Sahalee Country Club

Infobox_Golf_Facility
golf_facility_name = Sahalee Country Club


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location = Sammamish, Washington
United States flagicon|USA
establishment = 1969
type = Private
owner =
operator =
holes = 27
tournaments = Sahalee Players Championship
1998 PGA Championship
website = [http://www.sahalee.com Sahalee.com]
course1 = North & South Combined
designer1 = Rees Jones
par1 = 72
length1 = convert|6955|yd
rating1 = 74
course2 = South & East Combined
designer2 = Rees Jones
par2 = 72
length2 = convert|6952|yd
rating2 = 74
course3 =
designer3 =
par3 =
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rating4 The Sahalee Country Club is a private 27-hole golf course and country club in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. In the Chinookan language, Sahalee means "high heavenly ground." [http://www.sahalee.com/clubhist.aspx?SecID=38] The course is located on a heavily-forested plateau immediately east of Lake Sammamish.

Sahalee is best known as the site of the 1998 PGA Championship, the first major championship won by Vijay Singh of Fiji. It was also the host of the 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational, won by Craig Parry of Australia. The course's original architect was Ted Robinson. In preparation for the PGA Championship, Rees Jones redesigned the course in 1996, 1997, and 1998. The course has been listed on Golf Digest's Top 100 Courses list for over twenty years, and is the host of the Sahalee Players Championship, a top amateur tournament in the region.

After the success of the 1998 PGA Championship, Sahalee was selected in 1999 to host the championship again in 2010. However, that decision was reversed by the PGA of America in January 2005, when the 2010 event was abruptly moved to Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which had recently hosted the very profitable 2004 PGA Championship and set new attendance records. The PGA of America stated tha it was concerned about the possibility of reduced financial support in the Pacific Northwest; the 2010 PGA Championship is scheduled to be held less than six months after the conclusion of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/golf/2002829209_blai26.html] [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/golf/2002161870_blai27.html] As of 2008, the PGA of America has yet to commit to return to Sahalee for a future PGA Championship.

In February 2007, the USGA selected Sahalee to host the 2010 U.S. Senior Open, scheduled from Thursday, July 29th, through Sunday, August 1st. [http://www.ussenioropen.com/future/] [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2759180&type=story] [http://www.usga.org/news/2007/february/2007_09.html]

General information

Since Sahalee is a private course, guests can only play with a member; green fees for guests are $85. The pro shop is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The dress code states that denim is not allowed and that a collared shirt required; slacks or non denim shorts are allowed. Metal spiked shoes are not allowed; neither are groups of five. The course is open year-round, and its greens are aerated in May and September. The greens and fairways are both Poa annua grass. Cell phones are not allowed within 100 yards of the clubhouse.

History

The course opened in 1969, following two years of construction at the then-remote site. The first head professional was Paul Runyan, a PGA Tour player who won twice on the tour, including the 1934 PGA Championship. He played for the United States on the Ryder Cup team four times, and won the Senior PGA Championship in 1961 and 1962. The original clubhouse was replaced in 2001 with a new 43,000 square foot structure.

Course information

Sahalee is made up of three sets of nine holes; South, North, and East nines. PGA tournaments have been held on the combination of the South and North nines. The course is like many in the Pacific Northwest, with tall evergreen trees, primarily douglas-fir and red cedar, lining the narrow fairways. The course has many bunkers and several water hazards.

On average, each hole has five or six hazards. The East Course has two ponds that come into play on two of the holes. This is the same for the North Course and South Course. The North Course's fairways are slightly hilly, whereas the South Course and East Course have relatively flat fairways with the occasional hump to create an uneven lie.

The combination of the North and South courses creates a par 72 layout. From the black (back) tees, the course measures convert|6955|yd with a slope rating of 74/138. From the blue tees the course measures convert|6754|yd and has a slope rating of 73.7/135. From the white tees the course measures convert|6331|yd with a slope rating of 71.6/130. From the red tees the course measures convert|5715|yd with a slope rating of 73.6/129. For the 1998 PGA Championship, the course played as a par 70 of convert|6906|yd.

The combination of the South and East courses creates a par 72 layout. From the black tees the course measures convert|6952|yd with a slope rating of 74/138. From the blue tees the course measures convert|6769|yd with a slope rating of 73.7/135. From the white tees the course measures convert|6322|yd with a slope rating of 71.6/130. From the red tees the course measures convert|5725|yd with a slope rating of 73.6/129.

The combination of the North and East courses creates a par 72 layout. From the black tees the course measures convert|6931|yd with a slope rating of 74/138. From the blue tees the course measures 6,769 with a slope rating of 73.7/135. From the white tees the course measures convert|6335|yd with a slope rating of 71.6/129. From the red tees the course measures convert|5750|yd with a slope rating of 73.6/129.

As a par 70, Greg Kraft holds the course record of 65, which is five under par. As a par 71, Robert Allenby holds the course record of 63, eight under par.

External Links

* [http://www.sahalee.com Sahalee.com] - official site
* [http://www.ussenioropen.com/future/ U.S. Senior Open.com] - USGA official site - future venues
* [http://www.usga.org/news/2007/february/2007_09.html USGA.org] - Sahalee awarded 2010 Senior Open - 09-Feb-2007