Central Oregon never disappoints, always strives to best itself and has crafted a culture where golf, lodging, cuisine and libation always rise to the top
By Bob Sherwin • CG Staff Writer
Central Oregon, which spent more than three decades establishing a reputation as a prime West Coast golf destination, was, like so many tourist spots across the nation, challenged by COVID restrictions.
The crisis cut deep into the summer travel plans for so many regular visitors to the area, further complicated by high fuel prices, deepening inflation and colder/wetter than usual conditions.
But the area took the panic out of the pandemic. It came through the storm revived, intact and back in the tourist mainstream again. The area’s golf courses are resurgent, from wilderness chic 63-hole Sunriver Resort, 20 miles south of Bend, all the way up Interstate 97 to venerable and time-honored Aspen Lakes, 30 miles north of Bend.
“We were the same as everyone else, hammered during the pandemic,” said Howie Pruitt, head PGA professional at Aspen Lakes. “Now we have a full tee sheet in the morning and full in the afternoon. I guess that’s the silver lining.”
That’s also consistent with what other courses around the country have been reporting. As the restrictions eased, golf became one of the few activities that got folks out of sheltering, providing a way to exercise within a safe environment. For the past several months, courses and clubs have enjoyed full sheets and full memberships, salvaging many courses as well as the game.
Aspen Lakes, a family owned (Cyrus) course that opened in 1995, used the pause in play to make much-needed improvements.
“We had a 13-year-old cart fleet so old they (batteries) couldn’t go a second 18,” Pruitt said. “We were losing significant revenue.” Course owners, Keith and Connie Cyrus, authorized funds for a new fleet.
Then a series of unfortunate circumstances last fall nearly took the entire course off the grid. The course’s irrigation system failed during an extended dry period. That was complicated by the departure of the course superintendent two months earlier.
“We were in a terrible condition,” Pruitt added.
Enter Bob Fluter, hired as the course superintendent in October to save the day. He repaired the system and restored the lush grass conditions.
“He made a huge difference,” Pruitt said. “The course is in amazing shape now.”
“The word is out,” Pruitt said. “We started to turn the corner last year. We’re getting more groups with 16 to 20 people. We’re on a good trajectory.”
Pruitt added that from what he has seen there’s been a slight shift in the customer base. What used to be about a 75-25 split between tourists/locals in the past, is now 60-40, while the bulk of the visitors continue to be from Portland and Seattle.
What remains the same is Aspen’s distinctive signature red cinder look in all its bunkers. When the course was designed three decades ago, it was determined that it would be cheaper and environmentally preferred to use ground up local cinders in the bunkers, creating a unique and visually pleasing red contrast to the green grass.
Recovering from the pandemic didn’t seem as daunting for Sunriver, the stylish 3,300-acre property south of Bend, as its recovery from World War II. The remote wooded acreage was once a World War II training facility, Camp Abbott, with divots as big as bomb craters.
It opened in 1942 to train combat engineers as they headed overseas. The camp operated for two years, closing in June 1944 as D-Day commenced. The Officers’ Club is the only remaining structure from the war years. It has been renovated and given the time-honored and dignified status as ‘The Great Hall’ on the Sunriver property.
Peace reigned over the land for more than a couple decades as the land needed time to heal. It wasn’t until 1968 when renovations and new construction revived the area with the intention of making it a wilderness resort. It was helped along by Hollywood, as John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn brought attention to Sunriver in the early 1970s while filming the movie “Rooster Cogburn.”
The first of four courses were opened in 1969, signaling Sunriver as a top West Coast golf destination. The Meadows was designed by Fred Federspiel and remodeled in 1999 by Portland’s John Fought who has designed other courses in the western U.S. It was built next to the Sunriver Lodge and the layout skirts the Sun River on seven of its holes. The course has a slew of national awards and earned recognition from the start.
The Woodlands course, designed by world renowned architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr., was added in 1982. It meanders through the ponderosa forests, wetlands, and lava rock outcroppings. Both Meadows and Woodlands have been honored as a top 10 family golf destination in America by Golf Digest.
