Pronghorn Golf Club at Juniper Reserve
When you think of golf in Oregon, the first thing that naturally comes to mind is Bandon Dunes. After all, many consider Bandon the best golf resort in America. But other parts of Oregon that might fly under the radar should be high on your list, whether you’re looking to extend a Bandon trip or simply pining for another great destination.
One of our favorite spots to play golf, bar none, is in Central Oregon. It offers an incredible outdoor recreation scene, which, of course, includes golf. There are a variety of courses – more than 20 in the area – to fit various budgets with different terrains and vibes. There are even times during the year when you can ski and play golf on the same trip.
With more than 300 days of sunshine annually, Central Oregon is an ideal location for anyone looking to tee it up. The Cascades and high desert landscapes around communities like Bend, Redmond, and Sisters are simply stunning. And the courses that are open to the public are designed by some of the best names in architecture. Let’s take a look:
Fly into Redmond
Central Oregon is nearly five hours from Bandon Dunes, so unless you’re on an extended golf vacation or you already live in the area, you’re most likely to fly into the Redmond Municipal Airport, which is just north of Bend and offers direct flights to and from western cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and San Diego.
Upon arrival, there are some great golf choices close by, starting with the Eagle Crest Resort, which is in Redmond.
This family-friendly resort has three courses. Two of them are championship length – the John Thronson-designed Ridge Course, which is the most scenic, and the Resort Course, designed by Gene “Bunny” Mason, which is a little tighter and more challenging. The resort – which also offers hiking, biking, horseback riding, and rafting – has an excellent putting course, too, and the highly revered Challenge Course, a par-63 layout that’s great for players of all levels.
Also in the area, Juniper Golf Course and The Greens at Redmond are two other options for anyone on a budget.
On the higher end is Pronghorn Golf Club at Juniper Preserve, just south of Redmond. There are actually two courses at this magnificent spot. The Nicklaus Course, which is ranked No. 41 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s best 100 public golf courses, is open to the public outside of resort play. It is the more difficult of the two courses at Pronghorn, with stunning holes and a waterfall or two. The back nine is routed through a flow of volcanic rock.
Pronghorn’s Fazio Course (open to resort guests and members) has more generous fairways and one hole in particular that you will never forget – the eighth. This par-3 was built over a lava tube discovered during construction. During the summer, temperatures inside the tube, which you can walk into, are often 20 or 30 degrees cooler than it is outside. The club often stages special events there.
And not too far east of Pronghorn, you’ll find another terrific layout, Brasada Canyons, which is set on the slopes of Powell Butte overlooking the valley below. It’s a Peter Jacobsen design with elevated tee boxes that play to big fairways, with greens set in front of mountain backdrops. Pronghorn and Brasada Canyons make for a great pairing.
Brasada Canyons
Tetherow, Widgi Creek best of Bend
A few miles south to Bend is where we will find one of our favorites, Tetherow Golf Club, which was designed by the same architect who did the original Bandon Dunes Course, Scottish architect David McLay Kidd.
This super-challenging course features wall-to-wall fescue grass, rugged bunkers, and knolls, giving it a Scottish heathland look and an opportunity to hit bump-and-run shots. The par-3 17th has a green that sits within the walls of an old pumice quarry.
Just south of Tetherow is the course at Widgi Creek Resort, another tough test. Designed by Robert Muir Graves, there are a lot of difficult tee shots, as many of the fairways wind through tall pines. By the way, if you love pickleball, this is your spot. Widgi Creek has an indoor facility (10 courts) that it touts as the best in the state.
Another Graves design in Bend is River’s Edge. The golf course is routed along the Deschutes River with a waterfall on the sixth hole and views of Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood.
Some other affordable options in Bend include Lost Tracks Golf Club and Old Back Nine. Lost Tracks is a scenic Brian Whitcomb 7,000-yard layout that feels very secluded. Old Back Nine is just nine holes, but it’s definitely worth checking out with its great views and conditioning. It’s a perfect setup for anyone who wants to play nine holes, then head to the slopes during the spring or fall.
Tetherow Golf Club
Sunriver’s history and beauty
Aside from Bandon Dunes, one of the best-known golf destinations in Oregon is Sunriver Resort, which was built on the site of a World War II training site.
Located south of Bend in the foothills of the Cascades, it has been the host site of many national tournaments, both on the professional and amateur levels. Sunriver has three courses there, all of them challenging and fun to play.
Sunriver’s signature course, The Crosswater Club, is a Bob Cupp/John Fought design situated on 600 acres of wetlands and woodlands along the Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers. When it opened in 1995, it was briefly the longest golf course in America at nearly 7,700 yards. It has played host to numerous PGA Professional Championships as well as tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions.
While Sunriver is the most difficult of the three courses at this wonderful resort, the other two don’t take a back seat in terms of beauty and enjoyment. The Meadows Course borders the Sunriver, as architect Fought paid tribute to classic American golf course architecture. And the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Woodlands Course boasts more mountain views and wonderful water features.
Sunriver Resort
Mountain golf in Sisters
Another one of our favorites is Black Butte Ranch, a family-oriented resort located near Sisters, northwest of Redmond and Bend.
The two courses there are outstanding, having undergone fabulous renovations in recent years. Glaze Meadow was originally designed by Bunny Mason, but Fought and his associate Mike Gogel redid the course to perfection. They cleared out thousands of trees to restore the meadows and created new greens complexes to give this course a classic look with outstanding conditioning.
The other course, Big Meadow, was originally designed by Graves in 1972, but Damian Pascuzzo worked his magic there as well, creating the perfect complement to Glaze Meadow. Both courses have stunning views of the snow-capped mountains. Most recently, the resort added a wonderful putting course.
Also in Sisters, Aspen Lakes GC was Oregon’s first Audubon International Signature Course. The environmentally-friendly layout designed by William Overdorf (nine holes in 1987 and nine in 2000) has unique red-sand bunkers.
Black Butte Ranch