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Rose City Golf Course
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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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Reviews
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Solid Track
Rose City is a solid track, with some good doglegs to deal with, the staff is friendly and the course was in pretty good condition when we played. They have two temporary greens set up on the back 9 as they are doing work, the one on the par 3 15th was fine, the one on 18 was atrocious to use. They compensate by making the hole the size of a basketball. It's that time of year though, so you can't really complain about that.
My biggest complaint with the course is that they don't have a driving range so I always feel like it takes me a while to get going.
The pace was phenomenal today and we got done in under four hours.
Definitely a Muni Course
This course is probably my least favorite course in Portland. The facilities are lackluster, and the layout is not exciting in the slightest. My recent outing included us being rushed out off the tees even though the group in front of us was still in the middle of the fairway and we were held up for the whole round. Add shirtless man in the group in front of us, and a group of five holding up the round as well. Only play here when there are no other options available.
Another great Portland Muni
Great to play Rose City again. Course was in great shape but the greens had been recently sanded and plugged so they were slow and the ball hopped around a lot. Another week or two and it'll be fine.
Greens Maintenance is Needed
Overall - the course layout is OK, Staff is fine.
Needs Improvement - the fairways appeared to not have been mowed in several days, the greens were sand - although having the greens sanded is understandable - BUT - their was an excessive amount of sand on many, and the sand was not evenly spread. On many greens - several areas had sand like it was a bunker! Need to re-think - re-train how the sand is distributed on the greens
needs maintenance BAD
The next time they aerated the greens they need to learn how to either Rick or sweep some of the sand. I have never before had to play on the greens with my sandwich in place of my putter. Horrific
The Rose of Rose City
It's been several years since I played this beautiful muni course. There's a wide variety of holes, all surrounded by huge old pine and fir trees. This course can at times be too wet, like almost all Portland courses, but it was firm, fast and rolling today. The greens were in excellent shape, and slightly slow. Pace of play allowed our foursome to finish in 3 hrs and 40 minutes.
Fun Day
Enjoyed the course very much. Played with two gentlemen who made the day that much more enjoyable. Overall course was decent, pace of play just right. Will play again. A very enjoyable round.
Late August golf
Water is the key to life and a beautiful golf course. The fairways are in great condition and so are the greens. After recently playing at Pumpkin Ridge, Rose city looked great for the money!
Old Time Pdx Course
I've played this course for over 50 years. They keep it in great shape. We paid in advance online. One of our members had to rush his father to the ER that morning & could not join us. The staff was incredible gracious and gave us a "rain check" for our friend who could not join us. Thank you very much for the gentleman behind the desk for his understanding. Great customer service. Thank You Sir ! I highly recommend this course.
It's well maintained & a great piece of history of Portland.
Thank You !
Surprising Gem
Loved the layout, greens were in fantastic shape, pace of play was good. Challenging and I like that holes had a different personality to them. Would definitely play here again.
Excellent Value
Excellent value. Great for the average golfer. Good walking course. Greens are in top shape. No complaints.
Pleasantly surprised
A friend invited me out to play the front 9, and I really enjoyed it. Beautiful course, and really well laid out! I’m eager to get back to this course and play the back 9.
Tetherow Golf Experience Package
Pronghorn Golf Experience Package
