Most Scenic Course: Brasada Canyons, Powell Butte, 866-373-4882
There’s no shortage of eye candy in the Deschutes River Valley.
Brasada Canyons, though, calls the mountain views, canyon vistas and memorable bunkers of its Central Oregon companions, and raises with dramatic par-3s, pristine greens and a combination of challenge and playability unmatched by any other course in the region.
Routed across canyons and ridges atop Powell Butte, just east of Bend, Peter Jacobsen’s design showcases the full glory of Central Oregon golf, with elevated tees and sprawling holes against the backdrop of views that extend for miles in almost all directions. By spacing the holes apart, a golfer gets a feeling of complete isolation on each hole, allowing you to focus on the glimmering, white-sand bunkers and spongy, pristine fairways and greens.
The back tees, stretching to nearly 7,300 yards, provide enough of a challenge for any golfer, bringing long forced carries and strategically placed fairway bunkers into play, and forcing longer approaches to tricky greens. Three other men’s tees ranging from 5,400-6,500 yards, however, give golfers of all abilities the chance to succeed, while a 4,700-yard forward tee allows the entire family to have fun together.
As you’re standing over your second shot on the risk-reward par-5 18th, wondering if you have enough left in the tank to get home in two, take one last look around at all the beauty of Central Oregon golf … the mountains, the valley, the trees and – far across the plain – the Deschutes River flowing north to the Columbia.
There’s a reason people have been packing their belongings and coming to Bend over 150 years – they’re hopeful travelers in search of the good life, and in Bend, the good life is the only life there is.