SUNRIVER — Those golfers who see in their nightmares giant ponderosa pines hovering over otherwise welcoming fairways might find Sunriver Resort’s Meadows course a nice respite.

Meadows has trees — after all, it is in Central Oregon. But the John Fought-designed course’s name is true to its setting.

Meadows meanders through wetlands and some forest, but the trees barely come into play.

The open feel of each fairway is a departure from many golf courses in Central Oregon, including Sunriver’s much more heavily wooded Woodlands course.

And unlike Sunriver’s Crosswater Club, Meadows doesn’t have long forced carries.

The result is a golf course that is welcoming to golfers of most skill levels.

“It’s fairly generous off the tee, so your average golfer doesn’t feel like he is in the woods all day long,” says Scott Ellender, Sunriver’s director of golf. “You have a lot of options off the tee. You don’t have to feel like if you just miss a little bit right or left you are off the world.”

That’s not to say to that Meadows is an easy golf course.

The course plays at 7,012 yards from the tips, which is long enough to host events such as the NCAA Men’s Division I National Championship, which was staged at Meadows in 2006.

But Meadows’ four sets of tee boxes can shrink the golf course to as short as 5,287 yards from the forward tees.

The biggest test for golfers is dealing with the deep and mounded bunkers that, except for on the par-3 holes, are found on every fairway.

And the mounded sand pits are well-placed to catch errant tee shots.

“(Playing well) is more about staying out of the fairway bunkers, which are big, than it is about staying out of the trees,” Ellender says. “That course can play as tough as you want it to be.”

Area golfers should note that Sunriver Resort is getting more friendly to locals.

Deschutes County residents can play either Meadows or Woodlands for $85 any day, and the greens fees include cart and range balls. The resort also offers a locals-only twilight rate that dips the cost of a round to $55 after 2 p.m.

The rate for locals is much more in line with similar packages at other high-level daily fee courses in Central Oregon, and it’s a big departure from Sunriver’s resort rate of $125 per round.

The reason Sunriver is offering the special reduced rates is because it wants more play from locals at its courses, which over the years have been dominated by annual members and resort guests.

“To be able to book up to three days in advance at those rates on those two courses is what we need to do to draw more local business,” Ellender says.

The strength of Meadows is its variety.

The four par 3s have a nice range in distance at 174, 213, 228 and 205 yards, and two of its par 5s are reachable in two shots.

No. 4, the shortest of the par 3s, is a beautiful golf hole that forces players to carry a lake and hit into a two-tier green.

The 205-yard 16th hole, Meadows’ signature hole, offers the best view of nearby Mount Bachelor on the entire golf course.

“In particular, our par 3s are really strong,” Ellender says. “They have a nice variety between short, medium and long.”

The 16th hole starts a challenging set of finishing holes. The 536-yard 17th is a par 5 that is reachable in two shots, but the green’s back-left corner slopes down and away to punish overaggressive approach shots.

The 18th hole is a 450-yard dogleg left with water protecting the left side of the green. Tee shots that don’t get to the 150-yard marker leave an approach shot that must be carried over the water and a greenside bunker.

Meadows won’t overwhelm most golfers, but it will provide as stern a test as a player wants.

And that is about all any golfer could ask for.

“It can hold up against the best college golfers in the world and it is also very friendly for our members, our resort guests and our public players,” Ellender says. “I think it’s got a nice blend.”

Sunriver Resort Meadows: At a glance

COURSE FACTS

Architects: John Fought redesign (1999); Year Opened: 1968. Slope: 131. Rating: 72.9. Par: 71. Yardage: 7,012*.

SCORECARD

Hole Par Yardage

No. 1 Par 4 421 yards

No. 2 Par 5 578 yards

No. 3 Par 4 469 yards

No. 4 Par 3 174 yards

No. 5 Par 4 356 yards

No. 6 Par 4 366 yards

No. 7 Par 4 430 yards

No. 8 Par 3 213 yards

No. 9 Par 4 431 yards

Out Par 36 3,438 yards

Hole Par Yardage

No. 10 Par 5 542 yards

No. 11 Par 4 415 yards

No. 12 Par 4 417 yards

No. 13 Par 3 228 yards

No. 14 Par 4 393 yards

No. 15 Par 4 371 yards

No. 16 Par 3 205 yards

No. 17 Par 5 536 yards

No. 18 Par 4 467 yards

In Par 36 3,574 yards

*All distances from back tees

GREENS FEES

May 23 through September: $85 for Deschutes County residents daily, $140 for nonresidents; $75 after 2 p.m. for Deschutes County residents.

INFORMATION

Phone: 541-593-4402; Web site: www.sunriver-resort.com