QuickSands

QuickSands opened at Gamble Sands in 2019 as David McLay Kidd's first short-course design, 14 par-3 holes ranging from 60 to 180 yards on what Kidd calls 'maybe the best piece of terrain on the whole property.' Built on a 25-acre dune parcel above the Columbia River Valley, the course is a natural afternoon session for guests playing the Sands or Scarecrow championship layouts earlier in the day. The individual holes have nicknames, 'Plinko' (1st), 'Crater' (3rd), 'Corkscrew' (9th), that telegraph the shape of the wildly contoured greens. Kidd leaned into the ground game: 'a lot of one-shotters in the world don't allow for a ground game. With QuickSands, we're encouraging it with giant slopes and movement to allow golfers to be creative.' Several holes reward running approaches over aerial ones, a rarity on modern par-3 courses. The experience is walk-on, no tee times, you show up, pay for the round, play as fast or slow as the crew wants. It's the perfect venue for settling bets from the morning round, or as a relaxed introduction for a non-golfer in the group. Also the first short course in Washington state.