The emerald green turf of Black Butte Ranch’s Big Meadow is springing to life. The names of would-be golfers are suddenly filling the tee sheet. The unmistakeable sound of club meeting golf ball echoes through the air. Black Butte Ranch’s maintenance crew is working hard to ready Glaze Meadow for the season. Everywhere you turn at Black Butte Ranch there are clear signs that the golf season is beginning to take hold. And with the forecast showing a relatively balmy weekend ahead, Big Meadow is sure to offer its spring best. Weather is not the only thing at Black [...]

Last winter, Big Meadow and Glaze Meadow were both blanketed in the year’s first snow on Dec. 4. The next time Phil Lagao, the longtime golf course superintendent at Black Butte Ranch, would see the turf free of snow again would be 111 days later. What he found once the snow melted was a surprise to even Lagao, one of the most respected superintendents in Oregon: A course with little to no ice damage and tees and greens that were in some of the best post-winter shape he had seen. Not surprisingly, the sight was a welcome one for [...]