Description: I am not a good golfer, but I love to golf. A golf widow friend of mine once said, "I can't understand why my husband wants to spend his whole day chasing a little white ball around!" I can understand why I like it so much...what a great excuse to walk for hours! My current favorite course of mine is Wayne golf course in Bothell. This course straddles the Sammamish River in Bothell. It's somewhat wide open with trees and hills. Many of the trees are brown and dead-looking, for some reason. It seems to be the only place around the Puget Sound where I see a bunch of dead trees. In spite of that, the scenery is still nice because of the surrounding hills and the river. Of course, everything around here is just plain beautiful! The front nine is the only part I bother playing. I find the back nine to be annoying, with many tee-offs from a mat. The one time I played the back nine, I got a headache. Playing the front nine only is the perfect way to fit in some extra golf time in my busy schedule. I have followed the advice of others and stayed away on wet days, which I heard can be quite muddy. Playing at Wayne on a sunny and dry day is heaven.
Nice features: The course, overall, provides for pleasant walk. My favorite hole is the 5th hole. This is the one that requires teeing off with the goal of getting it across the river. If you get it across the river, then you end up in a good mood for the rest of the day (that is, if you're an amateur golfer and find this challenging). If you don't get it across the river, then you whisper a thanks that nobody in their kayak or canoe was in the water to get hit, let alone some duck floating by. After you walk across the bridge across the river, this hole just keeps going up and up and up. Up some hills, that is. I enjoy the exercise getting up these hills and having a change of terrain. Once I'm up there, I almost feel like I'm going on a day hike, rather than golfing. I like this course in particular because it's just a couple minutes away from my home, and it's cheap. I can also play a lousy game here and not have to feel embarrassed about it.
Location & Parking:
This is easy to find at 16721 96th Ave NE, Bothell, WA 98011
Call for reservations and to find out about their special deals at 425-486-4714
Map of Wayne Golf course by MapQuest
Walking Route: Pick up a map at the office and follow the course. The course starts out with back-and-forth, fairly flat fairways. Then it goes across the river on the 5th hole. After that, the holes are somewhat back and forth up in the hills. The 9th hole comes back across over the river...not quite as challenging as the 5th (9th is some downhill and flat ground), but a relaxing hole to finish your game if you're going to stop after the front nine.
