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 | 325 | 476 | 308 | 154 | 369 | 303 | 190 | 280 | 2730 | 450 | 446 | 180 | 298 | 262 | 120 | 462 | 353 | 395 | 2966 | 5696 |
| Green M: 66.5/108 W: 71.4/114 | 325 | 351 | 447 | 308 | 123 | 369 | 303 | 142 | 280 | 2648 | 424 | 432 | 166 | 298 | 262 | 77 | 416 | 353 | 395 | 2823 | 5471 |
| 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: 66.0/108 | 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 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
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Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, SnacksAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet FacilitiesReviews
Reviewer Photos
Portland Gem
Great place for all levels. Fairways hold well in the winter, and greens run true.
Rose City
It has been a few years since we golfed Rose City. Real nice to play here again. Going to play again in a couple of weeks. Excellent condition and lots of fun!
Winter golfing
You get what you get when one attempts to push the golf season up a few months. The course was in good shape but wet. No run on the ball, no lost balls and the greens were rolling pretty good. Nice as could be expected this time of year.
winter golf
The course was very muddy, but it was January 28th!
Almost no one there, a plus.
Classic old Portland course, tree lined, uphill, downhill, a good time for a Sunday in winter!
was very windy day but the course was pretty good condition..
better than expected condition for fairway and green.
wants to play again soon
Rose city
The guy in the clubhouse are great.They will work it you.cheat and a challenge course.
Ridiculous
Booked a twosome via Golfnow hot deals arrived earlier no one on course due to weather being 40 degrees and 35 mph gusts, we were told to wait for our exact teetime 45 minutes away to pair up with another twosome. When the time came it appeared another foursome were right next to us! So 8 of us were standing at the tee box asking what their teetime were, it was nuts we never experienced anything like it! Needless to say it felt crowded and pressured the whole 18 holes with cart riders versus walkers! We’re punished for being frugal by the pro shop jerk we won’t be back!
was rather quite day at the course and we had good time in playing.
most green conditions were good but
4 or 5 greens had fungus at the edges
cleaner course than many other courses in town
Course in good shape
After all the rain we have had lately, the course was in good condition and played well. Always enjoy a round at Rose City Golf course, plays decent in inclement weather.
due to the rain, wind, wet, cold...
only very few golfers were out..
we had much fun and considering much rain we had,
not so wet course condition
thanks
Golf. That word alone brings excitement for me. I really enjoy playing golf. What allows me to enjoy golf? Well there are a couple of key factors that go into my reviews. They are:
The course
The course upkeep
The atmosphere
The employees
I try to give a neutral response that correlates to those topics. Traveling around and playing different courses is a passion of mine!
Rose city golf course is a well manicured golf course and has some very strong history behind it. I had heard a lot about it before I played there and was truly excited to play a round of golf. For a public golf course the upkeep and level of commitment by employees to make a beautiful course was very impressive. The course played very true and was a forgiving course. With that being said it was not a super challenging course. There was not many hazards in play and the fairways were very forgiving. If you are looking for a easy going course this is it. The players and employees were very friendly and completed the experience. 4 star vote due to the lack of really exciting holes "Fun Holes".
Mature course.
I always enjoy playing Rose City Golf Course. It has the mature course feel and is always in very good condition. For a municipal course, this is one of the best in the area.
Going downhill
Have been playing this course occasionally when we're back in PDX for 15 yrs. Have never seen the course in such shabby conditions, fuzzy , rough greens. Chewed -up fairways. Throw a 5hr pace of play, ( no marshal's) and this was the last time we play Rose City. A pity, it was once a joy.
rainy and windy day... enjoyed though...
good course for the price paid.