Salish Cliffs Golf Club in Shelton will host the 17th Washington Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, from July 21-23, 2026. It will mark Salish’s first hosting of the event that was first conducted in 2010.
The scheduling continues a championship-level trend for Salish Cliffs. Since opening in 2011, it hosted the Washington Men’s and Senior Men’s Four-Ball championships in 2016, as well as the 2017 and 2025 PNGA Men’s Master-40 amateurs.
According to PGA Head Professional Tyler Brown, supporting amateur golf at a championship level is a goal for Salish Cliffs, with championships like this year’s Mid-Am aligning with just that.
“Championship golf is part of our DNA,” said Brown. "Opportunities like this allow us to showcase not only the quality of the course, but the pride of our entire team and the Squaxin Island Tribe take in presenting it at the highest level.”
Indeed, Salish Cliffs sits on Squaxin Island Tribal land, offering a secluded feel some 20 miles northwest of Olympia. The tribe itself began the project in 2006, enlisting architect Gene Bates to construct its scenic 18 holes. Open since 2011, Salish Cliffs is perhaps a newer venue when compared to other tracks in the state, but it offers a challenge as formidable as any.
The golf course plays to a championship par of 72 and maxes out at 7,269 yards. The layout demands golfers navigate an assortment of elevation changes, strategically placed bunkers, and putting surfaces where precision is of the essence.
“Salish Cliffs rewards thoughtful, disciplined golf,” said Brown. “Tee shots must be placed thoughtfully to access certain hole locations, and recovery shots require creativity. It’s a course where patience, course management, and respect for the design are just as important as raw power.”
Jonny Larson of Bellingham, Wash. won the 2025 championship, held last year at Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club in Blaine, Wash., going wire-to-wire to eventually win by one stroke. Other past champions include Tom Brandes (three times), Jacob Rohde, Spencer Ellis and Erik Hanson.
Names like those and others illustrate a high level of golf that exists at the Mid-Amateur level in the state of Washington, where it has been consistently produced in recent years, a fact to which Brown is proud to contribute.
“We are incredibly proud to host the Men’s Mid-Amateur in partnership with the tribe and to welcome players from across the state to experience the course, the land, and the hospitality that define Salish Cliffs,” he said.
The Washington Men’s Mid-Amateur is one of 14 championships held annually by WA Golf.