Another golf season is coming to a close. For Black Butte Ranch, 2015 marked 45 years since first becoming a premier golf destination in Central Oregon. Of course, with each year that goes by more memories are made. And every golf season is just a little bit different. The golf season of 2015 was no exception. What most made this year stand out? Start with an unfathomably mild winter that helped the season tee off at Big Meadow on Feb. 14, by far the earliest opening in recent memory. “I think we have been open once in February since [...]

One not need be a golf professional, superintendent or meteorologist to know that the golf season is winding down. The sunscreen has already been put away, and it won’t be long before the clubs are gathering dust in the garage until we get to spring. Yes, Glaze Meadow is already closed for the season and Big Meadow will not be far behind. That means significant time away from the golf course. But golfers are making a mistake if they abandon their games during the winter. Any golfer can take action in the colder months to be ready for the [...]

The Black Butte Ranch maintenance staff aerifies Big Meadow Tuesday, Oct. 13, under ideal weather conditions. The scene at Black Butte Ranch last week was almost surreal. Closed because of aerification, hardly a car was in the Big Meadow parking lot. But the sun was shining bright through the cloudless blue sky. The temperature was so warm, stretching to nearly 80 degrees, that the members maintenance staff were mostly in shorts as they aerified the golf course. Glaze Meadow, which closed for the season on Sunday, and its emerald-green turf was teeming with short-sleeved golfers as if it was [...]

George Mack Jr. is closing in one of the most important golf tournaments of his accomplished playing career. Black Butte Ranch’s longtime director of instruction will tee it up on Thursday, Oct. 15, for the 2015 Senior PGA Professional National Championship at Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Courses in Seaside, California. The competition for Mack should be fierce. Not only will the field be filled with 264 of the very best PGA club professionals age 50 and over from across the nation, the stakes will be high. The top 35 golfers after four rounds of stroke play earn a [...]

By any account, this has been a wonderful golf season at Black Butte Ranch. The year started out brilliantly with an early opening. Then golfers were treated to two Black Butte Ranch golf courses that were in some seriously great condition for the bulk of the year. Now, near-perfect weather has those peak conditions stretching well into October. Such a golf season is worth celebrating, and that is exactly what Black Butte Ranch intends to do next week at Glaze Meadow before the recently renovated gem is closed for the season. On Sunday, Oct. 18, Black Butte Ranch will [...]

Do not put those golf clubs away just yet. After all, the weather forecast shows that the week ahead has all the makings of a spectacular stretch for golf. For some, early October in Central Oregon can often be a welcoming time for golfers, filled with 70-degree sunny days and golf courses that have left the summer crowds behind. For those who give up on golf too early, October can mark a missed opportunity. If the forecast holds, the first part of October this year appears to be among the best stretches of fall weather on record. In addition, [...]