This 3 nine mountain course was only open for the season for a short time when we played it last weekend. The Thistle & Pine Cone 9's were beautifully green and lush. Fairways and greens were unders... Continue »

This 3 nine mountain course was only open for the season for a short time when we played it last weekend. The Thistle & Pine Cone 9's were beautifully green and lush. Fairways and greens were understandably slow after winter snow and early spring rain. The clubhouse and local restaurant (Mallards) were just waking up as well. Conditions were not summer-resort style yet and scoring was good until you miss a fairway into the long, long rough or trees. Take your medicine and bump it ahead into the fairway. I played it once before (same nines, I think), and noticed that the tee shots look far more difficult than they play. Don't be intimidated out of driver based on the view from the tee. The fairways have generous landing spots. I loved every minute of playing this place. The views, water features, animals all around the course made it particularly enjoyable. As the weather warms, the fairways get fast and the greens rolled, this will be a prime mountain golf destination for north-central Oregon.

Disclaimer: This review is made in the dead of winter.
The course was playable for February. There was some snow on some (less than half) of the greens and the fairways were very wet in places. Not i... Continue »

Disclaimer: This review is made in the dead of winter.
The course was playable for February. There was some snow on some (less than half) of the greens and the fairways were very wet in places. Not ideal golf conditions. That being said, you can tell that this course is well kept and would be very fun to play in the summer months. Played Thistle + Pine Cone courses. The Foxglove 9 are not open in the winter. Used the TeeOff app to make reservation. The day we played the pro shop was closed, but I called the resort main phone line and they said it was okay to go ahead and play. Considering the condition of the course, not the best off-season rate ($35 for 18), but was still a fun day. This course is relatively flat and very walkable. Paved cart path in good condition if you ride. Good variety of green sizes and some are well guarded by bunkers. Not too many water hazards to contend with. The greens were very fast when we played.

Resort golf at it's finest - with a some tough shots (mostly off the tee) tossed in. A beautiful course (three nines), trees, trees and more trees, with some water/creeks to keep you from wailing awa... Continue »

Resort golf at it's finest - with a some tough shots (mostly off the tee) tossed in. A beautiful course (three nines), trees, trees and more trees, with some water/creeks to keep you from wailing away too much. Played the blacks, but we also had a senior playing the reds and he had a great time as well. We played the Thistle (short, pretty easy) and Pinecone (longer with those interesting tee shots). It's not long, but, because houses and roadside OB is prevalent, can be penal with wild tee shots. Their largest tournament of the year was literally leaving the course as we teed off around 2:30 on a Thursday in late July. Perfect weather (mid-70's, light breezes). Oh yeah, no driving range, just nets (yuck), but the putting an chipping areas were more than adequate and accurately portrayed the course greens. Greens, fairways, bunkers were very good. The greens were a joy to putt and must have been at their peak due to the big tourney, The hearty and lush fairway grass was some of the most pleasant I've played in a long time, well above average for typical daily fee golf. It's actually amazing how good the course looked considering the elevation of the Mt. Hood area (the town is "Welches"), the beating it must take from rain and snow. Was told the "Foxglove" nine was kind of soggy from recent rains, so we elected not to play that set. The Pinecone/Foxglove would be the most challenging 18. All in all a great day of golf (walked 9, rode 9) and could have easily walked the whole course. Very nice and accessible cart person, pro shop was very helpful renting clubs for my nephew and parking is a breeze. Didn't go into the restaurant. Great "mountain" course with tons of beautiful trees and views. It's fun; I'd play it again. Also recommend the funky "Brightwood Tavern" in the tiny town of Brightwood, just west of Welches.

