Oregon trio on Golf Digest's course list.

Byline: INSIDE THE OUTDOORS by Mike Stahlberg The Register-Guard

Oregon is still home to three of "America's 100 greatest golf courses." But they're not the same three that were on the prestigious list last year.

According to a rating system created by the editors of Golf Digest magazine, Pacific Dunes in Bandon, designed by Tom Doak, is now the greatest course in Oregon.

Last year, that honor belonged to Pacific Dunes' older sister, Bandon Dunes.

At No. 47, Pacific Dunes is the highest-ranking of the seven courses that joined the "Greatest 100" sorority in 2003. Alas, it's not regarded quite as highly as Bandon Dunes (No. 41) was the year before.

Bandon Dunes, however, fell a whopping 21 spots to No. 62 this year.

Golf Digest says its ratings are based on "shot values" - which count twice as much as any other factor - plus "resistance to scoring," "design variety," "memorability," "aesthetics" and "conditioning." Bonus points are given for "walkability" and for "upholding traditional architectural values" of the game.

It's not clear how all that can vary so much from one year to the next at a single course. But, hey, it's their magazine.

In any event, Eugene Country Club was the third Oregon course on the top 100 list for 2003. It is ranked No. 83.

One of the three Oregon courses listed in 2002, Crosswater at Sunriver, was dropped from the "Great 100." In a separate listing of the top-ranked courses in each state, Crosswater was listed fifth in Oregon - behind Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club's Witch Hollow course, the Dunes sisters and ECC.

Rounding out Golf Digest's top dozen Oregon courses were: No. 6, Portland Golf Club; No. 7, Running Y Ranch Resort, Klamath Falls; No. 8, Pumpkin Ridge's Ghost Creek course; No. 9, Columbia-Edgewater Country Club, Portland; No. 10, Eagle Point Golf Course; No. 11, Waverley Country Club, Portland; and No. 12, Sandpines, Florence.

Speaking of golf courses:

Hidden Valley Golf Course, one of the few 10-hole courses in the state, is under new ownership. Business partners Dan Nord and Lynda Schley, both from the Portland area, took over operation of the Cottage Grove public course from previous owners Joel and Karen Boede in May.

Opened about 1929, Hidden Valley's extra hole comes into play for golfers making a second loop around the 2,800-yard layout. Eight of the holes on the "back nine" are simply played from different tees. The 12th hole, however, has its own green and is played in lieu of re-playing No. 3.

Nord is a longtime veteran of the landscape business and is making his first venture into the golf business. Both he and Schley are "master gardeners" through the Oregon State University Extension Service, and they are emphasizing improving the course's playing condition.

"The fairways had never been aerated before," Nord said. "It was like shooting on concrete. But now they've been softened and are much nicer. We've also got the irrigation working, which will help keep the course green in the summer. It should play about 10 degrees cooler than it has in the summer months."

Hidden Valley Golf Course is located at 775 N. River Road in Cottage Grove.

Rates are $9 midweek, $10 weekends for nine holes; $16 and $18 for 18 holes.

Public play began this week on this area's newest golf course - Sutton Ridge, the par-32 "executive course" portion of The Nines at RiverRidge development.

Based on a "sneak preview" round with owner/designer Ric Jeffries, I can report that SuttonRidge has challenging "shot values" (beware of over-arching tree limbs on a couple of holes, even when your drive lands on the fairway) as well as "resistance to scoring." I'd also give it good marks for design variety and aesthetics.

ShortRidge, RiverRidge's new par-3 pitch-and-putt course, opened about three weeks earlier. Master sticking your shots on its postage stamp greens, and the putting surface on a regular course will look huge in comparison.

Spring Valley Lake Country Club is not in our area, but the San Bernadino, Calif., course made national news one day last month.

"A mountain lion that was apparently eyeing golfers ... was shot and killed by a state Fish and Game officer after the big cat took up a threatening pose," the Daily Press newspaper reported.

The cougar appeared on the sixth fairway around 10 a.m. and was still in the gallery when game officers arrived at 1:30 p.m. During the interim, the newspaper said, course marshal Claude McCaslin kept an eye on the cougar while directing players to the opposite side of the fairway.

"The only protection I had between me and it was a golf cart," McCaslin said, adding that - while he wasn't nervous at the time - he wouldn't want to do it again.

Outdoor writer Mike Stahlberg can be reached at 338-2332 or [e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

Eugene Country Club is ranked 83rd on Golf Digest's list. Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes also made the top 100.