Hood River Golf and Country Club, located just over one hour east of Downtown Portland, is stepping up its game, offering its visitors top quality playing conditions to go along with the gorgeous views and natural wildlife that Hood River is so well known for. Hood River Golf and Country Club was originally built in 1923 as a nine hole golf course designed by H. Chandler Egan, with the second nine added in 1995. New management has focused on bringing the level of maintenance and playing conditions up in order to provide golfers with more of an all around enjoyable golf experience than ever before. The conditions at Hood River have drastically improved over the last few years, and golfers will come away impressed with all aspects of their round. Playing conditions throughout the course combine with awe inspiring views on the front and unique hole layouts on the back nine lead to a great golf outing.
Although the front nine at Hood River Golf and Country Club features tremendous views of the surrounding mountains, you will want your focus to be on the great golf holes you will be playing. The front nine offers a much more open layout, leading to less challenges and frustration for golfers. The back nine plays more like a true mountain side golf course with steep elevation changes and challenging tight fairways lined by dense layers of trees. Players can take advantage of scoring holes on the front nine, while making sure their game is ready for the demanding back. The greens here are left a bit longer than most courses and are not quick, but increase in speed as the day goes on and roll true. Those that see more sun early in the day will play much faster than those left in the shade. Sand is only present on about 5 holes and does not protect many fairways or greens. Straight shots are at a premium, and will be rewarded all day when you play Hood River Golf and Country Club.
Green fees at Hood River Golf and Country Club make it a great value for Northwest Golfers, especially on the weekends. The front nine here is walkable, while the back nine tends to be more cart friendly. The distance away from Portland means it is much less crowded than those courses close to the city, adding another great reason to make the drive through the Columbia River Gorge. This piece of land is great for anyone interested in capturing photos of Mt. Hood, regardless of whether or not they planned on playing golf. The all grass driving range features many target options as well as possibly your best photo opportunity of Mt. Hood. This is a great place to focus on your warm up and get all the picture taking out of the way.
Playing Hood River Golf and Country Club
Holes 2-4 at Hood River horseshoe around the edge of the property and offer up a great stretch of golf, combining beautiful hole layouts, views and great scoring opportunities. The tall grass featured on this stretch is less intimidating off the tee then the tall trees you will find on the rest of the course, and it really adds a beautiful touch to these holes. The mid length Par 3 3rd hole includes a forced carry, trees to both sides and a hidden wind from left to right. This green runs back to front, left to right. Flat lies in the fairway are rare on holes 5 and 6. They both run left to right and feature OB long on 5 and right on 6.
Your back nine at Hood River starts with a very quality golf hole. Find the fairway here with anything over 200 yards and you will have a short approach. Aim for the front of the green and be happy with a GIR. Hole 12 and 13 are both intimidating tee shots, but don’t over think either of them just find the fairway. Seeing these holes from the green will likely alter your strategy the next time you play the course. Holes 14 & 16 are both straight par 4’s that force you to be straight off the tee. Find both fairways and you may have two birdie putts, but find the trees and you are looking at bogey or worse. In between those two holes lies one of the best holes on the course and a top notch par 3 on any golf course. It takes a great tee shot to find the green and even then a tough birdie putt awaits. Hood River Golf & Country Club concludes with a great Par 5 finishing hole. The slope and wind are usually in your favor. Set yourself up in the fairway off the tee and it is usually less club than you think on your approach.
