Puyallup Tribe makes a splash with its new Cedar Irons course

Cedar Irons Golf Club, formerly known as North Shore, began a new era for Tacoma public golf with a fully renovated historic course managed and operated by Columbia Hospitality. All 18 holes of the 6,109-yard, par-72 championship course opened in May following a nearly two-year, $7.5 million project led by acclaimed Pacific Northwest golf course architect Dan Hixson.

Owned by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the new Cedar Irons had undergone significant upgrades, including a much-needed, state-of-the-art irrigation system and a more open, strategic, and playable layout that revitalizes a beloved Tacoma golf course while catering to golfers of all abilities.

The project began in November 2024. The renovated back nine reopened to the public in 2025; the front nine renovation was completed in April.

The former irrigation system was more than 40 years old. Meanwhile, the course had gradually become crowded with vegetation, narrowing the fairways and reducing playability. Hixson’s renovation reestablishes clear playing corridors, opens views across the property, and restores the course’s natural flow.

The course follows a similar routing to the original. But the renovation focused on improving playability while enhancing architectural character. Tee boxes have been revitalized and expanded, fairways have been widened to encourage creativity off the tee, every bunker has been completely rebuilt, and all 18 green complexes have been either reconstructed or recontoured and refined. Tree removal and selective pruning have restored natural sightlines and improved turf conditions by allowing more sunlight and airflow across the course.

The renovation also features several redesigned holes.

That includes the 17th hole, which had been reworked from a par 3 to a par 4, stretching the back nine from a par 35 to a par 36. The front nine features completely rebuilt greens on holes 1, 2, 3, and 6. Hole No. 2, once a 347-yard par 4, was stretched to more than 400 yards. The par-5 third hole was shortened to a par 4, and the fifth hole was converted from a par 4 to a par 5.