Portland area course conditions

[ruffellprefley]

reserve south today. great time to not be at work!

[BirdieRoll]

Quick question: in the Willamette Valley area I know about Langdon Farms and Chehalem Glenn. Any other public courses of note? Say within 45 minutes of McMinnville. Thank you.

[ruffellprefley]

OGA in Woodburn is probably within 45 of mcminville...

[jpdx]

Quick question: in the Willamette Valley area I know about Langdon Farms and Chehalem Glenn. Any other public courses of note? Say within 45 minutes of McMinnville. Thank you.

 

OGA is probably within 45min like Ruffellprefley said...although shorter if you go could as the crow flies (not possible). There's a course in Corvallis - Trysting Tree - redesigned last year and Home of the OSU Beavers, thats a straight shot and depending on how fast you drive could be 45 min...(google said just over an hour)

[Kernel]

Quick question: in the Willamette Valley area I know about Langdon Farms and Chehalem Glenn. Any other public courses of note? Say within 45 minutes of McMinnville. Thank you.

 

The Reserve is probably right at 45 mins away and Pumpkin Ridge wouldn't be more than 10 mins further

[spud3]

Quick question: in the Willamette Valley area I know about Langdon Farms and Chehalem Glenn. Any other public courses of note? Say within 45 minutes of McMinnville. Thank you.

 

The Reserve is probably right at 45 mins away and Pumpkin Ridge wouldn't be more than 10 mins further

 

Quail Valley is a straight shot up 47 and probably 30-40 minutes from McMinn

[TheGeekGolfer]

Do a radius search in Google maps... http://www.bayougolfcourse.com, http://www.crosscreekgc.com

[Bearinthewoods]

Quick question: in the Willamette Valley area I know about Langdon Farms and Chehalem Glenn. Any other public courses of note? Say within 45 minutes of McMinnville. Thank you.

 

Everyone has mentioned some good ones north or east of McMinnville, but

 

South of McMinnville:

Cross Creek off of 22 outside of Dallas- best value, link style hybrid course. Best track for $35 for 18 holes.

 

Creekside Golf Club in Salem- best track overall in Salem, I believe it is $45 for non-members, and if you are a member at Michelbook at McMinnville it is only $25

[Kernel]

Played Chehalem Glenn for the first time on Saturday and, wow . . . I do not like that course. More than a few gimmicky holes, forced carries, layups off the tee. Number 11 was the worst - elevated tee to a very narrow fairway that slopes hard to the right into a hazard and a large tree eliminating the left half of the fairway unless you played a big draw. Combined with baked out rough on the right . . . little chance to not end up in the hazard.

 

Even the straightforward holes were mostly forgettable other than some elevation change.

 

Greens were very slow, fairways were ok, but many areas of hardpan in the rough.

 

I imagine this was first and last time playing here.

[soregongolfer]

Played Chehalem Glenn for the first time on Saturday and, wow . . . I do not like that course. More than a few gimmicky holes, forced carries, layups off the tee. Number 11 was the worst - elevated tee to a very narrow fairway that slopes hard to the right into a hazard and a large tree eliminating the left half of the fairway unless you played a big draw. Combined with baked out rough on the right . . . little chance to not end up in the hazard.

 

Even the straightforward holes were mostly forgettable other than some elevation change.

 

Greens were very slow, fairways were ok, but many areas of hardpan in the rough.

 

I imagine this was first and last time playing here.

 

I played there last year and wondered why people spoke so highly of the place.

[JDIL]

Flying in next week to Portland. Want to play friday the 24th. Last minute I know, so tee times at Stone Creek and Langdon are around 1:45pm which is fine (it gets dark later up there right?).

 

pumpkin ridge ghost is $150 walking, so if it is worth it, we'd play there for the experience.

 

Any other suggestions for courses? What is the one course you'd play, available to public, if you only had one day there?

[spud3]

1:45PM tee time is plenty of time to fit in 18 holes. You could probably get another 9 in without much problem

 

IMO, Pumpkin is not worth $150, but I've played there a bunch.

 

I'm a bit biased, but if I had only one day to play one public course, it would be Langdon. That's why it's my home club, even though I have to drive a bit to get there from SE PDX.

 

Another option would be playing 27 or 36 at Heron Lakes. Both RTJ II courses, great designs that unfortunately suffer a bit in the maintenance department due to being munis. Also much closer to the airport, if that matters.

[JDIL]

1:45PM tee time is plenty of time to fit in 18 holes. You could probably get another 9 in without much problem

 

IMO, Pumpkin is not worth $150, but I've played there a bunch.

 

I'm a bit biased, but if I had only one day to play one public course, it would be Langdon. That's why it's my home club, even though I have to drive a bit to get there from SE PDX.

 

Another option would be playing 27 or 36 at Heron Lakes. Both RTJ II courses, great designs that unfortunately suffer a bit in the maintenance department due to being munis. Also much closer to the airport, if that matters.

How about the reserve?

