Holy cow! I went on vacation for a week, and returned to find that chaos had ensued over the 4th! I'm still sorting through everything that happened. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] I'm transferring pics from the crappy "travel" laptop to my home machine right now, so I've got time for a quick summary before hitting the sack.
Thanks to all for the info about the area. My fiancee and I had a wonderful time, and plan on returning some time in the not-too-distant future.
We flew from the SF Bay Area to Portland on the 27th, and returned tonight, the 5th. In between, there were three distinct parts to the trip: golf, mostly volcano-based short hikes (Newberry Crater), and waterfall-based short hikes (Columbia River Gorge). I'll stick with the golf here, since that seems to garner the most interest.
Note: I'm a 15.6, so I didn't play any of these courses from the tips. If I had to summarize my hackerosity, I'm a short knock off the tee, hit my irons OK, and am hit-or-miss with the putter. If I keep the ball in the fairway off the tee, and limit the 3-putts, I'll be in the mid-80s. Hi 90s and the occasional 100+ are still possible when the lost ball count gets up there.
On June 28th, we played Aspen Lakes in Sisters, OR. This is a very pretty course, and not terribly long from the tips, compared to some of the other places we visited (although it was the longest course I played on this trip.)
Black: 74.4 / 139 / 7302
Blue: 72.7 / 134 / 6919
White: 70.8 / 120 / 6535
Red: 72.0 / 128 / 5594
I was happy to start here with a couple of bogeys, as neither of us had touched a club for two weeks (an excellent way to prepare for a vacation with a significant golf component, I highly recommend it [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]). The happiness was short-lived, as I took an 11 on the third hole. Couple more blowups on the back, and I ended with 48-51...oh well.
The course is, I think, very fair, with no funky forced carries, and no hidden tricks. The greens rolled very nicely, and the views of the Three Sisters (along with the red sand bunkers) were striking. I'd give it 3.5/5, and would definitely play there again.
The rest of the trip was spent at Sunriver. We were staying on the Crosswater package, which I recommend highly, as Crosswater really is head-and-shoulders above the other two courses.
It's late, and I'm getting tired, so instead of spamming for the resort [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] I'll say to go to
www.oga.org (The Oregon Golf Association) if you want to see rating information. IMO, the courses rate as follows:
Crosswater >>>> Woodlands >> Meadows (with a proviso)
I'll start from the lowest...Meadows was very straightforward and wide open. Due to weather/scheduling, we only played the front nine here, so my review is incomplete. The course was very wide open, and holes ran very close to one another. This gave it a feel like an upscale muni (since the conditions were still very good). If this was a "normal" course, I'd give it a 3/5, as it was not "special". At this resort, it's more like a 2 or 2.5.
Woodlands was very nice, and more difficult than Meadows. As you might expect, it's cut through forest (and houses) so there's more of a rolling feel. The greens were again very nice, and there were a couple of odd tee shots and pin placements, but overall the course was tough while still playable. I played it twice and shot 85 (as the first round of a 36-hole day) and 90 (as the second round).
Crosswater is "almost famous". They've hosted a Wonderful World of Golf, as well as the 2006 NCAA Championship. It's only open to members and resort guests who have purchased the Crosswater package. The whites here were a little emasculating, as they cut way down on the forced carries. Having played there a couple of times now, I'd be inclined to either try out the blues next time, or formulate my own set of mixed tees.
Anyway, the whites play 6185, and the blues are 6811, so that was a distance with which I am decidedly uncomfortable. We played this course all three days, and my scores were 94, 84, and 90. The 84 was an outlier, as I didn't lose a ball the whole round, and that is definitely a rare occurrence.
Given the weather, I'm sure the greens were rolling a little slower than normal (or maybe a lot slower) but there were true. There are some forced carries from the longer tees, and there are also a couple of holes which force you to lay up off the tee, which I like, and the par 3s force you to use a bunch of different clubs (160, 177, 137, 204 from the whites), which I really like. Also, the holes along the Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers are gorgeous. 4.5/5...I highly recommend this course, and can't wait to play there again.
That's all I got. I may post some pictures, but it's way past bedtime, and I have to go to work for the first time in a week in a few hours. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]