Jordan Spieth’ s tied for the lead going into the final round of the Masters, and nobody’s surprised.

You could see the talent when he won the Junior Amateur at Bremerton’s Gold Mountain in July of 2011. He’s my story after the final match on that day.

Did you know that Tacoma’s Mike Greller, who caddied for Spieth at Gold Mountain, is still looping for the young Texan.

Todd Milles of the Tacoma News Tribune filed this story following the third round at the Masters.

Here’s a fun Masters story that’s pretty interesting. An amateur from the club was paired with Rory McIlroy and the club member won. Read it here.

Why not Ricky Fowler? He’s in position to make a run at a green jacket after a third-round 67. Fowler says it’s about time he stepped up in a major. Once again, why not Ricky Fowler?

Gold Mountain’s Olympic Course, one of the best values in golf, showed up on another top-10 list.

Joe Passov ranked the 10 best municipal golf courses in America for golf.com and the Olympic Course came in at No. 5.

Bethpage State Park Black in New York is the No. 1 muni, according to Passov. Nearby Chambers Bay in University Place outside of Tacoma, which will host the 2015 U.S. Open, is No. 2.

The rest of the list:

No. 3: Torrey Pines (South), La Jolla, Calif.

No. 4: TPC Scottsdale (Stadium), Scottsdale, Ariz.

No. 5: Gold Mountain Olympic Course, Bremerton.

No. 6: Wintonbury Hills, Bloomfield, Conn.

No. 7: TPC Harding Park, San Francisco

No. 8:  Butterfield Trail, El Paso, Texas

No. 9: Desert Willow (Firecliff), Palm Desert, Calif.

No. 10: Pacific Grove Golf Links, Pacific Grove, Calif.

While we’re at it, if you find yourself in San Diego and looking for a course, try the picturesque and unique Mt. Woodson Golf Club, about a 45-minute drive out of the city. It’s a target-style design surrounded by large boulders, ponds and has plenty of rugged terrain. We went to golfnow.com and got a tee time for $19 with cart on a sunny weekday afternoon last week. I lost count of my lost balls and didn’t bother adding up my score, but I still enjoyed the beauty of the place, which included a long wooden bridge and dramatic hillside holes. We played from the white tees. From the blues, it would be a beast. Of course, I can make any course three times as difficult as it is supposed to play.

And I’m looking forward to playing the No. 10-rated course on the above list. I’m taking my mom back to her hometown of Monterey, Calif., in December and I hope to get in a round at Pacific Grove Golf Links, a poor man’s Pebble Beach. It’s been highly recommended.

I didn’t make the trip, but 18 members of the Northwest Golf Media Association recently were the first to play Gamble Sands, a course outside of Brewster that’s scheduled to open in August of 2014. Designer David McLay Kidd hosted the excursion. Here’s some of what NWGMA secretary Craig Smith wrote after the visit:

Gamble Sands is designed by Scottish native Kidd whose resume’ includes Bandon Dunes, Huntsman Springs in Idaho, Tetherow in Oregon and the Castle Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

                “This is unadulterated golf from beginning to end,” said Kidd of his latest course. To watch Kidd give his introduction of the course to the gathered media next to the driving range, click here.

                The course is built on property owned by the Gebbers family. The course name (suggested to Kidd by NWGMA member Tony Dear) honors the first settlers (the Gambles) of the land of what became the Gebbers family.

                The Gebbers are now in their fifth generation with roots back to the 1880s in Okanogan County. The family owns more than 100,000 acres, and are among the world’s largest growers of apples and cherries.

                The Gebbers view golf courses as a way to bring more tourism, employment and diversity to their community.

                Cass Gebbers told NWGMA members at a post-round dinner Thursday, “It was a bit emotional to see you guys tee it up, after so many years of planning and building this.”

                The dinner was one of many hospitality gestures extended by the Gebbers family during our stay.

                A major figure in the project is *Orrin Vincent. It was Vincent who told Cass, “I know a guy (Kidd) who can build you guys a course.”

                The family had started construction of a Perry Dye course at a site on a hill overlooking Brewster before the recession hit in 2008.  Three holes were finished before work was suspended. The priority now is to open the Gamble Sands course next summer.

                The possibility exists that within five years the Dye course will be completed and open and there may even be a new hotel next to it.

