The owners of Gamble Sands, a soon-to-open links-like course outside Brewster, Washington, are inviting comparisons to Bandon Dunes. Their 18-hole course has been designed by a Bandon-endorsed architect, it’s emerging on a sandy stretch of property in a remote part of the Pacific Northwest and it seems likely to be joined by a hotel and at least one more 18-hole layout.
Needless to say, David McLay Kidd was directed to design a world-class, destination-worthy track. “My task was to build an awesome golf course,” he said during a preview tour of the property. “There are no excuses. If it’s not a good course, it’s all my fault.”
Gamble Sands is scheduled to open next summer. It’ll no doubt steal some business from Bandon Dunes, but in North America alone it’ll also compete with Streamsong, Cabot Links, the new courses in the Sand Hills of Nebraska and, eventually, Mike Keiser’s planned complex in Wisconsin. Clearly, the competition for the “naturalist” dollar is getting fierce.