Three Nines Golf Course — Local services in Sandy

I'm a bagpiper who was hired to play at a golf event by Bryce Finnman, a "PGA Golf Professional". Long story short he stiffed me on the payment. Musicians and independent contractors beware: do not accept any work at Three Nines Golf Course or the Resort at the Mountain- there is a good chance you will not be paid.

At first Bryce asked for a very short performance of just a few tunes (usually to get a lower quote), and when I arrived it quickly turned into two hours of piping off and on. Prior to the event he said he would have payment ready when I got there, but once I got there he said "find me afterwards and we'll get you a check". After the event he was nowhere to be found, and after ten minutes of searching I found him changing out of his work clothes and essentially fleeing the scene. He then further red-taped me by requesting an invoice. I did so immediately and then didn't hear from him for three weeks. No response to emails, and all calls going to his voicemail. Upon talking to other employees at the course I discovered that he had left on vacation (for apparently the entire month of July). It's totally fine to go on vacation, but you should probably complete your job duties and get people paid before you leave, or leave someone to do so in your place while gone.

Tried talking to the accounting department, but was met with the same red-tape of "we have to wait until he returns" as he is apparently the only one with the ability to approve payments at the entire golf course/resort. The woman I spoke to is named Cassandra; she offered no apologies and certainly was not going to lift a finger to help.

Lastly, I'll put it into perspective of how rare it is to be stiffed on a payment. I've played professionally for about 16 years and have played roughly 800 gigs, and have probably been stiffed (or had a great deal of trouble getting paid) about five times.

Makes me sad because the resort is historically known for having pipers roam throughout the grounds, a gig I've done several times there (before Bryce's time), and never had trouble getting paid. It goes without saying that it's unprofessional and just not nice to ghost people you've hired and avoid paying them. It's taking advantage of the little guy. Guess the resort is hurting for money...

I’m giving an extra star for the views around the course, but everything else deserved a 1.

Our tee time was at 9:20am on a Saturday morning. This is a resort course, so I expected to pay a little more. Plus, having played here 100 times over the years (none in the last 12), I was pretty familiar.

Total cost for two and a cart; $208. $84 per person and $20 per person for a cart (SERIOUSLY!?). At that price, I expect the course to be well taken care of, at a minimum.

The course was not, in fact, well taken care of. Every green was still full of aeration holes and/or sand and bare spots. Not a few holes. Not a few greens. Every. Single. One. Absolutely horrible. In addition to that, the bunkers were overrun with weeds, rocks, twigs, etc. And several were so bare of sand that the lining was visible and in play. I would have been horribly embarrassed if this was a course I was in charge of. Or even working at while charging these prices.

After our round, I went inside the Pro Shop to let them know my feelings in a respectful way. Their response when I said “Hey guys…just wanted you to know how disappointed I was in the course conditions today for the price I paid”; “Oh, yeah…you mean the bunkers? We’ve been hearing that for awhile now.” No apology. No effort to make it right. Basically a “well, that’s too bad for you” attitude.

I’ve loved this course and even worked at it for a while years ago. The views are unbeatable and when it’s taken care of, it’s great to play. I will tell everyone I know not to waste another dollar of their money on these rip off artists until they show some pride in that course and that they care about their patrons and their experience. Take your $84 and go play Pumpkin Ridge or The Reserve and actually get your money's worth.

Btw, this was the Pine Cone/Foxglove set up.

You should be ashamed and embarrassed, Mt Hood Resort and the Three Nines...

I received a gift certificate for golf/carts and made an effort to take a day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood Resort and put the certificate to use. The pro shop staff was very accommodating both with setting up a tee time over the phone and taking care of us when we arrived.

Foxglove 9: Really fun layout with holes cut out of the trees. Unfortunately the conditioning was extremely poor, to the point I truly felt bad for the course/maintenance crew/owners. No one wants to hit tee shots off dirt, play bunker shots off crabgrass, or putt greens that are legitimately dead. I wish I could volunteer to help the course out, it just needs attention. A couple constructive ideas: Rope off and reseed any tees that are dead (#1 specifically since it’s the first impression on the course), and move tees up so the boxes have a chance to regrow. Use a temp green on #8: I’d appreciate the effort of trying to regrow the green, as opposed to using it and not giving it a chance to heal.

Thistle 9: Significantly better conditioning; felt like a different golf course/facility. Par 34 with a fun variety of holes and great views. Bunkers were maintained and you could tell resources had been put toward this course.

Didn’t play the Pinecone 9 but in looking at it from Thistle it looked like it was well maintained and had some really fun holes.

Acknowledging I had a gift certificate it seems unfair to charge $100 (golf + cart) without disclosing the conditions on Foxglove. I’d have no problem with that rate for the other 2 Nines, understanding that it’s a resort.

I’m really glad I got the chance to visit the course as I had fond memories of playing there 20+ years ago as I was learning to golf. I really hope they are able to continue with improvements to the course as it’s a spectacular property. Hope to come back in the future and see...