Bend, OR Trip

[mallrat]

I believe you can stay in the townhomes or the condos for the stay and play packages. I think you can also do a house through the resort. If you want another fun course is Quail Run in La Pine. 

[R4haehl]

Never played the Sun River courses but have played both Pronghorn. Nicklaus has fantastic conditions and is fun but the Fazio course is fantastic and more memorable. It is not cheap + forecaddie but it is worth it in my mind. We didn't stay at pronghorn. 

 

THe way I got onto Fazio was... I was playing with a buddy at his club and one of the guys who played with us for 9 holes said he knew a guy who worked at pronghorn and made a call while we were with him and got me + 3 onto Fazio. Didn't know the guy before that round and haven't seen him since, but he hooked it up! Gotta love random golf guys that you meet!

Edited September 17, 2021 by R4haehl

[kaschreiber]

13 hours ago, R4haehl said:

Never played the Sun River courses but have played both Pronghorn. Nicklaus has fantastic conditions and is fun but the Fazio course is fantastic and more memorable. It is not cheap + forecaddie but it is worth it in my mind. We didn't stay at pronghorn. 

 

THe way I got onto Fazio was... I was playing with a buddy at his club and one of the guys who played with us for 9 holes said he knew a guy who worked at pronghorn and made a call while we were with him and got me + 3 onto Fazio. Didn't know the guy before that round and haven't seen him since, but he hooked it up! Gotta love random golf guys that you meet!

Thats fantastic! There are four of us on the trip who are members at private courses, so may get our pros to see if they can pull any strings. Didn't know if it was something Sun River- stay at one of their properties through the resort and you're on, but we'll have to pull some strings/cross our fingers. Hoping it's something we can book in advance and not just hope for the best.

[Jeff58]

On 9/16/2021 at 9:15 AM, kaschreiber said:

2022, likely late summer/early fall.

Sun River is in a different environmental zone than Pronghorn. Essentially, Pronghorn is in the desert and SR is on the Cascade escarpment. In July and August, SR is the only realistic choice. There’s also a far greater diversity of activity.

As an “other than SR” golf selection, I’d side with @mallrat and go to Quail Run over Tetherow, at least from an enjoyment and value standpoint. 

[R4haehl]

On 9/17/2021 at 10:25 AM, kaschreiber said:

Thats fantastic! There are four of us on the trip who are members at private courses, so may get our pros to see if they can pull any strings. Didn't know if it was something Sun River- stay at one of their properties through the resort and you're on, but we'll have to pull some strings/cross our fingers. Hoping it's something we can book in advance and not just hope for the best.

Definitely have your pro make a call and ask. 

[Golferpaul]

Eight of us just got back from a week in the Bend area.  We stayed at two houses in Tetherow.  It was a great trip and we would do it again.  Here is how we ranked the courses;

 

1.  Pronghorn - Fazio

2. Crosswater

3.  Brasada Ranch

4.  Black Butte Big Meadow

5.  Tetherow

 

The Tetherow course was a big disappointment.  The architect (David Mclay Kidd) is quite popular with course raters today.  But Tetherow greens are almost unplayable with slopes that you usually only find on a Putt Putt course.  All but one of our group said they would never play it again.  

[Golferpaul]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:25 PM, kaschreiber said:

Thats fantastic! There are four of us on the trip who are members at private courses, so may get our pros to see if they can pull any strings. Didn't know if it was something Sun River- stay at one of their properties through the resort and you're on, but we'll have to pull some strings/cross our fingers. Hoping it's something we can book in advance and not just hope for the best.

Our group are all CC members.  But we got on via the Tetherow resort where we rented two houses.  They got all of our tee times.

[kaschreiber]

45 minutes ago, Golferpaul said:

Our group are all CC members.  But we got on via the Tetherow resort where we rented two houses.  They got all of our tee times.

Good to know- thanks. I've played Tetherow twice and while I liked it, I can see why others didn't and understand the criticism. It wasn't something I was itching to get out on immediately afterward, but enjoy DMK's work. I think others in our group are going to want to just because of DMK, because of it's ranking, etc. and not a hill I'm going to die on with our group. 

[mallrat]

If you are members elsewhere having the head pro call Pronghorn should get you on Fazio pretty easy. 
 

