Port Ludlow Golf Course to Receive $5 Million Modernization: Course Advances in GolfWeek's 2005 "America's Best Courses" Ratings

March 30 , 2005, Port Ludlow, WA - A massive $5 million investment is about to be launched at Port Ludlow Golf Club, already ranked one of "America's Best Courses" by GolfWeek magazine.

A panel of golf course raters advanced Port Ludlow to the number four ranked public access course in Washington state in the 2005 rankings. With the planned $5 million investment, Port Ludlow’s goal is to be number one.

"It is gratifying that everyone's hard work has paid off and we are even higher ranked than last year against some very tough competition," said Dave Ramsay, Head Professional at Port Ludlow Golf Club. Three of Washington's top four rated courses are located in the West Sound area of Puget Sound, he noted.

"Port Ludlow is already a wonderful place to play, and it's about to get even better with the planned course modernization," said Ramsay. All course improvements, Ramsay added, will be completed under the watchful eye of a golf course architect who worked with the legendary Robert Muir Graves on Port Ludlow’s original design.

The multi-million dollar course investment will begin this summer with the opening up of views encroached by 30 years of natural growth, according to Port Ludlow’s Director of Golf, Kevin Earl. "We want Port Ludlow golfers to more fully enjoy some of the most spectacular views of any course in the world, including western views of the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound and Mount Baker," Earl said.

Improvements will also include a stunning new $3.2 million clubhouse, slated to open in 2006. The new clubhouse will take advantage of the site's views and include a players' lounge, full-service restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, an expanded golf pro shop, and private dining rooms equipped with audio-visual technology to accommodate meetings and small events. Additional improvements to the course will follow, including irrigation upgrades and bunker restoration.

With its rating among America’s best public access courses, Port Ludlow joins a select group of world-class golf courses available to the public.

The internationally acclaimed Robert Muir Graves died in 2003 at the age of 72, after having designed more than 80 golf courses, mostly in the western U.S. He authored two books on golf course architecture and taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is credited with setting the stage for "minimalist" golf course architecture, where the course complements the natural contours and features of the landscape. "He believed in enhancing the natural landscape for the playing of golf, not in exaggerated fashion, but just enough," wrote Golf Digest's course critic Ron Whitten in an article this month on Graves' La Purisima Golf Course in California.

"We feel fortunate to have a classic golf course design that has stood the test of time," said Earl. "The multi-million dollar investment we are about to make in this course will be done with the utmost respect for the original design crafted by Graves," said Ramsay

The Port Ludlow Golf Course is comprised of three 9-hole courses, Tide, Timber and Trail. Tide is the friendliest to play; Timber is a favorite of locals and has the toughest par 4 of all three courses; Trail is the most scenic. Information and tee times are available at www.portludlowresort.com

The Resort at Port Ludlow