The Club

Established in 1900, the Seattle Golf Club offers members and their guests a welcome respite from outside distractions with a golf course Arnold Palmer described as "one of the most outstanding golf courses in the Northwest, if not the nation," and an historic clubhouse that overlooks Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

The Golf Course

In 2022, Seattle Golf Club introduced a newly renovated golf course, complete with 18 new green complexes, several new fairway bunkers and multiple new tee locations. Designed by Thad Layton, Senior Golf Architect & Vice President of Arnold Palmer Design Company, the course updates offer more variety and decision options from tee to green, providing a respectful update of the last redesign, which was done in 1996 by Arnold Palmer himself. The challenging, beautiful, and quiet golf course is surrounded by hundred-year-old Douglas firs and immaculately maintained by expert green keepers, inviting the technical and thoughtful golfer to not only admire the course's spectacular beauty, but to also test his or her skills against the narrow fairways and speedy greens. In addition to a driving range, chipping green, and putting green, the golf course offers five sets of tee boxes that range in course rating from 73.7 to 65.2, providing a full scope of challenge for every skill level player.

Seattle Golf Club Scorecard

The Clubhouse

Built in 1908 by Cutter & Malmgren (the architects of the Rainier Club and the Stimson Green Mansion on First Hill), the clubhouse retains its original objective of creating a vacation-style lodge by providing spacious banquet facilities and decks with magnificent views. Our member areas feature locker rooms, common areas for entertaining and meetings, and formal dining. Dress codes are strictly enforced at all times (denim is prohibited).

History

The Seattle Golf Club has always strived to maintain and encourage amateur golf in the Pacific Northwest; an objective that is preserved today. An important steward of this objective is the Head Golf Professional, of which the Seattle Golf Club has had an incredible total of just four throughout its history.

Seattle Golf Club Head Golf Professionals:
Robert Johnstone (1905-1937)
Bill Zongker (1937-1974)
Pat Caso (1974-1994)
Doug Doxsie (1994-present)

This remarkable consistency in the Golf Shop fosters the preservation and continues to facilitate the rich history and traditions of the Club.

Seattle Golf Club has an extensive history of hosting prestigious golf competitions. The club has hosted the 1927 Western Amateur, 1952 USGA Amateur Championship, 1961 Walker Cup, 1981 USGA Senior Amateur, the Pacific Coast Amateur in 1967, 1987, 1999 and 2016, and the NCAA Men’s PAC-10 Championship in 2009.

The 1961 Walker Cup at Seattle Golf Club was the first time the historical event was held west of Minneapolis. A star-studded ten player team represented the United States, including Deane Beman, a winner of the British Amateur, Charley Coe, Don Cherry and a 21-year-old Jack Nicklaus, who would soon turn professional. The US captain was Jack Westland, who is forever associated with Seattle Golf Club through his win of the 1952 US Amateur here. The United States dominated the competition, winning 11 points to 1 point over the Great Britain team. To read more about the Walker Cup, please click here: Walker Cup History

Bill Zongker shows a new driver to members at Seattle Golf Club.

1961 United States Walker Cup team.

Tradition

In 1959, H.A. Flaeger, a member of the Seattle Golf Club and historian wrote, "Seattle Golf Club...has carried on the grand traditions of its founders, through two World Wars, through depressions, panics, gasoline rationing, special assessments and prohibition. During all their years the club has been unique in having maintained a spirit of warmth and intimacy throughout the membership that the writer feels certain is unequaled in any social club. Officers, committees and members all have given most generously of their time and abilities in order that Seattle Golf Club shall maintain its lofty position. May that tradition, spirit and lofty position continue forever."

Seattle Golf Club caddies, 1922.

One of the many signature traditions of Seattle Golf Club is its devotion to supporting caddies. The Club has remained committed to developing and fostering the education of golf's young enthusiasts. In 1959, the Club initiated the Alex Rose Memorial Caddie Scholarship Fund, which later merged with the best-known caddie scholarship fund, the Evans Scholar program. Currently, there are more than eleven thousand graduates and over one thousand Evans Scholars currently in school, making it the largest privately funded college scholarship program in the nation. Over the years, Seattle Golf Club has seen nearly 60 caddies awarded Evans scholarships.

To learn more about the Western Golf Association and the Evans Scholars Foundation, please click here: Evans Scholars Foundation

A 2000 book commemorating the club's 100th anniversary opens with the following note from then club president Bruce Nordstrom. "'Respect for tradition.' This phrase characterizes the pervading spirit of Seattle Golf Club. Today's membership is the fortunate heir to the countless experiences of those who have gone before us. There is such a rich heritage that we may cherish and look up to that I regard it as an immeasurable asset."

Reading the minutes of the board of trustees meetings, both past and present, reveals a continuity of purpose and a sense of care and humanity. Now, even as the Seattle Golf Club approaches its 125th anniversary, it is not difficult to imagine the founding fathers strolling into today's clubhouse and blending seamlessly with our current members. This living tribute exemplifies the founding members' unwavering vision for the legacy of Seattle Golf Club.