Joe Kline / The Bulletin Ted Outcalt hits from just off the fourth fairway on the Eagle Crest Challenge Course in Redmond.

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.

REDMOND —

My playing partner and I momentarily questioned our relatively good scores from the round that day as we sat under a clear blue sky on the clubhouse patio at Eagle Crest Resort’s Challenge Course.

Were the scores a product of actually playing well, or were they simply a matter of playing the 4,175-yard short course?

My partner put the debate to rest.

“The par 3s are legit and there are some tough par 4s,” he said. “This is not an easy course.”

Yes, the Challenge is short. And yes, the 18-hole setup is only sparsely lined with juniper trees, and water hazards are few and far between. That all helps make the par-63 course enjoyable for golfers of every skill level.

But that does not make Challenge Course’s name a falsity. No, not with the often mounded green complexes that can make a two-putt a chore if you find your ball on the wrong side of a ridge.

In other words, from the course’s back tee, where a golfer will be forced to hit longer irons into what on some holes are relatively small greens, Challenge’s name is apt.

“Even for better players, when you get on those blue tees and play the Challenge, your score relative to par is higher on the Challenge Course than it is on the two championship courses (at Eagle Crest Resort),” says Ron Buerger, the director of golf at the resort.

“If you miss it in certain spots, it reaches up and grabs you and bites you a little bit.”

Challenge has four sets of tees, beginning with the red tees set at 3,008 yards, and it has an equal number of par 3s and 4s that alternate throughout to keep things interesting.

The variety helps the Challenge Course cater to just about anybody.

Novices have a fair chance at keeping the ball in play. Skilled golfers will use every club in the bag. And the time-crunched can play all 18 holes in about three hours.

Playing in a foursome with my golf partner and a friendly couple who recently retired to Redmond, I got a feel for just how player-friendly the course can be for a wide range of golfers.

The course can provide some stiff challenges, like No. 4, a downhill, 399-yard par 4, and No. 10, a 189-yard par 3 that is severely downhill.

It can also be forgiving, like when I dribbled a drive about 100 yards on the 297-yard, par-4 13th hole. The hole’s short distance still left me in the hunt for par with a 4-iron shot into the green (though I only made bogey).

And Challenge can be exhilarating, as it was as I headed into the drivable par-4 17th and 18th holes with the same score as my partner. Needing a strong finish, I squared up a throttled-down driver to the 259-yard par 4, leaving me just 5 feet from eagle. I left the putt teetering on the cup’s edge, making it a disappointing birdie, if there is such a thing.

Despite all its pluses, the course as recently as 10 years ago was only sparingly played, Buerger says.

That is no longer the case.

“People just didn’t get it,” Buerger observes. “That has all seemingly changed now.

“We’re going to see more of these courses designed and built specifically for accessibility, pace of play and ease of use, because it is most certainly still golf and it’s a great platform for people to get started and have exposure to the game.”

Difficulty of course

Despite its relatively short length, the Challenge Course has enough teeth to force golfers to use just about every club in the bag. Some holes, particularly a number of par 3s that play around hazards and into small greens, can be downright challenging for even the best players.

On a layout where water hazards are a rarity and most fairways are open, the course’s main defense is the mounding around some tough green complexes that requires some precise iron shots. Such a setup — not overly punitive from tee to green but with enough defense around the green to keep better players interested — is perfect for skilled golfers who want to partner with a novice or a junior golfer for a round.

Favorite hole

At 145 yards, the par-3 fifth hole presents the nerviest little tee shot on the course if the pin placement is set anywhere other than the more generous right side of the green.

A pond fronts the left of a brutally shallow green. The hole becomes particularly scary if Eagle Crest utilizes a new left tee box that brings the entire body of water into play.

Anything short of the green likely will fall into a watery grave. Anything that sails long will find its way into the mounds that back the putting surface, making for a difficult chip into the green.

How to approach the course

Have a blast and be aggressive. The wide-open layout has few trees or water hazards to get in a golfer’s way, and pulling out a driver can yield great rewards. Six par 4s measure 308 yards or shorter, so longer hitters could have a chance or two at putting for eagle.

Shots into the green for the most part demand precision. Many of Challenge’s approach shots are played into heavily mounded greens, which can help keep a ball in play for golfers who narrowly overshoot the pin. Anything excessively long, however, will at best create a difficult chip from those same mounds or, at worst, kick the wayward ball into native vegetation behind the hills.

Off the course

Eagle Crest Resort has no shortage of things to do. The clubhouse for the Challenge Course (which is shared with Eagle Crest’s Ridge Course) has a snack bar and a well-stocked pro shop. Just a few feet from the clubhouse, a golfer can make use of two putting greens, a short-game practice area and a full-size driving range.

Eagle Crest’s 18-hole putting course — which mixes miniature golf with natural-grass putting greens — sits just a few feet away from the practice area and is worth a play for golfers of all stripes. Cost to play is $10 for adults, $6 for juniors.

Verdict

The Challenge Course is simply one of the best-designed short courses one can find. Entertaining a 5 handicap and a novice at the same time is no easy task, but the Challenge Course is one of the few layouts in Central Oregon that is enjoyable for every skill level.

The course’s 3,812-yard purple tees, which novices and juniors can play as a par 72, add variety. At $44 during prime time, Challenge is not inexpensive. But after 3 p.m. during the peak golf season, adults can play for $29 while juniors age 17 and younger are free when playing with an adult (unaccompanied teens are just $5).

Factor in all of it, and Challenge becomes an ideal course for a parent who wants to play together with a child.

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