Aspen Lakes Golf Club Review

July 1, 2024

As many of you may know, Kathy and I are making our way to golf 50 golf courses in all 50 states. (And Yes…….Obviously, there will be more than 50 golf courses for sure). We recently checked off another state on our list – OREGON!

Since we live in our RV full-time, we can spend the night in some parking lots. (Not often mind you – Kathy is a pedestal Princess after all!) We decided early on that we won’t do it often, but when we do, we will do our best to do it in a golf course parking lot.

This little variation allows us to pull into a golf course around 2:00 p.m., park, and then tee off between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m; catching the Twilight Fees. Then we spend the night in an empty parking lot with golf in our dreams.

This is exactly what happened at Aspen Lakes Golf Club.

I was making our driving plans to head west a few months ago and noticed that Aspen Lakes Golf Club was on our route. A look at Google maps showed me we could fit in the parking lot. I made a quick call to the Aspen Lakes Director of Golf, Howie Pruitt, to ask the all-important question – “Can we spend the night in your parking lot?”

Howie was very open the us staying and playing the course.

I got excited about staying and playing at Aspen Lakes right away. This is only the second time we have tried this.

With only a few self-imposed hiccups getting in and settled, we were ready to check-in. I got to the counter and was immediately helped by Kevin and John. Both were excited that we were there and thought it was cool that we were staying in the parking lot just so we could play a round of golf.

They gave us a few pointers for the course, got us our golf cart, and sent us off to the beautiful 1st tee.

***1st Tee with the “Constitution of Fun”!***

The Canadian Geese were flying back home from somewhere south and it seems that the first few holes were a good rest stop. I will admit the holes were perfect. They had nice water features, wide landing zones for us and the birds, and large pine trees for protection. The only downer was the Geese are big turd machines.

Which means we had to watch our step. A small price to pay for the added beauty of the geese.

The beauty of Aspen Lakes Golf Club continued throughout the entire course. With mountains in the background and pine trees that are at least a hundred years old, Aspen Lakes is surrounded with a natural beauty that is unmatched by other tracks. And this did not deter the designers. They did their best to blend and make Aspen Lakes Golf Club a part of the inspiring landscape. They even used the local cinder rocks to make the sand. Giving a beautiful red contrast to the perfectly manicured green grass.

I think the one part of the golf course that stood out the most to me were the greens. I kept commenting how nice the ball was rolling. I know I am an ok putter but, the ball roll was perfect. The greens were in great shape and the cut was among the best I have played on in a long time.

The other thing that stood out were the trees. They were old, tall, and amazing. They were all pine trees but, the age of the area was punctuated by the age and majesty of the trees.

Aspen Lakes Golf Club was intertwined with a housing development but the use of the existing trees almost made the houses disappear. As big and beautiful as some of the houses were, they did not in any way steal the show from the trees.

The trees were amazing to me.

Aspen Lakes Golf Club has everything you need to train and play golf. There is a very nice driving range, excellent chipping area, and a great putting area that rolls as nicely as the holes on the course.

Aspen Lakes Golf Club is a strong Par course.

If you are in the Sisters, Oregon area, you must play Aspen Lakes Golf Cub.

Kathy and I loved the course and would play it again. As a matter of fact, if we are driving this way again, we will try the “Park & Play” method.

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written By Marc Festa

COURSE REVIEW SCORE CARD

Course: Aspen Lakes Golf Club

Type: Privately Owned – Public

Date Played: 30 June 2024


HOLE	PAR	SCORE	COMMENTS
1 – Tee Time Availability	4	3	We booked way in advance which made obtaining our desired tee time easy.
2 – Cost of Green Fees	4	4	Comparable to other courses in the area.
3 – Condition of Tee Boxes	4	4	Well maintained.
4 – Condition of Fairways	5	5	Immaculately maintained and well-groomed Bent Grass fairways keep the course difficult yet friendly.
5 – Condition of Greens	4	3	Rolled very flat and well-manicured.
6 – Length of Course	5	5	The Black tees are 7302 yards; overall the course is long compared to most.
7 – Hazards	4	4	Red sand bunkers create a unique playing experience. The bunkers protected the greens on almost every hole.
8 – Starter/Marshal	3	3	The course Marshal was friendly and made regular rounds to keep the pace of play on track.
9 – High Handicap Friendly	3	2	Although the course is longer than most, the choice of 7 tee options makes it very friendly for all level of players.
OUT	36	33
10 – Practice Area	5	5	They have a driving range, pitching/chipping area, putting green, and Teaching pro available.
11 – Locker Rooms	3	3	Restrooms available.
12 – Pro Shop	4	4	Pro shop had a wide selection of clothing, as well as golf necessities needed to play a round.
13 – Location	4	4	Very easy to find using our GPS.
14 – Rental Equipment	4	4	Clubs available to rent.
15 – Restaurant/Food Cart	4	4	The Brand 33 Restaurant is a full-service restaurant; however, we were not able to utilize the restaurant due to a wedding.
16 – Club House	4	4	Spacious outdoor patio area.
17 – Parking	3	2	Plenty of parking for “Dee-Luxe” & “Big Dee”
18 – Customer Service	5	4	Kevin and John offered tips and tricks for playing our best round.
IN	36	34
TOTAL	72	67	PLAYER: Marc F. ATTESTED BY: Kathy F.