GolfBoards were introduced to Black Butte Ranch just a few months ago, but they are already becoming a fixture at Big Meadow. Part golf cart, part surfboard, GolfBoards have been getting a test run at Black Butte Ranch since first being introduced to our fairways in June. But with four in our fleet, the GolfBoards have hardly had a moments rest. The GolfBoards have been such a success that Black Butte Ranch is planning on not only keeping its four for the 2017 golf season, but also expanding the fleet. “It has really been fun to see golfers gravitate [...]

Two of the more common complaints we hear from golfers, or at least would-be golfers, is that the game takes too much time away from the family and that a round of golf is too expensive. Those are both valid concerns, of course. In fact, when looking at the national issue of how to grow the game, finding ways to make the game more affordable and take less time are often at the top of every list. Sure, the days of a dad spending the day at the country club with friends while the kids stay at home are [...]

Black Butte Ranch’s SNAG (Starting New At Golf) program has really started to take off since we first began to offer it last summer. It started quietly, first occasionally being offered in the Lakeside Activity Center. Earlier this year, Black Butte Ranch’s staff of golf professionals took the program on the road to the children of Sisters Elementary School. And we have also began introducing SNAG each Thursday at Glaze Meadow to the kids at the Junior Putting Challenge. But that is just not enough for our tastes. At noon on Friday, Aug. 5, the first of two August [...]

If you are a parent AND a golfer, chances are you have thought about just how best to introduce your child to the game. Whether it’s the PGA of America, cable television outlets, our major golf magazines, it seems just about everyone has some advice on how to teach kids golf. All offer solid tips, no doubt. But one surefire way to get a child interested in golf is by making the game fun for them. While many golfers’ reactions might be to think, “Well, golf IS fun,” remember how difficult the game can be for beginners. And remember [...]

Conditions report: Crew into summer maintenance program Golf course maintenance has a certain ebb and flow to the season. Each year the crew springs into action as the courses wake from the winter slumber, then it spends the subsequent months pouring over the fine details of both Big Meadow and Glaze Meadow in an all-out effort to get Black Butte Ranch’s two championship golf course in prime condition by the peak of the golf season. Then, suddenly, the focus shifts. As the heat of summer takes hold the crew’s efforts turn to maintaining those conditions rather than constantly trying [...]