Mount Si Golf Course

Origins

The ground beneath Mount Si Golf Course has an agricultural history that predates golf by decades. In the late nineteenth century the Meadowbrook area formed part of the enormous Snoqualmie Hop Farm. W.

Pratt acquired the farm and much of it became dairy land. Golf first appeared there in 1926, when the Snoqualmie Valley Golf Club laid out a rudimentary nine-hole course on Meadowbrook Farm. Dissatisfaction with that arrangement led a new group headed by local banker C.

Beadon Hall, Charles Ingram and Dr. Samuel Max to meet at the Meadowbrook Inn on February 18, 1927. They formed Mount Si Golf and Country Club, initially as a private organisation with $100 memberships, and obtained a ten-year lease from Pratt on 46 acres.

With approximately $3,000 raised through subscriptions, the group hired Seattle-area golf architect Al Smith and Scottish professional Jock Wood, who became the club's first professional and greenskeeper. Smith's nine-hole course officially opened with a tournament on July 17, 1927.

Design Philosophy

Al Smith's original work was a nine-hole layout built on the open Meadowbrook Farm property. Contemporary historical material does not provide a detailed statement of Smith's intended strategy, so no specific design philosophy can be reliably attributed to him. The present course is substantially more tree-lined than the layout golfers encountered in the 1920s, reflecting decades of physical change rather than a preserved original routing.

The club's official history records major alterations in 1958, 1985 and 1994, but does not identify the designers responsible for those projects.

Development

The Depression placed pressure on the young club. In January 1933, Mount Si Golf and Country Club transferred operation of the course to Emmett Jackson of nearby Cedar Falls. Jackson began building a second nine and brought Al Smith back to complete the design.

He also installed irrigation for the greens. The new nine opened on July 23, 1933, turning Mount Si into an 18-hole course. Jackson later played a role in development of nearby Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course.

Mount Si's own account records further significant alterations in 1958, 1985 and 1994, though it does not describe those works in detail. The clubhouse restaurant was also remodelled inside and out in the late 2000s.

Recognition

Mount Si's early development is documented by Northwest Hickory Players using contemporary Snoqualmie Valley Record reporting and material from the Snoqualmie Valley Museum. The course's 1927 and 1933 dates also place it among Washington's surviving golf facilities from the state's major interwar course-building period. Its historical association with architect Al Smith connects Mount Si with a group of Puget Sound courses he designed between the 1920s and 1960s.

Today

Mount Si operates as an 18-hole public golf course with year-round play and a current par of 72. The Barter family has been associated with the course since its early years; regional golf publication Cascade Golfer reported that connection as extending back to the 1927 opening, with Scott Barter serving as general manager/CFO from 1988. The club's current contact page still identifies Scott Barter as general manager.

Alongside the golf course, the property operates a driving range and practice facility, golf shop and a restaurant that is open to the public.