Spotlight on Juniper Golf

There are golf courses around the Pacific Northwest with some interesting stories when it comes to history. Add Juniper Golf Course in Redmond, Ore. to that list of courses with a colorful history.

The course opened in 1951 with a nine-hole dual-tee layout. Another nine was added in 1980 to give Juniper an 18-hole layout.  But then things started to change. The course was sitting on land owned by the Federal Aviation Administration and with Highway 97 expanding, there was no room for the course.

But plans went into action quickly. The city of Redmond purchased Bureau of Land Management acreage two miles south of the original course and the late Northwest architect John Harbottle came up with a championship design.

The course was so good when it opened that it was ranked among the top new courses in the country and has hosted the Oregon Open numerous times as well as USGA qualifiers.

Now, 20 years later Juniper Golf Course is still one of the most popular courses in the area.

The new course is 500 yards longer than the original layout with a 650-yard par-5 being the longest hole on the course. Not only are there holes which challenge every club in your bag, there are views of Central Oregon mountains and desert landscape that make it tough to sometimes focus on the golf game.

What makes this a memorable round is the rolling terrain that Harbottle incorporated on just about every hole plus there are some elevation changes along the way. If you want challenges at Juniper, the course is happy to provide them. There are juniper trees, sage, plenty of sand traps and a little water that keeps your attention.                General Manager Rob Malone says there are golfers who have played the old course and are still around these days to play the new course. There are plenty of new golfers as well.

And the price is always right at Juniper. Where many courses are over $100, Juniper is $95 during the high summer months and $65 for Redmond residents. In the month of April, Juniper is $65 for visitors and $45 for residents.