New Nile Shrine Course Suffers Design Bogey On Diminutive Hole

It was the same rude surprise as finding an insect in your dessert, the same deflating feeling as suddenly shanking a ball near the end of a good round.

I was playing the new nine-hole addition to the now-public Nile Shrine Golf Course on the King-Snohomish County line in Mountlake Terrace and had enjoyed the first six holes even though I wasn't playing well.

Then I came upon what might be the worst par-3 hole in the state - a hole that belongs at Green Lake Pitch and Putt, not on a layout that otherwise draws comparisons with Lynnwood's short but interesting municipal course.

The seventh hole measured only 75 yards. It borders the road to the clubhouse. The hole was out of character with the rest of the nine, cheapened a fun round and made scores less meaningful.

When I called pro Randy Puetz a few days later, I learned I was hardly the first golfer to complain about No. 7. He said he had received a lot of complaints and said ways to improve the hole are "under study."

The new nine is hampered by lack of real estate (no par 4 is longer than 388 yards) but is well-maintained and scenic thanks to abundant trees and Lake Ballinger.

It's a fun course for high- and mid-handicappers. Greens fees are $14 for nine holes and $24 for 18 every day of the week. Par is 33 on the new nine and 35 on the back nine for a total of 68. The new nine is 2,278 yards and the old nine 2,722 for a total of 5,000. The rating is 64.5 (what an expert would shoot) and the slope rating is 105 (113 is an average course).

One other thing: Nile Shrine strictly enforces a golf dress code, so don't forget to wear a shirt with a collar.

Notes

-- The Greater Vancouver Open, this Thursday through Sunday, will be the first Northwest PGA Tour stop since 1966. The tournament will take place at a site about 10 minutes north of the Peace Arch border crossing, at the Northview Golf and Country Club in Surrey, B.C.

The field will be severely diminished because the NEC World Series of Golf will be held at the same time in Akron, Ohio. The top names on the Vancouver entry list are Jeff Maggert, Lee Janzen, Curtis Strange, Sandy Lyle, Chip Beck and Bobby Wadkins.

Tickets are $30 (Canadian) per day and anyone under age 18 is admitted free. For information, call 1-604-899-7800.

The tournament is being put on by Orca Bay, the company headed by Seattle's John McCaw that owns the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA and the Canucks of the NHL.

-- Here are the ticket prices for this week's U.S. Amateur at the Pumpkin Ridge complex outside Portland: medal play on Monday-Tuesday $10, match play Wednesday through Friday $15, semifinals Saturday $20 and championship Sunday $25.

Spectators under age 15 are admitted free with a paying adult.

For information, call 1-800-337-3099 .

Washington golfers entered in the tournament are: Fred Urquhart of Bellingham, Dave Farnam of Kent, Clint Jensen of Bellevue, Chuck O'Hara of Vancouver, Thomas Pidduck of Seattle, Karl Smith of Gig Harbor and Bob Conrad of Medina.

-- Randy Jensen, pro at Lakeland Village Golf Course outside Bremerton, is the defending champion in the Wilson Pacific Northwest PGA Championship tomorrow through Wednesday at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club.

-- The Tumwater Valley Golf Club is now a municipal course and the new head pro is Chris Mitchell, a Spokane native who was a University of Houston teammate of Fred Couples.

Mitchell is leaving Sun Dance Golf Course at Nine Mile Falls north of Spokane. His most noteworthy Northwest golfing accomplishment came in the 1990 Rosauer's Open at Indian Canyon in Spokane, where he fired a 66 that included three eagles. He had a hole-in-one on a par-3, a 2 on a par-4 and a 3 on a par-5.

The City of Tumwater purchased the course from the Pabst Brewing Co. for a reported $2.7 million. The course is just off I-5 south of Olympia. It has a good driving range, where some Seattle-area golfers like to hit balls to break up trips to Portland.

-- Gary Player, Walt Morgan, Rick Acton, Orville Moody, Ken Still and Don Bies are among the Senior Tour players who will compete in a pro-am scramble and a six-hole shootout on Labor Day at Indian Canyon in Spokane.

-- Recommendation: A helpful, easy-to-read new book for anyone considering taking up golf is "I Know Absolutely Nothing About Golf," by Steve Eubanks and Whitney Crouse ($12.95, Rutledge Hill Press).

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Looking ahead

Here are the dates for the three major tournaments in Western Washington in upcoming weeks: Sept. 11-13: U.S. Senior Women's Championship at Broadmoor Golf Club, Seattle. Sept. 12-15: SafeCo Classic (LPGA stop) at Meridian Valley Country Club, Kent. Oct. 3-6: Nike Olympia Open (Nike Tour stop), Indian Summer Golf and Country Club, Olympia.