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 |
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Reviewer Photos
This course is great year round.
Love the course. Desperately need new golf carts. Tryed four before found one exceptible. Staff is friendly. Greens are in great shape.
This is a classic Portland track. Dense, tree-lined holes require accurate tee shots. Its in decent shape for a muni track, but play is slow.
This is a classic Portland track. Dense, tree-lined holes require accurate tee shots. Its in decent shape for a muni track, but play is slow, much like all the other public PDX courses.
Great pace of play
The course maintained a steady pace. The greens are in great shape. They demanded some respect and didn't let up.
Everything was great that day except for...
Had a great round at RCGC at a great rate with my Dad out there.
We're in the shoulder season here in the PNW so the deciduous trees were making finding your errant balls very difficult. I understand that ground crews do their leaf blowing duties on a regular basis, but well maintained courses will do this more often to prevent ball-finding problems - even in some fairways.
The motored golf carts that they have are very sub par. Some just don't work and most are in a need of a overhaul to make them more enjoyable. They are of the type that you need to step on the accelerator to start the engine, but the engines are usually cold and go "ping ping ping" for minutes before the engines "kick in" when starting your round. They are also quite slower than the average.
Otherwise, the course played well. The greens were true and mostly in good shape. A little muddy in spots like most courses. They were doing some maintenance to re-fill the water hazard on holes 10-11 but there wasn't any problems with that.
Scored my first ever double-eagle on 11, so I can't complain. "Flag-sticked" it in from ~210 yards out on my second shot! What a surprise! I was happy. =)
Nice Old-School Course
Tried and true, always the same, always good. Easy walk...go early though because the back 9 has several holes facing the sunset making it hard to see the ball...that is, if it is sunny when you go - otherwise, its great. Fun place to play with lots of variety and very easy walk.
Great old course with some challenges
Rose City is an older course with tree lined fairways; very mature trees. This is probably the key challenge and as such, you better hit a straight ball! The greens are in great shape and I've never waited more than a few minutes on each tee box.
One fun fact: The squirrels will practically eat out of your hand. They seem to like granola bars.
This course has great feature.
I played rose city sevaral times. I reserved tee time through the golfnow.com. Golf course is very great. Golf fee is very cheap. However, Green has a little challenge. I am very satisfied. I will suggest my friends this golf course.
Interesting challenges
I haven't golfed all 18 holes at Rose City in a few years and I'm reminded of the interesting challenges this course sets up. Side slopes on some fairways and a few other arrangements tend to feed balls toward undesirable approaches. But that's golf, right. I feel like the challenges offered are fair and can be fun to play. I want to go back and show that course who is boss.
Challenging but fun
Great place to pay in the city. Requires straight shots off the tee box but fairway layout is forgiving.
The greens need work. Too many fungus issues cause poor putting green conditions. Till a great pace to play tho.
Lots of twists
You downhill tee shots, dog leg left and right. Up to green, down to green. Some tight fairways.
The greens were smooth and fast the day I was there. Not always the case - anywhere.
Greens were in good shape, some bad spots in fareways, most tee boxes need help
There were some spots in the fareways with no grass. The red tee boxes had weeds and dirt and not much grass for the most part. Greens seemed to be in good shape and challenging enough.
Course is in great shape, but pace was slow.
Good trip back to Rose City after not playing it for many years. Fairways and greens were well-watered. Early on the pace was good, but we caught up with some kind of tournament on the back side and that bogged us down. Generally a good time with golfing buddies and great deal from GolfNow.
Currently in great shape
Like this course. Elevation and trees give good variety.
Overall the course is in good condition.
Challenging holes and a few difficult pin placements yesterday. Tee boxes were in good condition and most fairways were green with only a few dry spots to be found. The water that comes into play on 10 and 11 is no longer a factor, it's a dry bed now. The two sand traps one in front of the other on the Par 3 12th hole seem to be excessive, I found the one closest to the green and the sand was just right as opposed to the other trap that looked more like dirt and more of a hard pan. The greens were neither slow nor fast and were pretty free of debris from the trees. Overall the course is fair and the price was great. Play was a little slow on the front 9 but the pace got better on the back side. I just wished I would have scored better, my drives were good but the rest of my game was below average.
Nice Course
This course has been improving for the last 10 years. The very first time I played Rose City, it was a terrible course. Now, this course is great and am looking forward to playing it again very soon. Worth the green fees especially if you like to walk. Only a couple of steep hills on the fairways.
Nice course, fair value...
Not the best around for the price, but a fairly challenging course with well maintained fairways and greens.
Good Shape-Good Value
While not always the case, this spring, PDX city folks have stepped up their game and made rose city a great venue this spring. Green speeds have been increased, course plays dry and firm, ball marks are getting repaired, and tee-boxes are serviceable. I'd play here, even at full price.
very nice fairways and Greens
I hadn't played this course in 20 years..Course has made significant improvements in that time I was impressed.. Course was maintained superbly.. I would play it again for sure
Course condition is good
Good course condition and many people is the reason for slow play
Another good day at Rose City
A great Monday late morning round. Where other courses would have been packed to the gills, my playing partner and I never had to wait to make anyone wait to take a shot. Course was in really good condition with almost no spongy wet spots, even after a week of rain.
One particular greens keeper on the front 9 was awesome. He would turn down his mower for our shots, and would watch our ball flight in case it went out. This guy kept me from pulling another ball on a couple occasions when i was sure my first shot was lost forever.
My only complaint is all the white flowers clustered between the fairways. I always seem to lose my ball in these clusters and wish they would take care of the bigger patches between the 3rd and 6th and 6th and 7th.