West Seattle Golf Course is the best municipal course in the Greater Seattle Area. Designed by H. Chandler Egan, known for his work at Pebble Beach and several premier Oregon courses, WSGC is a fun but challenging course that plays longer than it is and features views of the Seattle skyline to the North (particularly from the 15th and 17th tee boxes) as well as Mount Rainier to the South (particularly from the 10th tee box).

Featuring many tight landing zones and heavy tree lines, this course will challenge you to be accurate off the tee while not sacrificing distance. Many greens are challenging, including #1, #8, #10, #14, and #16, so course management is key.

This course is best to play in the morning as rate of play is slow in the afternoon, particularly on weekends. It is also known to stay wetter than many other courses in the area, particularly between the 1st and 9th fairway and between the 7th and 8th fairway. If you play it in the rainy season, be prepared for mud. WSGC also reserves the first 4 tee times of any weekday for twosomes, and guarantees a 3.75 hour pace for those slots.

This is a local favorite course that you should definitely try to play if you’re visiting the city.

Note: the last 5 holes on this course are mirrored Par 4s that are all about course management. There’s a major homefield advantage here as the landing zones are tough to hit and the slanted fairways can be tough to hit off of. Many players do not use their driver on any of these holes because there isn’t a lot of room for error.