Pictoral tour of various Oregon golf courses

[Michael Dugger]

Hello everyone.  

My "associates in the field" and myself have been hard at work gathering imagery for your viewing pleasure.  

Chehalem Glenn is the newest golf course to open in the Portland region.  To be accurate, they opened up their 2nd nine holes (another to follow-27 total) about a month ago.  I waited for a complete 18 to be built before making the pimgrimmage to Newberg, which is about 1/2 hour outside of inner PDX.

William Robinson of Florence, OR, designed Chehalem Glenn.  He also is responsible for the Oregon Golf Association Tukwila layout.  The crew and I venture to Tukwila from time to time, it is a mildly interesting tract.  I give it a Doak 5.  Robinson also designed Ocean Dunes, a sleepy little course in his coastal hometown.

Chehalem was better than I expected.  Playing to a whopping 150 slope from the blue tees, it possesses a great many forced carries.   I managed to hit the ball a little that day and didn't loose too many of my dimpled friends, despite the pretty constant uphill/downhill thing.

Below is the one shot 5th.  They must have spent a fortune on bridges here, perhaps the course should have been called Chehalem Bridges....

 

Ravine carries are called for on #1, 5-12, 14 & 18.  The course opens up fairly mellow playing over some less than inspiring land.  At the aforementioned fifth things begin to heat up.  The stretch from #9-#13 would have Tiger Woods sweating as it is about as up and down as walk as I have ever tackled.  Below is the drive on the 9th, a cool dog leg left par 4.  

 

Here is the start of the back nine.  Right straight down and back up a hill again.  

 

The 11th tee shot spins the player around 180 degrees and takes 'em right back up the hill they just hit from on the #10.

 

11th green is skyline, but by this point in the game you are getting kinda sick of the up and down hill lies.

 

To the right here you can see two balls resting next to one another in the 12th fairway, this is about 220 off the tee.  As you can see another 75-100 yard ravine carry is asked of the player.    
 

Thankfully, after a breather hole in the form of the par 3 13th, this tee blast up yet another hill is called for at #14.  Even my feebile game managed to clear everything no problemo, which kinda means the hole plays easier than it looks.  The fairway bends left and just continues down about another 250 yards over some rumpled ground finishing at a green flanked right by a pond.  
 
 

The last 4 holes play over and through a much more forgiving parcel of planet earth.  There is a drivable par 4 at the 15th.  #16 is the shortest par 3 on the card.  The 18th green sets in a nice natural amphitheatre of grand old trees.  To play this course you need to strike early, hold on through the middle holes, and strike again late.  I liked the flow quite a lot.  Go play Chehalem at least once if you live in the region, you will no regret it.  (think about taking a cart though )

Next up we have Broken Top.  These came from my friend Pat.  Expect pristine conditioning and a good solid layout, he tells me.  From a few vantage points you can see construction undergoing with DM Kidd's Tetherow project, I expect something special over there....you heard it hear first.

Unknown Broken Top hole
 
 

Unknown Broken Top hole

 

Unknown Broken Top hole

 

Unknown Broken Top hole

 

The following images are from Awbrey Glen.  They also come from my friend Pat.  He described Awbrey as the least inspiring of Bend area private courses he has played thus far.  From the images he brought back, I can see why....

Awbrey Glen

 

Awbrey Glen

 

Awbrey Glen



Awbrey Glen

 

The following are from Eagle Crest Resort Course.  I have played the "Ridge" course here and don't see anything about the resort course which leads me to believe I need to rush back and play it.  Nevertheless, there is some kinda cool things about it.  I dig the narrow canyon hole, Smith Rock in the background and the cool old juniper trees.    

 

Eagle Crest Resort Course

 

Eagle Crest Resort Course

 

Eagle Crest Resort Course

 

And lastly, we have Waverley Country Club, dating from 1896.  My buddy must have blackmailed a member to gain access to this venerable old jewel of Portland golf because it's a tough place to crack. It owes design roots to H. Chandler Egan, A. Vernon Macan and former member Jack Moffett.  I have been looking forward to checking it out for a while.  Judging from the images she looks old.  The final two holes finish hard by the Willamette river.  One of those par 3 greens possesses some of the neatest tilt I have ever set eyes upon.  Enjoy folks.....TTYL  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mike Wagner]

Michael:  Great photo tour!

