Golf in Longview

It’s fitting that Brian Nosler’s hobbies include both golf and fly fishing. Both sports require concentration, appreciation for the outdoors, and a fluid backstroke to hit a specific target. But when he’s not intentionally wading in streams, the 2009 Oregon PGA champion does his best to avoid water at all costs. During professional golf-instruction sessions, Nosler guides students with a simple approach to swing fundamentals, teaching both full-swing mechanics and short-game techniques—his personal specialty. In addition to helping students master the art of reading greens' dense instruction manuals, Nosler provides club-repair services and personal club-fitting sessions.

Locals who frequent the nine holes of Skyline Golf Course have taken to calling it Cathlamet’s “Emerald Gem.” With its undulating fairways and scenic views of the Columbia River Basin, the course offers little to challenge this honored epithet. Designed by architect Ralph Rodahl, its treacherous doglegs and ponds have been distracting hole-bound balls for nearly half a century. Among Rodahl’s most challenging designs are two holes at par 5 and two at par 3, each of which requires golfers to navigate a fairway rife with hazards and packs of feral golf carts.

Situated near the first tee, an ample driving range allows for long-distance practice before setting off to conquer the high-risk, high-reward course. After the round, players can replenish with a cold refreshment or savory snack on the clubhouse deck, or upgrade their golf gear with a new sleeve of golf balls from the pro shop or a cyborg caddy from the future.

Course at a Glance:

• 9-hole, par-35 course
• Length of 2,433 yards
• Course rating of 29.6
• Slope rating of 106:m]]

I & G Golf Range gives golfers ample space to address holes in their golf game and develop consistent, dependable swings at a driving range with flagstick targets marked with distances. Visitors collect their allotment of range balls and tee them up on one of the covered mat stalls or, when weather permits, on one of the grass tee stations. Sending golf balls into lower orbit or toward flagsticks scattered at various distances about the range helps players master distance control and understand why ships fly flags to hinder the aim of nervous cannoneers.