Inside Comments: Steve Turcotte

Road trip: Gamble Sands; a new course is on the way

It’s always a fun time when you take golfer buddies to a place you have played but they have never seen. Such was the case on a summer road trip to Gamble Sands, located in Brewster, Washington. As the truck carrying the four of us crossed a bridge in Wenatchee, the mountains started to grow in size and the views along the Columbia River were stunning.

As we found the turnoff to Gamble Sands, the other three in the truck looked on the hillside and couldn’t see anything. “There’s a course up there?” one of them asked. “Not just a course but maybe one of the best you will play,” I replied.

As the road weaved between apple trees, part of the course came into view. The short Quicksands course was just an appetizer as was the new Gamble Sands course that will open in 2025. As they parked the truck, walked to the clubhouse the course came into view. “Never seen anything like this before,” said one. “There is no way we are walking this – it’s huge,” said another.

Fortunately, part of the green fees at Gamble Sands includes a cart. We would have bought one anyway because we are all lazy golfers.

Gamble Sands has become the go-to destination for golfers from around the country – and the world for that matter. When the David McLay Kidd-designed course opened in 2014 the awards came fast and furious. It was ranked among the best new courses to open and since then has been at or near the top of the best public courses in Washington.

Every time I make the drive, the reward comes when you pull into the parking lot. You see the Quicksands course, a gem of a 14-hole short course that opened in 2021 – again designed by Kidd. And if you need more, right outside the rooms of the Inn, sits the Cascade Putting Course, 100,000 square feet of putting challenges. Our group decided to take on the challenge as the sun went down and even played as the day turned into night. Couldn’t see much but it was still a way for money to change hands.

All of this Gamble Sands action was set into motion by the Gebbers family, which owns and operates thousands of acres of apple orchards in and around the Brewster area. ​

The family wondered if a championship style golf course in the middle of the state of Washington would work. Their answer came quickly – people flocked to Gamble Sands and they keep on coming. My group was able to play the course twice. And they couldn’t wait to get back for more.

And there is more on the way. As you make the drive into the resort, you see the second course all grassed and growing in. The course was also designed by Kidd. The new course will also have added lodging giving Gamble Sands even more golf and rooming options.

The reaction on my friends faces as we teed off the first day was priceless. As we stood on the second tee box – a downhill par-4 with the Columbia River as the background, they just wanted to admire the scenery and forgot about their golf game for a minute.

But that’s just Gamble Sands. A road trip where you sometimes just forget about the golf and admire everything else around you.

And one last thing, don’t forget to order the Tower of Tots at Danny Boy Bar and Grill.