammamish Lake Sammamish is a freshwater lake east of Seattle in King County, Washington, United States. The lake is long and wide, with a maximum depth of and a surface area of . It lies east of Lake Washington and west of the Sammamish Plateau, an ...

. Sahalee is best known as the site of the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships i ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, the first of

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...

's three

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicat ...

titles. It was also the host of the WGC-NEC Invitational in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, won by

Craig Parry Craig David Parry (born 12 January 1966) is an Australian professional golfer. He has been one of Australia's premier golfers since turning professional in 1985, and has 23 career victories, two of those wins being events on the PGA Tour; the 2 ...

. The course's original

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

was

Ted Robinson Ted Robinson may refer to: * Ted Robinson (golf course architect) (1923–2008), American golf course architect *Ted Robinson (sportscaster) Theodore Robinson (born July 19, 1957) is an American sportscaster. Since 2000, Robinson has been with N ...

; in preparation for the PGA Championship,

Rees Jones Rees Jones (born September 16, 1941) is an American golf course architect. Life and career Born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer ...

renovated the course in 1996, 1997, and 1998. The course has been listed on ''

Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competit ...

's'' Top 100 Courses list for over twenty years, and is the host of the

Sahalee Players Championship The Sahalee Players Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1992 at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington. The event will not be played from 2020 to 2022 and will return in 2023 as a collegiate event ...

, a top

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History H ...

tournament in the region. It also was the site of the inaugural GTE Northwest Classic in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...

, a former senior tour event. After the success of the 1998 PGA Championship, Sahalee was selected in 1999 to host the championship again in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...

. That decision was reversed by the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of professional golfer, golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's underta ...

in January 2005, when the 2010 event was abruptly moved to

Whistling Straits Whistling Straits is one of two 36-hole links-style golf courses associated with Destination Kohler, a luxury golf resort owned and operated by the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin. The other course is Blackwolf Run, located in the Vil ...

in Sheboygan,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...

, which had recently hosted the very profitable

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

edition and set new attendance records. The PGA of America stated that it was concerned about the possibility of reduced financial support in the Pacific Northwest; it was scheduled to be held less than six months after the conclusion of the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May Doan Nancy GreeneWayne Gre ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. T ...

, BC. In February 2007, the

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

selected Sahalee to host the

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the E ...

, held from July 29 to August 1.

Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first official number one ran ...

of Germany shot eight under par and won by three strokes over local favorite

Fred Couples Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament an ...

, Couples, originally from

, was in his first full season on the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

. In June

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Sahalee hosted a women's major, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship; Brooke Henderson defeated top-ranked

Lydia Ko Lydia Ko (born 24 April 1997) is a New Zealand professional golfer and the No. 1-ranked woman professional golfer. She first achieved the top ranking on 2 February 2015 at of age, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked ...

in a sudden-death playoff.

General information

Since Sahalee is a private course, guests can only play with a member; green fees for guests are $120. The pro shop is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The

dress code A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regard to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies an ...

states that

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has bee ...

is not allowed and that a collared

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. I ...

is required; slacks or non-denim shorts are allowed. Metal spiked shoes are not allowed; neither are groups of five. The course is open year-round, and its greens are aerated in May and September. The greens and fairways are both

Poa annua ''Poa annua'', or annual meadow grass (known in America more commonly as annual bluegrass or simply poa), is a widespread low-growing turfgrass in temperate climates. Notwithstanding the reference to annual plant in its name, perennial bio-types ...

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. Cell phones are not allowed within 100 yards of the clubhouse.

History

The course opened in 1969, following two years of construction at the then-remote site. The three nines were designed by

golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

. The first head professional was Paul Runyan, who won 29 times on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, including the

twice, in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a m ...

and

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

. He played for the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

on four

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named a ...

teams, and won the

Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

in 1961 and 1962. In preparation for the 1998 PGA Championship,

was brought in to renovate the courses. The South and North nines (where the championship was held) were renovated in 1996. The East course was renovated after the 1998 PGA Championship. The original clubhouse was replaced in 2001 with a new structure.

