With His Recent Acquisitions Of Desert Canyon And Bear Mountain Ranch — Plus His Two Other 18-Hole Courses — Don Barth Has Pushed All-In On The Future Of Central Washington Golf
By Bob Spiwak
Desert Canyon Golf Resort in Orondo, just north of Wenatchee, opened to great fanfare in 1993.
At the time, the only 18-hole courses north of Wenatchee and a goodly distance south were the Wenatchee Country Club and the nine-to-18 converted Three Lakes course. A second nine at Alta Lake, in Pateros, would open later that year, giving the region another 18-hole track.
Desert Canyon, though, was to be the course that would attract golfers from throughout the state, and put Central Washington on the map as a golf destination. Owned, designed and built by PGA pro Jack Frei (now deceased) it boasted the longest par-5 in the state — a 690-yard monster with a green hung along a canyon rim overlooking the flowing Columbia River.
Everything about Desert Canyon was extravagant, from a gorgeous pro shop with waterfalls in front, to a full-sized restaurant. According to Frei, the greens averaged 10,000 square feet — each. The 18 holes were divided into two nines, “Desert” and “Lakes.” Desert Canyon was rated Best in Washington by one publication and received accolades from many others. It even had its own PGA Tour pro, Rick Fehr, on its resume.
Don Barth, the Central Washington developer who owned Alta Lake and the nine-hole Rock Island Golf Course, worked with Frei on the planning, and says he tried to discourage the expenses involved in the luxuries — but the owner would not budge. These, among other factors, would lead to Frei’s financial demise, and with it, Desert Canyon’s.
A lot, says Barth, was bad timing. Desert Canyon was heavily into real estate, homes and lots that were not selling. Over the next few years, course quality began to deteriorate, and rounds played diminished. General Electric Capital Corporation held the mortgage, and the course reverted to it.
Homestead Golf, of Lynden, was the next owner. They began improving course condition, moved the pro shop to the restaurant building and built a hotel adjacent to the driving range. During Homestead’s tenure, however, the housing and real estate market finally took its fateful collapse, and another default followed.
With the course on the block, Barth was tempted to buy it.
“I really wanted to get in on that,” he says, “But I couldn’t afford it.”
The truth is, Barth had been burned on a Central Washington investment before.
In 2005, Barth partnered with investor Jerry Schofield to build a resort course on the slopes high above Lake Chelan, one that would attract locals and Western Washington residents alike. The two men split their investment 50/50, but it was Barth who headed up the construction of what would become Bear Mountain Ranch, teaming with Robert Yount on the design and overseeing all aspects of the course’s creation.
“My whole family worked on that project,” he says. “It was a part of me, something I love to do.”
After opening, a course rater from the USGA testified that Bear Mountain was the most scenic track he had seen in the lower 48 states. That is not hyperbole — it’s an opinion shared by many.
Bear Mountain Ranch sits 1,600 feet above Lake Chelan, in the foothills of the towering Sawtooth Mountains. The fjord-like lake, deep blue and over 60 miles long, is in view from seven of the front nine holes, punctuating the snow-clad Sawtooths and Central Cascade Mountains. The course moves away from the lake on the back nine, but on the 16th tee, the highest point on the course, the great panorama is in view, and the vista is as spectacular as any in the state.
After two years, however, the partnership between Schofield and Barth went awry — Barth declines to specify why, but after the 2007 season, Schofield exercised a buyout option in the deal and bought out Barth’s ownership share.
Barth had mostly designed and built the course himself, and the parting was hurtful. The experience still haunts him.
“It was like my baby,” he says of Bear Mountain Ranch. “Jerry had the option to buy me out, and when the real estate market went under, he exercised his option. There were no hard feelings, but I hated to part with it.”