Central Oregon Golf Ready for Spotlight
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What makes a memorable golf trip? Spectacularly diverse designs? Challenging layouts? Views that make your jaw drop? Maybe the chance to play 3 of America’s Top 100 Courses in one weekend?
The Golf Oregon Experience
That’s the golf experience in Central Oregon – from the mountains to the high desert – more than two dozen courses within 45 minutes of each other designed by some of the game’s greatest architects help create a golf vacation like no other. And with 300 days of sunshine and several courses open year-round, there’s really no bad time to visit Central Oregon.
At Pronghorn, luxury and immaculate golf conditions are redefined. The Jack Nicklaus Course is ranked No. 33 on Golf Digest’s Top 100 list and rightfully so. But it’s more than golf at Pronghorn – it’s the experience. From the moment you drive past the gatehouse you will quickly realize you’re in for a treat as your clubs are whisked from your car to an expansive and immaculate practice facility.
The course itself is one of The Golden Bear’s finest as it cuts through unique lava outcroppings, providing a challenge for every player. Well thought out holes – including back-to-back Par 5s on the back side – offer amazing views of the Cascades while featuring some of the finest putting surfaces on which you’ll ever roll the rock.
Sunriver Resort
A few miles from Bend, Sunriver Resort offers 63 holes of world-class golf including the famed Crosswater Club. This beast ranks 51st on the Golf Digest Top 100 and can stretch out to more than 7,700 yards. The length and pristine condition have made it a popular spot for some big time tournaments including the Champions Tour Jeld-Wen Tradition, NCAA Division 1 National Championship and PGA Professionals National Championship several times.
The Bob Cupp design is threaded by the gentle flowing Deschutes and little Deschutes Rivers that, depending on which tees you play, can come into play as many as seven times. From the day it opened with a match between John Daly and Fred Couples on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, Crosswater has remained a bucket list course for true golfers.
Crosswater GC @ Sunriver Resort
Tetherow
In the heart of Bend, David McLay Kidd has designed a Scottish links masterpiece in Tetherow. It ranks No. 54 in the Golf Digest Top 100 – this after Golf Magazine named it The Best Course New Course You Can Play when it opened in 2008.
Tetherow would fit right in with Kidd’s other famous courses in Bandon along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The knobs, knolls, fescue and tufts are as scenic as they are potentially damaging to the scorecard. It’s also the perfect landscape to “surf the turf.” Tetherow was one of the first courses in the nation to have a full fleet of GolfBoards – a smile-inducing cross between a skateboard and surfboard that will change the way you get around the course. The new lodges on site have helped the resort become a true base camp for those looking to experience all that Central Oregon has to offer off the course.
Tetherow GC
Aspen Lakes Golf Course
Just west of Bend in Sisters, Aspen Lakes Golf Course and Black Butte Ranch’s Big Meadow and Glaze Meadow courses offer challenging championship golf with majestic views of the Cascade mountain peaks that hover above in the distance. At Lost Tracks Golf Club in Bend, bring an extra bag tag to leave behind in the old rail car that serves as a bridge to the 16th hole’s island green. At Widgi Creek Golf Club, bring an extra sleeve of balls just in case the trees that line the fairways snag a few of yours. And at Crooked River Ranch, be sure to bring a camera for the amazing views of the canyon below.
Black Butte Ranch
Beyond The Course
Off the course is where “Adventure Calls.” Central Oregon is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream where you can ski 360-degrees of pure, dry powder from November to June at Mt. Bachelor. Or, scale the world-class climbing routes at Smith Rock or traverse our 300+ miles of mountain biking singletrack. The Deschutes River runs through Central Oregon, providing fishing, rafting, paddling and floating fun. Craft beer is steadily being perfected by local breweries, and urban-chic dining epitomizes the farm-to-table style. Throw in a thriving art scene, tax-free shopping and 300 days of sun and there really is no better place for year-round fun than Central Oregon.
December 7, 2015
