trending_upHighest Slope Rating

Hardest Golf Courses in Washington

The 25 most challenging golf courses in Washington, ranked by maximum slope rating.

The hardest golf course in Washington on Stymie is Bear Mountain Golf Course in Chelan. It carries a maximum slope rating of 152, stretching 6,849 yards from the back tees, placing it well above the USGA's neutral 113 and into the territory where bogey golfers should expect to lose 8-12 strokes versus their handicap. These 25 courses below are ranked by maximum slope rating, the single best proxy for "how punishing this course is" for the average golfer.

Across the full Stymie directory, the average maximum slope in Washington is 130 — above the typical US state benchmark around 125. 34 courses in Washington carry a slope of 140 or higher; a slope of 140+ is considered very difficult and demands accurate driving, distance control on iron shots, and patience around the greens.

If you're testing yourself or planning a buddy trip built around difficulty, start at the top of this list and play from a tee one set forward of your normal handicap range. Course difficulty is not the same as course quality — many of the hardest courses below also rank among the most enjoyable in the state, but the slope rating tells you to bring your A-game.

Ranked

Peak slope

152

Avg max slope

130

Slope 140+

Hardest Easiest Longest Oldest Newest

#	Course	City	Par	Slope
1	Bear Mountain Golf Course GOLDEN tees · 6,849 yds · Rating 73.5 · Par 71Chelan	Chelan	71	152
2	Bald Eagle Golf Club GOLD 2018 tees · 6,868 yds · Rating 79.7 · Par 77Point Roberts	Point Roberts	77	150
3	Bear Creek Country Club Black tees · 7,023 yds · Rating 80.5 · Par 72 · Jack Frei · 1982Woodinville	Woodinville	72	149
4	Seattle Golf Club Black 2022 tees · 6,876 yds · Rating 80.2 · Par 72 · PrivateShoreline	Shoreline	72	149
5	The Links At Moses Pointe Black tees · 7,412 yds · Rating 82.7 · Par 72 · 1999Moses Lake	Moses Lake	72	148
6	Gold Mountain Golf Course Pro/Gold tees · 7,038 yds · Rating 74.9 · Par 72 · John Harbottle · 1996Bremerton	Bremerton	72	148
7	Plateau Club Blue tees · 5,912 yds · Rating 76.2 · Par 72 · M. Saito · 1998Sammamish	Sammamish	72	148
8	Trophy Lake Golf & Casting Blue tees · 6,681 yds · Rating 79.3 · Par 72 · John Fought · 1999Port Orchard	Port Orchard	72	146
9	Canterwood Golf Club Black tees · 7,188 yds · Rating 76.6 · Par 72 · Robert Muir Graves · 1988 · PrivateGig Harbor	Gig Harbor	72	145
10	Inglewood Golf Club Black tees · 6,940 yds · Rating 81.1 · Par 72 · Vernon Macan · 1923Kenmore	Kenmore	72	145
11	Desert Canyon Golf Resort Black tees · 7,285 yds · Rating 76.3 · Par 72 · Jack Frei and Rick Fehr · 1993East Wenatchee	East Wenatchee	72	144
12	Kalispel Golf and Country Club Black tees · 6,643 yds · Rating 78.7 · Par 73Spokane	Spokane	73	144
13	The Golf Club at Newcastle Regular tees · 5,928 yds · Rating 75.6 · Par 72 · Bob Cupp · 1999Newcastle	Newcastle	72	144
14	Washington National Golf Club Husky tees · 7,282 yds · Rating 74.9 · Par 72 · John Fought · 2000Auburn	Auburn	72	143
15	The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge Mt. Si tees · 7,234 yds · Rating 75.6 · Par 72 · Jack Nicklaus · 1998Snoqualmie	Snoqualmie	72	143
16	Glendale Country Club Black tees · 6,638 yds · Rating 77.9 · Par 73 · Al Smith · 1956Bellevue	Bellevue	73	143
17	Indian Summer Golf Course Black tees · 7,171 yds · Rating 75.1 · Par 72 · Peter Thomson · 1992Olympia	Olympia	72	142
18	Tacoma Country & Golf Club Black tees · 6,925 yds · Rating 79.3 · Par 72 · Stanley Thompson · 1894Lakewood	Lakewood	72	142
19	Yakima Country Club Black tees · 6,647 yds · Rating 78.5 · Par 72 · Vernon Macan · 1956Selah	Selah	72	142
20	Royal Oaks Country Club Squirrels tees · 6,637 yds · Rating 78.6 · Par 72 · Fred Federspiel · 1947 · PrivateVancouver	Vancouver	72	142
21	Fircrest Golf Course Black tees · 6,632 yds · Rating 78.4 · Par 75 · Vernon Macan · 1925Fircrest	Fircrest	75	142
22	Meadow Springs Country Club Blue tees · 6,545 yds · Rating 78.6 · Par 72 · Robert Muir Graves · 1971 · PrivateRichland	Richland	72	142
23	Apple Tree Golf Course & Resort White tees · 6,295 yds · Rating 76.8 · Par 72 · John Steidel · 1992Yakima	Yakima	72	142
24	White Horse Golf Club Green tees · 7,080 yds · Rating 74.5 · Par 72Bainbridge Island	Bainbridge Island	72	141
25	Salish Cliffs Golf Club Players tees · 6,292 yds · Rating 76.5 · Par 72Hoodsport	Hoodsport	72	141

Frequently asked questions

What is the hardest golf course in Washington?

Bear Mountain Golf Course in Chelan, Washington is the hardest ranked course with a maximum slope rating of 152. Slope rating measures the difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer relative to a scratch player — 113 is average, 140+ is very difficult, and 155 is the maximum.

How many golf courses in Washington have a slope rating of 140 or higher?

34 golf courses have a max slope rating of 140 or higher in Washington based on the scorecards in the Stymie directory. A slope of 140 or above is considered very challenging for bogey golfers.

How does Washington's average difficulty compare to the rest of the US?

The average maximum slope rating across golf courses in Washington is 130, versus a US average around 125. A higher state average indicates courses that are, on the whole, tougher for mid-to-high handicap golfers.

What makes a golf course hard?

Course difficulty is driven primarily by slope rating (how much harder it plays for a bogey golfer than a scratch golfer), course rating (how a scratch golfer would score), total yardage, hazards (water, bunkers, forced carries), green speed, and rough length. Slope rating is the single best proxy for "how tough this course is."