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, [...]

The leaves of the aspen trees at Black Butte Ranch are beginning to show their autumn colors. The mornings are a bit more crisp. The sun is chased away a bit sooner each evening. Yes, fall is officially here. But golfers should not put away their golf clubs … at least not yet. Fall can actually be a pleasant and affordable time of the year to squeeze in a few rounds. On Oct.1, Black Butte Ranch will be lowering its rates for the remainder of the golf season. Green fees will drop to $47 during prime time (down from [...]

What would make ideal golf conditions? Gorgeous weather that tops out in the 70s? Golf courses in peak shape with emerald green turf shimmering under the sun? Relatively light crowds in restaurants and hotels? How about the Cascade peaks bursting in the background with a gorgeous fresh dusting of snow? Welcome to September golf at Black Butte Ranch. “It’s beautiful today boy, that’s for sure,” said Bob Canfield, of Palm Desert, California, as he and his wife Jan warmed up on the Big Meadow driving range. “Black Butte is really beautiful. It’s our first time playing here. We played [...]

You’ve put yourself in nice position, pin-high just off the green. It seems like such an easy up and down with only a nice, little chip standing in the way between you and par. You take a couple of clean practice swipes and then step to your ball. You take your club back just a bit, make your move, strike the ball and watch as the ball either trickles toward the green well short of its intended target or blows past the hole. Most amateur golfers know this horrid feeling. Heck, it even happens to the greatest golfers in [...]