Sunday was supposed to be another decent winter day in the Portland area, so I booked a round at Stone Creek Golf Club. I played Stone Creek about fifteen years ago and wanted to get back for a couple reasons. And, I’m quite happy with the way the day turned out!
The good weather was a nice bonus. The rain ended early in the morning and things were cloudy when I teed off. Then, the sun started to peak through on the back nine. As you’ll see in my pictures, Stone Creek is a very scenic golf course.
Stone Creek is a Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy design. The course is about forty five minutes from downtown Portland, out towards the edge of Oregon City. I have played a few other Jacobsen/Hardy designs and liked those courses. Stone Creek has been enjoyable both times I’ve played it, although I forgot just how good the course is! Stone Creek is a great design with a nice mix of challenges and decent playability.
I played the blue tees which are 71.7/135/6456. The front nine is fairly open and has some holes with a links look. You can snag a good score on the front as it isn’t very long either. From the blue tees, the par-4 5th – at 409 yards – is the only par-4 over 400 yards. The par-3’s are no more than a mid iron and the par-5’s could be reachable in drier conditions. The 6th, a 149 yard par-3, is my favorite hole on the front. The tee shot plays over water and the green complex is framed by many beautiful trees.
The back nine at Stone Creek has a different look and feel. The back nine is longer and tighter, with a number of difficult holes. It shows off more of the area’s towering Douglas Fir trees. The 12th, 13th, and 17th are tough par-4’s. The 13th is 422 yards and has a blind tee shot. Then, the approach plays significantly uphill over a creek. The 14th is my favorite hole on the back nine. It is a 134 yard par-3 that has a forced carry to the green. The green is tucked into a hillside with a bank to the right that can kick shots onto the green.
When it comes to difficulty, Stone Creek has a little bit of everything. There is some water. There are some tricky green complexes. There are some narrow holes. There are some forced carries. You get the idea. There isn’t one specific design element used to challenge a golfer – and I like that. I’m not one to usually compliment bunkers, but I’ll say that the bunkering here is solid. Still too many for my tastes, but they present well.
Considering it is the middle of winter, Stone Creek was in good shape. I believe the course drains better than most around here in the winter. I paid about $60 to walk and don’t have any complaints. The tees, fairways, and greens were full. The greens rolled well and at a medium pace. The ground was squishy and the bunkers had some standing water – not unexpected this time of year.
In case you couldn’t tell, I think Stone Creek is an awesome course. I’m not sure it is on the same level as say the Reserve Vineyards or Pumpkin Ridge’s Ghost Creek course. But, I think you could easily talk about Stone Creek as a top five public course in the Portland area. The course presents well visually and has a great collection of par-3’s. I’d highly recommend a round here.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):