Tetherow is a tale of 2 courses, IMO. The layout and routing is phenomenal, the greens are ridiculous and not in a good way. After Tetherow DMK did the Castle Course and got hammered. I believe next was Gamble Sands and has completely changed what he is doing and has admitted such. He says he has gone back to designing fun golf courses ala Bandon or Gamble. 

[Golferpaul]

Getting on Pronghorn Fazio is easy but it's members only until 12 noon. 

 

I agree about the Tetherow layout except for the useless little hills of tall weeds in the middle of the fairways at about your landing area.

 

But if the greens were normal it would be a fantastic course.

[byoshio82]

Nicklaus course at Pronghorn, Brasada Ranch, Tetherow, Crosswater are all must plays in my opinion. I know this is a 2016 post but all of those have been amazing everytime I play them. Hopefully you enjoyed your trip and make many more to the hidden gem. 

[mallrat]

Initially I preferred Fazio but after working there and playing them both 2-4 times a week, I much prefer Nicklaus. They are both outstanding courses but Nicklaus is a stiffer test. There is a reason they used to host a US Open qualifier there. Fazio is more of a fun round, more laid back. Either way you can’t go wrong, IMO. 

[Seamus_MacDuff]

16 hours ago, mallrat said:

Initially I preferred Fazio but after working there and playing them both 2-4 times a week, I much prefer Nicklaus. They are both outstanding courses but Nicklaus is a stiffer test. There is a reason they used to host a US Open qualifier there. Fazio is more of a fun round, more laid back. Either way you can’t go wrong, IMO. 

Couldn't agree more. Like most Fazio courses, the Pronghorn-Fazio course is visually attractive, but the Nicklaus course is a better test of golf.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Seamus_MacDuff

[pgetzen]

On 9/22/2021 at 4:26 PM, byoshio82 said:

Nicklaus course at Pronghorn, Brasada Ranch, Tetherow, Crosswater are all must plays in my opinion. I know this is a 2016 post but all of those have been amazing everytime I play them. Hopefully you enjoyed your trip and make many more to the hidden gem. 

Moved to Oregon from NC this year and bought at Brasada Ranch.  Love the golf course, great views.  Have played both Pronghorn courses, but next on my list is Crosswater, heard it’s nice as well.

[mallrat]

Crosswater is weird to me. 4 or 5 great holes, 8 average to above average holes and 4 or 5 utterly bland holes. Crosswater’s biggest plus is the setting. 

[spud3]

"Crosswater" is a shortened name for "You'll cross the water about two dozen times on bumpy railroad tie bridges in a cart with an automatic speed limiter"

 

We found that it's a lot more interesting from the blue tees (or more), and I'm not a long hitter.  The Member tees seem to give you a lot of Driver/Short iron holes, if you can even hit driver.

 

Personally, I like the other two courses there as much, if not more.  But I'm a big fan of John Fought (Meadows) courses, and RTJ Jr (Woodlands) as well.  And not a particular fan of Bob Cupp courses (Crosswater, Pumpkin Ridge)

[byoshio82]

21 hours ago, pgetzen said:

Moved to Oregon from NC this year and bought at Brasada Ranch.  Love the golf course, great views.  Have played both Pronghorn courses, but next on my list is Crosswater, heard it’s nice as well.

I loved how at Brasada every hole you feel like you are totally alone and have the hole entirely to yourself. 

[byoshio82]

18 hours ago, mallrat said:

Crosswater is weird to me. 4 or 5 great holes, 8 average to above average holes and 4 or 5 utterly bland holes. Crosswater’s biggest plus is the setting. 

I just enjoyed how demanding it is from the tips. If you’re not hitting it straight it has some teeth. Plus they’ve played the PGA Club Pro Championship there so always fun to see where you stack up against pros so you speak. Low score there is a 71 and I’ll take that any day there. 

[byoshio82]

17 hours ago, spud3 said:

"Crosswater" is a shortened name for "You'll cross the water about two dozen times on bumpy railroad tie bridges in a cart with an automatic speed limiter"

 

We found that it's a lot more interesting from the blue tees (or more), and I'm not a long hitter.  The Member tees seem to give you a lot of Driver/Short iron holes, if you can even hit driver.

