David McLay Kidd's new Scarecrow course makes the Washington state resort ripe for a visit
This article appeared in the July 2025 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
To read more Chicago District Golfer stories, head to our article archive.
The new Scarecrow course runs through land that was once farmed for corn, while the QuickSands par-3 course at Gamble Sands features fun, quirky greens.
Chances are you’ve had something from the Gebbers family in your house. If you want to enjoy their latest tasty treat, however, you’re going to have to head west. Gebbers Farms – located in Brewster, Washington, just east of the Cascade Mountains – is the world’s largest producer of cherries, has one of the world’s biggest apple orchards and is also a leader in growing peaches. The family-owned farm ships its produce around the world, and you’ve probably scooped up some of their fresh fruits from your local grocery store.
In 2014, the Gebbers family decided to use some of its vast land around its orchards to get into the golf business, enticing architect David McLay Kidd to build a course called Gamble Sands. The course featured wide, forgiving fairways and rollicking greens, earning nearly every “Best New Course” accolade and kick-starting a new era in golf course design built around fun and playability.
More than a decade later, the Gebbers family is set to harvest a new crop of golf holes and make the jump from a single-course curiosity to a full-blown national resort destination with a second full-length DMK Golf design. Scarecrow, an 18-hole layout by Kidd and design associate Nick Schaan, opens Aug. 1, and it should have golfers across the country looking for the fastest route to Brewster. (Hint: You can fly into Spokane and drive a couple of hours west, or head to Seattle for a more adventurous drive east through the Cascades. Either one is worth it.)
Scarecrow joins the namesake original course and QuickSands, a 14-hole par-3 course built by Kidd and Schaan during the pandemic, to give Gamble Sands a dramatic yet user-friendly 50 holes of golf for resort guests and fully turn the property into a destination worthy of a multiday stay. Kidd says he expects visitors to play three 18-hole rounds while they’re on property, and is interested to see how many play their third round on the resort’s original course or the new Scarecrow layout.
Both 18s share design DNA and playability traits: wide fairways reminiscent of Kidd’s work on Mammoth Dunes at Wisconsin’s Sand Valley Golf Resort, with green complexes that reward creative approach shots along the sandy ground and fescue grass. There are also a number of ways to play each hole, rewarding repeat play. For example, the fourth hole on Gamble Sands is a 166-yard downhill par-3. Golfers can play straight at the green, of course, or they can take an alternate route — playing 40 yards right of the green to a gentle slope that feeds balls onto the putting green from a receptive angle. Finding these hidden lines makes each round an enjoyable hunt for Easter Eggs.
Golfers get multiple distant looks at the Columbia River from Gamble Sands, especially a postcard view on the short par-4 second hole, but the Scarecrow layout promises stunning views of the mighty river from nearly every hole. The new course is built on a more dramatic piece of land that was once used for farming corn, hence the Scarecrow moniker. The dips and hollows of the land make the course slightly less forgiving than its sibling, but even du
ers will seldom find themselves out of a hole.
The back nine of the Scarecrow layout begins with a microcosm of the golf experience on the new course. The 10th is a par-4 playing toward the river, followed by the 11th, a short par-3 with a green on a point barely large enough for a dramatic green site – and a great place to get a selfie with your foursome. Then you take on the 12th, a short par-5 that plays along a gulch with dazzling river views throughout.
By the time you’re done on Scarecrow — which finishes with a drivable par-4 — you’ll be ready to debate which course is more memorable, and which one you want to play again.
A good place to have that conversation is on QuickSands, which sits in a low bowl beneath the resort’s clubhouse and Inn. Like its larger siblings, this short course has all sorts of subtle bumps and hollows that direct shots in various directions. With holes as short as 60 yards and as long as 160, there’s a great variety of shots to be hit on QuickSands. When I visited, there were groups as large as 12 playing together, and the joyous sounds of holes-in-one echoed across the terrain.
Another fun place for groups to spend time on the property is on the putting greens located adjacent to the Inn at Gamble Sands. There are 37 river-view rooms overlooking the Columbia, with the 100,000-square-foot Cascade Putting Course in their backyard. The 40 new rooms opening this summer near the Scarecrow course has its own large putting green with room for several groups to enjoy in the morning or, more typically, late in the evening.
Speaking of the Inn at Gamble Sands, it is a cozy place to spend a few days. The modern rooms all have big-screen TVs, mini fridges, walk-in showers and private patios or balconies. The resort has started a shuttle service to ferry golfers from spot to spot, so you can arrive at Gamble Sands and not worry about your car until you’re packing to leave.
You won’t go hungry or thirsty at Gamble Sands, either. The Danny Boy restaurant has a full menu of hearty entrees and shareable appetizers. Make sure your group tries a Tower of Tots with a few cold beers. For breakfast, lunch and beverages during the day, the new Barn restaurant has grab-and-go and sit-down options from tasty breakfast burritos to creative pizzas and sandwiches, plus a selection of microbrews and signature cocktails. When Scarecrow opens, The Barn will start dinner service as well to accommodate the expected influx of visitors.
While Gamble Sands is a remote location, there are definitely benefits to booking a trip to the resort. While most people may think of rainy Seattle when they picture Washington state, Gamble Sands is situated in a high desert climate. There’s very little rain during the March-October golf season, and hot days fall into the “it’s a dry heat” category. Both 18-hole courses have golf carts, so you don’t have to worry about the effects of walking, and your chances of getting rained out are nearly nil.
Plus, you get the sunny days and cool, crisp nights that are ideal for the nearby orchards full of fruit farmed by the Gebbers family. And thanks to their interest in golf, you can also enjoy the blossoming experience that Gamble Sands is growing into.