An addendum to the Seattle Times post entitled "Four reasons the Northwest is good training for golf."

I came across this interesting post at www.seattletimes.com, which lays out 4 reasons why the Northwest is a good training ground for golfers.  The four identified reasons being:

1.  More efficient Practice (because it rains so much you can't play as often);
2.  Toughening up because of the elements (because it rains so much, you end up playing in that rain sometimes);
3.  Driving Accuracy (because it rains so much, there are lots of large trees that have sprung up and which line many fairways in the Pacific Northwest); and
4.  Smaller Greens (not sure if this has anything to do with rain).

So - there you have it.  The PNW is the place to learn golf because all the rain makes you a stronger player.

At the risk of sounding arrogant, or, like a golfer I guess, I would hazard that these explanations are far too simplified and do not really adequately explain why it is that the PNW is a good place to learn the game of golf.  Accordingly - I have created this addendum to further extrapolate the post above:


1.  Yes - the Weather (but not for the same reasons).

Not just the rain, but the colder air.  These two factors combine to do a couple of things.  First, the rain makes golf courses in Washington state a lot greener and softer than many of the golf hotspots in different climates.  This means your drive that travels 220 yards in the air, will net you 225 yards of total distance because the ball is not going to roll as much as would in a state like Arizona.   In drier climates, you can get 40-60 yards of roll on many drives, whereas in Washington and Oregon, you are just hoping your ball doesn't plug in the fairways.  The difference on a 400 yard par 4 can mean hitting a 6 or 7 iron into a green, instead of a wedge.  This is significant and develops golfers abilities' to hit their longer irons more frequently (especially when they are younger and do not have the ability to bomb the ball yet).

Along those same lines - the air in the PNW is colder than the air in say Arizona, Texas, or Florida for most of the year.  Cold air, as we all know, is more dense than warm air.  This may not have a huge effect on distance control, but most golfers with a handicap under 10 will be able to tell the difference and will club up in cold weather to account for the thicker atmosphere.  Clubbing up means taking longer irons and again, develops the ability to hit those irons with greater accuracy.

The combined effect of these two factors is this - golfers in the PNW, as a general rule, get more practice hitting longer shots into greens.  Golf courses in the PNW carry just as much yardage as courses located elsewhere, so the added distance from the elements is significant and meaningful.  Also - hitting more long irons tends to mean more missed greens, which in turn helps develop a quality short game.  This proves valuable when playing tournament golf, as tournament golf courses are generally set up to play longer and harder than the course would normally play.  

2.  Don't judge a green by its size.

The Times argues that the greens in the PNW are unusually small.  I'm not sure about that.  There are some courses that have small greens, sure, but the thing about greens in the PNW that I've noticed more than anything is that they are plush, and they roll true.  Probably another byproduct of the climate, but as a general rule the greens at course in the PNW are nice.  Really nice.  This means that most golfers playing in the PNW get to practice putting on greens that roll true.  This is a big advantage when it comes time to play in a tournament (any tournament - at any level), as tournament greens are generally mowed low, and rolled smooth.  Easier to putt on these kinds of greens if they are the norm. 

3.  Nice Courses (and lots of courses).

Chambers Bay, Bandon Dunes, TPC Snoqualmie, White Horse, Gold Mountain, Palouse Ridge, The Home Course, Newcastle, Apple Tree, Salish Cliffs, Kayak Point, and Pumpkin Ridge.... to name a few (and yes - I know I failed to include a bunch of good ones).

If you live in Seattle, you are 1 hour or less away from Chambers Bay (hosting US Open 2015), Gold Mountain (hosted US Public Links in 2006), TPC Snoqualmie (Jack Nicklaus), White Horse, Newcastle, Willows Run, the Home Course, McCormick Woods, and Harbour Point.  These are all incredibly nice golf courses.

That doesn't even take into account private courses or the Seattle Municipal courses, Jackson, Jefferson and West Seattle, along with numerous other municipal style courses that are more than adequate facilities (McCormick Woods, Trophy Lake, The Classic, etc.).  All within 1 hour of Seattle (Gold Mountain is the limit.  You can get there in 58 minutes from Queen Anne on a Saturday morning with no traffic).  I've timed it. 

While it's largely unknown, the sheer number of elite level courses, paired with those courses that are extremely nice, is staggering.   For an area of the country that doesn't have great golf weather or cheap real estate, there sure are a lot great golf courses.


4.  Good Infrastructure

The Pacific Northwest has a fair amount of wealth.  Lot of big companies based in this region.  It's also a reasonably educated part of the Country. These are indicators of a population that may be inclined to gravitate to golf.  Further, the Pacific Northwest Golf Association is well organized, as is the Washington Junior Golf Association, offering numerous tournaments for serious golfers (and young golfers) in the region.  When you combine that with the number and quality of courses in the PNW, you create a good atmosphere for growing the competitive aspect of the sport.


Thus - a few expansions on the Seattle Times article as to why the PNW is a great crucible to grow the game of golf.