BY MERRICK PARNELL for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 10/23/2026
With panoramic views of Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier, The Home Course in DuPont, just south of Tacoma, offers golfers a championship-level experience while maintaining its mission of making the game accessible to the public.
Since opening for public play on June 29, 2007, the course has become a destination for recreational golfers and top amateur competitors. Owned and operated cooperatively by Washington Golf (WA Golf) and the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA), The Home Course serves as both a public golf facility and a venue for some of the region’s most significant tournaments.
The name reflects the vision behind the facility: creating a place where golfers throughout the Pacific Northwest could come together and enjoy the game.
“Rather than being owned by a national golf-course company or private developer, the course is essentially owned by the organizations whose mission is to support and grow amateur golf in our region,” said Justin Gravatt, PGA, general manager of The Home Course. “That is also where the name ‘The Home Course’ comes from. The vision was to create a true home for golf in the Northwest.”
Gravatt said the combination of championship conditions and public accessibility distinguishes the facility from other courses.
“I think what makes The Home Course special is that it combines the quality of a championship golf course with the accessibility of a public course,” Gravatt said.
The course stretches beyond 7,400 yards from its longest tees, challenging experienced players while offering multiple tee options and generous playing corridors for golfers of different skill levels. Its walkable layout and scenic surroundings also contribute to the experience.
Beyond daily tee times, The Home Course hosts junior golf programs, state and regional championships, U.S. Golf Association qualifying events and other initiatives designed to grow participation in the sport.
“The Home Course isn’t simply trying to sell tee times,” Gravatt said. “It hosts junior golf, state and regional championships, USGA qualifying and other programs designed to grow the game. That’s why the phrase ‘The Home of Golf in the Northwest’ fits it so well.”
The facility hosts approximately 50,000 rounds of golf each year, reflecting its role as both a community resource and a destination for competitive play.
The property also has a history that predates the golf course. The land was once part of the DuPont explosives manufacturing operation, which began producing dynamite in the early 1900s.
The plant supplied explosives used in logging, mining, railroad construction and other major projects throughout the West.
Remnants of that industrial history remain visible around the course, including old foundations, railroad tracks and an explosives-storage bunker. The transformation of the property from an industrial site into a championship golf destination adds another distinctive element to its story.
Since opening in 2007, The Home Course has hosted numerous major amateur competitions.
In 2007, Golfweek ranked the facility the No. 2 public course in Washington. The course hosted the PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship in 2009 before gaining national attention in 2010, when it served as a companion course to Chambers Bay for the U.S. Amateur Championship. The Home Course hosted two rounds of stroke-play qualifying, during which Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, California, a three-time medalist at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, shot a course-record 62 in the opening round.
The course continued its championship tradition by hosting the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, the final edition of the historic USGA event. The PNGA Men’s Amateur returned in 2018, and The Home Course again partnered with Chambers Bay in 2021 for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. In 2023, it hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
By 2025, Golf Digest reported that The Home Course had hosted 68 elite championships since 2008, a notable achievement for a public facility that had not yet reached its 20th anniversary.
For Gravatt, however, the course’s significance extends beyond its tournament history and championship reputation.
“What I love most about The Home Course is that it really does feel like it belongs to everyone,” Gravatt said. “You can have a national championship here one week and then have junior golfers, seniors and everyday players enjoying the same golf course the next. We have championship conditions and an incredible setting, but we’ve never lost sight of being a welcoming public golf course.”
Gravatt said the course also maintains strong ties to DuPont and the surrounding golf community, even as it attracts players from across the Pacific Northwest.
“Whether it’s hosting major championships, supporting junior golf, or simply giving someone a great place to play with their friends and family, there’s a bigger purpose behind what we do,” Gravatt said. “That’s probably what I love about it most.”
As The Home Course continues to welcome recreational golfers and host high-level competition, its cooperative ownership and community-focused mission remain central to its identity. The facility offers more than a scenic round of golf, serving as a place where the region’s golf community can gather, compete and grow the game for future generations.
For more information about The Home Course, visit thehomecourse.com.
