Pronghorn (Nicklaus)

Established as a logging town by early settlers in the early 1900s, Bend has evolved into a modern recreational centre for many outdoor activities, including rock climbing, hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing, rafting and, of course, golf.

The town is situated on the eastern side of the Cascade Range at an old crossing point of the Deschutes River and the two exclusive 18-hole courses at Pronghorn lie within a beautiful 640-acre rustic residential development just to the north east of here.

The Jack Nicklaus Signature course was first to open in 2004 and it was joined four years later by a Pronghorn Fazio-designed layout, giving the developers every reason to boast about Pronghorn being the premier golf community in the Pacific Northwest.

With a stunning backdrop of Mount Bachelor, Broken Top, and Three Sisters, both sets of fairways are routed over a landscape dotted with lava rock outcroppings that are brilliantly incorporated into the design.

The Nicklaus course presents a stern challenge, none more so than at the long, uphill par four 6th hole, where a blind approach is played to a green tucked in behind a large mound. The signature hole is the uphill 15th, a 543-yard five par. The main prize, apart from hopefully securing a score of five, is the unobstructed mountain views of Three Sisters from the green.