MCKENZIE BRIDGE — Golf is different in the mountains.

I had been meaning to get over to Tokatee Golf Club, having heard great things about the course from golfers in Central Oregon.

When a group of about 20 golfers from Bend headed over for a weekend that included a mountain bike ride on the McKenzie River Trail, a rafting trip on the river, and 36 holes of golf over two days … I finally got the chance.

The forecast was for fall-like weather, with high temperatures in the 50s and the possibility of rain over the two days.

The forecast was correct, as we got all of that, but I had the umbrella, long johns and layers at the ready. Believe me, they were all put to good use.

But the course, the scenery and the company were all fantastic.

So what’s a little cold and rain anyway?

The group

Tokatee is about a 90-minute drive from Bend, nestled in a beautiful valley on the western slope of the Cascades just off state Highway 126 across from the McKenzie River.

Pulling into the golf course, you are immediately struck by the different foliage, towering Douglas firs rising to the sky against the backdrop of prominent mountains on every side. The deciduous trees were just past the peak of their color, but still offered splashes of yellow all around the course.

As we played over the two days, wispy clouds rolled over and around the mountains, alternately revealing and obscuring the mountainsides.

There are no homes on the course, giving one the feel of truly being out in the Cascades wilderness.

The golf group was put together by Bend businessman Terry O’Neil, a continuation of an outing he had arranged for last year.

“I used to have a property here in McKenzie Bridge years ago with some friends from Bend,” O’Neil explained. “I fell in love with Tokatee and the area.

“We had a few events over the years that brought guys over here, and last year decided to have kind of a reunion of that.”

A dozen players made the trip in 2015, and they asked O’Neil for a repeat, bringing a few more players this year to increase the field to 20.

“Our whole goal was to come over and enjoy the beautiful country, the amazing people in McKenzie Bridge and support the local economy,” O’Neil said. “It’s just a bunch of guys getting away and having a great time.”

They made the trip in part for a unique Cascades golf experience.

“We’re in dry, high desert country in Bend,” O’Neil said. “This gives us an opportunity to go to the lush, rain forest side of the Cascades.

“All the vegetation is different, the colors are coming in through all the conifers and it’s absolutely stunning here in the fall.”

Several of the players opted out of the practice round to bike the McKenzie River Trail and do some whitewater rafting.

“The trip is more than just being here for the golf,” O’Neil said. “We’re here for all that McKenzie Bridge has to offer.”

The course

Tokatee is more forgiving than you might expect.

While a few of the holes are tight because of the large firs and cedars on either side of the fairways, many are fairly wide open on the parkland-style track.

The surrounding forest is so dense that more than once I felt as though Bigfoot, could come walking out of the woods at any moment.

Adding to the charm of the place are two friendly goats who live in a pen between the par-3 17th tee box and the lake in front of the green. The goats — Rudy and R.O. — are owned by the club, originally bought to keep the brush and grasses trimmed down in the area.

They seemed interested in what we golfers were up to (probably just looking for handouts), as one stood perched on a rock, watching our every move while we were teeing off.

I played the first round with three members at Widgi Creek: Greg Watt, Ron Ross and Mark Hasson.

They noted the many differences between playing at Tokatee and playing on the eastern side of the Cascades.

“It’s wet over here … and it’s dry over there,” Ross said, starting out with the obvious.

Though Tokatee sits at about 1,300 feet of elevation — some 2,300 feet lower than the city of Bend — Watt felt he got just as much carry as he does in Central Oregon.

“You would think on the west side the ball is not going to fly as far,” he said, “but at this particular course the ball flies well.”

Tokatee’s primary defense is its greens.

All bentgrass with no intruding poa annua, the greens are exceptionally smooth, and downhill putts were exceptionally quick.

“They were really fast, despite the wetness,” Ross said. “And they are really tricky to read, there are all kinds of weird breaks that are hard to read.

“They are good, even great greens, but challenging for sure.”

Ross, with whom I played on both days, never quite figured out the speed of the greens. Nor did the rest of us.

On our 35th hole, the aforementioned 17th, all four of us in the group were on the green with our tee shots, about 25 or 30 feet away for our birdie putts.

We walked off the green without a single par among us, taking three three-putts and a four-putt.

The intermittent rain showers, and the corresponding fluctuating temperatures, meant we were layering up and down the better part of both days.

“I did that more than a few times,” Watt said.

The walkers in the group noted that the relative flatness, and the parkland-style layout with greens adjacent to the next hole’s tee box, made the course especially friendly to those who wanted to hoof it.

Hasson, who fared the best in the group on the first day with a 75, appreciated the fairness of the track.

“It’s an honest test of golf,” he said. “It’s not tricked up, but you still have to hit good shots and putt reasonably well.”

Tokatee celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and Ross pointed out that for most golfers he knows, it is a must-play course.

“Every golfer in the state loves to play this course,” he postulated. “They have outings just like we’re having and have been doing so for years.

“This course is an icon in the state of Oregon.”

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