For many, the current emergence of Oregon as a major golf destination began
with the opening of Bandon Dunes in 1998. But the state had seen some major new
courses starting six years before, with a trio of high-profile facilities.
Near Portland, Pumpkin Ridge opened in 1992 with two courses, the public
Ghost Creek and the private Witch Hollow. The USGA noticed immediately, awarding
Pumpkin Ridge the 1996 U.S. Amateur and the 1997 U.S. Women's Open. The Amateur
especially was a success, with Tiger Woods winning his third consecutive
championship by beating Steve Scott in one of the greatest 36-hole matches in
golf history.
Back then, there was talk that Pumpkin was in the running for a U.S. Open:
The course was in a desirable area to which the USGA wanted to take the Open,
and the facility has 36 holes, plenty of room for the tournament's
infrastructure. Pumpkin Ridge seemed to have everything-except, alas, a course
difficult enough for the Open.
In central Oregon, Crosswater at the Sunriver Resort opened in 1995. To this
day, it has anchored the town of Bend and its surrounding area, which has grown
substantially as a golf destination. For the past couple of years, Crosswater
has hosted the Jeld-Wen Tradition, the Champions Tour's fifth major.
Then there was Sandpines Golf Links in Florence, a coastal town a couple of
hours north of Bandon. Located a mile from the ocean, the 7,190-yard Sandpines,
as the name indicates, sits on dunes surrounded by pine forests. The course
received significant attention when it opened in 1993, both for its setting
along the coast and as one of the premier works of Rees Jones.
The course also plays an interesting role in my personal history. I was
introduced to the golf publishing business by working on a coffee-table book
commissioned by the USGA to commemorate its 100th anniversary in 1995. The cover
for that work, Golf-The Greatest Game, was shot at Sandpines.
So I had been looking forward to playing the course for a while, and I was
intrigued by what I found. The setting, a mile from the Pacific Ocean, was
spectacular. And after playing, my main thought was that if the course had been
built today, the course may look significantly different-more natural, more
rugged, in keeping with the current trends of architecture. But when it opened,
the trend was to “manufacture” courses, and that's what Jones did. In doing so,
he utilized the site's main assets-elevation changes and the two main physical
features-pine forest on the edges of the property and windswept open space in
the middle.
The front nine mostly keeps to the outside, winding in and out of the trees
along the perimeter in a roughly clockwise fashion. The back nine then zigs and
zags within the exposed interior, which makes for much more interesting holes.
After the 452-yard 10th and 186-yard 11th, both of which played into the wind,
no two consecutive holes are in the same direction, allowing for a variety of
conditions and shots.
Easily the best stretch of holes was the final three, starting with the
364-yard 16th, which played downwind and invited a try at the green. To hit the
putting surface, drives need to both carry a bunker 275 yards or so from the tee
and be shaped left to right to land on a downslope that canters right to
left.
The 202-yard 17th then turns around and asks players to hit a right-to-left
shot into the wind, as a large pond guards the left side of the hole.
Then reversing course again, the 518-yard 18th is a Cape, inviting long
hitters to cut off as much of the water as they want. The reward: a mid to short
iron into a shallow green guarded by the pond that runs down the entire left
side of the hole.
Although there are many good holes, Sandpines lacks visual fireworks overall,
especially when compared to many courses being built today. Jones is known for
his restoration and renovation work, and it wouldn't take much of a
Rees-toration-dramatic bunkering, movement in the fairways and greens-to make
Sandpines shine.
To be sure, Sandpines suffers a bit from its proximity to Bandon. But if
you're driving from Portland or Eugene, it may be worth your while to head west
on Route 126 to the coastal town of Florence and check out Sandpines on your
way. Not only will you be introduced to coastal Oregon golf, you will receive a
valuable lesson on the evolution of architecture.
