OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE
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FALL 2016
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obsports.com
I
n many communities, a golf course
is built to serve as its hub, and is
designed to complement the
houses that surround it. But in the
case of Mill Creek Country Club, a pri-
vate, member-owned facility located
20 miles of north of Seattle, the course
came long before the community.
Opened in 1975, nine years before the
city of Mill Creek was even incorpo-
rated, it's proven to be the kind of
country club where members display
an exceptional level of engagement.
"Our membership is very involved
with the club and pour their hearts and
souls into making it a success," said
Cory Carper, Mill Creek's PGA General
Manager and Director of Golf. "Mill
Creek is the center of the community so
you really get that family-friendly at-
mosphere by being a member here."
The membership is also dedicated to
a speedy pace of play, and prides itself
on ensuring that golfers can get a full
round in under four hours.
They also get the luxury of playing
one of the most serene courses in the
state, a Ted Robinson Sr. layout that
ranked among the top 10 tracks in
Western Washington in 2014 and 2015.
Part of that serenity comes from the
scores of fully mature cedar trees that
blanket the property's landscape.
"Each hole is like its own course,"
Carper said. "You really don't see any
other holes while you are playing. Play-
ing out here really feels like you're in a
park because it is so quiet and our trees
frame each hole."
Those trees also can make the course
appear more difficult than it is, espe-
cially for first-time players.
"We can be visually intimidating
the first time you play, as trees make
the fairways seem narrow," Carper
said. "But as you play here more, you
realize that the landing areas are larger
SERENE SURROUNDINGS
n MILL CREEK PROVIDES A PEACEFUL PLACE TO PLAY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BY joel BeerS
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l
INSIDE THE GATES
< Northwest cedar trees frame the
fairways and greens at Mill Creek.