                Vincent envisions Brewster as a golf destination similar to Bandon, Ore., and Sand Hills Golf Club in Mullen, Neb.  He mentioned that the Brewster airport has a 5,000-foot runway for fly-in golfers.

                More on Gamble Sands:  Links course. . . . No homes or highway noise. . . . Grass is predominately fescue. . . .  Course is built entirely on sand, hence the name Gamble Sands. . . . Great views of the Columbia River on 12 holes. . . .  No trees. . . . Player-friendly as it is hard to lose a ball and many of the contours aid scoring . . . . Can play as long as 7,305 yards or as short as 4,920. . . . . Course will be rated by the WSGA in October. . . . Course will be open to the public but memberships are available. . . . Green fees have not yet been determined.

*Orrin Vincent represents OB Sports, the company that  built and opened Trophy Lake Golf & Casting in Port Orchard. Oki Golf bought Trophy Lake in 2005 from Heritage Golf. Heritage purchased the golf course in 2003 out of the bankruptcy of OB Sports. Trophy Lake opened in 1999.

I remember the second day of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2006 at Gold Mountain’s Olympic Course. The wind was blowing the players’ faces most of the day from the tee box on the drivable par-4, 324-yard finishing hole.

Of the 155 golfers in the field that day, 15 tried to drive the green. All but three wound up in the pond that protects the green from the right side. None of the players made the green, or came away with a birdie.

Conversely, a large portion of the players who laid up came away with birdies. The 18th played as the third-easiest hole on the course during the two-day, stroke-play portion of the tournament, with a scoring average of 3.95.

It’s the risk-reward aspect of the hole that makes it so challenging, especially during a tournament. And it’s a lot of fun, even for a high-handicapper who might be playing form the shorter white or red tees. If you can hit it long, there’s a chance to drive a green and putt for eagle on a par-4 hole.

All of this is leading up to the fact that Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine has named No. 18 on the Olympic Course as one of its “Great Holes of the Northwest.”

I’ll let the magazine’s press release tell the rest of the story:

Federal Way, Wash. – In the upcoming February issue of Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine, the par-4 18^thhole on the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash. is recognized as one of the “Great Holes of the Northwest,” one of just four holes selected each year by the Northwest’s largest and longest-running golf publication.

Measuring anywhere from 325 yards from the Gold tees to 203 yards from the Red tees, this short downhill par-4 is a beautiful risk-reward ending to a round of golf. With water down the right side and the green protected by bunkers and mounds, it’s a fun hole to play during a casual round and a terrifying hole to play when a match or a championship is on the line.

“Being the 18^th hole, it leaves a lasting impression on the golfer,” said Daryl Matheny, the PGA Director of Golf at Gold Mountain. “It’s usually the one hole that people are talking about after the round. ‘Did you go for it?’ and ‘How did you play it?’ are common questions we hear in the golf shop and restaurant. It obviously makes for an exciting finish to a tournament or championship.”

One of two courses at Gold Mountain (the other being the Cascade Course), the Olympic Course has been the site of numerous championships. The U.S. Amateur Public Links was held there in 2006, and the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2011. The NCAA West Regionals have been held there in the past, and will be again in 2015. The Washington State Amateur, conducted by the Washington State Golf Association, was held there in 1997 and 2007, and on May 5 it will be the site of one of the Qualifiers for the 2013 championship. Visitwww.goldmountaingolf.com for more information.

Columbia Hospitality, a management and consulting company based in Seattle, was recently selected to manage Gold Mountain. “Gold Mountain Golf Club is a remarkable destination with much to offer,” said Bret Matteson, President of Columbia Hospitality. “We’re looking forward to working with the expertise of the existing team to enhance the guest experience and programming which will take advantage of the club’s incredible amenities and stunning location.” Columbia Hospitality manages many hotel properties including Salish Lodge & Spa, Rainbow Ranch Lodge, and Kenwood Inn and Spa as well as conference centers such as the Kitsap Conference Center, Bell Harbor International Conference Center and the World Trade Center Seattle. Visit www.columbiahospitality.com for more information.

With a direct-mailed circulation of 123,000 households, Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine has been the voice of golf in the Northwest for 18 years. It is the only Northwest golf publication with a verifiable demographic of its readership. The Golfer is all about golf, and dedicated to golfers. It is the official magazine of the British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, Washington State and Pacific Northwest Golf Associations, as well as the Pacific Northwest Section PGA. Published by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, a 501c3 charitable international amateur golf association, Pacific Northwest Golfer is a member benefit delivered to those who utilize the USGA GHIN Handicap System through member clubs, either public or private. Visit www.thepnga.org for more information.

