A weekly game is par for the course

Maybe you wouldn't think of this as work, but Brett Eaton tries to make sure that once a week, he plays a round of golf.

"I consider it an important part of my job," says Eaton, 32, Semiahmoo's director of golf, a title that reflects overall responsibility for the resort's two courses: Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club and Loomis Trail.

Eaton says only by keeping a player's-eye view and hearing feedback from other players can he make decisions that not only maintain the reputation of these courses, but enhance it.

Both courses have appeared on golf publications' lists of the state's top courses and are frequent tournament venues.

Eaton enjoys the fact that while many two-golf-course developments reserve one for members and open the other to the public, Semiahmoo takes an unusual approach that allows both groups access to each: On odd-numbered days, the public (including resort guests) plays Semiahmoo, while Loomis Trails is reserved for members. On even-numbered days, the roles are reversed. "Someone who stays at the resort for a weekend has the opportunity to play two great courses," he said.

This corner of the state is familiar territory for Eaton, who was in fourth grade when his family moved from White Rock, B.C., to Bellingham. Before coming to Semiahmoo last year, he worked most of his golf career at Homestead Golf and Country Club in nearby Lynden — with a 20-month detour to the acclaimed Kapalua Bay Course on Maui.

Away from golf, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Coree, and daughters McKenna, 8, and Ireland, 6.

His favorite hole? He has one on each course: No. 4 at Semiahmoo is a slight dog-

leg, 430-yard par 4, with the challenge of hitting a two-tiered, elevated green. And on No. 17 at Loomis Trail, the hole's 449-yard length is compounded by the fact that it's usually played into a slight wind. Par's a great score on either, he says.

— Jack Broom, Seattle Times staff reporter