Published: Thursday, April 12, 2007
Beautiful and formidable
The new White Horse Golf Club in Kingston, which opens later this month, is both athletically challenging and aesthetically pleasing.
KINGSTON - During the construction phase of the new White Horse Golf Club, course architect Cynthia Dye McGarey turned to a few of her colleagues with a pronouncement.
Recalls McGarey, "I said to some of the guys I was working with that day, 'If this doesn't come out right, then we did something wrong.'"
McGarey was talking about the opportunity to work with a terrific parcel of land. In particular, she was struck by the unique topography, scenic surroundings and vast wooded areas - all ingredients for a first-rate golf course in a distinctly Pacific Northwest setting.
"It's so beautiful out there," McGarey said. "We could have done that one with our eyes closed. It's a great piece of property, and it was a slam dunk to build a (good) golf course there."
And so she did.
White Horse, which is expected to open for public play later this month, is a must-see destination for golfers in the greater Seattle area. Located a few miles south of Kingston on the way to Indianola, the golf club is the centerpiece of the 456-acre White Horse development, which includes 224 home sites.
For folks in Snohomish County, getting to White Horse could hardly be easier. Once the ferry leaves the dock in Edmonds, you can be teeing off on No. 1 inside an hour.
Proximity, though, is just one good reason to see White Horse. Another is the grand golf experience that awaits.
White Horse is athletically challenging and aesthetically pleasing, and McGarey gets credit for both. Her design is creative, but never quirky, and the test is not so severe that it detracts from the area's abundant natural beauty.
Given her background in course design - her heredity, actually - none of that is surprising.
McGarey is the niece of Pete Dye, one of the world's foremost golf course designers. Among his many celebrated projects are the Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (a collaboration with Jack Nicklaus), the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif.
Designing fine golf courses is what the Dye family does - in addition to her uncle, Cynthia's late father, some brothers and cousins have all been in the business - and McGarey has been working with Pete Dye virtually all of her professional life.
White Horse, in fact, is her first solo effort from start to finish, which means she has special feelings about this golf course.
"When you're working for somebody," she said, "you have to pay attention to what they like. There are certain things my uncle likes and you have to pay attention to them. But on this course, I was able to do what I liked."
Evidently, one of those predilections is bunkers. The golf course has 137, or almost three times as many as you would see on a typical course. So this is our suggestion - brush up on your sand shots before heading to White Horse.
In her own defense, McGarey says they "are mostly small bunkers, not big, sprawling bunkers," although there are a few vast waste bunkers here and there. "But when you're around the woods," she went on, "you don't get a lot of definition, so the bunkers help define the corridors and give you target areas to play toward."
Speaking of familiar names, here's another that should ring a bell to the Snohomish County golfing community. Bruce Christy, a 1983 graduate of Mariner High School and the director of golf at Everett's two public golf courses from 2001 to 2006, is the director of golf at White Horse.
Christy, an Edmonds resident, says White Horse is "extremely playable. ... If they're playing from the right tees, low handicappers to high handicappers will enjoy their rounds."
McGarey, he added, spent two years on site at White Horse, "but on most of the holes she hardly moved any dirt at all. The land and the topography were already there, so she took an existing beautiful piece of property and made it look like it had always been that way."
As with any new course, there is plenty of work yet to do. Though the course is generally dry, there are still drainage issues in places, just as there are spots where more grass needs to grow.
Likewise, golfers and staff will have to deal with temporary structures for the time being. Construction on a permanent clubhouse is expected to start next year, with completion sometime in 2009.
One nice feature Christy plans to implement is a complimentary shuttle service to and from the Kingston ferry terminal. Golfers coming across from Edmonds can call ahead "and we'll have the shuttle down at the dock waiting for them," he said. "We'll pick them up, drive them to the golf course, get them started, and then we'll drive them back after their round."
For now, just a few houses are visible from the golf course. That will change as construction continues over time, but Christy expects the beauty at White Horse to remain undiminished.
