Thursday afternoon turned out to be a huge treat! A friend of a friend was nice enough to host us at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Out of all the golf courses within an hour of Portland, Columbia Edgewater is one of the places I’ve been wanting to play the most. And, I’m happy to report that the round here exceeded my high expectations!
Columbia Edgewater is probably one of the most highly regarded clubs in Oregon. The course gets some publicity thanks to its association with the LPGA Portland Classic over the last few decades. For many years the course has hosted the tournament, although after a string of eight years here – from 2013 to 2020 – the LPGA Portland Classic is moving to Oregon Golf Club in September.
Arthur Vernon Macan designed the course, which dates back to the 1920’s. This is the first time I’ve heard of Macan and it looks like most of his designs are private courses in the Pacific Northwest. I think Bob Cupp, John Fought and Dan Hixson, all well-known designers in this area, were involved with modifications to Columbia Edgewater over the years. But, I’m not a golf historian so I’m sure I’ve left out some important details about the design.
As the name may lead you to believe, Columbia Edgewater is close to the Columbia River, not far from the Portland airport. The course sits on mostly flat land and turned out to be a relaxing walk. There are many old-school features like tees being close to greens and large mature trees, so there is plenty of character here. The green complexes are really good, with a mix of subtle breaks, big swinging putts and different tiers/shapes.
We played the black/blue combo tees which are 72.5/133/6615. The course is a par-71 and two of the three par-5’s are early in the round. The 1st is a reachable par-5 with water lurking to the right and then the 3rd is 594 yards, the longest hole on the course. The final par-5 is the 14th, with more water in play. While water is a challenge on about a third of the holes, I thought the toughest thing was the tree-lined layout. The course has a parkland vibe and if you get offline then pitching back to the fairway may be the only option. Thankfully, there is a good amount of space and the playability is good.
When it comes to favorite holes, the par-3’s were my favorites. On the front nine, the 157 yard 4th is one of the water holes and also has three bunkers surrounding the green. The green curls around the bunker on the left so getting the line and distance just right is the only way to end up with a makeable birdie putt.
The 17th is 141 yards and has the potential for any score between birdie to double bogey. The green cuts out into water, allowing for a safer shot to the left or a more aggressive line to the right. The day we played the pin was cut on the right side which brings the downsloping bank into play.
As you’d expect at one of the top courses in the Northwest, the conditions at Columbia Edgewater were great. Everything was flawless, especially after the blazing hot summer so far this year. The fairways had some bounce to them and released more than I expected. The greens were receptive and pure.
I think I’ve played close to twenty regulation courses within an hour of Portland and Columbia Edgewater is at the top of my list. My opinion, at least as a visitor to Portland, is that the walkable, playable nature of the course gets combined well with the wooded look of the region. If you get a chance to play here, make sure you take it.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):