Central Oregon Golf Courses

Aspen Lakes Golf Course -- Sisters, Oregon

Derek Johnson - PGA Professional

Located just outside of Sisters, OR, Aspen Lakes has all the ingredients that golfers look for in a great golf course including spectacular views, abundant wildlife, and an incredible layout that features lakes and streams on over half the holes you play.

Very rarely, if ever, does one come across a golf course that creates some sort of emotion on every single hole. The starting hole is a fairly short and open par four lined by bunke

Aspen Lakes is so unique in the fact that you can drive up to every tee box and say “this is a great golf hole. Challenging, exciting, rewarding, breathtaking are a few words that come to mind when thinking about the variety of golf holes at Aspen Lakes.rs and trees, with a short downhill second shot that can give a person a feeling of confidence, a comfortable hole to start off the day. The fifth hole is another great dogleg par five that creates a feeling of excitement. This hole can be one of the easiest holes on the course if it is played conservatively, but it is difficult to resist “cutting the corner” here as it is the shortest par five on the course.

The tenth hole is a straight away hole with water in front of the green and incredible views of Mt. Jefferson behind it. Then you get to the fifteenth, one of the best par three’s in the country. This hole plays to 226 yards from the back tees, with two trout filled ponds to hit over, and an enormous green surrounding the right hand side. The finishing hole has one of the best mountain views you will ever see. Every shot you hit, the Three Sisters mountains in the background seem to get bigger and bigger.

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Black Butte Ranch Golf Courses -- Black Butte, Oregon

Big Meadow

It's a delicate job, renovating a venerable course like Big Meadow. But we did it. Very carefully. With help from the original course architect, we lengthened the course to more than 7000 yards, rebuilt the bunkers and renovated the tee boxes. Bottom line: We improved the course, both visually and strategically, while preserving the original integrity of the layout. You gotta play it!

This spring 2007 at Big Meadow Golf Course, we finished the tee renovation and completely remodeled the driving range and had them ready for this season. The improvements are dramatic and spectacular and we are happy to report that the renovations have been very well received by homeowners and their guests. Golfers from all over the country are recognizing, once again that Big Meadow is one of the Northwest's finest classic mountain layouts!

Big Meadow was designed by Robert Muir Graves in 1972, this classic 18 hole, 6,850 yd. (now 7000 yd.) golf course layout tests golfers with dozens of fairway bunkers, towering Ponderosa pines and immaculate greens. Spring 2005 unveiled the Robert Muir Graves & Associates Big Meadow bunker redesign, featuring completely repositioned "Cape and Bay" bunkers.

Glaze Meadow
The course at Black Butte Ranch that gets the majority of tournament play and attention from regional events is Big Meadow. But Glaze Meadow is a treat in itself that has plenty to boast about. At 6600 yards, its not an overly long golf course, but the true challenge of this course lies in how accurate you are off the tee and touch around the green with the wedge and putter.

It’s always great to play a golf course that gives you a manageable hole right out of the shoot. The first hole at Glaze Meadow is probably your best shot at birdie all day, the short par five requires some accuracy with your drive and setup shot, but you can expect a reasonable birdie putt if you play this hole safe. The toughest hole is waiting for you later in the round. The par five 12^th hole is an uphill trek that stretches 590-yards. Well placed bunkers and thick forests need to be navigated just to have a chance at par. Glaze Meadow mixes in some fun holes that are on the shorter more manageable side along with the holes that have some bite for a truly enjoyable round that will have its ups and downs score wise.

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Brasada Ranch Golf Course -- Powell Butte, Oregon

Zach Swoffer - Head Golf Professional

Peter Jacobsen is easily Oregon’s most recognized and liked golf figure of all time. In the last number of years, Jacobsen has taken his love and appreciation for the game of golf and launched head first into golf course design. The Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy Golf Design team has carved their first course out of the high desert terrain with the Brasada Canyons Golf Course.

