Golf Digest 2017/2018
#80 Pumpkin Ridge Ghost Creek
My highly anticipated Oregon trip started off at the USGA's favorite Pacific Northwest facility, Pumpkin Ridge. It has two golf courses, one public and one private. Ghost Creek is the public one. Both courses have held numerous prestigious tournaments including the US Amateur, won by Tiger Woods in 1996, the US Women's Open in 1997 & 2003, the Nike Tour Championship in 1993-94, and the 2006 US Junior Amateur. 
(#15 552/531 yard par 5)
Ghost Creek opened in 1992 and was quickly named the best new public course by Golf Digest. Bob Cupp's classic no frills style used the land beautifully, and produced a course that rewarded good ball-striking and execution. It immediately caught the USGA's eye, and the rest is history. 
(Pumpkin Ridge is pure Pacific Northwest! The towering pine trees are an impressive sight!)
The day I arrived, the Web.com was playing the Portland Open on the Witch Hollow course, and I was ecstatic when the pro told me they were still taking tee times at Ghost Creek. Unbeknownst to me, the property is so large that each course has it's own clubhouse, and the only time they intertwine is when you're driving on the entrance road.
(Ghost Creek guards the entire right side of the short 366/341 yard sixth)
One reason why I enjoyed Pumpkin Ridge so much is because it felt like some one plucked it out of the Midwest and set it down in Oregon. The course has beautiful driving lines, the walk between holes is easy, and greens are slightly tilted with one or two simple features in them. The putting is so pure.. just get it started on the proper line! 
(The 184/158 yard third is two tiered. The golfer can use the slope to bring it back to a front pin position.)
Bob Cupp routed the course very well at Ghost Creek. He made green sizes appropriate for the expected shot, left openings in the front for players to run it on, and mixed difficult holes with birdie opportunities.
(The approach to the par five fourth. Note how there's a level spot near the putting surface to run the ball on. This feature is available on every hole!)
(431/409 par four seventh is one of the memorable holes. The foreshorten bunkers throw off your depth perception while Ghost Creek guards the right.)
(Push the pin back into the rear corner and the 444/404 yard twelfth becomes even more demanding.)
(The uphill 381/356 yard thirteenth demands a well placed drive to get a good angle into the green.)
Can Pumpkin Ridge get a US Open? I guess that's the real discussion. It already hosted an Amateur, usually a prelude, but that was on the Witch Hollow course and was twenty years ago! The guys behind the counter think it will one day, and they believe Ghost Creek will be course. It has the luxury of expanding and 600 yards can be added with additional tee boxes. It'll be interesting to see if that ever happens. 
(The seventeenth is an excellent risk/reward short par four. The player in the picture is playing his second shot after an aggressive drive. It's a classic two or seven hole with high drama.)
Ghost Creek was a great start to my week in Oregon, is hands down the best public course in Portland. For players flying into PDX to go to Bandon, I highly recommend starting the trip here. I give it a 7 (excellent)(worth driving 3-4 hours).
(The 180/170 yard par three eleventh)
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