Shortly after deciding to build a golf course on their property, the Gebbers family assembled an A-team of golf experts, provided them with a wonderful piece of land and turned them loose. The result is a golf experience so closely tied to the ancient moorings of the game that you could drop a 17th Century Scotsman on the first tee and he wouldn’t know the difference until they poured his post-round whiskey over ice.

Located in Washington State, the Sands course at Gamble Sands opened for public play this August on a wonderful piece of property overlooking the Columbia River. The Gebbers have owned and operated one of the largest apple and cherry orchards on the property since the late 1800s, and it appears that after more than a century – and five generations – these wind-swept dunes are still baring fruit.

The Gebbers called on veteran golf guy and Northwest native, Orrin Vincent, founder of OB Sports, for council. Together they set out to find a golf course designer and discovered the perfect match in the Scottish-born David McLay Kidd.

Kidd recalls that Cass Gebbers, the CEO of the family business, “basically said, ‘Here you go. Here’s 600 or 700 acres. What can you do with it?’ Of course, as a golf-course designer my chin dropped.”

After gathering his composure, Kidd set out to create what he would later describe as “Pure, unadulterated golf”. That is: pure unadulterated links golf. You see, many golf courses claim to be links courses, but there are a handful of conditions that must be met before taking on that moniker. Soil conditions, fescue grass and a large body of water nearby are all hallmarks of the truly authentic links golf traditions found in Ireland and Scotland. 

“This is the once-in-a-lifetime site every golf course designer dreams of: rolling sand dunes overlooking a large body of water, a developer willing to build golf just for the love of the game, no homes, no hotel, no other development around. Just golf on sand, golf as it was truly meant to be,” said Kidd.

These comments taken by themselves are strong enough, but when placed in the context of Kidd’s distinguished portfolio, they leap off the page. Let’s start out with the original course at Bandon Dunes. It launched what is widely considered one of the finest golf destinations on the planet. Kidd’s experience at Bandon certainly helped shape his newest creation.

“The mission we gave ourselves was to build a golf course that was just as playable as Bandon Dunes,” said Kidd. “We wanted good golfers to stand on the tee with confidence and see opportunity, all the while ensuring the average player never lost a ball. The fairways are huge, and the views are even bigger.”

In 2003, Kidd was chosen to design the St. Andrews Links Castle Course. “Golf’s been played there for 600 years, and in effect they’ve been building a new championship golf course about once every 100 years, and I got to build the last one.”

Tetherow, another Kidd creation located in Bend, Oregon also gained notoriety among golf’s glitterati. Upon opening, it was ranked #1 as the “Best New Course You Can Play in The Country” by Golf Magazine and has since received awards from publications such as Links, Golfweek, Robb Report and “Best New” distinction from Golf Digest.

Kidd said there are “no excuses” if the new Sands Course at Gamble Sands doesn’t gain the same type of attention. All of the elements for a true links golf course are covered. Plus, there are no homes, trees, highways, or cart paths to clutter the experience. It’s a golf course that looks good on paper and even better in person. 

“The key for us is to get people to the site,” said Vincent. “Once we get people here, I think they are going to come back over and over and tell their friends.”

Granted, you and those friends will need to shell out a couple Shillings to make that happen, but you’ll certainly get your money’s worth. At lease you won’t need to spend much on golf balls.

“I want average golfers and occasional golfers to come out here and never lose a golf ball,” said Kidd. “You may shoot 100 but you’ll do it with the same worn-out ball you started with. I want the good golfer to stand there and see opportunity, to be hopeful, enthusiastic to know he can be aggressive without being penalized.” And the numbers back that up.

The course rating is 74.1 from the tips with a slope rating of 128. For us mere mortals, the white tees come in at 6,370 yards with a rating of 69.7 and slope of 118.

Golf is a global game that can look quite different depending upon where you tee it up. From tree-lined tracks to desert golf, designers have been cutting cups on just about every type of landscape you can imagine. While it’s debatable which is most appealing, there’s no question that links golf was the first. And few courses hold true to this tradition quite like Gamble Sands.

For tee time reservations or for more information, visit www.gamblesands.com.