Chocolate Drop: New David McLay Kidd Course Coming to Pasco, Washington

Earlier this week, River Ranch Golf Resort near Pasco, Washington, announced plans for a first golf course designed by David McLay Kidd. I first reported on this development last October.

The property, formerly the site of a winery, features dramatic cliffs above the Snake River.

Kidd's plan calls for an intimately routed front nine and a much more spread-out, looping back nine, with a clifftop 18th hole.

And yes, the fairways will be quite wide.

According to Golfweek, Kidd's team started shaping holes earlier this winter. They hope to begin grassing this April, finish the bunkering in summer 2027, and have the course ready for a fall 2027 or spring 2028 opening. (I'll put my money on 2028.)

River Ranch has not yet publicized plans for additional courses, but if the first 18 does well, you can expect more. The owners have plenty of land. Hell, they could easily fit an executive course on the unused ground inside of Kidd's back nine.

The resort is three hours south of Gamble Sands, where Kidd has designed two 18-hole courses and a short course over the past 12 years. The River Ranch project confirms his ongoing dominance over high-end new builds in the Pacific Northwest. Kidd lives in Bend, Oregon, so it's no surprise that he keeps getting the best jobs in the region.

The city of Pasco — part of central Washington's "Tri-Cities" area — is three and a half hours from both Seattle and Portland, and a little under an hour from Walla Walla, Washington, where Dan Hixson's excellent Wine Valley Golf Club is located. There's a lot of good wine terroir in this region, including the famed Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, and Walla Walla AVAs. So it makes sense that River Ranch is betting on the Tri-Cities as an ascendent weekend destination for well-heeled Seattleites and Portlanders.