Gamble Sands

One of the best golfing experiences you can go to in eastern Washington. I cannot say enough good things about the courses, staff and accommodations.

We stayed in Gamble Sands this winter. What a beautiful property. Most unassuming, surprising, wonderful experience. Very quaint and beautiful finish of every little detail was just wonderful. The owners dont just love the place they have built, but they must cherish this land. The location was the most stunning, and there was no expense spared to make this place just perfect. The inspiration for us was in every detail. We are running holiday lets ourselves and stayed I many places around the world, but this one just exceeded our expectations on every level. Thank you for sharing your beautiful part of the world with your guests. It is very much appreciated. Loved every moment. We travelled half of the world to stay in this location, and it did not disappoint. The staff at the Inn was great. Very friendly in the evening on the check-in, and the lad working i reception in the morning was superb. The way he was talking about the Gamble Sands, with passion and admiration, said everything about how he loves being there, and so did we. He found some apples for us from the local orchard, with beautiful pink flesh, and told us about how in the summer the rain is blown off the fruit to protect it from damage. The entire experience was the one to remember. Warm thank you sent from UK

I’ll start with the good stuff: The views are great. Right on the Columbia river with views of the cascade mountains. Hard to beat that setting. The course has some interesting and challenging holes, most of which use the topography well. That’s it for the good. Now the bad… Greens are bumpy as hell. Shockingly bad for this type of course. Maybe that’s just how the grass is supposed to be? Not every hole, but several have absolutely blind shots. Blind from the tee, blind layups and blind approaches. Golf is hard enough when I know where to aim. When all you can see is a horizon and no flag, it makes for slow play because everyone has to drive the damn cart all the way up to the green to give their playing partners the line. I don’t care for this gimmick of golf course architecture. You might like it. I don’t. All “bunkers” are actually waste areas so none are groomed or kept. They are just trampled up sandy areas that are at times VERY deep. It can be a 10+ foot drop off to get in or out. Local rule is you get free relief from footprints but you’ll just be dropping in more footprints. Also, because the bunkers are so deep it creates MORE BLIND SHOTS. More confusion about where to aim. Any golfer with a physical mobility problem will struggle just to enter/exit. If they are a less skilled golfer, they will have a hard time getting their ball out due to the crappy lie + steep faces + blind shot. This creates a scenario where they struggle to climb in, wait for a partner to line them up, take 3-4 swings advancing the ball forward several yards but still in the waste area, now they need a different club so they have to climb back out/in, get their friend to line them up again and the whole thing starts over. Excruciating. All cart paths are dust. If you play in the summer as I did and you’re the second cart in the group, prepare for a face full of choke you out dust. There is something odd about the fairways when you hit wedges. The divots don’t come out of the ground. They stay in place like a peeled up scab. I’m a good wedge player and I sprained my wrist after 7 holes. There are some gimmicks on the greens. I think it was the 17th hole where I hit the green from 200+ yards (a good shot by any standard) and my ball ended up in a place where I had no chance of putting my ball any closer to the hole than where it sat. If you hit a green, you should be able to have a chance at a 2-putt no matter where your ball is and no matter where the flag is IMO. To cap it all off is the shameless kick you in the cohones style price gouging. I purchased a “turkey wrap” for $15. I opened it up to discover a flour tortilla wrapped over itself 5 times with a single slice of lunch meat inside. Oh, and you get a tiny mustard squirt pod. No tomato, no lettuce, no dressing, no bacon, no cheese. $15! This reveals exactly the character of the folks in charge. I’m an absolute pure golf die hard and I will never be going back here. I don’t care how many courses they build. Considering what a pain in the ass it is to get there and the steep price (gas, time, greens fees and turkey wraps) I can think of 100 other places that offer a much better value than this. Don’t waste your time or money.

Excellent staff, but it's a drive to get there. They will have another course open next year, which will make the drive out to nowhere more palatable. Highly recommend and get the yardage book. Helps tremendously!

I’ve been hearing about playing at gamble sands for years now and we finally booked a trip over. It is pricey but well worth it! The course is immaculate. From the putting green, to the tee boxes, to the fairways, to the greens. All facilities are very well maintained. The staff is very friendly and make the experience that much better. The Danny boy grill was solid. Great service, food and drinks. Truly a unique experience and most definitely worth the drive from western Washington and/or a flight in from another area. I would choose to play this course ofer a lot of the courses down in the southwest. 5/5 experience and will be back next year!