Fall at Gamble Sands Resort: The Stories Behind the Experience

There’s a lot more happening at Gamble Sands Resort than what you see on the scorecard.

Yes, there are now two award-winning 18-hole golf courses overlooking the Columbia River. There’s Quicksands, our wildly entertaining 14-hole short course. There’s great food, tasty drinks and the kind of evenings that have a way of extending after starry nights set in.

But what makes a golf trip to Gamble Sands different goes beyond the courses. Behind it all are stories — about the land, the people and a different way of thinking about golf and travel in Central Washington.

Read LINKS REVIEW now

The Fall 2026 edition of the Gamble Sands LINKS REVIEW digital magazine explores just a few of these stories, beginning with perhaps the most important lesson you can learn upon arrival: Not every good golf shot has to look like a good golf shot.

Golf course architect David McLay Kidd designed Gamble Sands — and its new sibling, Scarecrow — around the idea that the ground should be part of the game.

The sandy soil and firm fescue turf allow shots to bounce, roll and occasionally travel to places you might never expect. Instead of simply calculating a yardage and flying the ball toward the flag, golfers are encouraged to study slopes, contours and angles — and imagine what the ball might do after it lands.

Sometimes that means aiming away from the hole. Sometimes it means watching a drive run seemingly forever. And, yes, sometimes it means reaching for your putter from 50 yards away.

It’s a style of golf that rewards imagination — and one of the things that makes golf at Gamble Sands and Scarecrow unlike most American golf courses.

PLAY QUICKSANDS FIRST

Our 14-hole par-3 course is unquestionably fun, with music playing, groups of up to eight and holes with names like Plinko, Crater, Donut and Corkscrew.

But Quicksands has another purpose.

It can rewire your golfing brain.

Its exaggerated slopes and contours encourage you to forget conventional yardages and start imagining what happens after the ball lands. A putter, chipped 7-iron and lofted wedge might all be reasonable choices from the same tee.

Think of it as a crash course in Gamble Sands golf — and the perfect introduction to the ground game you’ll encounter on both 18-hole courses.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

WHAT’S COOKIN’ AT DANNY BOY? We head inside the resort’s signature restaurant, where the Gamble Sands culinary experience continues to evolve. The familiar favorites remain — including the Tower of Tots, Sugar Bee Salad featuring apples grown on the property, Pacific Wild-Caught Salmon and Gebbers Family Ribeye — while the culinary team continues experimenting with new dishes and desserts.

Behind the scenes, Gamble Sands has also adjusted how Danny Boy operates, including moving away from traditional reservations to give golfers more flexibility when squeezing in those irresistible extra holes before sunset.

WHY SCARECROW? We also tell the story behind one of the most frequent questions we’ve heard since opening our newest golf course — and how the character has quickly found its way onto some of our most popular Gamble Sands merchandise.

The answer begins with the land itself. Surrounded by working orchards, fields and the dramatic landscape of North Central Washington, Scarecrow needed an identity that felt as though it belonged here. Created with the involvement of Clay Gebbers, whose fingerprints can be found throughout Gamble Sands Resort’s branding, our Scarecrow has quickly become much more than a logo.

He feels like he’s been watching over this land all along.

• • •

From the golf architecture of David McLay Kidd to Quicksands, Danny Boy and the story behind Scarecrow, the Fall 2026 Gamble Sands LINKS REVIEW offers a closer look at the ideas and people that make this Washington golf destination unlike anywhere else.

Take a few minutes to explore the new issue — and perhaps find a few more reasons to start planning your next trip to Gamble Sands Resort.