In this episode of the “Growing Gamble” documentary series from Matt Ginella and Fire Pit Productions, we learn a bit more about DMK Design’s Nick Schaan, who spearheaded golf architecture on Scarecrow, the newest 18-hole course overlooking the Columbia River at Gamble Sands Resort. 

Nick takes viewers on a journey through Scarecrow’s twisted terrain before the episode dives into a few comparisons, including a look at how Scarecrow’s drivable par-4 18th measures up to another of David McLay Kidd’s most famous holes — the par-4 16th at Bandon Dunes — before a deeper side-by-side, hole-by-hole look at the original Gamble Sands course vs. Scarecrow, which opened Aug. 1, 2025.

“Nick has the dragon by the tail [on Scarecrow] and he’s running with it,” McLay Kidd said during construction. “And that’s how I hope we end up with two golf courses that share a DNA but they’re not replicants. There’s a different creative energy on the second course than there was on the first course.”

How will the two courses play out now that golfer’s can make their own judgment about which is better?

“[Gamble Sands] has 10 years of history and exceeded expectations,” the Scottish-born McLay Kidd continues. “Now you’ve got zero years of history and high expectations [for Scarecrow]. So that’s a much higher bar to cross. … But the great thing about golf is history is measured in centuries. I mean it isn’t measured in centuries here yet, but it’s measured in centuries where I come from.”

On the competition between the two courses, Schann sums it up: “[David] challenged us to build something as good as the first one. And we didn’t want to be as good as; we’re trying darn hard to be just a little better — can’t wait to hear what the debate in the bar sounds like.”

Watch the complete Part 7 now: