Country Clubs: Reasons to join

If you are a country club golfer, the area has some nice choices for you. From Olympia to Aberdeen to Longview, there are a handful of clubs to try:

• Indian Summer is perhaps the best-known club in Olympia and is the newest of the four country clubs in Southwest Washington. Designed by Peter Thompson, the course continually makes the list of the top golf courses.

• Olympia Country Club, located along Budd Inlet with sweeping views of south Puget Sound and plays just over 6,000 yards featuring a tight hilly layout. Prepare for some tough walks or better yet, rent a cart for this course.

• Grays Harbor Country Club in Central Park is a nine-hole course and is one of the oldest clubs in the Northwest having opened for play in 1912.

• Longview Country Club isn’t long, playing to just over 6,000 yards and par-70; it opened three new holes for play in the 1996 season.

• Royal Oaks Country Club: This club in Vancouver is considered one of the top courses in the Pacific Northwest. It opened in the 1940s and hosts some of the Northwest’s top events.