The years have flown by since my last visit to Pullman. The home of Washington State University. It was the fall of 2016 when I got my first look at the golf course. Palouse Ridge is the home to the WSU golf team. The course is also a gem for the small towns of Pullman and Moscow to enjoy. I drove out to Moscow, Idaho on a Monday afternoon in September. The journey taking me right around five hours. Along the major highway of interstate 90 until reaching the town of Vantage. After crossing over the Columbia River, it was two-lane highway. Winding me through the famous wheat fields of Eastern Washington. Some moan about the drive from Seattle to Pullman. The seemingly endless miles surrounded by farmland, without anywhere to stop for miles. My drive didn’t feel boring in the least. A warm day in the early fall with the big blue sky above. The drive was fun for someone who doesn’t make that type of journey often. My plan was to find my way to Moscow in time for dinner. Get a good night sleep and check in with the golf course on Tuesday morning. Hoping to find a quiet golf course during the afternoon. The goal was to make an afternoon time to play and spend the morning exploring Pullman. The first part of my plan worked well. Watching the sun set over the farm land of the Palouse. I arrived in time for dinner and a good sleep. The following day would be eventful.
Since playing Palouse Ridge years before, I had an idea about the golf course. There would be a familiarity, even though I couldn’t remember the course, vividly. My hunch was correct about the quietness of Palouse Ridge. Figuring there wouldn’t be many golfers on a Tuesday afternoon in September. When I swung by the golf course that morning, there was plenty of space for me to play in the early afternoon. Arriving during the noon hour for my start time at 1:00, there weren’t many people. Any time after 12:30 was going to work for me to start. Meaning I could head to the first tee well before the 1:00 time I was given that morning. I grabbed something to eat in their small restaurant. A hot dog and bag of chips, before getting ready to play. The clubhouse isn’t real big, all on one level, housing both the golf shop, and a bar/restaurant. I headed for the practice putting green just steps behind the building. It was of good size, as I found a golf ball in my bag, and hit a couple practice putts. With just one other golfer hitting putts. There was plenty of room to test the speed on the greens. I rolled a few putts, finding the speed to be pretty good. Not too fast, but enough speed to keep me honest. I took mental note about being careful with putts moving downhill. The clock on my phone showed me it was past 12:30, I was free to go play. Taking a couple bites of my hotdog, I placed it back in the wrapper, and headed for the first tee.
There were memories I had from playing Palouse Ridge the first time in 2016. When I played the course for two days. My initial memory involved the first two holes. The only holes on the golf course with blind shots. Meaning the player might not understand where to hit their shot by looking out at the fairway. When playing those first two holes I wanted to keep in mind the discomfort I had felt. Looking for any kind of suggesting I could make for golfers, playing the golf course for the first time. What I found was a landmark to keep in mind when playing the first hole in particular. There is a clock tower on the campus of Washington State University called the Bryan Clock Tower. That clock tower can be seen in the distance, when standing on the tee box of the first hole at Palouse Ridge. Something I didn’t place together until getting to the top of the hill, on the first fairway, was the clock tower stands as the aiming point of the first hole. It sits in line with the first green, showing the direction for the first swing on the golf course. A really cool feature, something to welcome the golfer to the home golf course of Washington State University. The second hole also starts with an uphill shot that in blind. However, the large white pole in the center of the second fairway feels more distinctive. A clearer directional beacon for the tee shot of the second hole. Once the first two are behind the player, the golf course feels more clearly defined.
