September 10, 2026

Scottish links-style golf course envisioned at Westport Light State Park

Photo from Washington State Parks [enlarge]

The golf course would be developed within the 560-acre park, and an inn and clubhouse would be built on a neighboring site.

A proposal to build an 18-hole Scottish links-style golf course at Westport Light State Park on the south side of Grays Harbor is teed up for state park officials.

Westport Golf Links LLC (WGL) is proposing a long-term lease and concession agreement with Washington State Parks and Recreation to allow it to build and operate a public course on the 560-acre coastal park. It also wants to build an accompanying inn and clubhouse and other amenities on a neighboring parcel east of the park.

WGL, fronted by Ryann Day, owner of Seattle's RJ Day Construction, said the park's coastal location rich with sandy dunes offers the perfect setting for an authentic links-style course, even reminiscent of the landscape of the Old Course at St. Andrews, the most famous such course in the world.

The state park that stretches along the Pacific Ocean and Half Moon Bay west of the city of Westport is also dense with wetlands and increasingly prone to erosion. The city of Westport led a draft environmental impact statement effort for the project last year.

Environmental review needs to be complete before the State Parks and Recreation Commission would formally consider the proposal. A preliminary final EIS is currently under consideration, according to a July parks staff presentation to the commission, but it's not clear when that will progress.

In the meantime, the commission is reviewing the plan. Commissioners held a special meeting yesterday to go over the proposal. A follow-up special meeting is scheduled for Oct. 19.

AN AUTHENTIC COURSE

Image from State Parks Commission presentation [enlarge]

Among considerations in the draft EIS is this potential 224-acre area for the course (with fairways shown in light green).

The proposal for the public course at Westport Light (so named because of its proximity to the Grays Harbor Lighthouse) includes an 18-hole golf course, a short course of around 13 holes, a practice range, a golf range and grill, a concession stand, new trail corridors and new signage.

On the adjoining parcel, the developer wants to build a 30- to 40-room inn, guest cottages, a clubhouse and pro shop, and a large putting course. Construction would be phased, Day said during yesterday's commission meeting.

WGL is proposing fully funding the course as well as public amenities including trails, community gathering areas, parking improvements, upgraded restrooms and showers, and a food and beverage kiosk.

The developer is also proposing it take on site management work, including mitigating invasive species and wetlands, for the 1970s-era park that previously belonged to the U.S. Coast Guard. WGL is also interested in returning a portion of its revenues or finding other ways to give back to the park, Day said during Wednesday's meeting.

The draft EIS evaluated a potential 224-acre area to lease to WGL for the course, as well as a 196-acre lease option and a no-action alternative.

Photo from Bandon Dunes [enlarge]

The links course Bandon Dunes along the southern Oregon coast was designed by David McLay Kidd, who is also working on this project.

The course would be designed by David McLay Kidd of DMK Golf Designs, the Scottish golf course architect who developed the links courses Bandon Dunes on the southern Oregon coast near Bandon, and Gamble Sands overlooking the Columbia River in eastern Washington. WGL has also retained professional golf management company Troon to assist with project planning and manage golf operations if the project is approved.

Day said during the Wednesday commission meeting that the course would run year-round as wet, coastal weather is actually a draw to golfers seeking authentic link courses like this.

“There is nothing like this on the Washington coast or the Oregon coast until you get to (Bandon Dunes), and so that's part of why this is such a unique opportunity,” Day said.

The commission is seeking public comment on the proposal at its Oct. 19 meeting.

The state currently has at least 50 concession and lease agreements, the DJC has previously reported. Those include the 50-year-lease of The Lodge at Saint Edward State Park to Daniels Real Estate for redevelopment, kayak rentals at Deception Pass State Park, and food stands, tree climbing, and cabin and ski rentals throughout the system.