West Seattle GC
Seattle, WA
1939, H. Chandler Egan (Pebble Beach)
Blue 6623, 71.0, 77.1, 119, 130
White 6175, 68.9, 74.6, 115, 125
'03 Fees: $25-$30
Per PGA winner and everyguy Rich Beem, West Seattle is "a course with a great back 9. There are some cool views of downtown Seattle too." Beem spent his pro golf hiatus in 1995 selling stereos and cell phones in Seattle at Magnolia Hi-Fi. Also recommended by my buddy Tracy O. who lived there for a spell.
Golf Magazine Review: A dramatic layout, built on the side of a hill and winding around steep ravines and towering firs. Generous fairways, tiny greens, and fewer than a dozen bunkers. The real challenge lies in traversing the ravines, uneven lies, and demanding green complexes.
Golfcourse.com Review: This well-balanced course, which hosted the 1953 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships, was laid out on a former mill site. The course sits on a peninsula looking back at the Seattle skyline, and presents an ample share of photo opportunities. The layout includes dogleg fairways to the left and right, and a creek that comes into play on 6 holes. The terrain is rolling, and you must traverse a hillside on the back 9.
Best Coffee, Seattle: Seattle practically re-invented coffee in the '90's. Fat Guy don't drink the java, but from what I've read, you gotta get to Seattle's Cowgirls Espresso while you're out here.
The original location of Cowgirls was in a tiny drive-through stand where the espesso machines would heat up the booth so much that one hot summer day, a couple female employees asked if they could wear bikinis to work the next day. Proprietor Lori Bowdin saw a marketing opportunity and started Bikini Wednesdays, which quickly became so popular that the girls began wearing bikinis and then even lingerie everyday, with themes for each day of the week, like...
School Girl Thursdays 
and Fantasy Fridays. 
They now have 11 Seattle-area locations (www.cowgirlsespressonw.com). Ever had a scanitly clad stripper-esque hottie serve you half-caff at your local Starbucks? I think not. A post-script here... a few of the Cowgirls got busted in 2009 for, umm, excessive showing off for extra tips. So as long as they haven't been shut down by the city council, well, tip accordingly.
As to be expected, there are Starbucks EVERYWHERE.
Best Bar Nearby: The on-site bar at West Seattle GC made Golf Digest's 2008 50 Best 19th Holes list: "Have a beer 'next to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' while you look out on 'snow-capped Mount Rainier'; a small but lively room with regulars often spilling out onto the adjacent patio for putting contests; the practice green and first tee are right next to the bar."
Best Bar, Seattle: Seattle.com recommends Bamboo Bar and Grill
2806 Alki Ave. SW, Seattle, Washington; 206.937.3023
The Bamboo Bar and Grill, a little island themed bar on Alki Beach in Seattle, is a kicked back joint for the beachcomber and bomber set. Decked out like Don Ho's rec room, the Bamboo Bar and Grill wants to take patrons on a little vacation and, although their tiki-themed menu falls short on being authentic, the chow's decent and the drinks, well, let's just say that that's where the real vacation at this local Seattle bar resides.
For a town with a historically Wild West and fomerly liberal grunge bent, Seattle's city council has been downright Midwestern towards adult entertainment. A "temporary" 1988 ban on Gentlemen's club development capped Seattle's boy's-night-out venues at 7, with recurring extensions thereafter. City council lifted the ban in 2005 after the courts declared it un-Constitutional, but now a proposed 9/05 local reg may outlaw lap dances and giving tips directly to dancers, and may even require "parking garage brightness" lighting. Pray the regs didn't pass, and hit Wednesday amateur nights at Showgirls. PubClub.com says Rick's in Lake City is Seattle's best Gentlemen's club. It's a bit out of town (there's a no-touch policy inside the city limits), but it's worth the trip for this full-contact club. Locals also recommend Deja Vu.
Fat Guy Research: Those of you who were young in the early '90's might want to take in some of Seattle's grunge scene. To be honest, there isn't much of it left. One of Nirvana's first gigs was played at the Central Tavern… nobody came. They stared at the empty tables and chairs, packed up their gear, and left. The Nevermind launch party was held at Re-bar. Former grunge haunt The Crocodile is rumored to have closed in January '08. The Capitol Hill section hosts Seattle's latest music trend… techno. Yes, techno. Belltown in the local's choice for nightlife.
A local's guide to Belltown lounges (from VirtualTourist.com):
TWIST - Opened Mar 06. Walkway leads into an open bar with huge windows. The place to see and be seen. Their is a long line beginning around 10pm. Get there as early as possible if you want to get a seat! Swanky interior.
TWILIGHT - Get drinks early as it turns into a dance club around 10pm (or stay and dance!). They start charging a cover charge around 9pm. Younger crowd. On Monday nights their happy hour lasts all night (which includes food as well as drinks).
BLACK BOTTLE - New wine bar. More quiet, candle lit and romantic but still very popular. Elegant, sophisticated. Minimalist decor, with the candlelight and large windows being the most eye-catching decoration.
