29 04, 2015

New rates and more coming in May

May is near, which means the heart of the golf season is about to begin. Yes, May is a prime month for golfers here at Black Butte Ranch. In fact, some of the best rates of the season at Black Butte Ranch will be offered in May. Beginning Friday, May 1, golfers can play 18 holes at either Big Meadow or Glaze Meadow for $47. After 1 p.m. that rate drops to $42. Golfers with a bit less time on their hands can play nine holes after 2 p.m. for $27. Of course, that means the chance to take [...]

22 04, 2015

Big Meadow set to reopen for the season

Big Meadow is back … again. After a weeks-long hiatus that allowed Black Butte Ranch’s maintenance staff to perform some much-needed work, Big Meadow is ready to challenge golfers for the rest of the golf season. What’s changed in the nearly three weeks since anyone teed it up at Big Meadow? Plenty. The bunkers on the front nine have been freshened up with new sand, the edges have been sharpened, and in some traps new drainage has been added. In addition, superintendent Phil Lagao and his staff have repaired a handful of irrigation breaks and leaks. And any damage [...]

21 04, 2015

Spectacular weather upon us

Those famously blue skies and warm days of Black Butte Ranch? We sometimes have to wait until June before we can bask under the warm glow of the sun with much consistency. Not this year. Black Butte Ranch and the rest of Central Oregon is in the opening days of a warm stretch that is forecasted to last well into next week. High temperatures should hover around 70 degrees with hardly a cloud in the sky. Sounds like perfect golf weather. That means prime weather will meet prime conditions at Glaze Meadow. All in the the middle of April. [...]

21 04, 2015

Game improvement made easier by group lessons

This is no secret. Black Butte Ranch boasts an exceptional group of golf professionals. Still, signing up for golf lessons can be intimidating for some. We do understand. Which is why the Ranch has put so much effort into crafting group lessons that help ease that intimidation factor. Black Butte Ranch has among the largest instructional programs in Central Oregon, offering an almost endless selection of classes and clinics, each tailored for a specific purpose. That includes our three-day Spring Tune Up classes (dates are May 4-6, May 11-13 and May 18-20). For $105, students spend three days in [...]

21 04, 2015

Three girls offer glimpse of the future

AriAnne Griffy is good with a putter. Emma Horner’s iron game is sharp. Cylie Lagao loves her driver. All three inseparable friends, each a 13-year-old girl from Sisters, have built an undeniable love of golf. And they have done it together. The trio have become a fixture at Black Butte Ranch. They show up several days a week, each week, to work on their games with Jeff Fought, Black Butte Ranch’s director of golf. They’ve done this almost religiously since last June. And each week they show improvement and grow a greater appreciation for golf. “They all love golf [...]

18 04, 2015

Kids finding fun on Black Butte Ranch putting greens

Spend enough time around golf and inevitably someone will advise a player that spending more practice time around the greens is a key to success. Among the ongoing golf initiatives is finding ways to improve the general play of golfers, both young and old. The quickest way for beginners to do this, of course, is by improving on the greens. This is at least part of why Black Butte Ranch designed its weekly Junior Putting Challenge, held every Thursday at Glaze Meadow. “People don’t realize putting is where you can really improve your game,” says Bill Mitchell, a lifetime PGA [...]

15 04, 2015

Fought Golf Tip

Getting out of the winter doldrums and getting back on course can be daunting. Golfers often have not touched a club in months and that swing feels rustier than an abandoned Ford Pinto. But every golfer has to start somewhere. Where best to begin to get that golf game in shape? Jeff Fought, our director of golf, has some advice: start with the short game and let the rest follow. That includes concentrated work on chipping, long neglected by golfers everywhere. Fought’s drill is simple enough. Drop three piles of practice balls 10 feet apart around a short-game practice [...]

10 04, 2015

Glaze Meadow off to great start

Central Oregon’s spring weather is about as predictable as a shoddy short game. In fact, the first week of April is typically a time of year when a golf course’s turf is just awakening from winter dormancy. Not this year. Mere days after Glaze Meadow opened for the season, this is what its looks like: That is a particularly deep shade of green for the first week of April. This writer got his first taste of Glaze Meadow for the 2015 season on a quiet midweek morning. The weather was less than ideal, to be sure. The day was [...]

3 04, 2015

Glaze Meadow back in action

There is no question that John Fought redesigned Glaze Meadow into one of Central Oregon’s true gems since the $3.75 million renovation was completed in 2012. Now Glaze Meadow is set to tee off its fourth season on Sunday, and it appears the course is better than ever. “Everything came out of winter so nice,” says Jeff Fought, Black Butte Ranch’s director of golf and the brother of the famed architect who redesigned Glaze Meadow. Certainly good news for those of us who have been waiting all winter for another crack at the 7,000-yard course. Of course, any golfer [...]

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