Played the blues on the Foxglove/Pine Cone combo (70.4/126/6239) in 4H, 15M with a nice husband/wife on a Golf Now Hot Deal for $22 including a cart. The weather was great, mid 70's, clear with little... Continue »

Played the blues on the Foxglove/Pine Cone combo (70.4/126/6239) in 4H, 15M with a nice husband/wife on a Golf Now Hot Deal for $22 including a cart. The weather was great, mid 70's, clear with little wind. These are some of the best and smoothest greens I have putted on recently. Hard to believe they were aerated 2 weeks ago? The greens were medium fast, smooth and firm. They putted very well with few ball marks. The fairways were generally lush and well maintained. There is not alot of rough here, what rough they have is generally lush and well maintained. 1/2 shot penalty, difficult to hit more than a middle iron out of. The reason that there isn't that much rough to rate is because if you miss the fairway by more than 5-7 yards on a good percentage of the holes, you are in a hazard or out of bounds. The tees were recently aerated which did not affect their play ability, just the way they looked. The tees on Pine Cone #5 are artificial turf because they are cut well back in the woods where there is little sun coming through the thick, tall trees to grow grass. It makes for a really cool looking tee shot coming out of the tree lined darkness into the sun drenched fairway. The traps were decently maintained with fluffy sand. However, the sand is not deep enough, there is hardpan lurking too close to the surface. Started on the Foxglove (par 36, 3066 from the blues). I did not use a wood the entire 9. The first hole is a short, fairly tight par 4. However, #1 is probably the most wide open hole on the entire 9. Nearly every hole was about 40 yards across from hazard to hazard, you had about a 30 yard wide fairway with 5 yards of rough on each side and then it was either OB or a red staked hazard where your ball is just gone, calf to knee deep sticker bushes. With every hole being very narrow, with hazards down both sides of the hole from tee to green and behind the green, this is by FAR my least favorite of their three 9's. Finished up with the Pine Cone (par 36, 3173 from the blues). While it had a few tight holes, I finally got to use a driver on all the par 4's & par 5's. More "normal" golf holes w/o hazards down both sides and behind the green. Good mixture of holes, more up down and several holes turned more than moderately. Instead of hazards down down sides, you got a reprieve on one side of many holes... if you call 50' to 100' tall trees from tee to green a reprieve. It was more interesting and playable in my opinion. This is my favorite of the three 9's. They only have nets to warm up on, no driving range. Two putting greens. The customer service from the pro shop to the starter was top notch. Nice clubhouse and an excellent grill/restaurant that is priced about what you would expect @ a golf course. The overall course conditions & spectacular views make this place definitely worth playing in spite of an overall average layout. I say average because there are too many par 4's & par 5's that are lay-up holes for longer hitters unless you can really thread the needle. A few in 27 holes = a good variety, but when it's approaching a double figure amount of holes out of 27, I have to downgrade the course layout. And I am an aggressive player, when I am telling you these are lay-up holes, trust me, they are lay-up holes!

This is a full service resort about 1 hour east of Portland near Mt Hood. I played all 27 holes with GK'er NickEsquire1 on a $49 golf now special including cart and $10 food coupon. It was fairly bu... Continue »

This is a full service resort about 1 hour east of Portland near Mt Hood. I played all 27 holes with GK'er NickEsquire1 on a $49 golf now special including cart and $10 food coupon. It was fairly busy and took about 2 hours per 9. The pro shop staff, cart girl and restaurant staff were friendly and efficient.

The setting is beautiful among the mountains and forests with Mt. Hood just minutes away. 2 of the nines are fitted nicely in the wide valley where many other holes are in view with a 3rd nine winding thru a forest with almost no other hole visible.

Other than the tees having been recently plugged and sanded, every other part of the course was groomed very well. Smooth medium fast greens that are not overly undulating, lush fairways and limited rough and good fluffy sand make most lies easy to hit. The course rewards accuracy as there are many red staked and OB areas on many holes.

I really enjoyed this all day "road trip" and will come back often.

Played all three 9's with Longtee400 on a prepaid Golf Now Deal for $49 which included a $10 lunch voucher. We teed off @ 951am and played in 6 hours total playing time. We finished around 5pm with an... Continue »

