Tetherow Golf Club: 'Rugged terrain with lots of variation in elevation'
BEND, Ore. -- Tetherow Golf Club brought something entirely different to the Northwest golf scene: a links style course set in the high desert.
All the elements of links golf -- albeit not on the coast -- are present at Tetherow.
Fire, not water, helped shape this course.
"A fire basically blew through this area in 1993, created all these views of the mountains," said Martin Chuck (right) with Tetherow Golf Club, "and we've got the terrain, the rugged terrain with lots of variation in elevation."
Set on a plot of land that was deemed worthless by some, Tetherow's landscape leaves a lasting impression thanks to David Kidd, the architect of the original Bandon Dunes course -- and the creative genius behind Tetherow.
"It's more like Scottish links," said Bill Fleiner, who golfs Tetherow. "I mean you can putt from 100 yards off the green. It's just a different type of track."
"There's people who hate it, because it is a wild experience up here," said Chris van der Velde (left) with Tetherow, "but a lot of people love it. They love the beauty of it and how spectacular the views are."
One of the more memorable holes is the par three 17th. It plays to about 169 yards from the middle tees and is carved out of an old pumice quarry.
"Some of the thought was, 'Well, let's have people hit over the pumice quarry' or that sort of thing," Chuck said. "David (Kidd) said, 'No, let's put the green right in the quarry to create that theater."
"It's a beautiful course," said Brenda Fleiner. "I like the way it's cut out of the terrain. It's beautiful."
