A friend and I kicked off an extended weekend in Bend at Lost Tracks Golf Club. I’ve never been to Bend before but I’ve heard nothing but good things about the city, the recreational activities the area offers and the golf courses! Most of my Oregon travels have taken me along the I-5 or over to the coast, but not into Central Oregon. I’m happy to have finally played a few places in Bend!
Lost Tracks was the first course we booked for the weekend and it turned out to be a good pick for a variety of reasons. The course is close to town, occupies a nice piece of property, has an awesome signature hole and turned out to be quite playable. As you can tell, I found a lot to like about the course!
The biggest thing that you’ll probably need to know about Lost Tracks is that it has a train theme. The course’s logo is some railroad tracks and it has a signature hole that goes with the theme. More on that in a moment though.
Lost Tracks is a Brian Whitcomb design and I cannot say that I’m familiar with his work. It appears most of his courses are in Arizona along with this one here in Central Oregon. I cannot speak for his other work, but think he did a good job balancing fun and interest at Lost Tracks.
We played the #2 Tournament tees which are 70.4/126/6401 and from there you’ll find a nice variety. The opening holes dogleg right (I need all 18 holes that way, ha) before you get plenty of dogleg left holes on the back nine. The yardages are mixed well, there are some cool green complexes and the course has just the right amount of quirk.
I won’t say Lost Tracks is the best driving course because there are tee shots that will have you scratching your head. There are a few abrupt doglegs (i.e. the 9th and 17th) and out of bounds pinches in curious spots, thanks to the homes in the community.
As a first-timer to the Bend area the landscape at Lost Tracks is quite dramatic. The course is lined by ponderosa pines and you have good views of the mountains in the Cascade Range, including the Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor. Ponds and jagged lava rock add to the course’s scenery.
The par-3’s on the back nine were my favorite holes. The 11th is a seemingly-innocent 125 yarder, but I found out the wrong way not to miss over the back of the green. The green slopes from back to front and falls off significantly once you get to the back edge.
The 16th is the other par-3 on the back nine and at 122 yards, it is also just a short iron. And, it has lots of trouble as well. The green is narrow, has a valley in the middle of it and it is surrounded by water! I mentioned the train theme earlier and an old train car serves as the bridge to the island green. Over the years, players from all over have left bag tags and other memorabilia inside the car representing their local courses. Neat!
We paid $56 to walk and for the price the conditions were good. There was a mix of lush spots and areas showing the stress of the summer, but everything was playable. The fairways were cut down and the greens rolled well, at a medium-fast pace.
Lost Tracks is a course that I’d recommend and one I’d play often if I lived in the area. The design is a bit “basic”, but because of its cool signature hole I think it is worth mixing in on a golf trip to Bend.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):