Crooked River Ranch Golf Course, in Terrebonne, OR, is a fun and player friendly golf adventure adjacent to the awe-inspiring Crooked River Canyon. With incredible upfront views of sheer rock cliffs, raging waters and distant mountains, the scenery alone is reason enough to visit. Factor in a rather dynamic, albeit scorable, course design, and Crooked River Ranch is an all around engaging environment to be enjoyed by all. Wide like the carved-out river canyon, the fairways are forgivingly large on most holes, yet cohesively laid out with the natural landscape. The relatively open acreage of the front 9 makes it notably easier than the back 9 which has a more diverse path including trees and neighboring desert terrain. The back 9 has modest hole distances such as the front, but requires more selective shot planning. Constant throughout are the well maintained holes that effectively navigate the ideal vistas of the beautiful surroundings. That being so, the fastest route to an exciting but manageable test of golf in a magnificent high desert golf arena, is a straight line to Crooked River Ranch.
The grounds of Crooked River Ranch have a blend of flat terrain and elevation change. The front 9 features a mix of elevated tee boxes and greens, while the back 9 journeys along a gradual hillside for several holes. Most of the fairways are very generous in size, but desert terrain tightens things up a bit at times on the back 9. The impressive Par 4 13th requires a significant carry over desert brush, and a bad miss right is fodder for the canyon. Water only comes into play on a couple occasions, and sand is also a minimal factor, adding to the user-friendliness of Crooked River Ranch. If you miss the wide layouts, you will likely be contending with long grasses or craggy grounds of rock and plant life. But play it smart, and finding fairways and greens is a very doable task. The greens are kept in great shape, providing a true roll. Their speeds are moderate to fast in the shoulder seasons and speed up nicely in the hot summer months.
