| I've now made two trips to Oregon from my home in Fort Wayne, IN. And I must say, I've captured some memories that will be with me for a lifetime. Please take my advice: plan a golf trip to Oregon! Go with your buddies; go with your significant other; go alone!! Just get there!!! You will never forget it. Why? Because there are ten courses within the "Oregon Triangle" that are must plays. Nine of these courses are currently on the major Top 100 Lists and one was rated in the recent past. You can easily play each of these ten courses in a week and stay at several of the finest golf resorts in the country. | |
Take a look at a map of Oregon. Locate the cities of Portland, Bandon, and Bend. You will see that each is a vertex of an (almost) equilateral triangle. Inside this triangle you will discover places with scenery you will remember for a lifetime. I flew into Portland for my first dose of Oregon golf in 2004. This past summer, Oregon was a stop on a drive from the Midwest.
As always, I structure my trips for the express purpose of playing courses on the Top 100 Lists towards my goal of playing them all. During my first trip in 2004, I played the four courses that were on the Top 100 Public lists at the time. These included:
You never know who you will meet on a golf course. During this trip, I was privileged to play two rounds of golf at Bandon Dunes with Mark Hittner and Tom Sifferman, two members of Ed Hochuli's top-rated NFL referee crew. The previous February, they had worked Super Bowl XXXVIII. We met on the first tee at the Bandon Dunes course. They had some interesting stories to tell as you can imagine. At Bandon Dunes, you will play three courses with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. All four courses at the resort are rated at 16 or better on both Golf Magazine's and Golf Digest's Top 100 public courses lists. And the course with no views of the Pacific, Bandon Trails, happens to be my favorite of the four. Be aware, these are walking only courses. Get your legs in shape as you will need to carry or push your clubs in a cart or hire one of Bandon Dunes' caddies.
Pumpkin Ridge was the site of the 2003 U.S. Women's Open Championship and also where Tiger Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship. It also hosted the LPGA's Safeway Classic from 2009 through 2011.
The Crosswater course at Sunriver is a certified Audubon Sanctuary and has been the host site of the PGA of America's National Championship three times. Both the Deschutes and Little Deschutes rivers flow through the course. That made the cold Deschutes River IPA beverage I enjoyed after my round all the better.
I traveled to Oregon a second time this past July and played six courses that were on Top 100 Lists, both public and private. These included:
Eugene Country Club is a private course where many USGA events have been played including the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur. You can play this course with the help of your club professional. Sandpines (not currently on a Top 100 List but formerly as high as 29th on Golf Magazine's 1996 list) is a real bargain and is right on the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles north of Bandon. Be prepared for lots of wind. At Old Macdonald, you will putt on greens that are the largest in the U.S., over 250,000 square feet of grass! Try to make it through 18 holes here without a 3-putt!! Pronghorn is so well-manicured you can eat off the fairways!!
Golf Magazine recently gave The Bandon Dunes resort a Platinum rating (its highest). Pronghorn and Sunriver resorts were given the Silver rating.
Don't wait until you are too old to swing a golf club! Put the "Oregon Triangle" on your Bucket List immediately. You won't be sorry.
- Pumpkin Ridge (Ghost Creek Course) - North Plains
- Bandon Dunes Resort (Bandon Dunes Course) - Bandon
- Bandon Dunes Resort (Pacific Dunes Course) - Bandon
- Sunriver Resort (Crosswater Course) - Sunriver
You never know who you will meet on a golf course. During this trip, I was privileged to play two rounds of golf at Bandon Dunes with Mark Hittner and Tom Sifferman, two members of Ed Hochuli's top-rated NFL referee crew. The previous February, they had worked Super Bowl XXXVIII. We met on the first tee at the Bandon Dunes course. They had some interesting stories to tell as you can imagine. At Bandon Dunes, you will play three courses with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. All four courses at the resort are rated at 16 or better on both Golf Magazine's and Golf Digest's Top 100 public courses lists. And the course with no views of the Pacific, Bandon Trails, happens to be my favorite of the four. Be aware, these are walking only courses. Get your legs in shape as you will need to carry or push your clubs in a cart or hire one of Bandon Dunes' caddies.
Pumpkin Ridge was the site of the 2003 U.S. Women's Open Championship and also where Tiger Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship. It also hosted the LPGA's Safeway Classic from 2009 through 2011.
The Crosswater course at Sunriver is a certified Audubon Sanctuary and has been the host site of the PGA of America's National Championship three times. Both the Deschutes and Little Deschutes rivers flow through the course. That made the cold Deschutes River IPA beverage I enjoyed after my round all the better.
I traveled to Oregon a second time this past July and played six courses that were on Top 100 Lists, both public and private. These included:
- Eugene Country Club - Eugene
- Sandpines Golf Club - Florence
- Bandon Dunes Resort (Bandon Trails Course) - Bandon
- Bandon Dunes Resort (Old Macdonald Course) - Bandon
- Pronghorn Resort (Nicklaus Course) - Bend
- Tetherow Golf Club - Bend
Eugene Country Club is a private course where many USGA events have been played including the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur. You can play this course with the help of your club professional. Sandpines (not currently on a Top 100 List but formerly as high as 29th on Golf Magazine's 1996 list) is a real bargain and is right on the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles north of Bandon. Be prepared for lots of wind. At Old Macdonald, you will putt on greens that are the largest in the U.S., over 250,000 square feet of grass! Try to make it through 18 holes here without a 3-putt!! Pronghorn is so well-manicured you can eat off the fairways!!
Golf Magazine recently gave The Bandon Dunes resort a Platinum rating (its highest). Pronghorn and Sunriver resorts were given the Silver rating.
Don't wait until you are too old to swing a golf club! Put the "Oregon Triangle" on your Bucket List immediately. You won't be sorry.
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