Played all three 9's with Longtee400 on a prepaid Golf Now Deal for $49 which included a $10 lunch voucher. We teed off @ 951am and played in 6 hours total playing time. We finished around 5pm with an hour lunch break splitting things up, so POP was very good for 27 holes, basically 2 hour 9's, we rarely waited AD. Nice clubhouse where the customer service from the pro shop, to the starter to the cart gal was top notch. I was especially impressed that they offered to accommodate my adult son visiting from out of town rehabbing from a recent surgery with a golf cart as he played spectator for 27 holes. On this golf course, the condition of all three 9's is immaculate. The overall course conditions & spectacular views make this place definitely worth playing in spite of an overall average layout. I say average because there are too many par 4's & par 5's that are lay-up holes for longer hitters unless you can really thread the needle. A few in 27 holes = a good variety, but when it's approaching a double figure amount of holes out of 27, I have to downgrade the course layout. And I am an aggressive player, when I am telling you these are lay-up holes, trust me, they are lay-up holes! These are EASILY some of the best and smoothest greens I have putted on recently. The greens are medium fast, smooth and firm, they putted very well with few ball marks. I rarely had a straight putt AD, but I also rarely had a putt with an abundant amount of break. You constantly were tested with 3 to 5 footers that you had to play outside the hole. 9/10. The traps were very well maintained with fluffy sand. 9/10. There is not alot of rough here, what rough they have is generally lush and well maintained. 1/2 shot penalty, difficult to hit more than a middle iron out of. The reason that there isn't that much rough to rate is because if you miss the fairway by more than 5-7 yards on a good percentage of the holes, you are in a hazard or out of bounds. 8/10. The fairways were generally lush and well maintained. 8/10. The tees were recently aerated & top dressed today with sand, which did not affect their play ability, just the way they looked. The tees on Pine Cone #5 are artificial turf because they are cut well back in the woods where there is rarely enough sun to grow grass. Makes for a neat looking tee shot coming out of the tree lined darkness into the sun drenched fairway. 7/10. Played the Foxglove first (par 36, 3066 from the blues). I did not use a wood the entire 9. The first hole is a short, fairly tight par 4. However, #1 was probably the most wide open hole on the entire 9. Nearly every hole was about 40 yards across from hazard to hazard, you had about a 30 yard wide fairway with 5 yards of rough on each side and then it was either OB or a red staked hazard where your ball is just gone, calf to knee deep sticker bushes. With every hole being very narrow, with hazards down both sides of the hole from tee to green and behind the green, this is by FAR my least favorite of their three 9's. But I have to admit, I liked it better than the first time I played here last week after seeing all the holes beforehand. Next played the Thistle (par 34, 2786 from the blues). Definitely the most wide open of the three nines, but it is still FAR from wide open. Three par 3's and only one par 5, which normally I don't care for, but this is a fun nine holes to play. Finished up with the Pine Cone (par 36, 3173 from the blues). While it had some very tight holes, I finally got to use a driver on almost all par 4's & par 5's. Finally had a few holes w/o hazards down both sides and behind the green. Good mixture of holes, more up down and several holes turned more than moderately. Instead of hazards down down sides, you got a reprieve on one side of many holes... if you call 50' to 100' tall trees from tee to green a reprieve. It was more interesting and playable in my opinion. Close call over the Thistle, but probably my favorite of the three 9's. They only have nets to warm up on, no driving range. Two putting greens. Nice clubhouse and an excellent grill/restaurant that is priced about what you would expect @ a golf course. The cart gal came around numerous times, which was good, because there are not any water stations on the 27 holes. They also supplied 2 bottles of water per cart, which was a nice touch. Unless you are laser straight, this course as a whole plays longer than the score card yardages seemingly indicate because there are many holes where a lay-up (position shot) is the prudent play. I had many holes with much longer clubs left into the green than you would expect if you just looked at the scorecard yardages. You would be deceived into thinking that this is a short course with many wedges into short par 4's and reachable par 5's. If you can hit a driver 270+ and keep it in a 30 yard wide fairway with hazards barely beyond the fairway on both sides of many holes, then it could be. However, I personally would probably incur about a dozen penalty strokes on these 27 holes if I used driver on every par 4 and par 5.

