Kayak Point Golf Course

Best layout around! If you want to play a fun, challenging golf course, this is it.
Sure, it may not be in perfect condition year round, but it is very playable and better than courses around it.
Fully tree lined, loads of elevation changes, fun greens, great staff. Pace can get slow in the peak hours during the busy season, but again, that happens everywhere.

Kayak is in the worst shape of any course in the area. It is a total rip off to charge normal prices for this course. The fairways are dried up and cracked. In many areas they are just dirt.

Kayak point has a layout to be applauded if your a golfer, with no houses and only a few parallel fairways it truly is a unique place. Having played the course a number of times and thru all seasons, I must say this summer has been particularly brutal to all golf course in the area. The course FIRM and FAST… So leave the driver in the bag! Hit iron and woods off the tees and be rewarded with a short shots into BEAUTIFUL and receptive greens that roll very well.
The staff as I have come to expect, friendly, welcoming and appreciative of me as a guest.
Having talked to them at length about this summer in particular, I’m confident they are doing their best based in the worst drought in the state in the last 30 years!!!
Landing areas, tees, and the greens 50 yards and in are the priority with water being so scarce.
The restaraunt is beginning to offer breakfast on weekends to my understanding which is very exciting for people like me who like to play EARLY!

Upfront: I have played Kayak many times in the past, I am not great, 12’ish HC, and am genuinely disappointed, so much so that I feel obligated to give some feedback.
Let’s start from the begining:
Cost — $ 65
Signing in — the young lady was very nice
Tee Time — 7:15 on Saturday 7÷11÷15
Experience — Where to start… certianly not breakfast because the restaurant didn’t open until 8:00 after our Tee Time… so moving on; there was no starter, there was no one calling times or making sure the right people were going at the right time, not a big deal but for $ 65 bucks my expectation certainly wasn’t met. The Tee Boxes in general were trashed, with the exception of #1, most were «domed» anything but flat and certainly torn up from a lack of upkeep. The fairways were hard packed and burnt to a crisp, I do realize that we’re experiencing extremely hot temps and some sunny days, but this was like there hadn’t been water put on the fairways since the last rain! (of course the driving was great, 50 yds roll off!!!) The Greens were watered nicely, almost too nicely given the swampy conditions /​mushy ground (one extreme to the next), but what was most obnoxious were the speeds, it seemed as though they were all cut on different days, very big difference in speed across all 18. The turn was made unpleasant by the lady handling the restaurant, we had breakfast sandwhiches that she nuked (no they weren’t nicely cooked or fresh :(…) and she was irritated that we even came in there it seemed. Nice customer service!
Overall the experience sucked! I live 20 minutes from Kayak and will be driving elsewhere from now on… for $ 65 bucks, I do expect a nice course and certainly some resemblence of a professionally managed course with at least a starter, course marshall (there were two guys riding around, one early eating a breakfast sandwhich never said a word… the other speed by without so much as a peep; I always thought Marshall’s were engaging and friendly) and a properly cared for course.
Beware!
Steve

Some of the worst greens I have ever played on in my life. The redone tee boxes were in terrible shape and many of them are still uneven. Playing in the winter I don’t expect the greatest conditions but I also believe you should get what you pay for. $ 60 for a round on that course is ridiculous!!! If the round was $ 20 no problem but $ 60 come on kayak. I played a round at white horse ($ 30 with cart) in the pouring rain the week before and the greens there were a thousand times better.

I heard on the radio that this course supposedly rebuilt a bunch of their tee boxes. Well I just wonder which ones cuz all of the men’s boxes where in horrible shape. Haven’t played Kayak in about 5 years. I guess I now remember why. It’s hard to tell if you are in the fairways or rough. Seems they don’t mow the fairways at all. Basically this course is still in crappy condition and is not worth playing, certainly not for the 60+ dollars they charge (with cart). Such a shame cuz the course has a fun layout.

I am editing my review based on a conversation that I had with Steve Simplin. Steve took the time to call me because he was concerned about my review and explained some of the issues that they have been dealing with. I want to reiterate what I said below about Kayak that is one of my favorite courses and I will continue to play it. Plans are in place to increase irrigation and upgrade bunkers. The putting course is expensive, has been closed for years and got very little use, basically eye candy.
Steve’s personal touch is exemplary of the personal service one does get at Kayak. He did not offer nor did I solicit any form of compensation for my editing my review.
****
I «joined» Kayak this year for $ 60, which gives me a discount there for the year plus a few other courses around Western Washington. This was also an act of support for a well liked golf venue that is, sadly, going downhill just a bit.
During yesterday’s round, I noticed that the nine hole putting course has been abandoned, there is only one line of merchandise being carried in the pro shop (Adidas/​TaylorMade), bare spots on many fairways and cheap rock-​filled sand now populating at least some of the bunkers.
This last feature put a good sized ding on the sole of my sand wedge and caused me to leave the ball in the bunker. (Hey, at least I know I am using the bounce properly).
The golf business is tough right now and let’s hope Kayak survives because it is a great track and a bargain to play right now, perhaps a little too much of a bargain.