 

Personally, I like the other two courses there as much, if not more.  But I'm a big fan of John Fought (Meadows) courses, and RTJ Jr (Woodlands) as well.  And not a particular fan of Bob Cupp courses (Crosswater, Pumpkin Ridge)

Agree with Pumpkin Ridge and Meadows and Woodlands are both enjoyable as well just nice to have options when you’re staying in Sunriver to mix it up a bit. 

[Golferpaul]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:18 PM, pgetzen said:

Moved to Oregon from NC this year and bought at Brasada Ranch.  Love the golf course, great views.  Have played both Pronghorn courses, but next on my list is Crosswater, heard it’s nice as well.

You have to play it to believe it is real.  Worst greens I have ever played.   Our group of eight rated it 5th out of the five courses we played in Bend.

[Seamus_MacDuff]

4 hours ago, Golferpaul said:

You have to play it to believe it is real.  Worst greens I have ever played.   Our group of eight rated it 5th out of the five courses we played in Bend.

I'm curious what time of year you played Crosswater.  Crosswater is at a higher elevation, and I've found the greens can be rough in the Spring months before warmer weather has allowed the greens to recover from winter.  

[Ty-Webb]

On 9/23/2021 at 10:11 PM, spud3 said:

"Crosswater" is a shortened name for "You'll cross the water about two dozen times on bumpy railroad tie bridges in a cart with an automatic speed limiter"

 

We found that it's a lot more interesting from the blue tees (or more), and I'm not a long hitter.  The Member tees seem to give you a lot of Driver/Short iron holes, if you can even hit driver.

 

Personally, I like the other two courses there as much, if not more.  But I'm a big fan of John Fought (Meadows) courses, and RTJ Jr (Woodlands) as well.  And not a particular fan of Bob Cupp courses (Crosswater, Pumpkin Ridge)

 

I couldn't agree more. Only played Crosswater once but have played Meadows and Woodlands several time, and think both of those are amazing tracks. To be fair, I may have built up Crosswater to an unrealistic expectation. I could rotate Meadows and Woodlands and never have an desire to play anywhere else. 

Also, met Steve Williams and his son at Meadows. I heard for years he had a house there but didn't know where nor really cared. I pulled a tee shot left on one hole and caught them doing yard work. 

[Golferpaul]

On 9/26/2021 at 1:00 PM, Seamus_MacDuff said:

I'm curious what time of year you played Crosswater.  Crosswater is at a higher elevation, and I've found the greens can be rough in the Spring months before warmer weather has allowed the greens to recover from winter.  

Mid September.  But I notice that I made an error in the post you are responding to.  It's Tetherow that I was commenting on.  Crosswater was in great shape and the greens are fair.

[mallrat]

2 hours ago, Golferpaul said:

Mid September.  But I notice that I made an error in the post you are responding to.  It's Tetherow that I was commenting on.  Crosswater was in great shape and the greens are fair.

When did you play Tetherow? A couple years ago the greens were a lot better. Over the past couple years Poa has really invaded their greens and last time I played them (about a year ago) they were a mess from the mixture of grasses. Add to that just some general rough patches and they were not good at best. 

[Golferpaul]

22 hours ago, mallrat said:

When did you play Tetherow? A couple years ago the greens were a lot better. Over the past couple years Poa has really invaded their greens and last time I played them (about a year ago) they were a mess from the mixture of grasses. Add to that just some general rough patches and they were not good at best. 

I played Tetherow 10 days ago.  It wasn't the Poa that made them bad greens.  It's the ridiculous undulations with pin placements that were impossible to get to from anywhere on the green except the few feet below the hole.  Decent putts would roll off the green and 20 yards down the fairway.

[kaschreiber]

Bringing this back up. We have all of our logistics now booked- we opted to go the airbnb route for a number of different reasons, so Crosswater is out of the picture. @mallrat was correct, we can get on the Faz at Pronghorn without staying, but is going to run $350, so trying to decide if that's worth it. I get that's ~$100 more than those courses out on the OR coast we all know and love, but figure it's probably the only time we'll try and play it and one of the guys in the group has some loyalty program knocking the Nicklaus to $100, so think we're going to bite the bullet but that's TBD as of now. Our itinerary as of now-

 

Fly in from Seattle Thursday 9/29. Those that get in early are going to play Juniper off the plane. We were hoping to play Juniper on the way out on Sunday, but they are hosting the OR Team Championship that weekend and booked solid. Bummer for us, good for them. Think that speaks to what a fantastic muni you guys have in the area. 