I have had the pleasure of playing Waverly a few times and it is absolutely pure.  Some intense greens and narrow fairways.

Thanks!

[JohnV]

the first unknown Broken Top hole is #11  I can't remember the rest.

the Waverly holes are

6
6 from the side
9
11
unsure, could be 15
16
and finally 18

This was the site of Tiger's 3rd US Junior championship.

[BVince]

Is the Waverly course in the Portland area?

[JohnV]

Bryon,

Yes it is on the Willamette River about 10 miles south of downtown Portland in the town of Milwaukee.

[Pat Howard]

That photo of 11 green @ Waverly doesn't do it justice! As Michael mentioned, it is a HUGE drop off on the front of the green. Bordering on circus stuff, but a ton of fun to play. I played the course for a US Open qualifier a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

[igrowgrass]

The first broken top photo is #11, the second is #10 from the middle of the fairway.
The third is the Tee shot at #11.
The last one is the tee shot on the front nine I think it might be 5 or 6.

[Garland Bayley]

How does Chehalem Glenn compare to Persimmon with respect to hills and walking hills?

[Dan Herrmann]

Waverley is seriously underrated - perhaps because it IS a tough course to get to play.   I think it's perhaps the best private Portland area course.

[Sean Leary]

Waverly is a real treat. One of the better "places" in golf that I have been.

How about the tilt on #3 green.  Wow!

[Michael Dugger]

How does Chehalem Glenn compare to Persimmon with respect to hills and walking hills?

Garland,

I played Persimmon once.  Billy goat stuff...  

Chehalem Glenn is a tough walk.  Probably tougher to walk, in my opinion, than Persimmon.  I'll never walk 18 again.  You could rip off nine holes, especially the front, without too much labor, however.  

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mike & Pat,

Thanks for the pictures.

I particularly enjoyed the skyline green.

Montclair Golf Club, a 36 hole golf course with 27 by Ross and 9 by Banks rarely presents a level lie, yet, the challenge, fun and interest are high.

I'd like your thoughts on a few issues.

While the stately trees appear to be an asset, are they also a liability, agronomically ?   Many holes appear to be heaviliy shaded.

In addition, did the permiting process restrict tree removal as some trees appear invasive or constricting of the lines of play.

Are you aware of any permiting issues that compromised the design and/or playing experience ?

Thanks

[Dan Herrmann]

Patrick,
To give you an idea of Tree management in Oregon, here's a link to a brochure from the city I used to live in:  http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/departments/CDD/Development/brochures/tree_removal.pdf

And, yes, the club I was a member at in Portland, Riverside, has issues with shade and air movement.  It's a pretty common problem in Oregon.

[Eric Johnson]

Why the predeliction for leaving trees in the fairway?  For whatever reason it seems to be common in Central Oregon.  

[Michael Dugger]

Patrick,

I cannot comment intelligibly on the tree issue.

For what it is worth, Chehalem was adequately wide, much more so than some of the stuff I play around here like Skamania.  Black Butte's courses get awfully narrow in places too.  Gene Mason is apparently afraid of chopping the timber, methinks.  I thought every good Oregonian was born with an axe in their hands!

[Pete_Pittock]

The last unknown Broken Top picture is of #13.

Chehalem Glenn is in the middle of Oregon wine country.

[David Whitmer]

I was very fortunate to play Waverly a few years ago. We were traveling from Cincinnati to Bandon Dunes, and had an 8-hour layover in Portland. On a whim, I decided to call up the pro at Waverly to see if he would let us play (I was a club pro at the time). I must have caught him in a good mood, because he let us come out. What a treat! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Combining the coastline, the mountains, and the middle area, Oregon has got to be one of the country's most beautiful states.