July 2007 marked the grand opening of the much awaited Brasada Canyons Golf Course. This 7295 yard masterpiece offers members and guests five tee boxes per hole, 74 white sand filled bunkers, and over one-thousand feet of elevation change. This desert course flows in and out of sagebrush, juniper and rock outcroppings all which are native to the terrain on Powell Butte. While Brasada Canyons rolls generously over this 1800 acre playground it offers no fewer than 14 elevated tee boxes and encompasses just over 7 miles from the first tee to the 18^th green. This stunning piece of property looks west over the entire landscape of Central Oregon all the way to the Cascade Mountain Range. With The 18th hole features an enormous old trestle bridge that used to be an aqueduct, but now serves to bring golfers back to the clubhouse. The terrain makes for a unique experience as Peter Jacobsen noted, “The canyons here presented us a tremendous opportunity for invention. We’ve routed several holes down in the canyons, while other holes play across the tops and along the edges.”

“Brasada Ranch is a unique property in the fact that is has plenty of elevation change that has a tendency to make the fairways look much narrower and the bunkers much closer than they actually are. What I find particularly unique about Brasada Ranch is the abundance of wildlife says Zach Swoffer Head Professional of The Club at Brasada Canyons.

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Out of This World
Pronghorn Golf Club -- Bend, Oregon

Pronghorn is located just 15 minutes east of Bend and has two of the most amazing courses not only in Oregon, but the country. It’s hard to believe that two courses from two of the worlds finest designers, Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus, are not only located within the same property, but right here in Oregon.

The Nicklaus Course is simple, really; just plan on shooting well above your handicap and bring plenty of golf balls. The fairways are an example of perfection, as are the greens. Several par 4’s stretch close to or over 500 yards and holes 13 through 15 provide some of the most amazing views and golf course architecture anywhere.

The Fazio Course offers a completely different look to Pronghorn. Generous fairways and landing areas immediately provide an enjoyable playing experience. But don’t be fooled; stretching approximately 7500 yards, the Fazio Course will give your game more than it can handle if you want to play one of the 5 different tee positions. This course has everything; amazingly manicured, jaw dropping scenery and an 8th hole par 3 that shoots through a lava tube. Its’ easily one of the best par 3’s in the state. If you have a chance to play Pronghorn take advantage of it, as one recent player mentioned, “It’s like Disneyland for the golfer-you don’t want to leave.”

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Eagle Crest Resort and Golf Courses -- Redmond, Oregon

Ron Buerger – Director of Golf

The Ridge Course:
The Ridge Course has hosted two Northwest Opens and most recently the 2006 Oregon Open. The Ridge Course is a “drivers dream” with ample landing areas for those who like to hit the long ball. The design features a straight forward and fair layout while providing a worthy challenge to all ability levels. The key to scoring your best lies in negotiating the subtle nuances on the greens.

Hole #12 is the Ridge Course’s signature hole. This par three features elevated tees playing to a slender green and boasts of magnificent views of the Cascades. When playing this hole, beware, OB lurks just left of the cart path. Players often make the mistake of focusing too much on the water hazard and thus bring into play the greater of the two evils, “out of bounds” which lurks just left of the bunker. The twelfth forces players to hit a precise shot as the only bail out option is to lay up significantly short of the green. This hole can provide a challenge to even the top players. It is a Central Oregon must play!

The Resort Course:
The Resort Course has hosted Oregon High School State Golf Championships since 1991. This course features two distinctly different nines. The front nine for the most part allows the player to swing away and use the driver. The back nine places a high premium on accuracy as holes 10 thru 15 have OB left and right. The key to scoring your best is how well you keep penalty strokes off your card.

Hole #2, the Resort Course’s par 5 signature hole tees off eight stories above the Canyon floor and features a nearly 90 degree dog leg right. This hole begs the question, “how confident are you in your driver?” If your confidence level is high, a good drive should put you in a position to go for the green in two. However, a narrow fairway protected by canyon walls can exact a steep price for errant shots. If your driver isn’t your strong suit, it is better to use the iron you are most comfortable with, play it safe, and try for the green in regulation. It is best to play this hole down the right side, as the green is most accessible from the right.

The Challenge Course:
In 2006 the Challenge Course was named the Pacific Northwest’s best short course by Links magazine. This course has “FUN” written all over it! This Par 63 is appropriately named as it will provide a “Challenge” for any golfer. Opportunities abound with nine par threes to gun for. This course is perfect for those dreaming of a hole-in-one. The Key to scoring your best is having good distance control on all your approach shots.

With an average playing time of only three hours per round, the Challenge is perfect for those with a busy schedule.

