Gamble Sands, Golf Digest’s Best New Course of 2014, perches on a vast, treeless sandy plateau with sweeping views of Washington’s Columbia River Valley. The course is generous in scale—broad, fast fescue fairways, enormous greens and virtually no rough—offering some of the region’s most dramatic scenery. Designer David Kidd shaped the terrain with gentle contours that steer errant shots away from bunkers and toward playable targets so golfers of all abilities can enjoy the round: low-handicap players get ample birdie chances while higher-handicappers can record standout scores, especially with three reachable par-4s on the closing hole. Gamble Sands anticipates ideas Kidd later expanded at Mammoth Dunes (now ranked 165th), but it demands more boldness off the tee, while Mammoth Dunes emphasizes variety inside 100 yards.