Today I braved the morning showers for a round at Chehalem Glenn Golf Course. I played here a long time ago – before I started my blog – and wanted to get back for a review.

Thankfully the weather turned out to be decent for a winter day in the Pacific Northwest. The rain was supposed to start around noon so I booked an early tee time. My plan mostly worked as a light rain fell on only four holes. I’ll take it!

Chehalem Glenn is a Bill and John Robinson design that is about 40 minutes southwest of Portland. The course opened in 2005 and I think I originally played here in 2011. From what I remembered the course was tough, with many forced carries.

I played the blue tees which are 71.2/138/6433. And, I guess the bad news is that Chehalem Glenn is still quite difficult. The high slope can lead to a long day – no way to sugar coat that. There are forced carries on about half of the holes and water comes into play on four holes on the back nine. I thought the greens were tricky to read too.

Even though Chehalem Glenn is tough, I learned that the course has made some changes to make it more playable. The 12th hole used to be a long par-5 with an almost impossible layup over a creek. It is now a reasonable distance par-4. The 17th was a long par-4 but it is now a short par-5. I’m not sure when these changes happened, but they are definitely for the better.

The front nine is longer, with a number of tee shots that play over a creek. The 5th, a 185 yard par-3, is my favorite hole on the front. It is one of the holes with a forced carry and plays through a chute of trees. The green is wide and fairly receptive to a long iron. The 9th is a quirky par-4 with a blind tee shot and a severely uphill approach.

The back nine has some shorter holes, including a short par-3, par-4, and par-5. The 10th has a great view of the Oregon countryside while the closing holes have some options, with water that can impact strategy. The 16th is a short par-3 with a small green that falls off around the edges. 

The conditions were excellent, especially for the $30 deal that I found to walk. The course is hilly, so it wasn’t the easiest walk, but it beats cart path only this time of year. The tees, fairways, and greens had good grass coverage. The greens were a medium pace and smooth. The course was soggy, but that is just golf in the Pacific Northwest this time of year.

Chehalem Glenn is a solid value option in the Portland area. It has good scenery and homes don’t line many holes. The 12th hole as a par-4 is a great change. To me, the biggest drawback about the course is that there still aren’t enough “easy” holes. So, you really have to fight for every stroke here. Overall, I’d recommend a round at Chehalem Glenn to someone who doesn’t mind a challenge.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):