CLE ELUM – By the clock, a drive to Suncadia Resort is no more than two hours for most residents of Snohomish County.
In other words, not much more than you’d spend traveling to Gold Mountain Golf Course outside of Bremerton, Port Orchard’s Trophy Lake Golf and Casting, Auburn’s Washington National Golf Club, Blaine’s Semiahmoo Resort and Loomis Trail Golf Club, and other top public courses in and around the Puget Sound area.
Yet a trip to Suncadia is very different from most golfing excursions in the region. Those folks willing to cross the Cascade Mountains arrive at a setting quite unlike any on this side of the state. The climate and topography at the resort, which opened a year ago, are definitely unique. And the golf – eventually there will be 54 holes – is pretty special, too.
Suncadia, said Prospector Golf Course head pro Brady Hatfield, “is a retreat. For the folks that come over (from west of the mountains), it feels like they’re getting away. Even though they may only be driving for an hour, the feeling is completely different.”
First-time visitors discover a “quintessential mountain resort golf course,” Hatfield said. “It’s built in the foothills of the Cascades, so it’s a great mountain setting with rolling terrain and great views. But from a design standpoint, it’s a textbook resort golf course. It’s very player-friendly with generous landing areas, but framed with trees so you don’t feel like you’re out in an open meadow. And it’s very playable. There are bogeys and double-bogeys if you’re not a good player, but not many really big numbers.”
In many ways, Suncadia is comparable to the Sunriver Resort in central Oregon. But while Sunriver is pretty much a day’s drive each way from Snohomish County, golfers here can set off for Suncadia in the morning, use the driving range and get in an 18-hole round, and still be home in time for dinner.
Comparisons to Sunriver come easily and often, and for obvious reason. First, of course, is the similarity between the two venues, both in the quality of the golf and in the nature of the overall developments. Another is their shared pedigree. Both Suncadia and Sunriver are owned by JELD-WEN, Inc., an Oregon-based manufacturer of windows and doors, and operated by Lowe Enterprises.
While Sunriver has been around for some time, Suncadia opened last summer in July with the first nine holes of the public Prospector course – designed by the Arnold Palmer Course Design Company, which also designed the Semiahmoo Resort. Suncadia’s second nine holes opened in September.
Prospector is one of those terrific courses that makes for a great golf experience even when your game is not all that good. The holes are impeccably manicured, and almost every tee presents a glimpse of a lush tree-lined fairway with occasionally the Cascade foothills or sometimes even the actual mountains as a scenic backdrop.
One hole that makes a journey to Suncadia worthwhile by itself is the par-4 No. 10. From a hilltop tee, golfers have a dazzling view that looks west out across the Cle Elum River valley. The green, meanwhile, is 393 yards away and about 235 feet below the tee, and about 110 feet beneath the usual landing area.
On days when the wind is from the east, though, big hitters eschew the No. 10 landing area and take aim at the distant green. Hitting the green with tee shot can and has been done, Hatfield said.
The second of the three courses at Suncadia, Tumble Creek, is scheduled to open nine holes at the end of this month and the second nine later in the summer or in early fall. Tumble Creek, designed by well-known golf course architect Tom Doak who also designed the Pacific Dunes Golf Club in Bandon, Ore., will be private. A third course, Rope Rider, will be public.
Rope Rider, designed by longtime PGA Tour player and Northwest native Peter Jacobsen, is due to open in 2007.
Also, Suncadia just opened the Prospector Inn, which has elegant guestrooms and a restaurant, and which also houses the pro shop. The inn is at one end of what will eventually be Suncadia Village, where the centerpiece will be the Grand Lodge. Construction on the lodge is due to start in October, and the entire village, with an assortment of restaurants and shops, likely will be completed within a few years.
In its entirety, Suncadia will include approximately 3,000 dwelling units (home sites, condominiums, cabins and other residences), along with a number of other recreational venues and activities. Naturally, all that extravagance comes at a price. Home sites start at around $200,000 and go upwards of $1 million. Roughly 400 home sites are on the Prospector course, with about 300 of those fronting the tees, fairways and greens.
Residents can get a Suncadia Golf Membership, which allows play at both the Prospector and Rope Rider courses, for about $12,000. Or they can join at private Tumble Creek for about $60,000, which includes playing privileges at the two public courses. Both memberships include monthly fees, which Suncadia is not making public at this time.
For those just wanting to visit for a day of golf, a green fee at Prospector is $95, which includes a cart and range balls. A twilight rate, beginning at 3 p.m., is $60. Because play has been heavy, particularly on weekends, getting a starting time in advance is recommended and can be done by calling 1-866-715-5050 (toll-free).
To reach Suncadia, drive east on I-90 across Snoqualmie Pass to Exit 80 (Roslyn and Salmon La Sac). Leave the freeway and head north for about 2 miles to the entrance to Suncadia.
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