First time here, played all three 9's on a prepaid Golf Now Deal for $49 which included a $10 lunch voucher. Played the blues in 5.5 hours, so POP was great for 27 holes, rarely waited AD. The clubho... Continue »

First time here, played all three 9's on a prepaid Golf Now Deal for $49 which included a $10 lunch voucher. Played the blues in 5.5 hours, so POP was great for 27 holes, rarely waited AD. The clubhouse was hard to find, it's part of an all season resort that hides among rental and private condo's plus upscale single family homes. Once you find it, you will be treated to a golf course where the condition of the three courses is immaculate. The greens are medium fast, smooth and firm, they putted very well with few ball marks. I rarely had a straight putt AD, yet I also rarely had a putt with an abundant amount of break. You constantly were tested with 3 to 5 footers that you had to play outside the hole. 9/10. The traps were well maintained with fluffy sand. 8/10. There is not alot of rough here, what rough they have is lush and well maintained. 1/2 shot penalty, difficult to hit more than a middle iron out of. The reason that there isn't alot of rough is because if you miss the fairway by more than 5-7 yards on a good percentage of the holes, you are in a hazard or out of bounds. 8/10. The fairways were lush and well maintained. However, numerous fairways were almost over watered and had soggy areas. 7/10. While the conditions were top notch, I can't be nearly as generous in my praise of the layout. Let's go nine by nine... Played the Foxglove first (par 36, 3066 from the blues). I never used a wood the entire 9. The first hole was a short, fairly tight par 4. Little did I know that #1 was probably the most wide open hole on the entire 9. Every hole was about 40 yards across from hazard to hazard, you had about a 30 yard wide fairway with 5 yards of rough on each side and then it was either OB or a red staked hazard that your ball was gone, calf to knee deep sticker bushes. I only seriously considered driver on 1 hole, and had to lay up there because there was a lake app. 250 out. Even if there had not been a lake, it was still a marginal call to not use an iron off that tee as well. If you like bumping it down the fairway hole after hole, then this is the nine for you. The surrounding are certainty beautiful and the condition was immaculate. However, I personally don't care to hit 3I, then another 3I and a 5I into a long par 5. With every hole being very narrow, with hazards down both sides of the hole from tee to green and behind the green, this was by FAR my least favorite nine. Next played the Pine Cone (par 36, 3173 from the blues). While it had some very tight holes, I finally got to use a driver on several holes. Finally had a few holes w/o hazards down both sides and behind the green. Good mixture of holes, more up down and several holes turned more than moderately. Instead of hazards down down sides, you got a reprieve on one side of many holes... 50' to 100' tall trees from tee to green. It was more interesting and playable in my opinion. Probably my favorite of the three nines even though I did not play well on it. Finished up with the Thistle (par 34, 2786 from the blues). Definitely the most wide open of the three nines, but it was still FAR from wide open. Three par 3's and only one par 5, which normally I don't care for, but this was a fun nine holes to play. Unless you are laser straight, this course as a whole plays longer than the yardages seemingly indicate because it is lay-up, lay-up, lay-up. I had many holes with 150-210 yards left into the green where if you just looked at the scorecard yardages, you would think short course with alot of wedges into greens. The course conditions & spectacular views make this place worth playing in spite of an overall mediocre layout. Easily the smoothest greens I have putted on recently. Customer service was a ++. They only have nets to warm up on, no driving range. Two putting greens. Nice clubhouse and an excellent, even if over priced grill/restaurant. The burger/fries/tea I had were very good, but $14 made me understand why the $10 lunch voucher was needed real quickly. The cart gal came around a couple of times, which needs to be more, because there is not any, and I mean ZERO water stations anywhere on the 27 holes.

This is primarily a ski resort that is 1 hour from my home and only 20 minutes further to the permanent glacier on Mount Hood where one can ski the year around. At about 4,000 feet in the foothills o... Continue »

This is primarily a ski resort that is 1 hour from my home and only 20 minutes further to the permanent glacier on Mount Hood where one can ski the year around. At about 4,000 feet in the foothills of the Cascades, the surrounding mountains and forest make for a spectacular setting for 3 different nines. My wife (who doesn't golf) and I drove up on a Friday afternoon and stayed at a condo on the course.

Saturday I played 2 of the nines with another single with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70's. Thistle is a par 34 at only 2786 from the blues with 1 par 5 and 3 par 3's. Pine Cone is a par 36 at 3173 from blues with a combined 69.0/119. Fox Glove, which I didn't play this trip, is a par 36 that winds much more through the forest.

Both courses were in excellent condition from tees to greens and the only thing I can fault was one of the par 5 tee boxes, I can't remember if it was 5 or 6 on Pine Cone, had an artificial surface.

Though not overly challenging, I think this is worth the drive at least once or twice a year as the scenery is magnificent and the restaurants have excellent food.