Rose City Golf Course
About
Rose City Golf Course is the second oldest municipal track in the Portland area. In 1921, A.H. "Jay" Gould played his first round of golf ever at Eastmoreland Golf Course. After returning home, he decided to look for a good place to hit golf balls and came upon The Rose City Speedway. He spoke with C.P. Keyser of the City Park Bureau and obtained permission to burn the tall grass on the infield so that golf balls could be found.
Jay and friend Herbert George used shovels and hoes to carve out a nine-hole course on the speedway infield. Tin cans were used for cups, packing cases for tee-boxes, and iron rods and rags for flags. The Oregonian and Journal Newspapers ran a story on the new golf course and 30 golfers showed up the following Sunday to hit balls around on the burnt grass and dirt. The main hazard was a head-on train collision that occurred earlier in the summer and partially blocked the seventh green.
After a few weeks, the Rose City Golf Association was founded which marked the beginning of the course. Full cooperation from the city and donations from businesses and individuals solidified the construction. George Ott drew up a nine-hole plan and work began in the spring of 1922. Play continued in the spring, but was stopped in the summer due to long grass and no mower. Play started again in the fall, but stopped again due to motorcycle racing. In the winter of 1922-23, the viaduct on the west end of the track washed out and put an end to the races. On Jan. 31, 1923 the first green fee ticket was sold to Jay Gould and in the spring, more than 800 played in one day. The city then took over the course completely.
Today, Rose City Golf Course is an 18-hole, par-72 course with rolling fairways that are lined with a variety of large trees. Water comes into play on holes 10, 11, 14, and 15 and greenside bunkers are well placed.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 72 | 6552 yards | 71.7 | 123 |
| White | 72 | 6164 yards | 69.8 | 119 |
| White (W) | 73 | 6164 yards | 75.3 | 126 |
| Red (W) | 73 | 5589 yards | 71.8 | 118 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament M: 71.0/120 | 367 | 388 | 502 | 341 | 171 | 425 | 364 | 216 | 384 | 3158 | 475 | 465 | 200 | 367 | 329 | 133 | 473 | 414 | 423 | 3279 | 6437 |
| Blue M: 70.9/119 | 367 | 388 | 502 | 341 | 171 | 425 | 364 | 216 | 353 | 3127 | 475 | 465 | 200 | 367 | 329 | 133 | 473 | 414 | 423 | 3279 | 6406 |
| Blue/White M: 69.4/116 | 343 | 362 | 502 | 323 | 171 | 390 | 333 | 216 | 326 | 2966 | 475 | 465 | 200 | 351 | 320 | 133 | 473 | 378 | 405 | 3200 | 6166 |
| White M: 68.6/116 W: 74.5/120 | 343 | 362 | 476 | 323 | 154 | 390 | 333 | 190 | 326 | 2897 | 450 | 446 | 180 | 351 | 320 | 120 | 462 | 378 | 405 | 3112 | 6009 |
| White/Green M: 67.4/112 | 325 | 351 | 476 | 308 | 154 | 369 | 303 | 190 | 280 | 2756 | 450 | 446 | 180 | 298 | 262 | 120 | 462 | 353 | 395 | 2966 | 5722 |
| Green M: 66.5/108 W: 71.4/114 | 325 | 351 | 447 | 308 | 123 | 369 | 303 | 142 | 280 | 2648 | 424 | 432 | 166 | 298 | 262 | 120 | 416 | 353 | 395 | 2866 | 5514 |
| Red M: 62.7/103 W: 66.4/109 | 241 | 262 | 383 | 240 | 123 | 288 | 262 | 142 | 220 | 2161 | 353 | 365 | 142 | 260 | 262 | 77 | 416 | 275 | 294 | 2444 | 4605 |
| Red/Gold W: 70.1/111 | 241 | 262 | 383 | 240 | 123 | 288 | 262 | 142 | 205 | 2146 | 340 | 312 | 142 | 260 | 262 | 77 | 340 | 275 | 294 | 2302 | 4448 |
| Gold M: 62.1/100 W: 65.0/105 | 241 | 262 | 383 | 240 | 123 | 288 | 262 | 142 | 205 | 2146 | 340 | 312 | 142 | 253 | 230 | 77 | 340 | 220 | 294 | 2208 | 4354 |
| Handicap | 7 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 2 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 37 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 11 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
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I usually love this course but today when I purchased my round through GolfNow there was no notice of the back nine being closed and that the course had just been aeration the day prior. I ended up buying 18 rounds but was left with only the front nine, while putting in what played like a bunker.
Rose City Golf Course improves
This course is solid any time of year with minimal plugging, amazing drainage, and overall in great condition. This last round we were impressed by how much the greens have been improved … they are now in AAA condition with only one shady green with a few rough spots. Same with the tee boxes … nice job. Whoever is managing this course should get a raise before some private course finds out his/her gift and poaches her/him (them?). Definitely worth coming back again, and thank you for the care you give this course!
Always Solid…could use some water
Easily can fit a round in about 4 hours.
Despite full, no delay or waiting for shots.
Nice job Marshalls, keeping pace of play.
Not a difficult course overall.
Elevation is the trickery here.
To score well, find the flat spots.
ROSE CITY IS AN AFFORDABLE, FUN OPTION!
We played Rose City today and the course was in very decent condition. The greens were a little on the slower side but rolled well and were healthy. The course appeared to be nicely maintained for the most part and the people working in the pro shop were welcoming and pleasant. Pace of play was excellent.
If you are looking for an affordable, challenging option in the Portland/Metro area give Rose City a try!
Good Muni course
First time playing the course. Was in pretty good condition, as long as you stay close to the fairway. Very dry and hard outside the fairway area. Green is good shape, smooth. I would play here again.
Not very good this time!
Cups were left over from the weekend and were so bad they were at least a 1/2" smaller than normal. The bunkers hadn't been raked and included a lot of footprints and deep animal prints. I normally recommend this course, but I can't under these conditions.
Course in great shape
This best I seen course ever, thanks you ground crew for a awesome job.
Rose City Doesn't Disappoint
The course is in good shape and the greens are improving. It's alway been a challenging course from a lenght standpoint for me as an older golfer playing from the white tees. Not ready to give in to the senior tees yet.
My tee time was 7:30am and I arrived at the tee box at 7:00 thinking I could get out early. The starter kindly told me that because of a noise ordinance there are no teeing off after 6:50 until 7:30. Good to know.