Best Twilight Value: The Ridge Course at Eagle Crest, Redmond, 855-682-4786
There’s a lot to do in Central Oregon, and unless you’re staying for a month, not nearly enough time to do it all. Even playing 36 holes a day can get expensive, and you’ll miss out on all the other recreational activities the region has to offer.
Unless, that is, you get creative.
One way to fit 36 into your day – and still have time to hit the pool, or float down the river – is to pair an early-morning round at one course with a twilight round at a second. Teeing off before 8 a.m. will let you take advantage of early-bird rates at most courses, and will have you back by the pool in most cases by 12-1 p.m. Then you can tee it up again after late-afternoon twilight rates kick in to save even more.
That’s a particularly excellent time to head up to Eagle Crest’s Ridge Course, which drops from a peak rate of $74 all the way to $49 after 3 p.m. A self-proclaimed “driver’s dream” for its wide fairways and elevated tee boxes, the Ridge also features some of the best par-3s in the region – most notably No. 3, a long, slightly downhill shot to a well-protected green. So long as you can hit a long iron arrow-straight, you’ll be fine.
That low rate will also leave you plenty left over to pick up a new dozen and come back the next evening to check out the resort’s other 18-hole track, the Resort. And if you’re bringing the family? Eagle Crest also features the region’s No. 1 short course (the par-63 Challenge Course) and its top putting course, plus the full host of resort amenities.