July 2015 - Black Butte Ranch

27 07, 2015

Adult/Child Golf School can strengthen bonds

Golf has long been a bonding experience between parents and children, passed for generations from father to son and mother to daughter. Maybe it is the way golf can be played for a lifetime, fostering years of experiences to savor. Perhaps it is the joy that is felt by sharing a game both a parent and child love, even long after that child has grown into an adult. Whatever it is about golf, there just is something about the shared experiences that brings us closer together. And more than that, recent research suggests that parents and children forge strong [...]

25 07, 2015

Black Butte Ranch’s SNAG golf a fun way to introduce the game to kids

Introducing a child to golf can be a little daunting for a parent. If a kid has fun while learning the game, they will have been given one of the few games that will truly last them a lifetime. Make the introduction to golf too challenging, and many young children will be turned off. This is specifically why Black Butte Ranch has decided to offer SNAG Golf (Starting New at Golf) to children age 6 or older. What is SNAG Golf? Well, it’s an awfully fun way to learn the game. Using modified equipment designed to make the game [...]

24 07, 2015

Golfers reacting well to course conditioning
Golfers reacting well to course conditioning

Golfers reacting well to course conditioning

Golfers finish the front nine at Big Meadow Thursday while they enjoy a picture-perfect day. The day was like so many others at Black Butte Ranch during the summer. The weather was clear and mild, with enough afternoon breeze to keep golfers comfortable. As is also so often during the long summer days, Big Meadow was teeming with golfers, all seemingly enjoying the respite that Black Butte Ranch’s two championship golf courses can provide. Of course, golf is far less enjoyable without a well-conditioned course to play. This year, Black Butte Ranch believes the conditioning at Big Meadow and [...]

23 07, 2015

Strategy: Finding a green’s grain at Glaze Meadow can save shots

Maddening might be an understatement when after what you thought was a perfect putting stroke on the correct read, the ball comes up a couple of turns short, blows by the hole or moves slightly off target. Those kinds of lost strokes can sink a great round. The greens at Glaze Meadow, in particular, feature subtle breaks that can confound a golfer. That is by design, of course. But those subtleties can be conquered, with a little know-how. While most of us are reasonably adept at reading the slope of a green, many of us might not think about [...]

22 07, 2015

Learn to “putt” from the fringe

Few decisions in golf test the mind of a golfer more than a ball just off the green. Stuck in the long grass just off the collar of the green, many players are tempted to hit a putter despite the grassy lie. Others reach for a wedge and hit a shot with too much loft to be accurate at such a short distance. In many of these circumstances the best option is to actually putt with a sand wedge, pitching wedge or 9-iron, says Emily Stewart, an assistant golf pro at Black Butte Ranch. “This is a great shot [...]

21 07, 2015

Black Butte Ranch’s Ryan Dunning has knack for designing perfect group golf trips
Black Butte Ranch’s Ryan Dunning has knack for designing perfect group golf trips

Black Butte Ranch’s Ryan Dunning has knack for designing perfect group golf trips

Ryan Dunning knows well what can attract folks to golf. After all, as a late devotee to the game who learned to play only as an adult, it was not long ago that the game grabbed his own attention. It is part of what makes Ryan such a perfect fit in his role as Black Butte Ranch’s golf sales manager, in which his chief responsibility will be to design idyllic golf trips for groups of golfers interested in playing at the Ranch’s two championship golf courses. “You have to invite people; you gotta introduce them,” says Ryan, 36. “People [...]

14 07, 2015

Does elevation really make much of a difference to your golf game?
Does elevation really make much of a difference to your golf game?

Does elevation really make much of a difference to your golf game?

Golfers who travel to elevation from at or near sea level to have heard it forever: adjust your yardage for the altitude. No problem, right? Well, adjusting for altitude sounds easier than it actually is, of course. In fact, higher elevations can perplex even the very best players in the world, as shown in the four years that a Champions Tour major championship was played in Central Oregon. “Coming to Central Oregon you have to really watch the altitude,” says Jeff Fought, the director of golf at Black Butte Ranch who is among the top senior club professionals in [...]

13 07, 2015

Golf swings are mysterious things.

It seems that everything could feel right. Then suddenly, a presumably well-struck golf ball flies uncontrollably toward towering pines that are sure to jail the next shot. The feeling can be a helpless one for a golfer, especially if he or she cannot detect the flaw that led to such a wayward shot. All of a sudden second guesses turn those confident golf swings into tentative movements. Before you know it, you are this guy. A golfer’s natural instinct is often to blame something with the swing movement. But before you go Tin Cup, you might be best served by [...]

12 07, 2015

Tip: Fixing your slice can be easy

Typically, not much in golf can be accomplished in two minutes. Sure, a golfer can take a couple practice putts before teeing off. Two minutes is probably enough to order a hot dog at the turn. Or perhaps two minutes is all a golfer needs to make a bad decision that will lead to the first snowman of a given round. Certainly two minutes is not enough time to actually diagnose and fix a swing flaw, right? George Mack Jr., Black Butte Ranch’s director of instruction, disagrees. In fact, he thinks attentive golfers might actually be able to fix [...]

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 [...]