Mount Jefferson rises up in the distance behind the fifth green at Desert Peaks Golf Club in Madras.(Bulletin file photo)

MADRAS — Four older men sat around a table in the modest Desert Peaks Golf Club, joking about the golf that day.

Another man walked by and asked one of the men at the table, “How you doing?”

“Great … now that I am done,” the older gentleman replied as his friends laughed.

This is a sunny midweek afternoon at Madras’ municipal golf course, but really it could be any day at the nine-hole course located just north of the city.

“Everybody just kind of knows everybody,” says Teresa Lindgren, the assistant clubhouse manager who has worked at Desert Peaks since 2009. “But this is still a pretty small town.”

I got a taste of Desert Peaks during a recent round at Madras’ only golf course.

There is little that is spectacular about Desert Peaks. But one thing sets the course apart from most: the close-knit group that regularly plays the track.

I was randomly paired with one such regular, a tall and athletic 60-year-old fellow named Tom Kathrein, who told me he is a lifelong Madras resident.

Throughout the round, Kathrein found a hand to shake or a story to tell.

As we teed off from the par-4 third hole, Kathrein told the story of when Brian Miller, a professional golfer from Madras, drove the 392-yard green twice when he shot 57 to set the 18-hole course record last summer.

A father-son duo on a cart played through on the 561-yard, par-5 fifth hole, and Kathrein said hello to the two before whispering to me that the son will be a pretty good golfer one day.

As we finished our round, Kathrein made a point to chase down Loy Petersen to introduce me to the 68-year-old former Oregon State basketball star and longtime Madras resident.

Petersen, you might have guessed, happens to be among the most frequent players at Desert Peaks.

“I just kind of show up and if there is somebody to play with, I play with them,” explained Kathrein of why he knows so many of the Desert Peaks faithful.

“It’s fun even when you don’t play well,” he said. “All these guys are so nice and friendly.”

The 3,231-yard layout is simple and flat, and the course conditioning is nowhere near that of an upscale golf course.

And that works just fine for Desert Peaks, which is owned and maintained by the Madras parks department while the clubhouse is managed by Dean Ditmore and his staff of three. At $12 for nine holes, nobody should expect Augusta National.

Still, Desert Peaks does have some challenging golf holes, particularly the relatively long par 5s. If the wind is up — which the locals say tends to happen at about 2 p.m. on warmer days — the 412-yard par-4 fourth hole becomes the most difficult on the course.

Playing into the teeth of the prevailing wind, I hit a poor drive followed by a well-hit 2-hybrid. And I was still left 70 yards short of the green.

For the most part, however, Desert Peaks is simple and manageable for golfers of all skill levels.

Which, ultimately, is the point of a municipal golf course in a small town with nowhere else to play.

That might be why the course is usually so busy, including on the day of my visit. And why those who play there seem to love it so much.

“Saturday mornings are the same guys every day,” Lindgren says. “Even when it was 20 degrees this winter, they still come up and play. They start at 9, 10 o’clock. It’s crazy the weather that these guys play in.”

Difficulty of course

Desert Peaks is straight-forward and flat, and water rarely comes into play. Wayward tee shots are not in much trouble of running into a tree, either, though six holes have subtle doglegs.

If there is trouble, it is in the length of the course’s two par 5s (561 and 569 yards) and the long par-4 fourth hole.

Still, it all adds up to a course that is highly manageable even for novice golfers.

Favorite hole

The 561-yard, par-5 fifth hole features perhaps the most interesting tee shot on the course. One of the rare shots at Desert Peaks on which water comes into play, in the form of a small pond left of the fairway, the tee shot calls for a draw around the slight dogleg.

From there a golfer has the freedom to rip a second shot down the straight fairway into a simple back-to-front-sloped green, or play it safe with two conservative shots into the green.

How to approach the course

With so little trouble on the course, skilled golfers will want to be aggressive. And on at least three holes, they will need to be to overcome the length.

Both par 5s require long tee shots to have any chance of reaching the green in two shots. If the wind is up, even skilled golfers will have either a long iron or a hybrid into the green for a chance at par on the par-4 fourth hole.

On the other hand, novices will enjoy the fact that Desert Peaks has few trees and even fewer hazards.

Off the course

Tucked in an industrial section of Madras near Madras Airport, Desert Peaks is not much for bells and whistles. The clubhouse is small, but it offers some snacks, drinks, and a limited selection of golf equipment.

The practice putting green is medium-sized and conveniently located just off the first tee. The affiliated driving range is considerably farther away. Willow Creek Driving Range rests on some farmland just east of downtown, about 4 miles away from Desert Peaks.

Verdict

Desert Peaks will not wow anybody. But the green fees are the least expensive of any course in Central Oregon.

For someone who is intimidated by Central Oregon’s more challenging layouts or simply wants a hassle-free nine holes on the cheap, Desert Peaks offers a friendly option.

— Reporter: 541-617-7868, zhall@bendbulletin.com.

Editor’s note: This is another installment in a seasonlong series in which Bulletin golf writer Zack Hall visits each public and semiprivate golf course in Central Oregon.