Friday 9/30- 36 at Pronghorn. Deciding as a group if we do 36 on Nicklaus or bite the bullet and play the Faz in the afternoon.

Saturday 10/1. 36 at Tetherow. I know it's a love it or hate it, I like it and a lot in the group want to get out and play it. 

 

Where I'm stuck is Sunday. We're staying NE of Bend near Pine Nursery park, so don't want to travel too far if we can avoid it. The leading candidates are Lost Tracks, Rivers Edge, and Widgi Creek. Any thoughts on a clear winner (or one to clearly avoid) of the three? Is there a 4th we aren't considering but should? 

[spud3]

Consider the other two courses at Sunriver.  One is an RTJ Jr. design and the other is a John Fought design.  Both solid courses.  

 

There's also Quail Run a bit south of Sunriver.  And both courses at Black Butte, which would be a little more of a drive, but any of those are still only around a 20 minute drive.  As opposed to Seattle, you can actually get somewhere driving for 20 minutes in Central Oregon...

[Seamus_MacDuff]

1 hour ago, kaschreiber said:

Bringing this back up. We have all of our logistics now booked- we opted to go the airbnb route for a number of different reasons, so Crosswater is out of the picture. @mallrat was correct, we can get on the Faz at Pronghorn without staying, but is going to run $350, so trying to decide if that's worth it. I get that's ~$100 more than those courses out on the OR coast we all know and love, but figure it's probably the only time we'll try and play it and one of the guys in the group has some loyalty program knocking the Nicklaus to $100, so think we're going to bite the bullet but that's TBD as of now. Our itinerary as of now-

 

Fly in from Seattle Thursday 9/29. Those that get in early are going to play Juniper off the plane. We were hoping to play Juniper on the way out on Sunday, but they are hosting the OR Team Championship that weekend and booked solid. Bummer for us, good for them. Think that speaks to what a fantastic muni you guys have in the area. 

Friday 9/30- 36 at Pronghorn. Deciding as a group if we do 36 on Nicklaus or bite the bullet and play the Faz in the afternoon.

Saturday 10/1. 36 at Tetherow. I know it's a love it or hate it, I like it and a lot in the group want to get out and play it. 

 

Where I'm stuck is Sunday. We're staying NE of Bend near Pine Nursery park, so don't want to travel too far if we can avoid it. The leading candidates are Lost Tracks, Rivers Edge, and Widgi Creek. Any thoughts on a clear winner (or one to clearly avoid) of the three? Is there a 4th we aren't considering but should? 

If you've got the Nicklaus course for $100, then sure, do Fazio for $350 and just in your mind amortize it out as $225 per round.  It's a very nice track, and you'll be hard pressed to find better conditions anywhere.

 

As for your Sunday round, I'd play Aspen Lakes in Sisters or either of the two Sunriver Resort courses before Lost Tracks, Rivers Edge or Widgi Creek.  Aspen Lakes and Sunriver.  Both are only 10 minutes further than either Lost Tracks or Widgi Creek, and are better courses.

[soregongolfer]

4 hours ago, Seamus_MacDuff said:

If you've got the Nicklaus course for $100, then sure, do Fazio for $350 and just in your mind amortize it out as $225 per round.  It's a very nice track, and you'll be hard pressed to find better conditions anywhere.

 

As for your Sunday round, I'd play Aspen Lakes in Sisters or either of the two Sunriver Resort courses before Lost Tracks, Rivers Edge or Widgi Creek.  Aspen Lakes and Sunriver.  Both are only 10 minutes further than either Lost Tracks or Widgi Creek, and are better courses.

Unless he's a big fan of doglegs.  Then Lost Tracks is THE choice.  

 

[Jeff58]

@kaschreiber of the 3 you list for Sunday, Widgy is the only real consideration IMO. I’m a member there if interested. Another area that is very good, close to you, and moderately priced is Eagle Crest.

 

If I were you though I wouldn’t pay $300 for the Fazio course, and on the last day I’d play Woodlands at Sun River and perhaps have dinner at Sun River Brewing.