By Air, Land & Sea

By Sea

Gold Mountain and White Horse are courses located deep in the wooded enclaves of Kitsap County, surrounded by trees, interspersed with trees and defined by trees — but their strong attachment to water is undeniable.

You don’t drive or fly these greens. You catch a ferry to play them.

The 36-hole Gold Mountain complex, housing the award-winning Olympic Course and the old favorite Cascade Course, sits just five miles from the Bremerton ferry terminal and its regularly scheduled rides to Seattle, and just 15 miles from the Southworth ferry and its connections to West Seattle.

One-year-old White Horse, the newest member of the peninsula golfing community, opened just three miles from the Kingston ferry. That’s practically like having a pier built outside the pro shop.

Consider this trip for a full day of unforgettable golf — drive onto a ferry in downtown Seattle as early as 6 a.m., pay $14.45 for yourself and $6.70 for each passenger, ride for an hour through the scenic cuts of Puget Sound, disembark in Bremerton and tee off on one of Gold Mountain’s courses by 8.

Located in Gorst, Gold Mountain is a golf operation that has embraced a revolutionary concept, forcing its customers to maintain a four- to four-and-a-half-hour playing pace, a bold edict more widely praised than panned. Why more golf courses don’t enforce this rule is a big mystery, considering the decrease in rounds everywhere in recent years over time concerns.

Finished by 12:30 p.m. at Gold Mountain at the latest, make the half-hour drive to Indianola and tee off at 1:30 at White Horse. Allowing plenty of time to reach the terminal, board the 6:30 p.m. ferry for Edmonds well after your round is over, pay $14.45 plus passenger fee again and traverse the Sound in a half hour. Trust us, you won’t be the only Puget Sound golfer making the trip.

“We draw 60 percent of our players from across the water,” White Horse director of golf Bruce Christy said.

White Horse, in fact, is so closely situated to the Kingston terminal, the course encourages golfers to leave their cars on the other side in Edmonds, travel by foot on the ferry for $6.70 per person and grab a shuttle van provided on the other end. The course asks that shuttle rides be requested 48 hours in advance and confirmed by phone once riding the ferry. Pick-ups run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and drop-offs go from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“We’ve put about 10,000 miles on our shuttle and we haven’t been open a year yet,” said Christy, the most frequent van driver. “I’ve even received a couple of tips. I’ve probably put the most miles on the shuttle. If you don’t get me, you get an 18-year-old kid.”

White Horse, designed by Cynthia Dye McGarey, niece of nationally known golf architect Pete Dye, might be the toughest of the peninsula golf offerings. There’s not a flat lie on the property, but there are 137 bunkers carved into the landscape and enough variety to keep even the best player guessing.

For those interested in staying over and not rushing for the ferry, or simply desiring a second shot at White Horse, golfers can arrange stay-and-play packages with the nearby Poulsbo Inn. Rates are $113 weekday and $128 weekend per person for a round of golf, one night’s accommodations, dinner certificate at a local restaurant, continental breakfast and golf gift. The Inn also will arrange stays that include rounds at multiple area courses.

The Clearwater Casino in Suquamish at times, but not continuously, has also supplied two-night golf packages in conjunction with its new neighbor.

While close to the ferry terminal, White Horse still has a rustic feel. A 500- to 600-pound black bear recently wandered through the parking lot, leaving eyes wide and jaws dropping. Deer and coyotes are frequently spotted on the course. Four bald eagles frequent the place. Ospreys are encouraged to migrate around the 18th hole, with plans made to fill the lake with fish to keep them there.

The 7,093-yard course provides stunning mountain range views, foremost Mount Baker to the East, and plenty of water to negotiate, in particular a lake on the left side of the 18th, a testy par-4. The course costs $47 to play on weekdays, $63 on weekends. There is even a military rate, $35, for the sailor-heavy population in the area. This 18-holer has built a heady reputation with golfers in the region, acceptance that those who operate it don’t mind strutting.

“The Kitsap Peninsula has so many great courses and I’d put ours on a par or even better than the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain,” Christy said.

Speaking of Gold Mountain, the place only seems to improve with age, especially the John Harbottle-designed Olympic Course. Stretching out to 7,003 yards, the 10-year-old layout lately has gone national, hosting the U.S. Amateur Public Links and men’s NCAA West Regional, and with the U.S. Junior Amateur coming in 2011.

The course is both tough and a temptress. The 18th is a 324-yard par-4 from an elevated tee that begs golfers to go for the green. A pond to the right catches many misguided shots, while deep bunkers shielding the front of the green keep straighter drives from making it onto the putting surface.

Run in a highly efficient manner by Scott Alexander, the long-term director of golf, Gold Mountain stays busier than most. The Olympic Course has three rates: $42 Monday through Thursday, $46 Friday and $60 Saturday. The less-traveled but no slacker Cascade Course plays $10-$22 cheaper per time period. And, once again, the Silverdale Beach Hotel’s stay-and-play packages can bring the rates even lower for golfers looking to extend their peninsula visit to a second day.

The ferry ride has become tradition for golfers headed to Gold Mountain. In fact, there are so many players on the Fauntleroy to Southworth crossings and back — the collared shirts and tan shorts and golf hats are dead giveaways — that signs are posted in stairwells reminding these diehards not to wear their cleats in the passenger seating areas. Swinging clubs inside is not a good idea, either.

By air, land or sea, six of Washington’s highest-pedigree courses sit just across the Sound like undiscovered gems, awaiting your arrival. Taking your pick is a lot like choosing between a 6-iron or 7-iron — both shots are going to reach the green, one’s just a bit more adventurous than the other, though possibly with a greater reward. Do you play it bold, or go conservative?

You know you want to go for it — how you get there is up to you.

Dan Raley’s reporting can be read daily in the sports pages of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. This is his first contribution to Cascade Golfer.