Gallery Golf on North Whidbey received honors as a Golf Digest “Best Place to Play” for 2008-09.

Best Places to Play is a biannual feature in which Golf Digest captures ratings from their readers. Gallery received a 3-star rating, which according to Golf Digest’s rating system means it’s “very good,” and to “tell a friend it’s worth getting off the highway to play.”

Evaluations are based on golfers’ total experience, which includes the course itself, service, value for the money, pace of play and conditioning of the course.

One reader wrote, “The front nine is highlighted by challenging hilly terrain while the back nine offers longer par 3s and sloping fairways.”

Gallery’s rating places it as the eleventh best course in the greater Seattle area (including Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Snohomish County and Camano Island). Gallery is the only course on Whidbey Island to make the prestigious list and the only military course in the contiguous Northwest on the list.

This year’s Best Places to Play is an online-only feature. A complete database of courses can be found at www.golfdigest.com/courses/places.

Gallery Golf Course is an 18-hole course open to the public. The course is situated on the coastline of Puget Sound and features stunning views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Mountains and Mount Baker.

Gallery Golf Course features lessons, tournaments, a grass driving range, a full-line pro shop, online tee times and a seasonal snack bar. It was constructed in 1948 on the property of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Located in the Olympic rain shadow, the course receives only 19 inches of rain per year, about half that of Seattle.

Special pricing is available for military, as well as $10 military green fees and $15 guest green fees every Monday.

Visit Gallery’s website at www.gallerygolfcourse.com or call 360-257-2178 for information.