 

I think I'm down to Langdon, Stone Creek, and Reserve

 

EDIT: Maybe not the Reserve north. I'm hot and cold, and that sounds like a bad course if I'm cold :)

[TheGeekGolfer]

Langdon, no question in my mind. Late afternoon round, solid food and drinks on a Friday night in their great restaurant. Watching the sunset after a birdie on the 18th, perfect!

[spud3]

1:45PM tee time is plenty of time to fit in 18 holes. You could probably get another 9 in without much problem

 

IMO, Pumpkin is not worth $150, but I've played there a bunch.

 

I'm a bit biased, but if I had only one day to play one public course, it would be Langdon. That's why it's my home club, even though I have to drive a bit to get there from SE PDX.

 

Another option would be playing 27 or 36 at Heron Lakes. Both RTJ II courses, great designs that unfortunately suffer a bit in the maintenance department due to being munis. Also much closer to the airport, if that matters.

How about the reserve?

 

I think I'm down to Langdon, Stone Creek, and Reserve

 

EDIT: Maybe not the Reserve north. I'm hot and cold, and that sounds like a bad course if I'm cold :)

 

I prefer Reserve South, but that's just me. All depends on how you feel about bunkers, because there are a lot on the South course. The design of the North course is fairly 'meh' for me. There are plenty on the board that love it.

 

Facilities at the Reserve are excellent. It's a bit of a drive west from the central city area. Langdon is a bit of a drive south. Same for Stone Creek. Time of day and where you are travelling from could be a factor in both cases.

[spud3]

Langdon Saturday morning was absolutely perfect. Greens are not lightning fast, but fast enough...

 

Only bummer was the clog of I-5 around Tualatin. Lots of road work going on right now in both directions.

[Randy_Bobandy]

Played Pumpkin Ghost Creek last weekend because I hadn't played it before and wanted to get a round in before the rain comes back. Course was in good condition even though they had punched the fairways, didn't seem to affect play. Greens were not punched yet (soon I guess) and surprisingly quick, rolled more than a few well past the hole. Went on as a single and joined the group ahead of me on the 9th tee box, but pace of play was good. I think I finished right on 4 hours. Luckily the weather held off until we were walking up to the 18th green.

 

I'm curious what you all think of Ghost Creek. For me it was just very ... underwhelming. Especially since I paid $70. The fairways were generally straight and the greens didn't have much break in them. I hesitate to call it "boring", but there just seemed to only be one way to play each hole. That play was to hit the ball straight in the fairway then straight at the pin. 9, 12, and 17 are notable exceptions. #9 making you plan your approach because of the water, #12 making you place your drive because of the dogleg, and #17 for its risk/reward off the tee. I know that not every hole can be "interesting", but compared to Langdon, The Reserve, Stone Creek, or even Redtail the number of "interesting" holes fell way short.

 

Also, anyone have a report on how Quail Valley is doing? I might as well get out there if its still in good shape.

[DeNinny]

Randy_Bobandy Ghost Creek used to be a great affordable good quality course. But now with price hikes it is an expensive and underwhelming course for the price. I refuse to play there anymore simply because the rates are too high for what you get. Plus it is a horrible winter course. It's a bog in the winter and even late into the summer there are a few soggy holes.

 

All that said I like the design and the greens are usually in good shape. But again unless I can play it for $40 or less I won't play there.

 

Pro Tip: Play Witch Hollow if you ever get the opportunity. It is a true top tier country club design. It is a better challenge and design than Ghost Creek. I have no issue paying $75-$90 to play it.

 

In other news, played Greenback at Heron Lakes and Red Tail last weekend. Both are in good shape. Red Tail was a WRXers Skinz Game round with WishIPlayedMore and jpdx. Fun stuff although I came in second to WishIPlayedMore. Grrr...

[ruffellprefley]

playing OGA sunday.. anyone play recently that can comment on conditions?

 

 

EDIT:

 

Course was recently plugged but the greens were still pretty fast and rolled fairly true with the exception of a couple slower putts that didn't hold their line as they got to the hole. Didn't notice any soft spots around either with recent rains.

 

Overall in good shape (which isn't something I can say about my game).

[Ty Vil]

Played Portland Golf Club Sunday - in gorgeous shape as usual; the greens are like an ice rink.. Too bad I played like trash.

[spud3]

Greenback course at Heron Lakes yesterday with DeNinny and joeypdx. Perfect afternoon/evening conditions. Course was in decent shape. Greens had been tined a week earlier and were long and slow and sandy. Not as bad a a full core aeration, but still bumpy. Quite firm.

 

Fairways have started into their winter mode, a bit thin in some spots, and they were letting a lot of the rough grow out.

 

They do need to move the ropes more often at the range. Had a hard time finding a good spot to hit from.

[Randy_Bobandy]

Played The Reserve South Course today. Greens and areas around the greens had been punched and sanded only 4 or so days ago. Pleasantly surprised how well they played, though finding the right speed on long putts was challenging. Ball wasn't bouncing around, they putted pretty true for the most part (except the hundreds of helicopter seeds on #17 made it like a plinko board, oh well). Was also delighted with how good the sand was there. It seems like all the other courses I play have hard and course sand (it gets everywhere!), but The Reserve's is light and fluffy. Got caught in a few fairway bunkers (not knowing the carry from the tee box will do that), and the sand is very unforgiving with an iron because the ball will nestle down a little bit every time. Very tricky from the fairway, but the greenside bunkers were a joy to splash out of.

