On The Tee

 

Pronghorn Resort: Nicklaus Course

Signature Nicklaus in the High Desert

Posted by Alistair Orr

The Pronghorn Resort is situated on the outskirts of the tony city of Bend in Central Oregon. With the Cascade Mountains as a backdrop this 36 hole luxury golf community is set in the high desert with both the golf courses and residential community set among lava formations and ancient stands of Juniper trees. On Pronghorn's secluded 650 acre compound you will be presented with two impeccably groomed designs by a pair of the games biggest names. The Jack Nicklaus Signature course (2004) is open for public play while the Tom Fazio Championship course (2008) is members only.

 

Although the Pronghorn community  is comprised largely of private homes and townhouses, the resort offers stay and play opportunities through the club managed rental pool for those looking for the villa experience. With the construction of the luxurious Huntington Lodge nearing completion Pronghorn is positioning itself to attract attract corporate groups, wedding parties and those seeking the lavish hotel experience. Additionally, The resort offers several dining experiences and the full service spa is available for those needing a little pampering following a day of desert golf.

 

1st tee view: Cascade Mountain range in the horizon

The Nicklaus Signature Course offers five tee decks ranging from the up-front Silver's at 5256 yards to a beastly 7379 from the Tips. Played from the correct set of tees this course is equally enjoyable for players of any handicap. The single digit player, and long ball strikers, will find it a shot-making challenge providing pressure off the tee with many strategically placed bunkers and waste areas in the landing zones that will need to be navigated to set up the best angle for the approach shots. By the same token the fairway landing areas are generous enough in places where the mid-to-higher handicappers, and shorter hitters, can still route themselves around these obstacles without having to climb in and out of trouble all day.

The terrain of the Nicklaus layout can best be described as mostly flat to gently rolling with the odd hill here and there. Jack created a routing that naturally flows among the lava outcroppings, waste areas and stands of Juniper trees. Along with the addition of the aforementioned fairway bunkering and strategically placed sentinel trees, the result is a wonderful shot making experience from tee to green. The green complexes are not heavily protected by green side bunkers with 15 of the holes having two or less, however, they are placed in locations where the white sand hollows will influence your club selection and shot making decisions. The putting surfaces are fast and true and attention must be paid to the undulations and swails that are standard fare on every hole.

The routing is replete from start to finish with really solid golf holes. The opening few holes on the front side ease you into the round with some gentle scorable holes but gives you a taste of the shot making challenges which will follow. However, you will need to have your game face on once you make the turn for the back nine will challenge every aspect of your game. The six hole stretch from holes 12 through 17 may have you reaching for every club in your bag at some point and will make you second guess every shot making decision. The stretch begins with two spectacular rick/reward short par 4's that will tempt you to drive it as close to the green as you can with the big stick, but if your greed is not rewarded, a big number will surely follow. Holes 15 and 16 are back-to-back par 5's where there is no margin for error on any shot while holes 14 and 17 are testy par 3's where wayward shots will find cavernous bunkers or leave you awkward up and downs from the deep rough or a collection area.

 

Editor's Shot Maker's Picks at Pronghorn's Nicklaus Course

Featured Holes	Hole 12	Hole 13	Hole 15
Par	Par 4	Par 4	Par 5
Tips	342	328	543
Black	332	366	529
Rust	281	330	498
Gold	271	308	478
Silver	234	236	432
HCP-Men	12	14	12
HCP-Women	12	14	12

 

Feature Holes Descriptions:

Any of the holes 12 through 17 are worthy candidates for the On The Tee hall of fame. One could argue that the Cape style 13th hole is the most outstanding hole on the course (and it very well could be). Wrapping around around a lake that is fed by a waterfall that flows over a wall of lava outcroppings surrounding the backside of the green makes this imposing risk reward par 4 not only challenging but visually stunning. However, I decided that holes 12 and 15 should also the get nod to be nominated for best in breed.

 

Hole 12

The short 12th hole plays uphill to an elevated green complex protected by a deep fronting bunker and a lone sentinel tree standing guard over access to the green. The wise player will lay up with the tee shot right of center leaving a pitch of 80 or so yard to the green. This angle will take the front left sentinel tree out of play on the approach. Care must be taken to try to leave your approach below the pin for the green slopes from back to front. Long hitters who choose to try to drive it up as close to the green as possible risk finding the bunker or getting stymied by the tree.

 

Hole 15

The par five 15th hole is a bit of an enigma. Seemingly winding its way uphill through a tight wooded trail framed by numerous outcroppings that creep into play. There is no obvious single strategic way to play the hole as big bombers can try to blast their way past the outcroppings and stands of trees while the more conservative player may tack their way up the numerous available avenues on the trail. Whichever strategy you decide to employ the biggest challenge is how to navigate the final approach to the green for just inside the 100 yard mark a bunker, lava outcropping and several junipers stand united in the middle of the fairway forcing you to choose which way to go around them in order to find the putting surface.

 

Any trip to Central Oregon should include Nicklaus's Pronghorn course on the itinerary. In addition to spectacular golf and wonderful vistas fortunate visitors may be treated to a sighting of a herd of the namesake Pronghorn bolting through the desert. Known colloquially as the American antelope, pronghorn antelope or prong buck because of its close resemblance to true antelopes it is, however, not an antelope. It is the only surviving species of the 12 antilocaprid species which once called North America home. Reaching speeds of up to 100 kms (60mph) the Pronghorn is currently the fasted mammal in North America.

 

Course Stats: Pronghorn Resort: Nicklaus Signature Course

Par 72	Yardage	Rating/Slope-M	Rating/Slope-F
Tips	7379	75.2 / 151	-
Black	7049	73.8 / 147	-
Rust	6533	71.3 / 143	77.0 / 151
Gold	6000	68.9 / 135	74.7 / 145
Silver	5256	-	70.8 / 131

 

Course Stats: Pronghorn Resort: Fazio Championship Course

Par 72	Yardage	Rating/Slope-M	Rating/Slope-F
Tips	7456	75.2 / 142	-
Black	6934	73.0 / 136	-
Rust	6431	70.4 / 129	76.9 / 147
Gold	5866	68.2 / 128	73.8 / 140
Silver	5028	-	69.2 / 127

Contact:

Pronghorn Resort
65600 Pronghorn Club Drive
Bend, OR

866-230-5024

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