Course information

Sahalee is made up of three sets of nine holes; South, North, and East nines. PGA tournaments have been held on the combination of the South and North nines. The course is like many in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, with tall

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

trees, primarily

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three ...

and red cedar, lining the narrow fairways. The course has many

bunkers A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

and several water hazards. On average, each hole has five or six hazards. The East Course has two

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or Artificiality, artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% Aquatic plant, emergent vegetation helps in disting ...

s that come into play on two of the holes. This is the same for the North Course and South Course. The North Course's fairways are slightly hilly, whereas the South Course and East Course have relatively flat fairways with the occasional hump to create an uneven lie. The combination of the South and North courses creates a par 72 layout. From the black (back)

tee A tee is a stand used in sport to support and elevate a stationary ball prior to striking with a foot, club or bat. Tees are used extensively in golf, tee-ball, baseball, American football, and rugby. Etymology The word tee is derived from the ...

s, the course measures with a

slope rating The slope rating of a golf course is a measure of its relative difficulty for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer. It is used by handicapping systems to equalize the field by accounting for the likelihood that, when playing on more diffic ...

of 74.2/139. From the blue tees the course measures and has a slope rating of 73.4/138. From the white tees the course measures with a slope rating of 71.0/135. From the red tees the course measures with a slope rating of 72.8/127. For the 1998 PGA Championship, the course played as a par 70 at . The combination of the East and South courses creates a par 72 layout. From the black tees the course measures with a slope rating of 74.6/139. From the blue tees the course measures with a slope rating of 73.4/138. From the white tees the course measures with a slope rating of 71.0/135. From the red tees the course measures with a slope rating of 72.8/127. The combination of the North and East courses creates a par 72 layout. From the black tees the course measures with a slope rating of 74.6/139. From the blue tees the course measures 6,769 with a slope rating of 73.4/138. From the white tees the course measures with a slope rating of 71.5/133. From the red tees the course measures with a slope rating of 72.8/127. As a par 70, Greg Kraft holds the course record of 65, which is five under par. As a par 71,

Robert Allenby Robert Allenby (born 12 July 1971) is an Australian professional golfer. Early years Allenby was born on 12 July 1971 in Melbourne, Victoria. His father had emigrated to Australia from Leeds, UK as a young man. Professional career He turned ...

holds the course record of 63, eight under par.

1998 PGA Championship

Lee Janzen Lee McLeod Janzen (born August 28, 1964) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice in 1993 and 1998. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions, and was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour. Early y ...

said of Sahalee: ''I think the best way to prepare for this course would have been to go to a big city, like

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

, and maybe play down Fifth Avenue ... With the trees being so large, and so close to the fairway, you immediately see the only shot you can possibly hit. And that's straight down the middle.''

Justin Leonard Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. Early years Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leonard graduated ...

, 1997

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

champion said: ''Everybody heard there were a lot of trees ... I don't think anybody imagined this many.''

Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in th ...

said: ''You have to hit two very good iron shots in a row to get on the green ... For me, it's probably one or two drivers the whole golf course. You don't ever really get to a hole where you can just bomb a driver down there and have an easy shot.'' "Sahalee is going to be a test of golf that we haven't seen before..."

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

said: "And it's a pretty good test, too," he said. "Trees come into play everywhere, and if you miss the fairway you're probably going to make bogey. You better hit as straight as you can."

Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999. He has won 31 European Tour events ...

said: "It's a lovely course ... it's a beautiful place to play and a beautiful test of golf...The trees get in the way too often...That's the only problem. From above, I'm sure it looks like you can only walk single-file down the fairways."

Head golf professionals

* Paul Runyan (1969–72) *Ron Rhoades (1972–73) *Tag Merritt (1973–78) *Bill Reid (1979–83) *Mark Rhodes (1983–84) *Rick Acton (1984–96) *Jim Pike (1997–2012,2020–2021) *Craig Moore (2012-2014) *Mike Montgomery (2014–2019) *Jacob Lippold (2021-Present) *Bryan Nicholson (2021-Present)

Golf course superintendents

*Louis Schmidt (1968–77) *Phil Wycoff (1977–79) *Bill Campbell (1979–88) *Tom Wolff (1988–99) *Rich Taylor (1999–2014) *Tom Huesgen (2014–2021) *Charlie Schauwecker (2021-Present)

References

External links

*
HistoryLink.org
– essay 9016 – Sahalee golf course opens in 1969 {{Authority control Golf clubs and courses in Washington (state) Sports venues in Seattle Buildings and structures in King County, Washington Sammamish, Washington 1969 establishments in Washington (state) Sports venues completed in 1969