Was looking forward to playing golf in Oregon for a few years. Gleefully did so on the Glaze course at Black Butte Ranch last Thursday 7/20. First off worth mentioning is the length of driving time f... Continue »

Was looking forward to playing golf in Oregon for a few years. Gleefully did so on the Glaze course at Black Butte Ranch last Thursday 7/20. First off worth mentioning is the length of driving time from the entrance to the Glaze Meadow course. Glaze GC is to the left coming in off Rt 20 and you need a security code or pass to get into this part of the resort, from there it is 10-15min at 25 mph winding through the forest past some of the 1200 houses. The Big Meadow course is to the right and much closer to the entrance. (5min) With more of the rental condos nearby.
A 3:45 tee time on a day over 90 degrees in Sisters I kept my score under the temperature. Reopened from renovation in 2012 and last reviewed by Nickesquire and dconnally in 2014. The course playing great in summer condition fast with roll-out and tight lies in the short grass. The rough manageable and the bunkers well kept with fluffy dry sand.
The greens were terrific. A few ball marks and a few patches of brown on a few back 9 holes. Rolled great med-fast held shots properly, released others. Very fair.
Beverage cart was out and made the last call early for me on #1 but the snack bar was open at the turn for another cold one. Slow pace in front yielded to much faster back 9 as some groups dropped out. 4.5 overall 2.75 / 1.75 back as 2-some.
I felt course played very fairly and has matured into a gem of what I'd describe as in the mountains with many views and through woods playing. No extreme elevation changes. Black Butte being the nearest and the three Sisters of the Cascades to the west view.
Glaze course has the "better" reputation among-st the golf purists and the pro-shop at Big Meadow mentioned the greens right now maybe a touch better at Glaze. I practiced in the morning at Big Meadow D-range and putted there very good shape imo. It also has a real grass putting course adjacent to the pro shop newly opened.
Lots of new and improved at the resort. This May a $20m banquet hall, meeting lodge, restaurant opened with mountain views over the lake and meadows. Wildflowers in bloom.
Check out the resort as a vacation destination. The golfers in the family can sneak out and get some golf in and rest of the family has plenty to keep them happy too.
Anxious to go back and play the Meadow course too.
It's just fun! (Birdies on #2 & 4 will do that!)

Very late posting. Played with my Vegas golf buddy on Saturday, 10/25/14, on Day 3 of our annual golf trip, this year in Bend. GKer Nickesquire drove down from Portland in the rainy early AM to join u... Continue »

Very late posting. Played with my Vegas golf buddy on Saturday, 10/25/14, on Day 3 of our annual golf trip, this year in Bend. GKer Nickesquire drove down from Portland in the rainy early AM to join us, and schooled us on how to hit high booming drives from the blue tees.

Nick’s earlier posted review hit many of the high points of the course. BBR was probably the most visually striking of the courses we played in the Bend area, and also the most enigmatic. The opening holes play down from the clubhouse along the edge of and into a wetland/meadow, then transition back up into the big trees of the forest for the remainder of the routing. The greens are big and don’t have significant tiering, but have a lot of internal movement that makes finding the correct line a challenge. Nick indicated he had trouble getting the correct lines, while I had trouble getting the right pace, either leaving myself woefully short or running the ball well past the hole, then not being able to make the follow-up putt.

I said enigmatic above because BBR s a mystery to me. Here’s a very high-end community, of a LOT of big homes, miles from anything. It’s an hour from Bend and 2.5 hours from Portland. Two golf courses and lots of other recreation and family amenities. A police substation. The small town of Sisters is the only thing around, primarily a tourist town (lots of B&Bs, restaurants, and galleries) with only a couple of food markets. There must be a lot of $$$ floating around for all these people to be able to afford vacation/second homes so far from anything!!

Conditions were outstanding throughout the course. Highly recommended, but you have to want to get out here.

Joining Dconnally and his friend Rich for a couple of rounds this weekend in the Bend area. First time playing here, walked the blues (6506/70.5/128) in about 4 1/2 hours on their standard weekend rat... Continue »

Joining Dconnally and his friend Rich for a couple of rounds this weekend in the Bend area. First time playing here, walked the blues (6506/70.5/128) in about 4 1/2 hours on their standard weekend rate of $47, which included complementary range balls & coffee. Beautiful course, typical mountain layout. Up down hills, but no drastic elevation changes, fairly tight but not ridiculously so. With that said, many holes had OB lurking just outside the tree line on both sides. The course is surrounded by a good mixture of large high end homes & smaller places that look like vacation getaways. However, they are so hidden by the huge trees that they are hardly noticed. The greens were firm and quick in spite of the rain. Big and undulating, I found them very challenging to read. It's poor when you badly misread how much break there is, which happened on numerous holes today. It's even worse when you read a putt to go one way and it actually goes the other, which also happened on numerous holes today. The only negatives on the greens were outside the golf courses control. There were many fresh, unfixed ball marks, so the people in front of us were not repairing their ball marks very well. Also, the wind blew so many pine needles on the greens that it was almost impossible to clear and keep your line clear on a longer putt. The fairways and rough were both generally lush. If you miss the rough and stay in bounds, better have your punch out of pine needles under or around huge trees "A" game ready for this course. The tees were well maintained and generally level. The traps were very well maintained. While the course was beautiful, the weather was not. Around 50 degrees with swirling winds in the 10-25 MPH range AD. We played the 1st 7 holes in dry, partly cloudy weather, then finished the final 11 holes in a steady drizzle. 50 degrees doesn't sound bad, but it's a little brisk when it's raining on you and very windy. The customer service in the Pro Shop was outstanding, very informative and friendly. Because they had already closed up their food court when I came in to get something after the round, they provided a complementary Gatorade & peanuts. I would definitely play here again.

Just played this last weekend at the Mid Amateur in Black Butte. I personally thought the golf course was still young as it has been redone. But when you hit good shots to greens that where so hard th... Continue »

Just played this last weekend at the Mid Amateur in Black Butte. I personally thought the golf course was still young as it has been redone. But when you hit good shots to greens that where so hard they wouldn't leave a mark. I thought it has potential to be a outstanding layout. But it played so fast and hard you couldn't land the ball on the green or it was gone. When you have a chip shot roll 40 feet there is something wrong. But it was a little smokey due to the fire in sisters. I thought the potential of the course itself has alot of good, but in my opinion it was any good last weekend.

Black Butte Ranch Golf Course Review
Sisters Oregon Golf Course Reviews