My trip to Central Oregon has concluded, and I just thought I would share about the course I played and saw.
Pictures hopefully will come later.
Day 1 & 4: River's Edge Golf Course
After playing the front nine the day I drove down to Bend, I was impressed by the quality of this course. While quirky, I thought River's Edge was a fun layout. My favorite hole was the third, a bending par-four where the tee shot is half blind (depending if you decide to cut the corner). The first time I played the hole I pulled a drive, severely, but had 105 left in the middle of the fairway. The eighth hole was fun with a huge rock formation in the middle of the fairway, and though not really in play, it was a cool feature I had never seen before.
The back nine began with a great hole and after playing the front nine twice already by the time I stepped on the tenth tee I was excited to see what else the course had to offer. Unfortunately, the back nine was nothing special, with the tenth and possibly the eighteenth being the only real solid holes on the nine. However, being that the last nine was carved into a huge hillside high above town the views were great and therefore I was ok with some mediocre holes. After all, $17 for golf on vacation is pretty darn good!
Day 2: Pronghorn Golf Club - Fazio Course
Fazio, in my book, is two for two. Pronghorn was simply fantastic. Everything was top notch: the facility, the service, the conditioning, and, most importantly, the golf course. Once I got through the windy road to the course Dad and I were greeted by some fiendly workers who took care of my bag while Dad and I went to the pro shop (keeping in mind we knew nobody there!). We went to my bag, and rode over to the practice tee, where water and other little treats awaited us. After a while on the range a friend of mine showed up and then the pro met us on the putting green.
WE went to the first hole and it was just spectacular. The tee is on a mini bluff above some water and what made it double good is that all three tee balls were in the fairway (my dad simply rode along). The way the bunkers situated into the surrounds and seemingly fit in with nature were so cool. Throughout the first hole, the incredible bunkers and how they dictated play made the course a treat to play. While #' 1, 2, and 6 were all great holes the best hole on the front was #8. It is a par three, somewhat redanish, over a huge canyon. Below the hole there is a path to the bottom of the canyon, where, on each canyon side, rests a huge cave created by lava flow. The hole itself provided a great green and a huge slope right to propel balls toward the green in case of errant shots (as I found out).
The back nine was also very nice, with the bunkers being still my favorite aspect of the course. Holes 11, 12, 14, 17, and 18 were all standout holes. #12 had one tough green which was great defense to such a short par-5. The seventeenth provided two greens, each offering different routes and ways to play the hole from the tee. #18 is an exciting finishing hole. It is a reachable par-5 of some 540 yards. After a good drive, I nailed a perfect four iron that was tracking right at the pin however it just barely missed and went into a bunker, almost resulting in a bogey from 20 yards. The green and its surrounds were great.
Overall, Pronghorn was ttally top notch and amazing. I wish I could go in depth on each hole but that could take a while!
Day 3: Juniper Golf Course
Well, Juniper was everything it was cracked up to be. Pete Pittock drove down from Portland for the round and thankfully did not get any ass pictures, and was good company. We both agree the course is a hidden little gem, though it really isn't all that hidden. Its still a fun course, and one worthy of a try.
The most notable feature of Juniper was the ridges, some very large, in th fairways. Often play was dictated by a somne sort of ridge or fairway contour, which showed me that Harbottle did a good job in following what the land gave him. The green also had some fun slope in them, and were very fast and firm!
Some notables holes were the first, fifth, eleventh, twelfth, and fourteenth. The first offered a bunker which needs to be carries or challenge in order to gain the optimal angle into the green. Anything too far left is left with an awkward second shot. The fifth hole is a great long par four. Horbottle uses natural rock formations to challenge the tee ball and second shot. If the player can drive closer to the left side of the fairway, closer to the edge of the course (ob), a better angle and much easier second shot is the reward. However, a drive right, while much easier, will make the second shot difficult. I drove right, and hit a bomb, but had no view of the green and missed the putting surface with just a short iron. The green has great contours, and is just a great hole. Hole eleven has a tee perched high above a rock formation and the green has wonderful contours which make placing the second shot at the correct level a priority. However, that is made difficult by the great fairway contouring. Twelve is a fun short par-four which is driveable with just a three wood even from the tips, but a lay-up shot, while easier, just gives the player a blind second to a very thing green. A natural rock formation juts out to the fairway at the 250 mark from the tee which makes going for the green a big risk as a miss is severely punished. Fourteen has some great fairway bunkers whick dictate the tee shot and second shot. The great green and surrounds make this a very good hole.
Juniper is a must play, I would think, for the area, Coupled with the cheap rates, it cant be beat.
Day 4: Wicked Pony Golf Club, tour
Well, a tour of Mr. Doak's course under construction, Wicked Pony, was arranged and this was perhaps the biggest highlight of the trip, along with Pronghorn. Dad and I met an associate of Mr. Doak, Mike, who was a great guy and the fact he took his time to give us the tour of the course while it was under construction was just so cool. Thanks a lot, Mike!
The overall course will be absolutely spectacular. I dont want to give some of the future holes away, but I can say tht the bunkering will be amazing. Mike emphasized the fact that the bunkers will blen in almost perfectly with the surrounding terrain, and the bunkers will even be filled with sand to match that which is in the surrounding desert area, as to look completely natural. The greens will be fun and from what I can tell this could turn out to be a brute of a course.
I felt that one strong feature of this course was the way it was routed. The site provides some big ridges, and the ridges were used in a spectacular manner, with an impressive array of holes using the ridge. The variety of holes along the ridge was truly spectacular. No two holes are really the same. Another interesting feature of this course was the fact that there are a lot of half-par holes. The are a lot of long par-4's, short par-5's, and short-par4's. Plus there will be a ball buster, long par-3 which seems to be one of the cooler looking holes.
Ok, I've said enough of the course. All I can say is to look forward to something great. I'm sure once all the courses at Remington Ranch are completed, it will be a huge attraction.
With Pronghorn and Remington Ranch (where Wicked Pony plus two others soon to be built are located) in the area, Central Oregon may just be a new golf hot spot. The Bend area will provide a great mixture of private and public golf. Juniper is great and open to the public. There is also an abundance of other fun public tracks in the area, including Sunriver don the road to intrigue people to the area. Bend is well worth a visit. Me thinks that this will be even more true in a couple years though..
Anyone who has played or seen any of the above mentioned courses, I would love to hear thoughts.
Cheers,
Jordan