Played Emerald Valley on June 15. The course is about 20 minutes south of Eugene in the town of Creswell. We checked-in about 30 minutes before our tee time. The staff was friendly and accommodated... Continue »

Played Emerald Valley on June 15. The course is about 20 minutes south of Eugene in the town of Creswell. We checked-in about 30 minutes before our tee time. The staff was friendly and accommodated our desire to hit a few warm-ups before heading to #1. The range has mats, but the tee line was moved up for hitting on turf...a nice touch. The starter at #1 was a wonderful source of course knowledge for our group. He let us know that the course is flat with lots of trees lining the fairways, some water, and lots of left and right doglegs. But the big test at EV is putting. He warned us that the greens are fast with a lot of undulation. He wasn't lying, especially about #4. It is a nightmare if your approach is below the hole! Emerald Valley hosted the regional qualifier for the 2014 U.S. Open, so we knew that it wouldn't be a cake walk...and we weren't disappointed. Being located in the Pacific Northwest this course gets its share of rain, which keeps it lush and green. The fairways vary from wide to narrow (with plenty of mature trees along the way), though the rough is not especially deep. If you aren't playing with a local, you might want to buy a yardage book in the shop (or pay attention to the map on the scorecard) because the water hazards have a way of sneaking up on you. Pace of play was good. We finished in under five hours on a Sunday morning. We had a good time at Emerald Valley and we agreed that if given the chance, we'd go back again.