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3.9
218 Reviews (218)
5 Stars
43
4 Stars
116
3 Stars
34
2 Stars
18
1 Stars
7
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.8
Layout
4.0
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
4.0
Amenities
2.9
79.2%
Recommend this course
168 out of 218 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.1
29 Reviews (29)
5 Stars
12
4 Stars
10
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.9
Layout
4.0
Pace
3.9
Amenities
2.9
StaffFriendliness
4.5
75.9%
Recommend this course
22 out of 29 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
36 Reviews (36)
5 Stars
12
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
6
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.8
Layout
4.0
Pace
4.0
Amenities
2.9
StaffFriendliness
4.6
80.6%
Recommend this course
29 out of 36 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6902 yards
Slope 134
Rating 73.2

The Classic Golf Club in Spanaway sprawls across rolling hills blanketed with towering Douglas firs. Located just 30 minutes south of Tacoma, it is one of the area's hidden gems, offering not only a beautiful natural setting but also a challenging round. The layout features elevated greens, tree-lined fairways, and ponds and wetlands that come into play on several holes. The greens are the most challenging element of the golf course. Some are small, which is tough enough to maneuver as it is, and most are framed by mounding. Sand bunkers also provide contrast against the smooth and fast-rolling greens. The Classic is a challenging course but still playable for all skill levels.

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The Classic Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1991
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Bill Overdorf

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2016 #17)
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Reviews

3.9
218 Reviews (218)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

The course is in great shape

I try to play the Classic at least 2-3 times a year. It is a bit of a drive, but seems to be worth it every time. I had not played the course since they removed a lot of trees, and I really like what they did. It is still a challenging course, but it is a little easier now. Not as intimidating off the tee-box. The clubhouse is still just a small trailer, but has everything you need. The carts are old and in need of repair. With that said I would recommend this course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Walked

Classic 2016

The Classic has recovered nicely from all of the trees being taken down and is still challenging.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 25+
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Still a challenging course

Played this course once before all the trees where cut. It was challenging then. I bit easier for a high handicapper now, but they should remove more of the stumps and add more grass. I would look much better. Greens in great shape and the pins in tough places.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great course

Course has changed allot since the last time played. They remove 1,600 trees which has opened the course up allot. Green riled fast and true. Definitely a position golf course. Hit it in the wrong place and it plays tough. But enjoy playing there.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

They opened it up!

It'd been a couple years since I'd played here last. The crew has opened up so much space between holes!!

The greens were rolling well and mostly true. Late afternoon round on a hot day=some bumpy spots on the greens.

The classic still provides a challenge from all tees and we absolutely flew around the course at 2pm on a Saturday.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Walked

Fantastic Greens as Usual

Playing greener than normal through the fairways, but can't complain about that. The greens were smooth and fast as usual, but receptive to approach shots played with spin. The course is starting to recover from the removal of all the trees.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 25
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Surprised

Decided to check out Classic after mass removal of trees. Pleasantly surprised that in my opinion it was now better. Greens were great

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
3.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Walked

Visually disappointing

Having played this course twice about 15 years ago, I was looking forward to returning to this gorgeous tree lined course. However, I was sadly disappointed. The photo for this course on this site is how it used to be, but it looks nothing like this now. After playing most of our round, my partner and I realized that the entire course had been logged for timber production leaving only scattered patches of mostly scraggly trees. While the fairways and the challenging greens were in nice shape, off the fairways was either numerous stumps or large piles of wood chips where the stumps had been ground up. To me, the pleasure of spending a beautiful day in a scenic setting was ruined.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good course made more simple

Played the course yesterday and it was in pretty good shape. It has an interesting layout that has been made easier because of the removal of a lo of by of the trees. My friend and I loved the layout and creative cf city needed to play. The course needs much more signage for where by you are going to get to the next hole. We f OK and ourselves wondering where to go quite often. The greens we're in good shape and we had a good day. I would not want to pay the full price for the course and i would not play on the weekend. I think most players would struggle with their speed of play becausr of the layout and dificult turain around the greens. We played quickly until we got to our balls around the greene. Overall, i wOK uld say you should play this course ifyou want to play a course with intetesting holes.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Fair weather
Walked

Still a nice course

Haven't played The Classic in a while but glad to see it is still a nice course. They have taken down a number of trees (but not too many) to open up the course a bit - I think it has been nicely done. Course conditions were excellent - fairway were well groomed, greens rolled nice as I remembered and pins were tucked in some unusually tight places (probably b/c it was US Open w/e) which made for a fun challenge. Pleasantly surprised we walked the course in 3 hrs and a Saturday - probably due to the Open and poor weather forecast (though it never rained and it was a comfortable 65F)

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 32
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Gem of a course, great value

Hadn't played the classic in a few years. The removal of some 1800 trees is a positive for the course, though still very challenging for any golfer. Terrific undulating greens. Course knowledge a positive to help score

Will definitely play more often.

