Hood River

Getting To Know: Hood River Golf & Country Club

An Insightful Interview With Amy McCormack, PGA Head Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Amy McCormack who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The golf course is spread over 300 wooded acres in the northern shadow of Mt.Hood with views of the surrounding pear and apple orchards. Established in 1923, with the original farmhouse and barn on property, this course presents a unique and nostalgic experience.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
This course is set up for beginners to have fun and more experienced players to push themselves. The front 9 is open, allowing more aggressive play while the back 9 winds up and down through the hills and trees giving you more of a challenge with amazing rewards!

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The wind is often a factor on any course in the Gorge. I always recommend teeing the ball down just a bit and just swing easy.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
We are proud to say the greens have never looked better than they do right now. We are also proud recipients of the 2011 "Best of The Gorge" Award for Best Golf Course in the Columbia Gorge.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #15, 168 Par 3. This intimidating par 3 has you carry a canyon to a large kidney shaped green with a forest backdrop. The canyon is the intimidating part, although it's only 168 yards from the back tees. When you stand on the tee box, you get to take in a 360 degree view absolutely breathtaking beauty!

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is hole #18. From the tee you can see the Hood River valley and if the wind is at your back, you can "get home" in 2 shots! I keep the ball left on that hole (gives you a better angle at the green) and just go for it!

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Walking Man IPA or any of the local brews we offer. A local beer is always a great way to end a round at Hood River. For the wine drinkers, Phelps Creek Winery Tasting Room shares a space in the Clubhouse too!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 6109
Slope: 135
Rating: 70.7

More Information
Hood River Golf & Country Club
1850 Country Club Road
Hood River, Oregon, 97031
541-386-3009
www.hoodrivergolf.net

Article Tags: Hood River Golf & Country Club

Revised: 04/27/2012 - Article Viewed 31,197 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.