Washington National Golf Club — Local services in Auburn

Played on 6/8/24

Updating my 2019 review, but not much has changed. What I said then is even more true now. This course isn't worth what they're charging.

It’s clear management is going the cheapo route, spending as little as they can on the course while charging premium rates ($155 for next Saturday on their booking site as I write this).

A Marshall told us they won’t run the water on 15-16-17 because of the cost of how much water they lose. These were the signature holes on the course. I’m sure they’ll claim it’s due to drought conditions but the Marshall told us they charge tournament organizers $1,000/day to run the water.

They've removed all ball washers and there's no water on the course. Even the water fountains at the restrooms are dry. The posts from the absent washers is probably the best visual of how skinflint this course has gotten.

Once the most pristine sand traps in the area, now they’re full of rocks and inconsistent sand conditions.

Like five years ago, the greens looked good and they were a bit more consistent this time with a couple exceptions.

It's a shame because it really wouldn't take that much to return this course to how great it was 15 years ago. —- 2019 review (3 stars) below

Fall from glory. Nice layout with some interesting holes. Used to be lush and crisp. Now, about 30% of the fairways qualify as ground under repair. And, the once-gorgeous traps are littered with weeds and clumps of grass. The greens look great, but are inconsistent. Mostly pretty slow, with an occasional faster green. All in all, they’re not offering a product that’s worth what they’re...

I'm DONE WITH OKI properties. Yesterday's company event was the final straw. OKI properties have mailed it in and they don't really seem to care about their perception in the region. They charge a premium, for unkept bunkers, poor service, and rude responses to simple requests. I bought the Platinum Card last season, and did not renew this year because I felt that OKI just did the bare minimums and charged a premium for it. But after yesterdays corporate event, I'm done. Not to mention these events are typically slow play, which I don't blame OKI for, they definitely did not work with their customer to resolve any issues going on during the tournament. During our nearly six hour round, we only saw the cart service once, on the first hole we played. We asked the staff several times to have them come, but they never did, and the last couple times we asked, the staff was just rude about it. Vendors pay a lot of money to support these events and we were all issued beverage tickets, which we were unable to use because of lack of service. After the round we tried using them, and they told us we couldn't use them for what they were intended. So after several chances with premium prices, and marginal golf courses with poor service, I have no intention of spending my money on OKI, especially WA National. Sorry the customers are an inconvenience? Just because a few people over indulge, does not mean that everyone needs to be...

Golf course is in great shape and staff are awesome. However, the so called “club house” is terrible. There is no proper bar or restaurant for the caliber and price of the course, the bathrooms are filthy and in disrepair in the building and either closed or non-functioning on the course, there was no drinking water on the course. I play all of the Oki courses and I am sorry to say that Washington National has become corporate’s ignored step child. Either renovate and maintain the facilities as they should be or sell it to someone who will. This is pathetic.

So, I posted the review above 9 months ago. I played again today, 5/31/23, and WOW, what a difference. The clubhouse/pro-shop/grill has been cosmetically updated with new carpet, paint and complete restroom renovations. While the on-course restrooms are not physically updated they were very well maintained, and, most importantly, the entire course tee to green is in impeccable country club level shape. They have brought in tons of white sand for the bunkers. The course conditions could not have been better. Obviously Oki management and the local staff have done an exemplary job in restoring the facility to what it had been many years ago and what it deserves...