Golf and wine a great duo in Walla Walla

WALLA WALLA — Washington's newest hot golf course owes its existence to the fact that yeast converts sugar to alcohol.

That's how grape juice becomes wine. And that's how Walla Walla has turned into a popular tourist destination with enough golf club-toting visitors to trigger construction of the aptly named Wine Valley Golf Club seven miles west of town.

The treeless, links-style course is celebrating its first anniversary this month and many golf connoisseurs are raving. Golfweek rated it the fifth best new course in the nation for the two-year span of 2008-2009 and the best to open in 2009.

"When I came to Walla Walla in 1999, there were 14 wineries," said John Thorsnes, the former Walla Walla Country Club head pro who is co-owner and director of golf at Wine Country. "There are about 120 here now, and seven are within five minutes of the course."

Thorsnes said there is "absolutely no question" that the course exists because the wine industry took off like a Bubba Watson drive.

Thorsnes owns the course with Jim Pliska, owner of the public Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore., outside Eugene. The designer was Dan Hixson of Portland, who did Bandon Crossings at Bandon, Ore.

Thorsnes said the project benefited from the nationwide slowdown in golf construction as some of the best "shapers" such as Kye Goalby (son of 1968 Masters champion Bob) were available to build the course. The property had been wheat and alfalfa fields.

This is a links course although the nearest seashore is 300 miles west on the Pacific Coast. (The word links comes from the description of land that linked inland agriculture areas to beaches in the British isles.)

Like the state's most famous links course — Chambers Bay (one tree) outside Tacoma that will host the U.S. Open in 2015 — Wine Valley gives you the option to roll or fly the ball onto the green. When I played Wine Valley two weeks ago, I used my putter more than my wedges within 40 yards of the green.

What did I tell my golfer friends about the course? My report:

"Wine Valley is a 'must-play' and has the same characteristics of Chambers Bay. You can't believe the roll you get on these firm fairways and might want to consider one set of tees longer than those you usually play. You can roll the ball onto all but one green. Almost every hole can be played more than one way and that makes you think. The fairways are wide and it's hard to lose a ball.

"Bunkers range from some devilish small pot bunkers to massive bunkers that define some holes. The greens are gigantic and undulating. They average 9,000 square feet. For comparison, a doubles tennis court is 2,808 square feet. There are no homes (yet) and nice views. There are no sharp doglegs. The prevailing wind is out of the southwest and the course was built with that in mind. The layout is nearly a mile off Highway 12 and the loudest thing I heard was a meadowlark.

"You can score on this course but if they wanted to be nasty they could put pins in positions where you would three-putt every other hole. The course is walkable but it isn't flat so it's a real workout. About 80 percent of the golfers take carts and after walking I understand why. There is no designated 'signature hole' and there can be a healthy debate over which holes are the best. That post-round discussion can take place in the functional clubhouse where there are sandwiches, beer, mixed drinks, and, appropriately, wine. Two strong candidates for best in show are holes No. 5 (a long par-4) and No. 18 (a downhill par-5).

"The owners are eager to host tournaments and the Washington men's Mid-Am and the Northwest Open will be held on the course in August. Wine Valley has the greens and length (7,360 yards from back tees) to guarantee worthy champions. Considering that the course is special, the May-September adult greens fees of $60 (plus tax) Monday-Thursday and $75 Friday-Sunday aren't out of line, especially when there are twilight discounts every day and senior and junior discounts during the week. Put this course on your gotta-play-it list."

Thorsnes said the course did 10,000 rounds last year and hopes to do more than 20,000 this year.

"We've got a good start," he said, referring to the mild months of February and March.

"People think we're like Spokane or Pullman here but we're not," he said, referring to harsher winter climates. "We're only at 540 feet above sea level in this clubhouse. We close only 20 to 25 days a year for frost or snow."

The rainfall total for the town averages 17 inches.

There is plenty to do around Walla Walla, population 34,000, once you have put the clubs away for the day. Walla Walla has a vibrant downtown. Wine lovers tend to view food as an experience rather than fuel, and upscale restaurants cater to them. The gorgeous campus of Whitman College — a school with a national reputation for excellence — is two blocks from downtown and the historic mission where missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were killed in 1847 by Native Americans is two miles from the course.

The Blue Mountains are less than a half-hour away and offer hiking, fishing and camping. There is other fishing nearby in the Snake, Walla Walla and Touchet rivers. There are horse stables catering to tourists throughout the area. This summer, a college-level baseball team — the Walla Walla Sweets (named after the onion) — will debut.

The big attraction, though, is wine. And for golfers, it is Wine Valley Golf Club.