Gearhart Golf Links

Detailed description of Gearhart Golf Links

Gearhart Golf Links is a Public, 18 hole golf course located in Gearhart, Oregon.

Gearhart Golf Links first opened for play in 1892 as 3 holes strewn across the sand dunes. As such, Gearhart Golf Links is the oldest course in the northwest and arguably in the Western United States.

The course retains a classic Links flavor, with a hint of traditional Northwest design features. It plays 6,218 yards from the back tees and 5,154 yards from the front tees. The par-72 course stretches for about a mile from north to south, with the width equal to about three fairways.

In 1901, at the hands of Marshall Kinney, Gearhart was officially opened as a 9 hole course. In 1913-1915 Gearhart grew to 18 holes and began a long heritage as one of the state's premiere golf venues. Between 1926 and 1935 the course underwent a series of changes including a redesign by Chandler Egan resulting in the layout which remains relatively unchanged. The course has more recently been renovated/restored by Bill Robinson.

Though renovated throughout the years, Gearhart fittingly provides an old world golf experience representative to that which is found in the games birthplace. Due to its rugged coastal climate and weathered course features, Gearhart closely resembles what you'd expect to find in a European links course. Despite no actual ocean views, there's no mistaking that you're directly inland from the Pacific surf; you can smell the ocean air, see the marine fog and feel the swirling winds of land's end. To the east and south, there are vistas of forested foothills and distant rocky cliffs. Thanks to its long history and strong parallels to the origins of the game, Gearhart is an impressionable golf venue with a timeless mystique and a staple in the wide spectrum of Northwest golf.

Large berms and knolls exist throughout the course. The course length and layout favors precision over distance, with short yardage and many narrow fairway cuts. The roughs are mainly lined with short, scraggly pines, and the grounds are otherwise rather open. Fairway and greenside bunkers are a common feature here, ranging from shallow to deep-set depth. Logically, the traps are filled with beach sand and play heavy, but very soft. There's no water on the course aside from the Par-4 5th and 7th holes. The greens are very small and often tightly placed between large mounds of earth and bunkers of sand. Their surfaces remain in great shape with true rolls and fast speeds amid a typical array of sloping.

Gearhart Golf Links' sand base makes for excellent drainage, and the encircling condo-motel units provide considerable shelter from the coastal winds. The golf course is generally wide open, easy to walk, and a pleasure to play.