Golf Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Black Butte Ranch

12 05, 2016

Conditions Update: Shaping up, Big Meadow practice green progressing

Spring is always a prime time for projects for Black Butte Ranch’s maintenance staff. Even though the early part of the golf season has been cause for only a light tough by the staff, this spring is no exception. Up first is repair of a section of Big Meadow’s practice green by seeding the surface. Superintendent Phil Lagao and his staff have begun the work to resurface the damaged section of green, which had to be dug up to repair a sewer line buried deep under the putting surface. “The seeds are already starting to pop,” Lagao said. “It [...]

28 04, 2016

Look ahead: Demo Days & Tent Sale among highlights of busy May at Black Butte Ranch

Shopping for new golf clubs can be intimidating. Without professional help, finding just the right fit is often impossible. And with so many manufacturers, opportunities to truly comparison shop with a vast array of equipment all in one place is rare. This is exactly why Black Butte Ranch began hosting its annual Memorial Day Demo Days & Tent Sale. Scheduled for May 28 and 29, the annual event is among the marquee events during a busy May. Held at the driving range of Big Meadow, NikeGolf, Ping, TaylorMade, Cobra, Titleist, and Bridgestone Golf will all be on hand for [...]

5 10, 2015

Conditions: With aerification nearing Black Butte Ranch has its eyes on readying the golf course for winter

The best laid maintenance plans can pay big dividends come spring, which is exactly why Black Butte Ranch superintendent Phil Lagao and his staff will work so diligently this month. Beginning on Monday, Oct. 12, Black Butte Ranch will begin its two-week-long aerification process by closing down Big Meadow. The maintenance staff will then spend a week aerating everything on the golf course, including greens, tee boxes, fairways and rough. Then on Oct. 19, Big Meadow will reopen (at least through October, weather permitting) and Glaze Meadow will shut down for the season so it can be aerified. The [...]

6 07, 2015

Conditions: Courses fine-tuned while flourishing through the heat of July
Conditions: Courses fine-tuned while flourishing through the heat of July

Conditions: Courses fine-tuned while flourishing through the heat of July

A golfer might not notice it at first glance of either Big Meadow or Glaze Meadow. But through a round, one can’t help but pay attention to the subtle details that make Black Butte Ranch’s two championship golf courses so eye-catching this time of year. With a full maintenance staff and much of the spring cleanup long behind, Black Butte Ranch finally has the freedom to spend painstaking attention to the presentation of the golf courses. And now it shows as the peak of the golf season hits full swing. “Instead of trying to do the basics, we are [...]

17 06, 2015

The beauty of Glaze Meadow in bloom
The beauty of Glaze Meadow in bloom

The beauty of Glaze Meadow in bloom

The John Fought redesign of Black Butte Ranch’s Glaze Meadow, which opened in 2012, has certainly been well received.The praise comes for myriad reasons, including improved playability and better consistency throughout Glaze Meadow’s 18 holes. That is great for golfers. But perhaps the underrated improvement of the redesign is the aesthetic enhancements, particularly to Glaze Meadow’s opening five holes.Once choked off from an overgrowth of ponderosa pines, the meadow from which the golf course’s name is derived, has been opened up. That has improved the meadow’s health over the years, and made the opening holes spectacularly beautiful.And if you want [...]

12 06, 2015

Conditions update: Glaze Meadow, Big Meadow transition to summer

Those warm, sunny Central Oregon days are back, with temperatures this weekend set to reach into the 80s. Yes, summer weather appears to finally be here at Black Butte Ranch.For golfers, there can be no sweeter time than summer. The sun stays suspended in the blue sky to produce days that go on forever, warming us all while casting shadows from the towering ponderosa pines across the lush green turf.During summer, not much can stop a motivated golfer.Black Butte Ranch is ready for the long days ahead. And Glaze Meadow and Big Meadow begin the peak of the golf season [...]

11 06, 2015

Black Butte Ranch pros enjoying chance to compete at Oregon Open
Black Butte Ranch pros enjoying chance to compete at Oregon Open

Black Butte Ranch pros enjoying chance to compete at Oregon Open

Black Butte Ranch professionals Tom Baker (right) and George Mack Jr. (left) warm up Tuesday before teeing off at Crosswater Club in Sunriver for the first round of the Oregon Open Invitational. It might sound counterintuitive, but Black Butte Ranch’s staff of PGA golf professionals do not often get a chance to play during the peak of the golf season. During the golf season pros are often far too busy making sure that guests are enjoying their time or that students are perfectly honing their golf skills to get too many competitive golf rounds in. But every so often [...]

3 06, 2015

Working on game inside 100 yards the quickest way to shave strokes
Working on game inside 100 yards the quickest way to shave strokes

Working on game inside 100 yards the quickest way to shave strokes

Quick answer to a simple question: What is the easiest way to drop strokes off a ballooning handicap?Answer? Here is a hint. It is not adding a few yards distance off the tee. Yet, so many golfers spend much of their practice time wailing away with a driver.Funny because most players see the quickest improvement when they work to improve their short games. And the formula is simple enough.“You should have a game plan for your short game, which is the easiest way to lower your scores,” says George Mack, Black Butte Ranch’s director of golf.Not that higher handicappers couldn’t [...]

28 05, 2015

Father-Son Tournament among highlights of busy June at Black Butte Ranch
Father-Son Tournament among highlights of busy June at Black Butte Ranch

Father-Son Tournament among highlights of busy June at Black Butte Ranch

Golf has for generations provided a bonding experience passed from father to son to become an essential fabric to families of golfers. Two years ago, Black Butte Ranch created a way to celebrate this bond by sparking a new tradition: the Father-Son Classic Golf Tournament. The Father-Son Classic is back again at Big Meadow, scheduled for Saturday, June 20, on Father’s Day Weekend. Now in its third year, the Father-Son Golf Classic is the first of Black Butte Ranch’s four signature golf events. And the field is filling fast. No wonder, really. The two-person best-ball tournament — the highlight [...]

21 05, 2015

Finding the best bargain takes strategy
Finding the best bargain takes strategy

Finding the best bargain takes strategy

A secret this is not: the best deals on golf equipment often come during demo days and tent sales such as the one on Saturday and Sunday at Black Butte Ranch. Black Butte Ranch’s tent sale on the Big Meadow driving range will offer discounts of as much as 70 percent. From golf balls to clubs, and from golf bags to the latest apparel, “pretty much everything we have will be on sale,” says Jeff Fought, Black Butte Ranch’s director of golf. Most of the major manufacturers will be represented, too. There is a reason that the two-day festival [...]