It wasn’t until 1995 when the Crosswater course, a layout designed by Bob Cupp (who also did Pumpkin Ridge and Liberty National) for members and resort guests, that Sunriver hit the national consciousness. Golf Digest named Crosswater one of “America’s 100 Greatest Courses.” The 600-acre layout, which hosted the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship, runs 7,700 yards through meadows, wetlands and close by the Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers. You do, as you might suspect, cross water frequently.
Crosswater, combined with The Meadows and Woodlands, fortified Sunriver’s family golf reputation (kids under 11 are free). There is also a private, nine-hole course, Caldera Links, that gives Sunriver 63 holes of possibilities.
If an 18-hole walk is not enough for you, there are 45 miles of paved biking/walking trails along with tubing, canoeing and kayaking down the gentle streams, horseback riding, art walks, tennis, and fly fishing.
For those who like to mix in indoor activities, especially when the snow flies, the choices are abundant. In 2021, undeterred by COVID, the Sunriver community opened a $40 million indoor water park facility, the Cove Aquatic Center, that features a huge, heated pool, spas and a ‘Cinder Cone’ water slide that weaves out then back into the facility.
“The big destination resort is Sunriver,” Pruitt added. “It brings people to the area, and we find that they’ll play here (Aspen Lakes) at the end of their vacations.”
There are other highly ranked golf courses on the visitor agendas, such as Tetherow, just south of Bend, and two layouts at Black Butte Ranch, about 15 miles north of Bend.
Tetherow is a challenging layout designed by Scottish architect David McLay-Kidd. Kidd, one of the golf world’s most dynamic designers, best known for Bandon Dunes. He also designed the St. Andrews Castle Course and Machrihanish Dunes in Scotland, and Gamble Sands in Brewster, Wash., among others. Tetherow, once ranked 82nd in the world among the 100 best courses you can play, is a links-style, high-desert course that plays firm and fast. But playing 7,293 yards from the Kidd tees, you’ll need your big boy pants.
Black Butte features two quality tracks, Big Meadow and Glaze Meadow. Big Meadow, the three-decade-old Robert Muir Graves design (updated in 2007) stretches more than 7,000 yards through lush meadows and Ponderosa pines. After a $3.57 million renovation in 2012 by John Fought, Glaze Meadows was hailed as one of the most iconic classic designed courses in Oregon. The course weaves through rolling hills with breathtaking views of Mt. Washington, North Sister and the Cascade peaks.
As with any golf designation region, Central Oregon also has its share of obligatory post-round adult beverage establishments, whether it’s brews, spirits or wine.
For those who love their vino, the area does not have an abundance of wineries because of the limited growing days, but one of the more popular tasting rooms is the Bledsoe Family Wine on North Industrial Way in downtown Bend. Former professional quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who played at Washington State then 14 NFL seasons, has been producing wines for more than 15 years at his Doubleback Winery in Walla Walla, Wash. He specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Faith, Hope and Charity Vineyards in Terrebonne, about 20 minutes north of Bend, perhaps is the most renowned local winery, known for its Frontenac reds and La Crosse whites.
The region has a robust craft beer community with dozens of quality outposts. Just a quick four-mile drive after an Aspen Lakes round is Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, calling itself the ‘Gateway to Central Oregon Beer and Adventure.’ The Dankness IPA and Crowdpleaser IPA please the masses.
It’s difficult to get more Oregonian than the flagship Deschutes Brewery & Public House, the eighth largest craft brewery in the nation. The brewery, established in 1988 on NE Bond St., downtown Bend, has expanded its reach across the state and nation, as more than 30 states carry Deschutes selections.
Craft vodka, gins and rum establishments also have been embedded in the community for decades. Popular Cascade Spirits in downtown Sisters has a variety of fruit-infused vodka mixes such as Wild Roots and Sun Ranch Spirits along with Cascade Street potato vodka and Broken Top Whiskey.
When the skis are finally put away here, the sticks and spirits become central to this community.