TWO THINGS STOOD out during a quick trip to Portland last weekend.
Either Rose City Golf Course’s front nine lacks yardage markers or my playing partners and I just couldn’t find them, and Trail Blazers basketball fans really, really love journeyman center Joel Pryzbilla.
Enough love that the “White Gorilla,” (their nickname for him, not mine) he of the career 4 points per game average, earned a standing ovation when he entered Saturday’s contest between the Blazers and the Timberwolves in the second quarter.
I’ll have more on the golf portion of my trip later in the column but first there is North Olympic Peninsula golf news.
Dungeness 18-holers
Cedars at Dungeness Woman’s Golf Group teed things up for the first time Tuesday in Sequim.
The group plays at 9 a.m. through March, then switches to 8:30 a.m. for play April through September.
A monthly medal round is held on the first Tuesday of each month with different and fun competitions each week.
One Tuesday a month, the group plays Cedars from its gold tees, giving that round a different look.
These ladies present their own women’s invitational — The Days of Whine and Roses — each year.
The event is set for Sept. 17-18.
Ladies of all skill levels and ages are welcome to join the group.
For more information, phone the pro shop at 360-683-6344 or Lilli Gomes at 360-683-7717
Lady Niners tee off
Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course has another ladies golf group, the Dungeness Lady Niners, who normally play on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.
A conflict had them playing Monday this week but they will be back at it on Thursday, March 15.
The group is open to all lady golfers.
For more information, phone Shari Miller at 360-582-0732
Shamrock Scramble
Sequim’s SkyRidge Golf Course will put on its sixth annual Shamrock Scramble on St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday, March 17.
The Irish-themed four-person scramble will begin with a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Cost is $160 per team, $40 per player.
Teams will receive four chances for two KPs, a long putt on No. 18, range balls and an Irish stew lunch.
An optional honey pot is $40 per team.
Carts are $12 a seat.
Payments must be in by Sunday.
SkyRidge’s signature tournament, the Gut Buster, will be held on Saturday, March 24.
The event will include the unveiling of the course’s new tee boxes.
The format is individual medal play, and the entry is $65 per player.
Included in the fee are golf, lunch, range balls, honey pot and KP prizes.
There will be two divisions with gross and net winners in each.
Players in the tournament also will have one free practice round available on Thursday or Friday preceding the tournament.
To get in on the Shamrock Scramble or the Gut Buster, phone SkyRidge at 360-683-3673.
Discovery Bay events
Discovery Bay Golf Club will let players do what many wish they could — namely have the option to play a mulligan on every hole — during its One-Man Scramble on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.
The event is $10 plus greens fees, and players get a level of freedom typically afforded only to those who cheat — the chance to hit it over again.
Discovery Bay is offering its all-day $48 special for two players with a cart through March.
Phone Discovery Bay at 360-385-0704.
Never a bad day at play
Before we left for Portland, I researched courses in the area and came upon Rose City Golf Course, the second-oldest course in the city of Portland, having set up shop in 1923 in the infield of a race track.
The track is gone now and nine more holes were added to make it a full-par 72 18-hole course.
A Portland Parks and Recreation course, Rose City offers low rates, tree-lined fairways with little out-of-bounds and fast greens for a late winter round.
One interesting fact about Rose City is its unique driving range, or lack thereof.
There’s no official range, you can’t pick up a bucket in the pro shop but you can bring your own balls and hit off grass off the side of the fourth hole.
There were some thick cedar trees out there, the kind of tree where it’s nearly impossible to try and bend a shot around.
We played the front nine, a par-35 affair with two par-3s, one with a pond on the left edge.
It’s tucked into a ravine in northeast Portland and the front nine did have a couple of hills but it was still very walkable.
Drainage was solid, the course had a few marshy patches near tees but I didn’t find any while walking through the fairways.
A well-maintained, inexpensive ($15 for nine, $26 for 18) course in a gem of a city.
Give it a whirl if you find yourself in Rip City.
For more information, visit www.rosecitygc.com.
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Golf columnist Michael Carman can be reached at 360-417-3527 or at pdngolf@gmail.com.