At Laurelwood Golf Course in Eugene, you don’t need clubs or a membership. Don’t know the difference between a birdie and a bogey? No worries. Anyone can spend time at this course, set on 90 acres in the Fairmount neighborhood. The nine-hole course is city property, part of Eugene’s municipal parklands, so it’s open to anyone who wants to walk a dog or watch a sunset, then grab a meal from the restaurant, Laurelwood Pub.
Nick Sams runs the restaurant and course alongside his wife, Sadie Sams, and co-owner and business partner Will Benson. “We’re a public park,” Nick Sams says. “Not only do people walk out here, they play golf, walk their dog, take lessons. We’re the place where you can come and spend a whole day walking, dining and golfing.”
Laurelwood opened as Eugene’s municipal golf course in 1929. In the 1960s, the clubhouse briefly served as the second location of a burger joint whose original spot inside what’s now The Paddock once employed a young Steve Prefontaine. During the 1970s it became a storage space. When Sams toured the room, the windows were boarded over with Plexiglas to stop stray golf balls.
Nick Sams wasn’t a golfer when he started managing the place, but he did have years of bookkeeping and restaurant experience. “I grew up working in restaurants in town, Lucky Noodle, Ring of Fire, Good Times, the Wild Duck,” he says. At one point, he and Sadie had also been part owners of The Paddock. Nick and Sadie reworked the layout of the course itself so shots would finish downhill and uncovered the windows. They designed the bar and moved in, in 2015.
In 2018, when the previous operators split up their golf course business, Nick and Sadie had to choose between negotiating a new lease or bidding to run the course themselves. They brought on Benson as superintendent, so neither of them had to learn turf management — though Sadie ended up falling in love with that job and left the restaurant to work the grounds full time.
The restaurant is laid out so every table has views through those immense windows, and the furniture incorporates a little bit of the outdoors. The 2016 ice storm took down an old oak tree that became tabletops. A walnut and a pine that were cleared from the fairway became part of the furniture and bar. “Every time something goes down out there, it becomes another piece of furniture,” Nick Sams says.
The kitchen runs with no deep fryer or flattop. Instead, the team’s scratch cooking leans toward sandwiches and flatbreads, salads, burgers and chicken. Herbs and fresh tomatoes grown on the property make their way into dishes and craft cocktails during the summer. The pub now offers breakfast seven days a week from 8 am to 11 am. Saturday and Sunday brunch menus rotate seasonally and the main dinner menu flips twice a year, in October and May, to incorporate what’s in season.
“In the summer, we lean into the view, brunch, get a burger, quick sandwich, grab and go,” Nick Sams says. “And then in the winter, we go full on dinner specials and pasta meals and get the fireplace going for that whole vibe.”
One sweet and savory brunch favorite is barbecue-swathed pork over cheesy grits, with a poached egg, hollandaise, and barbecue sauce drizzle. Benedicts rotate with the season, including a caprese version featuring brie on the menu right now.
Laurelwood Pub has an active calendar, with jazz from a trio led by trombonist Ron Bertucci and guitarist Olem Alves on the first Thursday of the month. Duck fans enjoy watch parties every Saturday for games and the full Sunday package for NFL — although it’s easy to turn your back on the screen if you want to focus on the view.
“We still get a large amount of people who come in and say they never knew this was here,” Sams says. “Because you don’t always think to go to a restaurant on a golf course when you’re not a golfer. But it’s just a nice hangout spot with great food and cocktails.”
Laurelwood Golf Course and Restaurant is at 2700 Columbia Street. The restaurant is open daily from 8 am to 9 pm. Call 541-484-GOLF (4653) or check the website at GolfLaurelwood.com.