You can have your vistas of downtown Seattle from Newcastle’s China Creek, or the breathtaking view from the public walking trail above Chambers Bay — for this writer’s money, there’s no more scenic view in Puget Sound golf than from Tapps Island’s second green on a day the mountain is out. The towering vision of Mount Rainier set behind the calm beauty of Lake Tapps … it doesn’t get more authentically Northwest than that. Wait, did I say “second” green? I should have said, “second and 11th greens.” Tapps Island, located literally on a series of islands lined up like mothballed battleships in the middle of Lake Tapps, is a nine-hole course — but one of the nicest nine-holers you’ll ever play. How many courses — of the nine- or 18-hole variety — can offer you multiple approaches to island greens and fairways, or large, natural water features on nearly every hole? And there’s one thing you can do on a nine-hole course that you definitely can’t on an 18 (at least, not without ticking off the group behind you or forking over additional greens fees) — make up for that double-sandy by playing the same hole twice. Of course, Tapps Island mixes up tee boxes and pin placements between the nines, so no hole is truly the “same,” even if you might find yourself right back in that same bunker again. It’s location certainly makes Tapps Island unique by Northwest standards, while its creative layout and playable distance make for a round that, depending on your skill level and style of play, might be quite challenging or quite easy — but always fun.

BEST HOLE

Having extolled the virtues of No. 2 above, we’ll use this space to recommend the par-3 third. With a tee box isolated on an island and the green beckoning from across the water, you can almost imagine you’re at Pebble. OK, at least Pebble’s nine-hole, Northwest equivalent?

• Yardage 5,342 yards (2,671 per nine)
• Rates $18-$33
• Web tapps-island.org
• Tel 253-862-7011