My friend and I took advantage of another Sunday with decent weather and headed to the Oregon Coast. We wanted to check out Gearhart Golf Links, which is located in a small coastal town about an hour and a half from Portland. We met in Beaverton and the drive wasn’t too bad from there – just over an hour.

The North Oregon Coast isn’t really known for golf. In fact, Gearhart Golf Links is the only public 18-hole course within an hour drive. Astoria Golf & Country Club is another 18-hole course north of Gearhart, but it is private. So, there aren’t many choices when it comes to golf in the coastal areas of Northwest Oregon. Thankfully, Gearhart turned out to be an awesome course.

Gearhart has quite a bit of history. The course’s website says it dates back to 1888 and that the course is the oldest course west of the Mississippi River. So, if you are into golf history then Gearhart would be a neat place to visit. Something else that makes the course special is its links characteristics.

Gearhart is unique because there aren’t many trees on the property. In fact, most of the course has an open feel to it, with just a few trees along the perimeter holes. The course continues the links vibe with gnarly, steep faced bunkers and tall-grass dunes. The course didn’t play like a links course with all the recent rain, but it has a very distinctive look – which might be its best quality.

We played the “stones” tees which are 72.7/139/6551. Gearhart is a par-72 with only three par-3’s and three par-5’s. The course has two very different nines that require both offense and defense. The front nine is where you’ll probably want to do most of the scoring. The front nine is 3,127 yards and every par-4 plays under 375 yards. There is a driveable par-4, the 268 yard 3rd, and a number of other shortish par-4’s.

The back nine is much tougher and plays 3,424 yards. The 11th through the 13th is a tough stretch. The 11th is a 262 yard par-3. Yikes. The 12th is a long par-4 and the 13th is a straightaway par-5, with out of bounds to the left. Then, the 18th is a 640 yard par-5 with an intimidating tee shot and an uphill approach. Happily, I rattled in a five footer for par. Whew. I’m not sure there is a signature hole, but I liked the short par-3 15th.

We played on a clam day, but I think the wind could be the biggest challenge when playing here. There are many bunkers that can grab drives and approach shots. I ended up in one fairway bunker and could only advance the ball about 30 yards. The bunkers are a penalty. The greens are small with false edges. There are a number of narrow fairways, especially on the back nine.

We paid $75 to walk – a bit steep considering it is January in Oregon. Overall though, I thought Gearhart was worth the premium price. The course had plenty of firm ground and there was only standing water in a couple fairways and bunkers. The tees and fairways had good turf coverage. The greens were full and rolled well, just at a medium pace. The sand in the bunkers had a good consistency.

Gearhart probably isn’t a course many golfers would give much consideration to playing if visiting Portland. Personally, I think Gearhart is every bit as good as the top Portland public courses (Reserve Vineyards, Pumpkin Ridge, Langdon, Stone Creek, etc.). My only complaints are a little road noise and a couple of those long holes seemed a bit much. I’d highly recommend a round here as long as you don’t mind the drive.

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