Painted Hills Golf Course changes hands

Mike and Pam Senske, a couple who designed, built and have owned Painted Hills Golf Course for the past 17 years, have turned in their score card.

The nine-hole golf course with an adjacent par 3 course, on Dishman-Mica Road, was purchased for an undisclosed amount by a group with longtime ties to Painted Hills.

Four members of the McElhinny family formed McFore, Inc. to purchase it, becoming the course’s official owners today.

“I learned how to play golf at Painted Hills Golf Course where my dad taught me,” said Tim McElhinny, who played on the University High School golf team and went on to serve as a golf pro at Tumwater Valley Municipal Golf Course in Olympia.

The family venture includes his wife, Bonnie, his mother Linda and his father John McElhinny — a longtime member of Painted Hills’ men’s club.

The group plans to have hands-on roles in running the course, which hosted about 25,000 rounds of golf last year. McElhinny said improvements will come down the road.

“We do plan on putting our own touch on the golf course,” he said.

In 1989, the Senskes transformed a weed-encrusted floodplain on Dishman-Mica Road into Painted Hills.

Although Senske said he could have made “eight times” as much money if he’d invested in Microsoft stock, returns included making lasting friendships and improving the area, he said.

“We have just provided an enormous benefit to the community,” Senske said, joking that “we take great pride because we can’t take as much of anything else.”