The University of Washington announced that Gold Mountain Golf Club will be the site of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Regional Golf Championships.

This will be the third NCAA regional for the Bremerton city-owned facility. Play, once again, will be contested on the award-winning Olympic Course. Gold Mountain also hosted the 2008 and 2010 regionals, in addition to the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links,  2011 U.S. Junior Boys Amateur and the prestigious Ping/Golfweek Preview, one of the major events of the fall season for college golfers.

The Huskies will host a women’s regional in 2014 at Suncadia in Cle Elum.

Bremerton mayor Patty Lent got her wish. Columbia Hospitality, which has zero experienced running a golf course, was awarded the contract to manage Gold Mountain Golf Club. They start a transitional period on Thursday and their 3-year contract will kick in on Jan. 1, 2013, when current director of golf Scott Alexander’s contract runs out. Once again, I’ve got nothing against the mayor or Columbia Hospitality. I’m against this because I think the city should have opened the process to other potential bidders.

In case you missed it, here was my last rant on the topic.

Someone told me that if current greens superintendent Ed Faulk wanted to sell an old mower, the city would require that Ed get three sealed bids.

Could another management company or a group interested in running Gold Mountain file an injunction against the city because it didn’t put the contract up for competitive bid?

Josh Farley covered Wednesday’s city council meeting. Here’s  his story:

By JOSH FARLEY
jfarley@kitsapsun.com
360-792-9227

BREMERTON — Bremerton city council members overcame concerns that a management company was too green to run Gold Mountain Golf Club Wednesday night, hiring a familiar face to do it.
The Bremerton city council voted 6-2 Wednesday night to retain Columbia Hospitality, a company that has run the Kitsap Conference Center for more than eight years, to manage the 36-hole golf complex. The company’s contract starts Thursday.
Under the terms of the deal, Columbia Hospitality gets five percent of all revenues generated at the club, which includes the golf courses, restaurant, driving range and pro shop. To provide additional financial incentive and help the city meet its debt burden on the property, the company also gets 20 percent of net income the complex generates over $600,000.
In 2011, net operating income was $409,000, according to city financial records.
Bremerton city councilwoman Leslie Daugs said she was at first reluctant to go with Columbia because they hadn’t managed a golf course before. But she said once she knew those currently running the course would be retained, she felt better about the deal. She also felt the city will be able to keep an eye on the complex under the new contract.
“We will know what’s going out and what’s coming in,” she said.
City councilmen Adam Brockus and Greg Wheeler voted no. All other city council members voted yes with the exception of Carol Arends, who was not at the meeting.
Brockus lamented that the city hadn’t put the contract out to a competitive bid. He said Columbia would have likely won the contract “fair and square” had it gone to bid. But he based his vote on the premise that the city should use a competitive process for such things.
“We should not make a habit of this,” he said.
Councilman Wheeler criticized the pick for the same reason, as well as Daugs’ concern that the company has not managed a golf course before.
City officials counter that the course’s overseers won’t change: Longtime golf pro Daryl Matheny will stay on even as fellow pro Scott Alexander retires; Greens Superintendent Ed Faulk, also a veteran of more than two decades at the course, will also be retained.
Lenny Zilz, vice president of operations for Columbia Hospitality, said at Wednesday night’s city council meeting that golf courses aren’t new for many employees at Columbia.  
“It’s a new experience for a company, but it’s not a new experience for individuals within that company,” he said.
Zilz used his own experience as an example: he’s been a general manager at resorts in California and Hawaii that included golf courses.
The company is hopeful it can fatten profits at the course, mainly in two ways: it can it can cross-staff with the downtown conference center and its  25 other properties where it has management contracts and it can put its marketing expertise to use to draw new clients. For example, the company has an email list of 80,000 it can market the golf courses and complex to.
Their success would be welcomed by the city, whose debt on the golf course will grow in coming years: $282,000 in debt service in 2013, peaking at $471,000 in 2018, where it will remain until it’s paid off in 2028.
The course is well regarded in the golf world; ranked by Golf.com as the fourth best municipal golf course in the state this year, it hosted the U.S. Boys Junior in 2011, as well as the U.S. Amateur Public Links Tournament in 2006.