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Sunriver Resort and Golf Courses -- Sunriver, Oregon

Sunriver Resort - Woodlands Course
Tony Blasius, Head Golf Professional

Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., the Woodlands Golf Course at Sunriver Resort debuted in 1981.

The 6,880-yard, par 72 Woodlands was the second course to open at Sunriver Resort and is an excellent complement to the Meadows. The Woodlands is a local favorite and is a lot of fun to play. It offers a great challenge from any set of tees and is a course that has heavy tree-lined corridors and challenging greens in which to approach. The course has 54 bunkers placed perfectly to swallow up any misguided shots.

The signature hole on the Woodlands is the difficult 9^th hole. This lengthy 438-yard, par 4 features a lot of potential trouble. A water hazard and a bunker pinch the landing area and the drive must be accurate to set yourself up for a challenging approach to the green. The green is guarded by bunkers on both the right and left sides of the undulating green.

There are many scenic views of Mt. Bachelor from a handful of places on the Woodlands, which only adds to this tremendous golf experience.

Sunriver Resort – Meadows Course
Tony Blasius, Head Golf Professional

The Meadows Golf Course was the first layout built at Sunriver Resort. The Meadows debuted in 1969 and was originally designed by Fred Federspiel, then redesigned by John Fought in 1999.

The 7,012-yard, par 71 Meadows is a very good golf course with spectacular views of Mt. Bachelor from almost every point on the course. The Meadows is a bit more “open” than its sister Woodlands course. Fought did a tremendous job of placing bunkers to guide a player around the course. The greens are fair but do have some subtle movement to them.

The Meadows has been the site for championship golf having hosted the 2002 USGA Women’s Amateur Public Links, 2005 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, 2007 PGA Professional National Championship and 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. Golf for Women magazine has selected it as one of the “Top 50 Courses for Women” in three of the past four years.

The signature hole at the Meadows has to be the difficult 16^th hole, which is a long par 3 measuring 205 yards that usually plays into a slight breeze as hit your tee shot directly at Mt. Bachelor. A tee shot hit left of the green will be in serious trouble as there is no room and a deep bunker guards the right side of this small green. The Meadows is course that can sneak up on a player but will also reward good golf shots.

Sunriver Resort - Crosswater
Brad Myrick - PGA Club Manager

One of the most interesting aspects about the design of Crosswater situated incidentally on 600 acres of a pristine meadow and dissected by the Big and the Little Deschutes rivers is that it plays much differently than your traditional golf course. Where most design characteristics force you to high trajectory shots Crosswater is just the opposite. Lower controlled shots with a flatter trajectory is really what Bob Cupp had in mind when he completed this masterpiece which opened in 1995 during which it won Golf Digest prestigious award for being the “Best New Resort Course in the Nation” Award. What I enjoy most about this facility is playing in the waning hours of the day when the fish are rising in the rivers, our little breeze has quieted down a wee bit and the sun casts shadows thru the native fescue that has a magical almost surrealistic look to it.

Even though we have entertained numerous Professional players, staged nationally recognized and televised events along with a President whose name I keep quiet the course remains friendly to our members and Resort guests. Most of the comments following one’s first trip around this Audubon Certified Golf course is one of amazement. I would love to describe a particular hole that is the quote “Signature“ hole but with Crosswater that decision is extremely difficult. Number 12 here is the one that turns most heads being a par five and stretching 683 yards, a fabulous design bordered on the left by a 22 acre lake, narrowing fairway in the landing areas and a view of Mt Bachelor that is spectacular.

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Broken Top Club Golf Course -- Bend, Oregon

Rick Wild - Head Golf Professional

Opening in 1993, Broken Top Club became the Pacific Northwest’s only course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. The team transformed the rugged Central Oregon Landscape into a golfer’s paradise with a course that challenges all golfers; from the beginner to the best professionals. Testing each part of the player’s game, Weiskopf and Morrish require golfers to utilize their length off the tee, accuracy to the putting surfaces, and the imagination and cunning to negotiate the ball into the cup. The ample sized greens give golfers the chance to make a birdie putt, if they can solve the riddle of the subtle breaks.

