Sunriver Resort Meadows Course

Review and Rating of Sunriver's Meadows Golf Course in Sunriver, Oregon

Sunriver Resort, which is about 10 minutes outside of Bend Oregon is perfect for a golfing vacation with the family or your golfing buddies – its home to 3 excellent 18 hole golf courses, a 9 hole family course, a nine hole putting course, lots of resort style amenities, plus some good dining and lodging options. 

Each of the three 18 hole courses is a little different from the other but common to all three are scenic views, very good conditions, and some fun holes.  Read our review of Crosswater and Woodlands to learn more about those two courses. 

Designed by John Fought, Meadows plays tribute to some of the great American golf courses from the 1920's and 30's.  It's beautiful grace as it plays through towering pines and the meandering Sun River with the towering Mt Bachlor as a backdrop plus it's dramatic use of directional and fore-bunkers and challenging layout all make for a memorable round of golf.  Which is part of the reason why Meadows has played host to numerous USGA and NCAA golf championships, including the NCAA Men's Division I championship tournament. 

Meadows is no walk in the park thanks to over 103,000 square feet of bunkers (most of which I got to experience), the clear blue water of Sunriver (I could see but retrieve several of my golf balls), some tight fairways, and challenging green complexes.  There are six tee boxes with yardages ranging from 5287 to 7012 yards (rating of 70.7 to 73.5 and slope of 140 to 127) and if you pick the right set of tee boxes you'll find the Meadows to be demanding but very fair.

Some of what we really liked about playing Sunriver's Meadows course includes:

• several hole that are traditional and straight forward (you can see the pin and what you're up against) and you can let-it-rip
• the Sun River that come into play nine holes some of which make for some risk reward shots like on the 578 yard #2 that takes a sharp dog leg left around the river – how much do you want to try and carry to shorten the hole
• strategically placed bunkers waiting for your tee shot as well as your approach shot
• 4 dog legs left and a couple right that you need to manage
• very good conditions from the tee box to the green
• the greens demand an accurate approach shot and some study and putting skills

When we played Meadows the bent grass greens were in very good condition and running at a fair speed of around 10.  All of the greens have at least one bunker guarding them and one to three more bukers within 100 yards.  And you'll find lots of slope, tiers, or ridges that can cause two or three putts.  The greens range from 24 to 41 yards deep with most a good size of around 35 yards and the hold the ball well and run true. Pin placement can be a killer.

The Meadows fairways are flat with little to no elevation changes or contour until you get to the green.  They are tree lined or open and some homes are set back and even I couldn't hit them!  They were in good shape with a wide rough that was thick and somewhat difficult to get out of.  Miss the fairways and you're under the trees, in Sun River, or hidden in the dense native grass, 

The bunkers range in size and shape with most being big and easy to hit.  The sand was a little thin and some of the bunkers needed some TLC.  Most have steep faces that seemed to like to catch my shots.

You might try the par 3 9 hole putting course before you head out!  Wish I had.