 

I played the North course last year around this time and really enjoyed it, but I think I like the layout of the South course more. It seemed like nearly every hole made me think about my tee shot, and there were a few fun big-risk big-reward holes that I want another crack at. I'm not sure when it will turn into a swamp, but it is still playing quite well right now.

[DeNinny]

Played nine at Eastmoreland yesterday. The greens aren't quite healed from punching over a week ago. They were slightly slow and sandy.

 

[OH3Sticks]

Heron Lakes on the Great Blue side keeps having their greens at a speed I believe is too slow for the caliber of course, it was an issue all summer and that continued when I played last week. Not to mention they're still charging peak season rates.

[spud3]

Langdon today, cashed in my Farm Card Free Round. Aerating was completed about 10 days ago and the greens are almost healed. Some bumpiness, but rolling fairly quick and they are holding beautifully. Fairways are in great shape. Rough has been cut down as well. Pampas bushes are not yet cropped.

 

Stunningly perfect Early Fall day.

[R4haehl]

I was in Portland this past weekend visiting family who happens to live about 15 min away from Pumpkin Ridge. Found out a few days prior that I had time to get a round in, so I booked a time at Ghost Creek. It had been on my list of "want to play" and this worked out great since weather was beautiful this weekend. Played GC at 8am on 10/20.

 

First 3-4 holes were still foggy but very playable. Then it was all blue sky from there on! I found the course to be in great shape despite morning dew, which caused the ball to pick up sand on the greens. By the back 9, it had dried out and the greens were rolling nicely. However, I can absolutely see how this course could get really soggy in the off season. I was paired up with another single, and the other 2 who were supposed to complete the 4some showed up late, so we took off. We got around in about 3-3.5hrs which was great.

 

Overall, I found the course to be very... underwhelming. I knew going into it that the private course is likely better, I still expected this track to give me more of a "wow factor" for the $100 green fee. I realize I am echoing some prior posts here but I still kept an open mind. With that said, I am glad I played it and that I played well but the next time I am in Portland and have time to play it will be elsewhere. Likely Langdon but my brother in law said that he could put me in touch with some of his friends/colleagues who are members at PR Witch Hollow to get me on out there.

[DeNinny]

Witch Hollow >>> Ghost Creek

 

Played Red Tail Sat and Sun. The greens are almost fully recovered from punching.

[spud3]

I was in Portland this past weekend visiting family who happens to live about 15 min away from Pumpkin Ridge. Found out a few days prior that I had time to get a round in, so I booked a time at Ghost Creek. It had been on my list of "want to play" and this worked out great since weather was beautiful this weekend. Played GC at 8am on 10/20.

 

First 3-4 holes were still foggy but very playable. Then it was all blue sky from there on! I found the course to be in great shape despite morning dew, which caused the ball to pick up sand on the greens. By the back 9, it had dried out and the greens were rolling nicely. However, I can absolutely see how this course could get really soggy in the off season. I was paired up with another single, and the other 2 who were supposed to complete the 4some showed up late, so we took off. We got around in about 3-3.5hrs which was great.

 

Overall, I found the course to be very... underwhelming. I knew going into it that the private course is likely better, I still expected this track to give me more of a "wow factor" for the $100 green fee. I realize I am echoing some prior posts here but I still kept an open mind. With that said, I am glad I played it and that I played well but the next time I am in Portland and have time to play it will be elsewhere. Likely Langdon but my brother in law said that he could put me in touch with some of his friends/colleagues who are members at PR Witch Hollow to get me on out there.

 

That is the prevailing opinion of all the golfers I know here in PDX. A few years ago, I bought a Ghost Card for a couple seasons, which brings the green fees down quite a bit. I played there a lot, and IMO the course gets less interesting the more you play it. Not a lot of strategic options. During the two years I had the card, the course was a wet sponge with at least three temp greens for almost 5 months out of the year. That doesn't cut it around here.

 

I have never played the private side, but I have heard it is much better.

 

Langdon is a much more interesting course design, is just as well maintained, drains better and is about half the cost. Easier to get to, as well, unless you happen to live on the far West side of town.

[mallrat]

Langdon today, cashed in my Farm Card Free Round. Aerating was completed about 10 days ago and the greens are almost healed. Some bumpiness, but rolling fairly quick and they are holding beautifully. Fairways are in great shape. Rough has been cut down as well. Pampas bushes are not yet cropped.

 

Stunningly perfect Early Fall day.

 

How is the bunker renovation going?

[spud3]

Another perfect Fall afternoon at Langdon. Thought there would be some residual mush from the overnight rain, but fairways were reasonably fast and the greens are completely healed from punching last month. The rough has grown out a bit more, so was getting very grabby.

 

Bunkers under renovation have a good base of turf. Not sure what the next steps are, but I'm curious to see how it all plays out.

 

Hardly anyone out there today, so I played solo. Once I got past a rather slow foursome, I was able to play quickly and got around in well under four hours.