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3.7
142 Reviews (142)
5 Stars
21
4 Stars
74
3 Stars
32
2 Stars
7
1 Stars
8
Conditions
3.5
Value
4.0
Layout
3.9
Friendliness
4.2
Pace
3.3
Amenities
3.5
85.2%
Recommend this course
121 out of 142 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 71
Length 6305 yards
Slope 126
Rating 69.9

North Shore Golf Course in northeastern Tacoma has been a local favorite since it first opened in 1956. It has built its reputation on the quality of the greens and fairways. The classic layout provides enough of a challenge for experienced golfers without being too intimidating for beginners. The layout will test your short-game skills with undulating greens that roll fast and true. Bunkers are also carefully placed around the greens and there are trees lining the narrow fairways. Accuracy is essential for a low score but it will also take some quick and strategic thinking since the setup on each hole presents a different challenge. North Shore is a tough, but fair course for players of all skill levels. There is also an all-grass driving range and practice facility available.

Course Details

Year Built 1961
Golf Season Year round
Architect Al Smith

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Reviews

3.7
142 Reviews (142)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 20
Patio Dining 13
Dinner 10
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 30
Bunkers 28
Elevation Changes 27
This course/club is great for:
Locals 34
Advanced Golfers 18
Walkers 18
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 24
In the 'Burbs 19
Worth the Drive 17

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 52
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 1000 Contributor
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Walked

Pace of.play.

Very nice course, well layed out. They seem to overbook people though. Saw quite a few 5 somes on the course, I dont think those should be allowed on a weekend. Right at 5 hours is not a good time. Group in front of us had a first time golfing teenager. His dad was trying, but take the kid to a range first! 4 groups on #4 waiting on par 3. Can you say overbooked? Even one of the marshalls told us there were 330 golfers on the course.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 15
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Slowest round ever

I should have expected trouble when there was a 5some in front of us who didn't hit their tee shot on a par 4 until the group in front was on the green. 9 holes took over 3 hours, I left. Quality of play is suffering because of overbooking course.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
1.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Pace of play ruins the course

The course itself isn't bad. The greens were in decent shape and the staff were friendly enough. I would have given the course a 3 out of 5, possibly a 4 out of 5 since we got such a good deal from golfnow. The problem, and quite a big one, is the pace of play. I understand not everyone can finish a round of golf in 4 or even 4 1/2 hours. We tee'd off at 12:10pm. We finished 18 at 6:45pm. Over a 6 1/2 hour round of golf. At one point we had 3 groups standing on a tee block waiting for the groups in front of us. The tee times aren't spaced out enough, and they allow groups of 5 to walk. We spoke to the marshal several times who said he would see what the hold up was, but unfortunately he just left without doing anything. Again, the course itself isn't bad, just be prepared to spend 7 or so hours and waiting 20+ minutes on every tee block.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Spring time

Spring time is here and the course is looking great and only gonna get better. They've done a lot of work to improve course conditions in the winter and did a great job

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 35
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Poor weather
Used cart

Great Great Course

By far the best greens I've played since we moved here 4 weeks ago. I've only played 5 other courses but these greens are amazing. Only problem we had was a group in front that slow us down and then the rain came down which made them go slower instead of faster. I will definitely play here again like next week.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great couse!

I haven't played here in 10 years. I've moved away got a chance to play it the other day and still a excellent couse.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

GolfNow special

I was very happy with my experience. Very good food and drinks and while the pace of play was a bit slow, the beautiful day more than made up for it.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
1.0
Previously Played
Average weather
Walked

They do not care once the have your money

They need a ranger that will enforce golf etiquette The pace of play averages 5hrs unless you tee of first thing in the morning. There were five and six sums that fell way behind the group the groups in front of them. .

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Average weather
Used cart

Good course, fun to play

Overall everything was good. Course was dry-ish (for NW winter) and the greens were in good shape, 18th was the only one that was a little bumpy. Some muddy spots but cart path only rules and people actually staying on the cart path kept the course very playable. Food in the restaurant was excellent and a good value. We even saw the beverage cart enough times to eliminate the need to stop at the turn. Relaxed atmosphere at an older course that has a good local turnout... course rules require collars, maybe a bit lax in the winter since we saw few and lots of bluejeans and sweatshirts . That is ok with me, I don't expect caddies and valet parking....

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great bang for the buck but 5 plus hour rounds.

The course was in good shape for a mid January round and the price for 18 with a cart was tough to beat. However being placed on a course that is stacked with groups of 5 was a bit ridiculous. It was a Monday holiday however over 5 hours to get through 18 holes. Groups in front and behind waiting on every shot every hole. Hard to stomach even at the price. Not the first time this has occurred here.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Very good winter course

Temps were freezing the night before causing frost delay and slowing play down. When I arrived there were 18 players at the first tee waiting to get started. My group was able to tee off at 11:45am and finished just as darkness set in. The greens putted true. There some soggy fairways in the back 9. Otherwise the overall condition of the course was very good. The sourdough club sandwich I had was fantastic.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Worth playing! Good winter course.

Play here often. Great winter course. Super friendly staff. Slow play sometimes a problem. Well maintained fairways and greens.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 15
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Too many fivesomes

I had not played North Shore for years so I decided to take advantage of the good golf now rate. The course was in ok condition and it does have some good holes. The big problem is that they allowed a number of fivesomes to tee off in front of my time. My partners quit after a 2 and 1/2 hour front nine. I had to skip 11-14 in order to finish my round in 4 hours.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 22
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

It's been awhile

Had a craving to play a course I haven't played in a long time. Price was right. Weather was overcast but dry. Aerated greens about 2-2.5 weeks ago, some visible holes, but I was amazed how much they were Rollin. Far different from what I remember yrs ago....they used to be slow, shaggy and at times bumpy. Improved. The one thing that was horrible was the pace of play. The 4-some in front of us were extremely slow and had no golf skills what so ever. Turned a 4hr round into a 5+ round and lots of waiting by our group and they 3-4 other groups I saw behind us.. Left a bad taste in my day. If it wasn't for the great deal I would have complained and insisted a refund.

Lots of houses now and the trees have gotten taller and bigger. If you are not hitting it straight expect to be in the woods a lot. Give it a try, but be ready for a long day if NS cannot control pace of play.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Bad counter attendant

Terrible counter attendant,ruined the round before i even got started

Friendliness Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Get it for a steal

At full price, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you can get it for cheap, go for it. The back 9 is more fun than the front, if you're gonna play 9.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Twice a year
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Great deal

Thanks Military Tee Times for a great deal.

Nice course, lots of trees and narrow fairways to keep it interesting. Greens are the real challenge here!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Nice to Have this Course Still Available

Been many, many years since I had played here. My, how the trees (and houses) have grown. Some of the course showed the natural reaction to our prolonged heat wave, but overall, they are doing a nice job of keeping it up, and the greens are great. Unfair to rate the facilities because they are updating them now, particularly the pro shop. It's a golfer's blessing that the course survived earlier attempts to close it, and is still available to the public. 5 hours 20 minutes, however, is too long, even on a busy summer weekend. Saw the marshal twice in the first four holes, never on the backside where he was needed.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 15
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Northshore - Its Great

Fun to play. Staff is friendly and the food is good. Course is well maintained.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Rewards

Hit good tee shots and fair approaches and you'll do grand

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
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