Central Oregon Golf Tour: Juniper

REDMOND — Juniper Golf Club has come a long way since it was originally designed.

The first Juniper course was created in the early 1950s — younger than only the Bend and Prineville golf and country clubs among golf facilities in Central Oregon — with nine holes northwest of the Redmond Airport.

The original nine was largely a flat golf course, without all the undulations that characterize the new course, which opened in 2005.

“A bunch of the golfers just kind of carved out some tees and greens (in the construction of the original course), and kind of made it work,” says Bruce Wattenburger, who has been the head golf professional at Juniper since 1983. “Over there, they just tried to make everything kind of flat. There were a few gradual slopes, but for the most part, nothing like what’s over here.”

With its new location in southeast Redmond, Juniper offers the only public desert links-style golf course in Central Oregon.

Juniper snakes its way through juniper trees and lava rock across high-desert terrain near the Deschutes County Fairgrounds.

The bentgrass greens are hard and fast — a test for golfers of every skill level.

Even the golfers who competed in the U.S. Amateur qualifying round at Juniper last summer noted how quick the putting surfaces were playing.

“This course is significantly longer, and the greens are significantly larger,” Wattenburger says of the new course. “You didn’t see nearly as many three-putts at the old place as you do on the new one.”

Juniper blends in so well into the surrounding environment that a golfer might lock eyes with a nonvenomous gopher snake (welcome at the course because they keep rodents away), as this startled golf writer did on the seventh hole last week.

But make no mistake, Juniper is a blast to play.

Hosting nearly 40,000 rounds each year, Juniper is one of the busiest golf courses in Central Oregon. And it’s so busy because the variety of Juniper’s tees allows for golfers of most skill levels to navigate the golf course.

Though Juniper plays at a frighteningly long 7,186 yards from the back tees, golfers of lesser skills can play the white tees at 6,063 yards, or the forward tees at a scant 5,500 yards.

“I would just encourage (golfers) to play it at a yardage that they think is comfortable or slightly shorter than comfortable for the first time or two, just to learn the couple of carries we have here,” Wattenburger advises. “Play it at a comfortable yardage and enjoy the round, and then move back as you are more comfortable with the golf course.”

The fairways are generally wide enough for an errant tee shot to still be in grass, but position off the tee is an important part of playing Juniper.

Take No. 5, a 449-yard, par-4 gem that features two lava rock outcroppings that jut into the fairway. The first outcropping is reachable with a driver from the tee on a windless day. And the second comes into play on the generally long approach shot.

Balls that sail long are likely to be trapped by a small ridge, but shots that drift left could land in one of a pair of greenside bunkers.

“Five is a killer,” Wattenburger says.

On a windy day, as it was last week, the 478-yard, par-4 17th hole is really a par 5, even for bigger hitters. But the hole shrinks to 399 yards from the whites, and the fairway is open enough to dig for a little extra yardage.

Wattenburger says that another tee might be added to 17 to shorten the distance from tee to green to about 420 yards.

“It’s probably the hardest hole on the golf course,” Wattenburger says of No. 17. “I thought 5 might be, but from the responses and the scores, it looks like 17 is probably the hardest hole on the golf course.”

No. 15, a 438-yard par 4, may be the most fun at Juniper.

Golfers tee off from an elevated tee box into a dogleg right, and the desert is there to greet a tee shot that drifts right of the fairway.

The green is protected on its right side by a lake, which makes shortcuts through the dogleg nearly impossible.

But the tiered green is long, so golfers have plenty of putting surface to work with.

It’s an entertaining hole that requires a good drive and smart play.

That shouldn’t be a surprise on a golf course that is so enjoyable to play and requires shot-making from start to finish.

“We’ve been happy with the response we’ve gotten,” Wattenburger says. “Most people seem to like it. We are just basking in the glory, I guess.”

Juniper Golf Club: At a glance

Architects: John Harbottle III. Year Opened: 2005. Slope: 133. Rating: 73.8. Par: 72. Yardage: 7,186*.

May through Sept. 14: $60 weekdays, $65 weekends/holidays.

Phone: 548-3121; Web site: www.junipergolf.com

Hole Par Yardage

No. 1 Par 4 446 yards

No. 2 Par 4 388 yards

No. 3 Par 3 178 yards

No. 4 Par 4 366 yards

No. 5 Par 4 449 yards

No. 6 Par 5 651 yards

No. 7 Par 5 564 yards

No. 8 Par 3 234 yards

No. 9 Par 4 483 yards

Out Par 36 3,759 yards

No. 10 Par 5 519 yards

No. 11 Par 4 429 yards

No. 12 Par 4 270 yards

No. 13 Par 3 150 yards

No. 14 Par 4 419 yards

No. 15 Par 4 438 yards

No. 16 Par 3 198 yards

No. 17 Par 4 478 yards

No. 18 Par 5 526 yards

In Par 36 3,427 yards

*All distances from back tees