With the idea in mind to write this blog about Palouse Ridge. I took some time inside the pro shop to talk with the gentleman behind the desk. Wanting to know some of his favorite holes on the course. His opinion of a few of the best holes were numbers 2, 7, 15, and 17. I repeated the numbers back to him, wanting to be sure I had heard him correctly. When arriving back at my golf cart, I took a minute, making markings with my pencil on his favorite holes. As I played the golf course, two of his four suggestions stood out. The second hole didn’t strike me, because of the blindness of the tee shot. Where the seventeenth also didn’t appeal, as a long par-5 with a pond to the left of the green. His other two suggestions of the seventh and fifteenth were worth the notation. Both of them short par-4 holes with cool shapes and interesting bunkering patterns. Still, I found other areas of Palouse Ridge to be more visually exciting. Like the entire stretch of holes 5, 6, and 7. Where you get the feeling of playing golf into and out of a bowl. I really enjoyed the beginning stretch of the second nine as well, with holes 10-13, which didn’t provide the best views, but the design of the holes was striking. There were places on the golf course when the views demanded a second look. Especially, under the big sky feeling of the area.
I enjoy the ability to look out over a golf course. Having points where the player can stand in on spot and see other holes. Like looking into the future and becoming excited about a hole you can see but won’t play until later. The ability to do this isn’t something I have seen often. The golf course requires the right kind of topography to provide this unique feature. In my experience, it usually occurs when the club house sits above the golf course. Palouse Ridge has this cool characteristic about it. When walking off of the second green, I got a glimpse of this design feature. I didn’t know the holes in my view from the side of the second green. It would take playing another two holes before understanding those pictures. When I walked off the second green, I was overlooking the bowl like portion of the golf course. The stretch of holes from 5-7, could be seen from that vantage point. The lookout spot struck me to such a degree that I captured a picture. In playing the remainder of Palouse Ridge, there wasn’t another spot like the one off the second green. There were points where another golf hole could be seen. Most of those instances occurred when another hole was down the hill from where I was standing. An example would be looking down the hill from the fourth hole, the eighth hole runs back in the opposite direction. Having golf holes running along hillsides also causes a cool feature to Palouse Ridge.
My second trip to Palouse Ridge caused a different reaction. When I played the golf course years ago, I raved about the experience. Enjoying the interesting aspects of the layout. Along with all the views of the surrounding farmland. This recent trip provided a different perspective. The layout of the golf course remained striking. Providing the feeling of being set among the wheat fields of Eastern Washington. The open sky, along with the rolling fields created pictures unique to the golf course. An aspect of Palouse Ridge I didn’t feel years ago was the undulation. My thought about a golf course among the wheat fields would be a place without much elevation change. This just wasn’t the case at Palouse Ridge. There felt like a lot of elevation change within the golf course, which provide some pretty cool views. But it did start taking a toll on my experience. There was situation where the cart path sat well above the green. Causing steep climbs back up to the golf cart after finishing a hole. I hadn’t noticed the toll before, but it got a little challenging with my disability. Many of the fairways also had some challenging slope, making for unique views, and challenging golf shots. The sloping also causes more fatigue with my cerebral palsy challenges. It was a give and take kind of feeling. The undulation and sloping made for an exciting experience and some breathtaking images. It also brought out my cerebral palsy challenges throughout the afternoon.
Palouse Ridge would be too challenging for me to play daily. The elevation changes throughout the golf course proved difficult with my disability. Making it a place I enjoyed playing, but would be challenged to frequent. I like playing as many different golf courses as I can. Trying to make some video and take some pictures. Attempting to show what it is like to play golf with cerebral palsy. While providing some insight on what the golf course might be like to play. The experience at Palouse Ridge feels unique. It looks, feels, and plays like a big place. The golf course was well maintained with greens that were pretty good. Usually, I play the forward tees on any course I play. When I played Palouse Ridge, I chose one tee marker back from the front. Playing the course, a little longer than I normally would. Which, could have made my day more challenging than it could have been. Still, I wanted to challenge myself, and decided to be diligent about keeping my score. I had trouble putting on the greens, probably a combination of slope and speed. But in playing the course a little longer, I managed to break 100, by shooting a 98. Following two trips for the specific purpose of playing golf at Palouse Ridge. One in October of 2016 and in September of this year. I probably wouldn’t make the trip just to play the golf course, again. However, Palouse Ridge is a great experience when in town for a Cougar football weekend.
A Journey With Cerebral Palsy 