"Most golfers are going to come out here and play with their heads up," he said. "They are going to be looking around - looking at a beautiful hole, looking at the beautiful views, looking at the bald eagle overhead."
Recalls McGarey, "I said to some of the guys I was working with that day, 'If this doesn't come out right, then we did something wrong.'"
McGarey was talking about the opportunity to work with a terrific parcel of land. In particular, she was struck by the unique topography, scenic surroundings and vast wooded areas - all ingredients for a first-rate golf course in a distinctly Pacific Northwest setting.
"It's so beautiful out there," McGarey said. "We could have done that one with our eyes closed. It's a great piece of property, and it was a slam dunk to build a (good) golf course there."
And so she did.
White Horse, which is expected to open for public play later this month, is a must-see destination for golfers in the greater Seattle area. Located a few miles south of Kingston on the way to Indianola, the golf club is the centerpiece of the 456-acre White Horse development, which includes 224 home sites.
For folks in Snohomish County, getting to White Horse could hardly be easier. Once the ferry leaves the dock in Edmonds, you can be teeing off on No. 1 inside an hour.
Proximity, though, is just one good reason to see White Horse. Another is the grand golf experience that awaits.
White Horse is athletically challenging and aesthetically pleasing, and McGarey gets credit for both. Her design is creative, but never quirky, and the test is not so severe that it detracts from the area's abundant natural beauty.
Given her background in course design - her heredity, actually - none of that is surprising.
McGarey is the niece of Pete Dye, one of the world's foremost golf course designers. Among his many celebrated projects are the Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (a collaboration with Jack Nicklaus), the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif.
Designing fine golf courses is what the Dye family does - in addition to her uncle, Cynthia's late father, some brothers and cousins have all been in the business - and McGarey has been working with Pete Dye virtually all of her professional life.
White Horse, in fact, is her first solo effort from start to finish, which means she has special feelings about this golf course.
"When you're working for somebody," she said, "you have to pay attention to what they like. There are certain things my uncle likes and you have to pay attention to them. But on this course, I was able to do what I liked."
Evidently, one of those predilections is bunkers. The golf course has 137, or almost three times as many as you would see on a typical course. So this is our suggestion - brush up on your sand shots before heading to White Horse.
In her own defense, McGarey says they "are mostly small bunkers, not big, sprawling bunkers," although there are a few vast waste bunkers here and there. "But when you're around the woods," she went on, "you don't get a lot of definition, so the bunkers help define the corridors and give you target areas to play toward."
Speaking of familiar names, here's another that should ring a bell to the Snohomish County golfing community. Bruce Christy, a 1983 graduate of Mariner High School and the director of golf at Everett's two public golf courses from 2001 to 2006, is the director of golf at White Horse.
Christy, an Edmonds resident, says White Horse is "extremely playable. ... If they're playing from the right tees, low handicappers to high handicappers will enjoy their rounds."
McGarey, he added, spent two years on site at White Horse, "but on most of the holes she hardly moved any dirt at all. The land and the topography were already there, so she took an existing beautiful piece of property and made it look like it had always been that way."
As with any new course, there is plenty of work yet to do. Though the course is generally dry, there are still drainage issues in places, just as there are spots where more grass needs to grow.
Likewise, golfers and staff will have to deal with temporary structures for the time being. Construction on a permanent clubhouse is expected to start next year, with completion sometime in 2009.
One nice feature Christy plans to implement is a complimentary shuttle service to and from the Kingston ferry terminal. Golfers coming across from Edmonds can call ahead "and we'll have the shuttle down at the dock waiting for them," he said. "We'll pick them up, drive them to the golf course, get them started, and then we'll drive them back after their round."
For now, just a few houses are visible from the golf course. That will change as construction continues over time, but Christy expects the beauty at White Horse to remain undiminished.
"Most golfers are going to come out here and play with their heads up," he said. "They are going to be looking around - looking at a beautiful hole, looking at the beautiful views, looking at the bald eagle overhead."
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