There are people who would rather be fishing than playing golf… I don’t understand it, but there it is.
At Oki Golf’s Trophy Lake Golf and Casting in Port Orchard, Wash., you can choose one or the other, or both. It’s a fun, tough golf course … can’t vouch for the fishing, but you can fly fish for an hourly rate, right on-site, and they’ll even teach you how.
It’s not so unusual for a golf course company to offer diverse experiences in a variety of locales. What strikes me as different about Oki Golf in Washington state is its more-than-usual attention to the golfer as customer … and return customer.
“We hire for friendly,” said Kevin Myers, general manager at The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie, whose Links and Woodland courses near Olympia are two of the 11 golf courses on nine different Oki properties.
On the high end, Newcastle’s China Creek and Coal Creek courses offer fab views of Seattle, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, and Lake Washington. Robert Cupp designed ‘em, Fred Couples put his name on ‘em as consultant, and the result is one of the top public golf layouts in the Puget Sound area.
Washington National in Auburn, Wash., is the home course of the Washington Huskies’ national-elite golf teams.
No Oki course is inexpensive, compared to the run-of-the-marketplace, but there are ways to pare down the cost.
Golfers around Puget Sound are mostly aware of the Oki Players Card, which for less than $350 offers six free rounds and everyday discounts at the Oki courses. The card includes the chance to play Olympia’s Indian Summer Country Club and the Plateau Club in Sammamish, the only private courses in the Oki group.
Fewer know of the deals to be had at the individual courses.
Just for instance: For $49, golfers at Hawks Prairie can acquire the annual Club Pass, which means a Monday-through-Thursday round will cost $17, and a weekend round will never be more than $30. That’s a steal – the best deal in the Oki system.
“We like to say, ‘Exceptional experience, unparalleled value,’“ Myers says.
The Oki Website is an example of the versatility of the company. There, in one place, a golfer can search available tee times at all the Oki courses, book a time online, and invite and sign up his playing buddies. There’s a lot more going on at the site – it’s worth a visit.
Myers, an Oki professional for 10 years, sees signs of the golf industry emerging from its funk. It will never return to the boom level of the mid- to late-‘90s, he says, but he remains optimistic.
“We’re hanging tough,” Myers says. “We notice trends, and we’re able to flex as a company.”
Oki is actively involved in Golf 2.0, the ongoing initiative to grow the game of golf, including the “tee it forward” movement and Get Golf Ready, which tries to make the whole golf experience more welcoming for new players.
If you have a bad experience at one of his golf courses, Myers wants to know about it. And, if he can, he’ll follow up to make it right.
If the complaint was a guy couldn’t go fishin’ at Hawks Prairie, well, Myers won’t sell you any tied flies, but he will make sure you know how to find your way to Trophy Lake.
“That’s one of our underappreciated qualities,” Myers said. “We do listen to our guests.”
ralph fiennes says
Oki Golf. Great deal. Wish we them in Wales, mate.