Gearhart Golf Links holds a legitimate claim to history: established in 1892, it is widely regarded as the oldest golf course in the Pacific Northwest, making it a genuine relic in a region where the game arrived late compared to the eastern seaboard. The layout occupies classic links terrain along the northern Oregon coast, where the Pacific sets the mood — wind-scoured dunes, sea grass, and skies that can shift from bright to bruising within a single round.
The course plays across low, rolling ground in the manner of its Scottish and Irish antecedents: relatively open, with natural turf conditions that reward ground-game thinking over aerial heroics. Gearhart the town is one of Oregon's quieter coastal communities, a short drive north of Cannon Beach and Seaside, and the golf course fits its character — unhurried, unadorned, and genuinely old.
For anyone with an appreciation for golf history, this is a place worth seeking out on its own merits, independent of difficulty ratings or yardage totals. Some courses earn their reputation through prestige; this one earns it through age and authenticity.
