Winter Rules: Chahelem Glenn Golf Course

Welcome to Winter Rules, where we look at how our local courses are holding up during the winter months. This week, we take a look at Chehalem Glenn Golf Course in Newberg, OR. This particular round was played on Christmas Eve, and was fittingly frost delayed. In the Northwest, if it’s actually dry around the holidays, then temperatures are likely freezing, and so was the case during our visit. By 10:15am, golfers were finally given the green light, and sent off the front and back side simultaneously to minimize further delays from the frost. Indeed, the greens were thawed by first putt.

Chehalem Glenn, being a newcomer to Portland area golf, has been well built to withstand plenty of rainfall. With much of the course situated on rolling, hilly terrain, moisture naturally drains toward out-of-bounds areas and hazards. This allows much of the playable areas that are lower-lying to remain relatively dry. The flatter hole layouts tend to be located on the higher elevated portions of the golf course, where saturation is naturally less of a factor. It’s also notable that Chehalem Glenn is surrounded by a wealthy amount of forested area which also plays an important role in maintaining stable earth.

It’s safe to say that (unless it’s a particularly rainy time) you will not plug in Chehalem Glenn’s fairways. In fact, throughout the entire course, we only spotted a couple areas that were soggy enough to plug; most notably, the elbow of Hole 9’s dogleg where 2 adjacent hillsides converge. To be able to pinpoint just one specific area of saturation on a NW course in December puts Chehalem Glenn at the top of our Winter Rules destinations. The greens were slightly moist due to the thawing of the frost and temperatures too cold to evaporate the surface wetness. But overall, they have remained dry enough to stay in good shape and provide a respectably true roll. Visit our in-season review of Chehalem Glenn Golf Course HERE.

Winter Rules: Heron Lakes Golf Course (Great Blue)

Welcome to Winter Rules, where we look at how our local courses are holding up during the winter months. This week, we take a look at Heron Lakes Golf Course, specifically Great Blue. Arguably the best of the city owned courses in both design and course maintenance, Great Blue is a very popular course in-season. But in the quiet winter months, when prices drop to $24 during the week and $30 on the weekends, there’s opportunity for value and enjoyment of a championship style course. Like most courses at this time, all carts must stay on the path should you choose to ride. We decided to hoof this December round in an effort to stay warm and relaxed for the sake of good swings.

Despite being located in a delta and having plenty of neighboring water sources, the course has remained rather dry thus far. Aside from a few plug areas in the rough, the course provided decent firmness for this time of year. The fairways are still providing some bounce (even before the “cold snap”!), thanks in part to relatively low rainfall, but also a sound drainage system. The greens are holding up well and running great; just a touch slower to putt on then their speedy summer time conditions.

For those that need their golf fix during the winter, you sacrifice very little in playing Great Blue during the winter. Other than the lack of tall grass, the course plays no different strategically than it does during the summer. Be sure to give a little extra on your putts, and play an extra club if you plan to run your ball to the pin. You can read our review of the Great Blue course at Heron Lakes HERE.

Winter Rules: Camas Meadows Golf Club

Welcome to the second installment of Winter Rules, our look at the Winter conditions of golf courses in the area. This week we played Camas Meadows Golf Club in SW Washington. For those who have not played Camas Meadows, it is a great test of golf skill, and a course not to be missed. The Winter rates at Camas Meadows are just about unbeatable right now. At $29 for 18 hole with a cart on weekdays, and $39 with a cart on weekends, you pay less than half what you would pay during the peak season. If you prefer to walk, you can play for as little as $20 on the weekdays. Be prepared for a hike however, as camas is fairly spread out, and calculates to more than 7 miles walking for 18 holes. At just over a dollar a hole, the question to be asked; Does the course hold up well enough to warrant playing in the Winter? The answer is a resounding yes.

Camas Meadows generally holds up fairly well during the summer months, and in early November, there were absolutely no signs of burn out on the course. The course was very green, and the fairways and rough were plush. The weather was ideal for a November day, and with the exception of a few spots off the fairway, the course was about as dry as can be asked. The one exception was the 11th fairway. From the tee box at 11, you have a water hazard that forces you to carry about 150 yards. As you approach the green, the last 75 yards or so is drops down below the water line of the hazard, and was pretty soggy. However, its a short Par 4, and even higher handicappers have a good chance of avoiding this area altogether. The greens were very fast, almost as fast as the summer months. Approach shots took a little bit more earth than normal as they are a bit soft, so the greens did not roll as true as they could have.

For those that have never played Camas Meadows, now is a great time to give it a try. The course is in excellent shape, and it is rarely priced this well. You can view our review of Camas Meadows Golf Club HERE.

Winter Rules: Langdon Farms Golf Club

Welcome to the first installment of "Winter Rules", your guide to Northwest winter golf. While we are just about done adding course pages for the 2009 golf season, we will be updating our blog to reflect course conditions throughout the winter months. The first installment of "Winter Rules" will be Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Oregon.

Langdon Farms is generally considered an upper tier golf course in the Portland area, and even at this stage of the year, it does not dissapoint. The course is not showing any sign of the blistering summer months preceding, such as burn out or dead areas. The tall grass that is a staple of Langdon Farms has been cut down already, which takes away a bit of the challenge from the course. However, if your ball lands in the remnants of the grass, its still no easy task to get out clean. Due to the damp weather, a few ruts were left behind by a golf cart or a mower on the side hills, but they were few and far between. Drainage was not an issue. When we played, they had recently punched the greens, but they seem to be healing nicely, and should show no signs of aeration in the next few weeks.

Playing Langdon Farms Golf Club in October can be a treat, as the course holds up extremely well throughout the summer months. With winter rates in play, you can get on the course for less than half of their peak rates, and still enjoy a top notch round of golf. Be sure to check their website for "Last Chance Deals". You can find better rates on their home website than discount tee time website in many cases. You can see our review of Langdon Farms HERE.