STARLITE - Closer to the downtown area. Not to be confused with "Nightlight" or "Twilight"! Lounge-y, retro feel, with red walls, big booths, funky painting of jazz artists and lighting fixtures that look like stars. It used to be an old funeral home so it is cool and sort of spooky at the same time. Decent amount of seating.
DEL REY - Fun and relatively new. Across the street from Twist, hit both! They have an awesome happy hour that lasts until 7pm (try the Mac and Cheese!). Red walls, dimly lit, great place for a drink or two.
BELLTOWN BILLIARDS - Go to play a game of pool, get a drink, or dance. Fun, energetic, a large range of ages. More of a dance club/bar than a billiard hall! Great fun if visiting Seattle.
TIA LOUS - So fun in the summer because of the HUGE outdoor deck. Watch your high heels slipping through the wooden boards on the deck! Really fun to go dancing, but not the biggest dance club (although ALWAYS packed). It is long and narrow, but 2 levels. The second level looks out over the main dance floor. Fun to dance and/or people watch! The place has a Spanish flair... get a tequila shot.
TABELLA - New club. Can be fun depending on the night and the crowd. The entire place is one huge dance club, with the exception of the bars that border the dance floor. Don't go before 10pm. Be prepared to wait in line.
SEE SOUND LOUNGE - Super modern, trendy! The entire place is white - couches, walls, etc. Great music, low seating, long lit-up bar. In the summer months they open the large windows which open up to the street. On the weekends there is a DJ and a small dance floor.
Where To Grub: PGA pro Rich Beem raves about Metropolitan Grill (206-624-3287). "One of the best steakhouses in the world. The ambiance is awesome, and the service and food are great, too. At the NEC Invitational, the week after I won the PGA, I hosted a birthday party for myself at the Metropolitan, with a couple dozen guests, and they took great care of us." According to buddy and biographer Alan Shipnuck, Beem showed up in a nice shirt, nice pants, and flip flops, then immediately hopped behind the bar and started mixing drinks. If they hadn't dragged him out of there, he'd have been slinging Jack & Cokes all night. OR, Union Square Grill makes the same Best Of Seattle lists for steakhouses (206-224-4321).
Golf Magazine raves about the country's oldest farmers market, Pike Place Market, for fresh seafood, baked goods, and produce. For creatively prepared cuisine, try Restaurant Zoe. For seafood, hit Flying Fish, serving wild varieties rather than farm-raised fish, and staffed by a bunch of renegade golfers.
Golf Digest digs Slim's Last Chance Chili in South Seattle. Slim's brisket-and-bean chili comes served over a bed of jalapeno macaroni and cheese. Folks from Texas wouldn't recognize it, but they'd finish the bowl and order more.
Playboy says Seattle's Serious Pie is not only the best pizza in Seattle, but also in the Top 10 in the country. "Most foodies wouldn’t think of visiting Seattle and not hitting Pike Place Market. But what’s a tourist going to do with mounds of mushrooms, fishermen’s fresh catch and piles of produce? After ogling over the country’s oldest open-air market, head two blocks north for a proper lunch of the city’s best pizza. Tom Douglas is probably Seattle’s best-known chef, with six restaurants and a couple cookbooks under his belt. While he counts this pizzeria as one of those notches, you’re not likely to spot the guy sweating over the wood-fired oven. What you will find is a healthy wait, so order a couple of locally brewed Pike Kilt Lifters to pass the time. Once you’re seated, the reward is a swollen-edged pizza, lightly charred in all the right places and carefully dressed with toppings like buffalo mozzarella, roasted chantrelles and housemade pancetta. The best of the bunch gets ribbons of guanciale (think intense bacon) and pungent dandelion greens, with an over-easy egg smack dab in the middle. The breakfast of champions."
Where To Stay: Golf Magazine likes the sleek, hip downtown accomodations at W Hotel; or the artsy Seattle Grand Hyatt.
Neighborhoods To Hit: Funky Fremont, elegant Queen Anne, up-and-coming Belltown, and Downtown hops too.
Other Seattle Tracks to Play (See also: Seattle WA Golf Weekend): Chambers Bay in nearby Tacoma was built in '07 and has already been selected by the USGA to host the U.S. Amateur in 2010 and the U.S. Open in 2015. A near-perfect Scottish links by RTJ, Jr. with plenty of wind, walking only. Jefferson Park GC (206-762-4513) is a good value, and where Freddy Couples learned the game. Beemer says, "A nice, sporty little track." Golf Magazine likes Gold Mountain, Olympic Course ('97 Top 10 You Can Play, $20-$50); Newcastle (built by a Microsoft exec with a high-end, creature-comforts theme, $95-$150); and Washington National (home of Washington Huskies golf team with design elements borrowed from many classic courses, $57-$94).
What To Read Before You Go: Follow Rich Beem's early golf career and rocky road to PGA stardom in Bud, Sweat & Tees by Alan Shipnuck.