Terrific GN rate

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Slow Going

Very slow pace, took me just about 3 hours to play the front nine. Played 4 holes on the back nine and finally quite after the 14th hole. Too slow. Only saw the ranger once in the front and never saw him again. This was my first visit to the course and was disappointed when I left.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Gone downhill

this course was much better before RMG decided to remove what appears to be 1000 or more trees from the golf course. The picture shown on this site is in no way accurate anymore. This group has ruined Oakbrook as well as McCormick by selling off timber as well.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fantastic conditions

To any of you who have played the Classic in the past, the course has been dramatically altered for the better. They removed over 1000 trees letting in light, helping the greens and fairways become dryer and healthy. This also improved sight lines speeding up pace of play. The only issue I found was the lack of sand in the bunkers. Overall a very fun and demanding course.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap Don't know
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

The Classic in Spanaway...

I played the Classic last Monday May 30th 2016:

The course I played with a new friend and his son whom had known this course for many years. They were surprised and pleased to see the now 'lack-of-trees' living the fairways of days old. It was now a park-like setting. The winds were challenging for us this day, but the day was absolutely beautiful.

There were water hazards that if I hadn't had Dan with me, I would not have known they were there. Thank goodness he WAS with me so that I would be able to avoid them as much as my 'less-than-perfect-drives' would allow me.

The greens were in great shape, very consistent in play. However, those who golfed before us had left their plugs or 'ball-marks' and we spent quite a bit of time fixing them on each green. So with that said, a plea to our fellow Golfers, "PLEASE always fix your divets and plugs or ball-marks on the greens. It makes ALL OF US look better and it keeps the putting and playing surfaces much better for playing.

The cart paths need work. And inbetween fairways there were patches of DEEP GRASS that caused losses of balls that should not have occurred. An example: I hit fat in a par three, the ball landed just over the green, which we could not see past because it sloped down away from the back of the green. When we got up to the green and looked past the green only feet away, the grass was 2 feet tall and think. I could not find my ball. All of us looked. Not cool guys. Please cut this grass down to managable if it's THAT CLOSE to the green or fairway.

It was a fun course. I'll have another go at it some day. I'm off to play North Shore next. Till then...

Have a great day and good Golfing everyone! Remember always: To bring your best gentleman's Golf etiquette WITH YOU to the courses.

Always, L. Nicholas J.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Poor weather
Used cart

Challenging RMG course

RMG is working on improving sunlight to course by removing many trees. It has changed the "look". Still it is tough by most standards with it's undulating FWs and greens. For amount of play it gets it is very well taken of despite current improvement work going on. Greens very good, fast, IMHO! Very good deals with GolfNow on weekends.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Average weather
Walked

Great player's course

This course has a little of everything. A few long par 4's and 5's. Some layup only par 4s (I recommend a long iron off of 3, driving could prove frustrating to get into position). The only thing i wish they had was a little longer par 3 (200ish yards) to test some long iron play.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

This course was ruined by removing most of the trees

This course used to be one of the prettiest in the Pacific Northwest. It has been logged off. It is like playing in a stump farm or slash field. One of the ugliest courses you will ever see. It was previously one of my favorites. I won't ever play it again. I understand that RMG ruined its' other two courses the same way. It is unfortunate that golf course owners are allowed to cut all the trees for $$$.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Walked

Worth the money

Course was in great shape along with the greens.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

I'll be back!

Played this course several years ago and course condiitions were deplorable! They have made drastic improvements since: darinage now great, (course played dry and firm even this early in spring), greens rolled true, boxes are 'under construction' - appeared to have been recently punched and sanded., and trees between fairways have been thinned just enough to allow for a recovery from an errant tee shot. amy hat is off to the course superintendent!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
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