Beyond the Dunes: Central Oregon’s golf stunners

There are doubtless Coloradoans who read travel articles describing a place as the most beautiful in the world and chuckle, think “Hold my beer.”

Colorado mountains bow to no one.

Nonetheless, Coloradans appreciate that there probably are other locations that compare favorably with their own state and that they might even be worth visiting.

The whole of the western United States is full of staggeringly eye-catching landscapes, and if there’s a golf course in the picture then so much the better.

Oregon has entered the chat.

Oregon has several courses whose surroundings would make even the proudest of Colorado golfers sit up and take notice. Of course, Bandon Dunes in the southwest corner offers six that are within easy walking distance of each other on the coast, four hours south of Portland. But Oregon isn’t all about Bandon Dunes.

Two hundred and fifty miles inland, a little to the northeast and just the other side of the Cascade Mountain Range, is an area that claims a number of enjoyable resort courses plus a mountain town that frequently gets ranked among America’s best.

Bend and its neighboring cities of Sisters and Redmond form a wonderful triangle that’s part of a region known to travelers as Central Oregon. And while Colorado has its sensational mountain courses, the UK its historic links and heathland venues, and Melbourne, Australia its famous Sandbelt collection, Central Oregon boasts layouts that have an undeniable sense of place as well.

The high desert of Central Oregon sits at an altitude of not-quite-mile-high 4,000-4,500 feet, and is characterized by its semi-arid climate (roughly 11 inches of rain a year and perfect summer days in the mid-high 70s) and distinctive flora – pine, juniper, sagebrush and, for those looking for a little piece of home, Rocky Mountain Penstemon.

Golfing here is a heavenly way to spend a day. There are a dozen or more worthy courses that tick the high desert boxes – dry, firm, pines, sage, juniper – and most of which throw in spectacular views west toward Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters, white-topped peaks that form part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

The quartet of courses that attract the most attention are at Tetherow, Black Butte Ranch, Crosswater (Sunriver), and Pronghorn.

Tetherow is a David McLay Kidd design that has been softened over the years, but when it’s at its firmest and there’s a 15 to 20 MPH breeze in the air, it can still be extremely challenging. It opened in 2008 and has matured beautifully and gained a well-deserved reputation as one of the best courses in the Pacific Northwest.

The high-end neighborhood that surrounds it has grown over the last decade or so, but you won’t really notice it as you try to figure out how your ball is going to behave once it’s landed. A good ground game is essential to scoring well here and that means not only having a sound technique and being able to pinch the ball cleanly off tight turf but also a vivid imagination. Your stock shots will come in useful, but you’ll need an extra dimension if you’re to finish the round anywhere near your handicap. There are several highlights, but the hole you’ll remember longest will be the short 17th, which Kidd found in a pumice quarry.

The resort here has been named the best in the region and, in 2023, was voted by readers of Condé Nast Traveler as the 28th best in the world. So you get the idea it’s a pretty special place. Solomon’s, the resort’s main restaurant, is currently being renovated, but the alternatives – The Row and The Café – are fine deputies. Tetherow.com

Pronghorn Golf Club is 16 miles northeast of Bend, a drive that takes you into definitive high-desert country. As you approach the clubhouse on the long and twisting driveway, you’ll get a flavor of what’s in store. Both the Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio-designed courses here are fairly open with holes surrounded by a lot of sage, low trees, assorted shrubbery, sand, and rocks, with the occasional water feature. Both are fabulous, though Fazio’s sits higher in the rankings and is usually considered the more eagerly-won tee-time. Indeed, you need to be staying at the adjoining Juniper Preserve Resort to get one of the few spots available for resort guests.

Among the attractive jumble of high-desert clutter are the sort of playing surfaces you expect to find at upscale resorts like Pronghorn. A larger pro shop and the Iris Restaurant and Blue Bar recently opened, making an already superb destination a little bit better. JuniperReserve.Com

Black Butte Ranch, a 1,800-acre resort community, passes its 55th birthday this year and is regarded as something of a Grand Old Dame of Central Oregon golf resorts. To assume its best days are long gone, however, would be wildly inaccurate, as just last year, its incredible new Lodge Restaurant, which opened in May 2023, was named one of America’s 50 most beautiful restaurants by OpenTable and People Magazine.

There are two courses here – Big Meadow, originally designed by Robert Muir Graves in 1972 and renovated by his former associate Damian Pascuzzo in 2008; and the Gene Mason-designed Glaze Meadow, which opened in 1980 and benefited from a large-scale renovation by John Fought in 2012. Trees came down, fairways were widened, greens reverted to their original size and shape, and bunkers were replaced, removed, and revived.

Even though Black Butte Ranch is closer to the mountains than Pronghorn, views of the snowy summits are fewer as most of the 36 holes were cut through a fairly dense pine forest. Both courses are now regarded as Pacific Northwest classics that shouldn’t be missed. BlackButteRanch.Com

Crosswater opened in 1995 and is part of the Sunriver Resort, 20 miles south of Bend, and was designed by Bob Cupp who made terrific use of the Little Deschutes River in siting greens and creating a disarming test which opened in 1995 and, on a warm day with a gentle breeze and Mt. Jefferson looking resplendent against a deep blue sky, provides a very special day’s golf.

Each of the four clubs/courses/resorts above has excellent lunch and dinner options, but if you fancy something a little different choose a designated driver, or call for an Uber, and head out on the 18-stop Bend Ale Trail where each brewery/pub offers its own food or partners with caterers or food trucks. And if you really want to do Central Oregon right, you’ll start each day at the historic McKay Cottage on O.B. Riley Road in Bend with a Baha Hask Stack.  Crosswater.Com

And should you have time for any more golf, try the excellent Brasada Canyon Golf Course, Aspen Lakes Golf Course, Juniper Golf Course, Quail Run Golf Course, or the two other courses at the Sunriver Resort (where you must stay to play) – Woodland and Meadows.

You probably won’t have time to visit all of Central Oregon’s golf courses in one trip. But then, you probably won’t make just one trip to what is a highly desirable, yet hugely underrated, destination.