Truly one of the best private golf experiences in the Portland Metro Area. The Oregon Golf Club is an exclusive private club located just South of Portland in West Linn, OR. With the course seemingly built into the side of a hill, vast views of Mt. Hood and the surrounding area are available throughout. The course is kept in impeccable conditions year-round, even wet Oregon winters. The greens are some of the fastest in the Portland area, running true. The Tee boxes and fairways are kept in great shape as well. The one major defining characteristic of the course is elevation change, you will find yourself rarely striking the ball off of flat ground. Uneven lies are the name of the game here.

The front nine begins with an uphill Par 5 to the highest point on the property. Holes 2 and 3 dogleg right and left respectively. Holes 7, 8 and 9 are some of the most unique golf holes one could play. The tee shot on 7 drops over 100' down to a fairway moving hard right, with the inside of the dogleg being protected by a lake. Second shots that go through the fairway must be hit towards a fairway and green sloping towards the water hazard. Hole 8 is a mid-length Par 3 with an elevated tee box. Most players will have to hit a long iron into a small, narrow green, with a small creek running down the entire right side of the hole. The front 9 finishes with an uphill Par 4 that doglegs to the left. Longer hitters can try and cut the corner here, and may lead to a bling second shot into an elevated green. A miss to the right off the tee will roll down towards the lake that surround this trio of holes.

The back nine begins with another unique, driveable Par 4 that travels downhill to the right. After hole 10, the golf course becomes more of a traditional parkland course, with tree-lined holes. The signature hole at OGC is the Par 3 12th (see pictured). With massive scale, you must hit your shot over a deep ravine to a shallow green guarded by bunkers on the front and back. The rest of the back 9 snakes through old-growth pine trees, and plays much longer than the more open front 9. Fairway bunkers and creeks are the main defense of OGC on the back 9. Possibly the most difficult hole on the course is the Hole 18 finisher. A 449 yard Par 4 from the tips, your elevated tee shot must carry around 200 yards over a large berranca. This will leave an uphill shot into the green. The aforementioned creek runs down the whole left side of the hole.

With a course rating of 75.8 and slope rating of 153, The Oregon Golf Club is a great test of golf. The unique layout may not suit the traditionalists, but the course has plenty of challenge, as well as playability. I always find myself looking forward to my next round there. If anyone has the opportunity to play the course with a member, I would encourage them to jump on it.