Gold Mountain’s original 18-hole course, the Cascade Course, could undergo significant changes over the next decade.
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BREMERTON – Gold Mountain Golf Club’s original 18 holes could undergo a major renovation in the next decade.
Last week, Bremerton City Council members joined Gold Mountain General Manager Daryl Matheny and Superintendent Abel Anderson for a two-hour tour of the city’s 36-hole complex. Among the topics discussed was an 8- to 10-year improvement plan to transform the 18 holes of the Cascade Course, which opened in 1971. Gold Mountain expanded its course to 36 holes in 1996 with the opening of the Olympic Course.
“We’re just trying to restore it to its original glory,” Anderson said of the Cascade Course.
Toronto-based golf course architect Jeff Mingay has already provided Gold Mountain with a hole-by-hole design report on potential changes and improvements. City council is scheduled to finalize Gold Mountain’s 2025 capital budget in September, and Matheny is requesting $150,000 to kickstart the next phase of Cascade’s redesign, which would include an environmental impact study.
“It’s absolutely our main focus,” Matheny said of the long-term project, which he estimates would cost between $4 million and $5 million if the club opts for a complete overhaul of Cascade’s irrigation system. The goal is to do as much of the work itself as possible and fund the project through user fees.
Before the opening of the Olympic Course, the Cascade Course was known simply as the Gold Mountain Golf Course, and at its peak, over 70,000 rounds were played annually. Designed by Ken Tyson and built at a cost of $328,000, the original 18-hole course was known as a challenge for low-handicap players, but also inviting for less experienced players.
Not surprisingly, the Cascade Course’s luster faded somewhat with the addition of the newer 18 holes. Golf Digest listed the Olympic Course as one of the best new golf courses in the U.S. when it opened, and it continues to be rated as one of the best public golf courses in the state. It has hosted two major United States Golf Association events – the 2006 U.S. Public Links Championship and the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur – as well as numerous Washington State Golf Association and NCAA Conference championship events.
Make no mistake, the Cascade Course hasn’t turned into a cow pasture over the past 53 years. In 2023, golfers played a total of 92,000 rounds on Gold Mountain and nearly half of those were on Cascade, helping the club generate over $7 million in total gross revenue. But Anderson said the Cascade’s aging infrastructure makes maintenance needs more problematic each year.
Cascade’s renovation plan addresses numerous issues, one of which is trees. Anderson said after five decades, “walls” of wood have appeared that block Cascade’s views, affecting both the beauty of the landscape and the ability to play certain holes as originally intended. In addition, Anderson said numerous greens on the course no longer receive the sunlight they need, making them more susceptible to damage during the wetter, colder months.
“Shade is a big problem out here,” Anderson said. “We lost playing time this year, we had makeshift greens.”
Overgrown tree roots have also led to burst water pipes and irrigation problems.
Other renovation plans include reducing the number of sand pits, placing them more strategically and requiring less work overall. When Tyson previewed the Cascade in 1970 to former Kitsap Sun sports editor Bill Schey, he openly admitted that most of the sand pits were created purely for aesthetic reasons.
Cart paths? Certain driving areas will be added and rerouted, but the plan also calls for the elimination of over a mile of asphalt paths (because Cascade’s fairways have a sand subsoil, Anderson says they can handle more cart traffic than typical courses). There will be more natural areas that don’t need to be constantly mowed/fertilized/maintained.
Each hole would be redesigned to some degree, and some changes would be more noticeable than others. For example, Cascade No. 1, which now plays as a par 5, would be a par 4. The par 3 7th hole could have a much larger pond on the edge of the green, which would serve as an expanded irrigation reservoir. Some holes would share expanded tees or have multiple tee areas, allowing for varied play at different distances.
“You may have multiple holes that look completely different from one day to the next,” Matheny said.
Playability, says Anderson, is undoubtedly a key focus of this improvement plan – and not just for top golfers: “We want to make sure that we continue to appeal to all levels of play.”
If this plan crosses the finish line, would the Cascade Course be on par with the much more vaunted Olympic Course?
“That’s the intention,” said Matheny. “And I firmly believe it will be absolutely equal and in some cases even better than Olympic.”
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