Canterwood Golf and Country Club
12606 54th Avenue NW
Gig Harbor WA 98332
Gold Tees: 6,718-yards, Par 72
Rating 74.1/Slope 142

The Kitsap Peninsula is home to some of the state of Washington’s best golf courses, including the 8th-ranked course as dictated by Golf Digest, Gold Mountain’s Olympic Course, which receives the lion’s share of the press. Sitting quietly amongst the tall Pines in Gig Harbor, however, is the state’s 7th-ranked course, CanterWood Golf and Country Club. A private club whose course was designed by PNW-based architect Rober Muir Graves and opened in 1988, Canterwood is a shot-makers delight featuring ultra-fast greens.

Members at Canterwood are presented with a sanctuary inside a gated community in one of Washington’s coolest towns in Gig Harbor. Just a few miles from busy Highway 16, the club offers standard country club amenities in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere dominated by all colors of Rhododendrons. Once on the golf course, however, that quiet tranquility is replaced by balls bouncing off trees and golfers groaning over three-putts.

Perhaps best described as a mix of the best attributes from both the Olympic Course and McCormick Woods, Canterwood easily ranks as the top golf experience on the Kitsap Peninsula, with apologies offered to White Horse (which has not been reviewed yet). 

Upon arriving at the club I was greeted by Head Professional Mike Drake, who offered some local knowledge tips (stay below the hole!), and some advice on following the correct path around the golf course, which sounds easier than it is. After careful consideration, I opted for the Gold Tees, rather than the Black Tees, a seemingly prudent choice at the time. On the scorecard the Black’s stretch to an unimaginable 7,388-yards, a difference of 670-yards between the two boxes.

I later learned from Drake that there was a misprint on the scorecard, and that the actual yardage is 7,188-yards.

Regardless, Canterwood played much longer than its listed yardage, which is a consistent theme from the golf courses reviewed so far on the Kitsap Peninsula. The area’s heavy. Puget Sound-air and hilly terrain combine to help those 6,718-yard courses play more like 7,000-yards.

Canterwood's Signature 390-yard, par-4 4th Hole

A good example of how Canterwood plays is the 390-yard, par-4 fourth, a hole once featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Golf Courses of the World”, and which not only requires a forced carry over a creek from an elevated tee box to a narrow fairway, but an extremely confusing second shot. From its listed yardage a good drive in the 275-yard range should have yielded a wedge approach, but instead I found myself hitting an 8-iron to a green 30-40 feet above the fairway, with limited view of the pin.  My approached went past the hole, leaving a downhill 20-footer that produced an immediate three putt.

On those rare occasions when I manged to place an approach shot below the hole at Canterwood, I was rewarded with realistic birdie opportunities. It was fair, and highly playable.

Canterwood currently ranks at the top in the Kitsap review series because it requires every club in the bag, keeps players guessing on every shot, and because of its well-manicured, but difficult greens.

Signature Holes
#7 — undeniably beautiful, the 177-yard, par-3 seventh hole requires a solid tee shot for a chance at par. With a green that slopes dramatically from back to front, it is essential to keep the ball below the hole. From the tips, the seventh plays to a lengthy 227-yards.

#9 — don’t miss this awesome green and short-side yourself in the process. It will take your best pitch, or chip to avoid a double bogey on Canterwood’s most undulating green.

#10 — the 10th tee box is breathtaking. The hole features a forced carry over a lake and group of tall pine trees. Playing 409-yards from the Gold’s, the par-4 10th requires two good shots to get it close to the flagstick.

#18 — the finishing hole at Canterwood, a 486-yard par-5, is deceiving in its length, because most of the hole is played uphill. The tee shot requires a big fade, even if hitting a 3-wood from the tee, as the fairway is guarded by water on the left and huge trees on the right. Assuming your drive finds the fairway, and depending what club you hit from the tee, the 18th could serve up a bogey just as easily as a birdie, making for an exciting finish.

Club Membership
Canterwood Golf and Country Club is actively seeking members on all levels. Those interested should click here. 

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