Vancouver, WA

I have found a remedy for the novice, thrifty or collard shirt-avoiding golfer. On the fringes of the Columbia River Gorge hides a quaint and unorthodox par-three course encouragingly named The Pub Course. The course is an attraction of the Edgefield Hotel which also boasts a winery, brewery and distillery. It is open to the public for the affordable green fee of $1 a hole. You can decide between a 12 or 20 hole course. Only wedges and putters are used and the club house provides them for $2 a club.Eager to start crafting my game I dragged my brother out for a late Saturday tee time. The Pub Course “club house” turned out to be a bar with a bucket of clubs set in the corner and a pile of score cards on the counter. We do not have our own clubs and I also had to shell out for a few golf balls. I figured three would suffice until I approached the first tee and notice the sea of blackberry bushes hugging the green. Indeed, by the second hole I was watching my tee shot disappear into the brambles.

I was determined that while I may play an average of three strokes above par I would at least finish with a full compliment of golf balls. Into the bushes I went and the scavenging paid off: not only did I retrieve my own ball but those of few other people which I added to my arsenal

We got stuck behind a rather too-large group of young golfers who turned out to be quite inexperienced as they sent us dodging their tee shots on the first hole. We spent a lot of time waiting on them until they wisely split into two groups. But the extra time gave me a chance to admire the view across the vineyards and the Columbia River to the Cascades still dusted with snow. After playing the first few holes I began to realize why they made the game twelve holes instead of the usual 9: the fairways are extra short fitting twelve holes into the size of a normal 9 hole course.

A typical length for a par-three hole is 100 too 250 yards; at this course the distance averaged 65 yards. I suppose they designed it that way to keep the shots short and the golf balls out of the windows of the closely surrounding cars, hotels, and residences. I moved through the course rather quickly despite my need to take lot’s of extra swings.

Golf carts are not issued due to the steep and narrow nature of the course but the terrain does not deter the beer cart from a regular tour providing libations to those who come for the beer or who are waiting behind golfers determined to quadruple par. I decided a bottle of stout would be an apt addition to our game by the third hole. I then decided that a bottle of anything was a bit cumbersome when carried with two clubs, three balls and a purse, especially since the beer was only sold in 22oz bottles.Our game lasted two hours in all ending around sunset.

It was stimulating, sometimes frustrating but always fun. This is a great spot for budget or patient golfers, people not good at golf, people who enjoy micro brews and beautiful views and people who don’t feel like wearing kakhis and a polo. I certainly would not come here if I didn’t like beer, college students or inexperienced golfers or only played golf for the wardrobe.