Broken Top Club’s Signature hole, #11 is one of beauty, frustration, and haunting potential. The hole stretches only 364 yards from the back tees, (246 yards from the front) but requires golfers to, first of all hit the fairway from the elevated tees known as Thunder Mountain. Once successfully accomplished, the challenge then begins. The green is perched above a once active pumice quarry. The “pit” as the members like to call it, is an ominous sight. Blinding the golfer with its sun bleached beauty, inviting any wayward shot to its sandy floor. So, what happens when you’ve finally hit your shot onto the green…? You then must use all your skills to navigate across the double-tiered green with a nasty false front. Truly, the 11^th hole is usually the topic of conversation over your first refreshment in the members grill after your round of golf.

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Juniper Golf Course -- Redmond, Oregon

Bruce Wattenburger – PGA Golf Professional

How do you move a golf course? Juniper Golf Course’s answer was to build a new course a couple miles away and close the old one. Built into the native landscape of Central Oregon, Juniper opened for play in July of 2005 with scenic views of the Cascade mountain range while providing the challenges of Central Oregon’s high desert, specifically juniper trees, sagebrush and lava rock outcroppings.

Juniper has become a “must play” on any Central Oregon golf adventure. To quote Josh Immordino, the champion of the Oregon Open held here at Juniper in 2007, “The course was beautiful and the staff was very accommodating. The condition of the golf course was amazing. The greens were perfect and fast, the fairways flawless, and the course set up was great.” What else can be said to tell you a little about Juniper Golf Course? From the 7,186 yards of the back tees to the 5,500 yards of the forward tees, pick your challenge from four sets of tees. The greatest difficulty of the course comes from the Central Oregon desert that lines each hole.

I’m often asked which hole is our signature hole. My response is that we would like to think that we have 18 of them. From the breathtaking views of the Cascades on the 4^th tee, to the view of Smith Rocks from the 14^th tee, to the pitch shot onto the 18^th green with the clubhouse in the background and the enticement of a tall cool beverage, a day on Juniper is an experience we think you will enjoy.

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Tetherow Golf Club - Bend, OR

Chris van der Velde - Director of Golf Development

The Tetherow Golf Course, scheduled to open in June 2008 and designed by Bandon Dunes and St. Andrews course architect David McLay Kidd, integrates ancient lava outcroppings with tee-to-green fescue to create the healthland-style course. The course’s minimalist design combines Kidd’s signature traits and imaginative routing that works cohesively with the high desert terrain. Each hole is unique, with greens and fairways framed by ragged bunkers, knobs and knolls. At 7,400 yards, Tetherow provides a serious challenge for tournament golfers. With multiple teeing areas on every hole, however, golfers of every level can enjoy the course. The key to scoring your best is to avoid getting distracted by the panoramic views of the Cascade Range.

Although every hole features a bold, innovative design, the 17^th is exceptional. Built in an old pumice quarry, it has steep quarry walls, a natural pumice floor and a dry island green that creates a visually stunning, and challenging par 3. With steep walls to the right, Kidd creates the visual allusion that the tee shot can be played safely to the left of the green. With a steep grassed bank, the right shot brings the ball down the slope and onto the green. Land too far up the slope, however, and the golfer is faced with a tricky downhill chip that even the best will find difficult to keep on the green. Land short of this 180 yard green, and you will be chipping to an elevated green from the pumice floor.

With fescue grasses, deep non-uniform bunkering and an unparalleled natural setting, the Tetherow Golf Club is sure to become one of Oregon’s premier golf venues.

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Riverhouse Resort - Bend, OR
River's Edge Golf Course

Widgi Creek Golf Club - Bend, OR

It isn't enough that we think Widgi Creek offers some of the best golf in a region saturated with excellent and well-reviewed golf courses. What matters is that the people who play Widgi Creek feel the same way. That's why we're proud that Widgi Creek was named ""Favorite Golf Course"" by the readers of the Bend Bulletin in 2006. What's more, readers of The Source, Bend's free weekly newspaper, have voted Widgi Creek their favorite golf course five of the last six years.

At just under 7,000 yards from the back tees and 5,000 from the forward tee boxes, Widgi offers a unique and fair challenge to all golfers. What the course might lack in yardage, it makes up for with tight, tree-lined fairways and large, undulating greens. The 653-yard third hole is one of the longest Par 5s in the country and the 216-yard 11th hole is all the Par 3 you can handle.

But sometimes the score just doesn't matter. And contrary to what Mark Twain once said about golf...A round at Widgi Creek is a good walk unspoiled.  

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