At one of Seattle’s public golf courses, golf is now a walk in the park, literally. Known as the driest public course in the City of Seattle, Jackson Park Golf Course, which opened in 1930, recently added a 2.2 mile trail around the perimeter of the 200-acre golf course/park. The historic Jackson Park consists of an 18-hole championship course, a 9-hole executive track, a clubhouse, and restaurant. The city recently completed a perimeter trail and is building a double-deck driving range, scheduled to be ready by August.
To help serve the residential development surrounding the park, city officials carved out the trail for morning walkers and weekend strollers. The course is fenced so that trail walkers are buffered from golf carts and stray balls. The new trail has several entry points, with the most easily being from the main golf course parking lot. Half-mile markers have been erected, and this month, the city plans to put a kiosk with a trail map by the main parking lot. Prior to a round of golf, a 10 to 15 minute stroll on the trail would serve as an excellent warm up to get the blood flowing.
Jackson Park is one of several public courses run by the City of Seattle. The other offerings include Interbay Golf Center, Jefferson Park Golf Course, and West Seattle Golf Course. These are very popular with area residents and visitors alike.
The par 71 Jackson Park Golf Course measures 6,247 yards from the tips. Reservations can be made 10 days in advance on the Internet or automated telephone reservation system, and 7 days in advance in person or by calling the pro shop directly. For more information on the golf courses run by the City of Seattle, visit http://premiergc.com/index.php.
Rick Stedman is an avid golfer, RVer, and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. Rick writes a golf column, “The RV Golfer,” which is published every month in rvlife.com. He can be reached at rstedman@gmail.com.
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