Central Oregon Offers Top Golf

Super Scenery, Amazing Value, Lasting Memories from Four Courses not named “Bandon”

Chris Duthie

Pictured above: Tetherow Golf Club

There’s no disputing Bandon Dunes has the chops to be on every golfer’s must-play bucket list. The celebrated resort offers 72 holes of world-class golf—plus two par-3 courses and a 100,000-square-foot putting course—collectively showcasing the uncompromising design talents of David McLay Kidd, Tom Doak, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

That’s not to infer, however, that Oregon’s singular golf experiences begin and end in on Bandon’s sublime, windswept shores. For a better perspective of why we regard the Beaver State a top golf destination, look no further than the following recommendations:

1. If you’re a fan of exceptional Scottish-style links courses, pay homage to Tetherow Golf Club in Bend. McLay Kidd’s acclaimed semi-private design is a rollicking, sand-laden romp through overgrown hillocks, desert wetlands, illusory knolls and ragged bunkers. Deceiving and challenging, its Top 10 Best in State ranking by Golf Digest is well deserved, and it offers players the smile-inducing option to cruise the course on a GolfBoard.

2. Also in Bend, the Troon Golf-managed Pronghorn Golf Club (above) spotlights two of the game’s master craftsmen, Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus. Superior conditioning, piñon-defining shotlines, lava rock outcroppings and a surrounding 20,000-acre wilderness that includes Mount Bachelor, Broken Top and Three Sisters mountains further underscore Pronghorn’s allure.

3. Located 15 miles south of Bend at the base of the Cascade Mountains, Sunriver Resort’s (above) renowned amenities include mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, fly fishing and four outstanding golf courses crafted by Robert Trent Jones Jr., John Fought and Bob Cupp. Don’t miss playing Cupp’s heathland styled Crosswater layout, which stylishly navigates the meandering Deschutes and Little Deschutes rivers.

4. Just west of Portland, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (above) is so formidable that its private Witch Hollow course has hosted numerous top-flight championships, including the 1996 U.S. Amateur (won by Tiger Woods) and the 1997 and 2003 U.S. Women’s Open (Alison Nicholas and Hilary Lunke, respectively). Bob Cupp designed the 36-hole facility, which includes the public-accessible Ghost Creek, scene of David Duval’s dramatic victory at the 1993 Nike Tour Championship.

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Bend in the Road

Chris Duthie is a Durango-based contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer, the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.