Enjoying breakfast at the Oregon Coast Invitational at Astoria Golf & Country Club.
If you haven't been to Astoria Golf & Country Club, and you're in the Pacific Northwest, I can't tell you how ridiculous it is this course doesn't get talked about more. Settled between Warrenton and Gearhart, AGCC is perhaps the best-kept secret on the Oregon coast.
When out-of-state golfers think of destination Northwest courses, they (rightfully) think of Bandon, Chambers, and Gamble Sands. But dear God, people should be making time in their schedule for Astoria.
I got to play it for the first time back in April, a delightful birthday gift to myself as I dropped of product to Jared Lambert, Head PGA Professional. What came next was a surprise. The signature hole, No. 3, is a recreation of the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon. An elevated tee box gives way to sandy hillsides covered in windswept fescue. Down in the valley, tucked between the two crests, is an impossibly well-kept fairway that, once you're in it, feels hidden from the rest of the world.
And yet, No. 3 might not be the most impressive part of the course. To say nothing of the fact that coastal golf in Oregon — while windy and wet for larger parts of the year — also lends itself to near perfect drainage during late fall or early spring rounds. With days of rain before my arrival in April, I expected some mush and standing water, the same I get here in Portland. Instead, I was met with perhaps the best-conditioned fairways since my visit to Suncadia's Rope Rider in 2016. In April. In Oregon. On the coast.
The back nine is perhaps my favorite part of the spread. Seemingly every hole is tucked between similarly large dunes, the fairways a river of grass that appear to have eroded the canyons of seagrass above.
This past week, I got to head back to AGCC for the Oregon Coast Invitational, the largest public tournament in the state of Oregon. Matchstick was honored to do the bag tags as tee prizes (and storage) for the event, with some 440 tags being made and engraved with names and divisions of participants as of writing.
The tournament lasts for more than a week, with unofficial check-in beginning on a Thursday, followed by qualifying, matches, and playoffs happening through the following Saturday. That's without mentioning the dinners, cocktail hours, and fundraising events like the raucous Par 3 charity contest going from No. 10 tee down to a practice green on the edge of the property.
I have to give a big thank you to Jared, Emily Kerr, Rick Saturn, Christina Dalton, and the entire staff both management and pro shop side for having me. I got to stay in Astoria last week for registration, meet the participants, hand out bag tags, and talk to folks about Matchstick. And a special shoutout to Gavin Brown, an incoming freshman to Seaside High School who helped hand out bag tags and was a big fan of Matchstick, recognizing me as soon as I arrived.
But most importantly, if you're ever golfing in Oregon, do not skip this gem. Although it's a private club, it does have public rates and is available for play. You won't be sorry, and I'm already scheming a way to get back on the other side of the Cascades to play what might be my favorite non-Portland course in Oregon.
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