Great layout and nice people. The course was in ok condition, but the greens were atrocious. Bumpy, and some were really fast, others were slow. If they can get the kinks worked out, Kayak will be just as good as it used to.

I have long enjoyed the course. I first played in in 1993. It is a beautiful course, and you know you are golfing in the Northwest. It has a real sense of place.
Unfortunately, the course has been going downhill over the past several years. For example; they no longer maintain the 9 hole putting course. The driving range is pretty torn up with pretty sparse grass. Several fairways especially #2 and #15 are rolling fields of mole holes. I keep thinking that Bill Murray is going to come out looking to kill all those ‘Gophers.’ Driving in the golf cart at a normal pace results in occasional airborne bounces and frequent painful whacks on the tail bone.
In the past year it has taken a second turn for the worse. They have further reduced their watering to save money and the course is in poor shape with a lot of brown spots. Several of the interesting trees on the course, (Holes 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10) have been removed in the interest of better agronomy.
This really saddens me. It removes the charm and the challenge of Kayak. It used to worth the long drive and money ($ 60 per round) for something special. It is no longer something special.

Good reviews for this course. But they’re dated. The course is an interesting layout and the greens were very nice, but overall, the grounds keeping is not up to par. There are lots of brown spots in the fairways, uneven watering patterns around the greens and a couple tee boxes that they didn’t even take the time to level. Overall, not in the top 10 in public courses in the area.

For a public course this is amazing.
Level — this is a medium to hard course. It is full of dog legs, hills, dips, slopes, bunkers and trees. I only lost 1 ball but my friends 2 or more and those were people who had played before and told me where to hit because you just could not tell where your ball was going over some of the hills. This course doesn’t have crazy long holes but they are tight hence you need to be a straight hitter and think about your placement for the next hit.
Get a cart — this is not really a walking course — too many hills.
Staff — Our golf cart died and they replaced it within a hole and the lovely cart ladies were always around to serve up drinks and food.
Speed — it was a Sunday so it was slow we teed off 30 minutes late but we had no hold ups on the course itself. We took just over 5 hours.
Price was very reasonable given the quality of the course
Now have played this course over 15 times and I love it. I now understand the course and scored a 89 2 weeks ago (yay me). This is my favorite course in the north of Seattle and Washington National is my favorite course south of Seattle.

Love the course but just had a 5h 45min round on a noonish Monday tee time. Rangers were two-​to-​a-​hole for the first few holes, almost in the way, but then they disappeared for the rest of the day. It was almost the slowest round of golf I’ve had in 25 years. Foursomes were yelling at each other. It sucked.

I have played golf in the greater Seattle area for 22 years now. I have played all over the Northwest, Vegas, and Arizona. I have played drier courses I have played more challenging courses and have played every muni out there. By far this is my favorite course for these reasons;
1. Price (can’t be beat for quality of course. half the price of Willows in Redmond and twice the course)
2. Challenge (long course where you can use a driver 3 wood and still not be on)
3. Location (I live on the east side and the drive takes 45 minutes once you are there it is well worth it)
I recommend the twilight special play at 1 pm get a dog and a soda for only 55 bucks, can’t be beat

Kayak is a great course by itself. Couple that with the amazingly discounted twilight rates ($ 22 for 18 holes on a Saturday in summer!), and you cannot beat it, pure and simple. I have played courses not half as nice for easily twice the money.
It is not an easy by any means. The ground undulates and bend every direction. There are long par fives and many doglegs, some with green and fairways barely visible from the tee. It is comparably maintained and very beautiful in terms of scenery.
Beware hitting off-​center shots here, the surrounding forests are so easy to lose balls in you might end up running out! I once lost 8 balls and had to bum them from my friend. BUT, when you combine the course quality with the price. you can’t beat it.

I agree. This is definitely a golf course made for the more advanced player. I was sorely under prepared and actually ended up riding part of the course just so I could let people play through. Even my Dad, who is the über-​golfer found himself stymied by a few of the holes.
However, those are all comments relating to our lack of golf prowess, not the course itself. Once I get a little better, I will be living here.
It is beautiful, super cheap to play (it’s Snohomish County Parks), and has a great little bar/​restaurant. They have great beers on tap and some of the crispiest and tastiest fries ever!

Oh boy now this a fun course. Tall trees and can be pretty wet from the Puget Sound nearby. You really feel like you step into another world on this course.
Advanced golfers need apply here. Probably want to leave junior to driving the cart if he has a hard time driving 200+ yards.
All the services you expect from a top notch course.
Highly recommend you playing this gem.