After I finished working on Monday I decided on a last minute round of golf at a new-to-me course. As I work my way towards golf course No. 1,000 that means mixing in some nine-hole courses when I don’t have time for an eighteen-hole course. Over the years I’ve started to enjoy the relaxing feel that most short courses offer and Claremont Golf Club was no exception.

From where I was staying in Vancouver it took me a half hour to get to the course. Once I got there things were quite busy because of the after-work golf crowd, me included. I paired up with a father and son and we walked in two hours on what felt like a fall day. It was only 70 degrees and cloudy – chilly compared to the temperatures in Dallas this time of year!

Claremont is on the west side of the Portland city limits and turned out to be a quality little course. The course is located in the middle of a community, with homes bordering most holes. Overall, I thought there was a decent amount of space and the homes only felt in play on a couple holes. Most holes have mature trees lining their edges which reduces the chances of a shot hitting a house.

The course is a shorter par-36 with two par-3’s, five par-4’s and two par-5’s. From the blue tees it is 3,068 yards. All of the par-4’s are in the 300 to 361 yard range which gives you a chance to hit different clubs from the tee. The 300 yard 4th is probably the best chance to drive it up by the green, assuming that you can get the tee shot through a chute of trees that guard the tee box.

What I liked the most about Claremont were all the quality aesthetic touches. Nice landscaping, well-maintained golf bridges, clean fences and other items showed that a lot of care goes into the course. The sun started shining on the short par-3 8th (115 yards) which highlighted how pretty the course is, even with all the homes around it.

I paid $18 to walk which was fair for the conditioning. There were some dry patches from the hot summer, but the tees and fairways allowed for clean contact. The fairways were more full than the tees. The greens had gentle breaks and rolled well, with some speed.

Like most short courses I’ve played there isn’t a big reason to go out of your way to play here. But, if you do golf at Claremont I don’t think you’ll come away disappointed. Out of the nine-hole courses that I’ve played so far within an hour of Portland, I think Claremont is one of the better ones.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):