Why Did I Wait 12 Years To Play This Amazing Golf Course?

Why Did I Wait 12 Years To Play This Amazing Golf Course?

i just got done playing one of the most fun golf courses I have ever played in my life and I’m trying to figure out why it’s been 12 years since I’ve been back to this place considering it’s only 3 hours from my house i’m at Bratada Ranch about half an hour outside of Bend Oregon and let me tell you this place is fantastic from the golf to the lodging to the food everything about it is first class yet for some reason when I’m talking about central Oregon golf resorts this is a place that has largely flown under my radar and now that I’ve had a chance to spend a few days here I can assure you that is not going to happen again today I’m going to give you a tour of the golf course and I’m also going to talk about everything else you get when you come to Priscada and help you figure out if it’s the right place for you to visit on your next golf trip we got a lot to cover so let’s uh not waste any time and jump right into it so the course here is designed by Peter Jacobson it stretches out to almost 7,300 yds from the tips today we’re playing the black gold combo which is closer to like 6350 and at uh elevation you get an extra 10 yards for your drive so hopefully that’s going to help us out a little bit so the golf course here at Brasa Ranch is called Brasada Canyons you get to the third hole you start to see where it got its name you’re basically in this giant canyon the elevation changes from 3,300 ft up to like 3,800 ft on this golf course so because of that it makes for a lot of interesting holes this is one of my favorite drives on the course because you’re hitting from way up top down into the canyon but when you get into the fairway you’re going to realize you can barely kind of see the tip of the flag and that’s because they have a punch bowl style green this is one of my favorite template holes you think about some of the most famous punch bowls in the world like the 18th at Old McDonald or Fischer Island this is maybe not quite on the level of those architecturally but is still a really fun element to see put in play on a resort course so one thing I love about Bratada compared to the other major courses in Central Oregon is that it’s a true resort course if you go to Crosswwater Pong Horn Tethero those are like tour level championship golf courses that beat you up here it’s more of a resort course the design wasn’t trying to force balls into the bunker like the bunkers here will kind of actively repel shots which is great you’ve got big wide fairways you can actually score here big friendly greens with contours but not like crazy over the top contours like you’re going to see at say Tethero so out of all of those courses for as much as I love all of them this might be the most fun when you combine the fact it’s really playable and it’s got some insane views so Bratada has one of the most scenic collections of par 3s I’ve ever played three of the four holes played directly back towards the mountains so the views are stunning we’re here on six right now a little bit of a downhill shot it’s going to be playing about 140 yards be a pretty good one to make a hole in one all right ninth hole here at Brata Canyons the number one handicap hole and one of my favorite holes on the course we’re at one of the highest points if not the highest point on the front nine and the views just keep getting better as you keep going down the hole you got Mount Bachelor directly in the background but what I think makes this hole most interesting is the approach shot so some really interesting bunkers and infinity green just an absolutely beautiful hole that uh is not easy either so the 12th hole is the one outlier of the par 3 that is not playing downhill to the mountains mountains are directly behind us we’re playing away from them almost slightly uphill with bunkers fronting the entire right hand side so this is actually kind of a tricky shot but uh hopefully we can put one close i like that all right we’re going to have a putt we’ll see if I can make it all right so my round has gone sideways a little bit so to have at least a chance to even make a par here we got like a 30ft putt for birdie on the 12th gonna be a big left to right break oh it’s got a chance it’s got a chance okay three feet for birdie we got the new PXG putter by the way so uh this is my second round with it starting to get a feel for it i actually really like it zero torque like the lab putters but let’s see if uh these short putts are no-brainers like they are with the labs pretty good i’ll take the par on to the next all right so I don’t know if there’s actually a signature hole here at Bratada but if there’s not it should be the 15th this is an unbelievable short par4 there are so many different ways to play this hole you can go off to the right you can try and drive it over the bunkers you can try and drive it straight at the green you basically pick your line dealer’s choice and that makes this hole a ton of fun but the thing that makes it even better is you’ve got these mountain views again directly behind you so not only is it one of the most beautiful holes I’ve ever played but it’s also one of the most fun so we’re playing directly into the wind so I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get it over these bunkers but we’re going to give it a shot pretty good all right middle of the fairway have a wedge in see what we can do so even if you just lay up here with an iron you’re going to have this shot we’re about 140 to the center right here totally doable don’t need driver but obviously most people are going to hit the big stick because well it’s kind of fun a number of years ago during one of the big tournaments at the club during the horse race someone actually made a hole in one on this hole in front of over a 100 people which you’ve got to imagine that was an absolutely insane scene all right 255 yd drive leaves us uh 86 to the center got to get it over this bunker so uh still playing into the wind try and knock it close oh go got to go got to go oh it went got ourselves a birdie putt ladies and gentlemen let’s go all right best birdie chance of the day here on 15 we got about a 10-ft putt so real quick with this PXG putter I’m going to do a full review of this soon but my initial thoughts are I really like the touch and the feel the distance is actually easier to judge than with some of the lab putters that I have tried but uh I don’t feel like I am as automatic on the short putts in terms of the the zero torque capabilities let’s see if I can uh knock this one in make a birdie i’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable with this putter so I like my chances first birdie of the day all right and that is one more reason why this is my favorite hole on the golf course and one of my absolute favorite holes in golf period so one of the things that I really like about this course is how playable it is for people that don’t hit the ball as far there’s not a whole lot of force carries you’ve got five different tea boxes so I came out here I played with my wife and my four-year-old my wife played from the forward TE’s and was able to make you know some bogeies and double bogeies as someone who doesn’t golf my four-year-old we teed it up in the middle of the fairway and she could still roll it right up onto the green so this is definitely a course like I said earlier where it’s a resort style course so it’s more familyfriendly it caters to golfers of all skill levels and even for the better golfer you can move back to 7,300 yards give yourself all the challenge you want but the course is still playable for all types of golfers which is really really cool there’s legitimately like a dozen holes on this course that you put them anywhere else and any one of them would be the signature hole of that course but here every hole it’s just one after another insane views interesting design but you get to 15 and it will truly blow you away so one other element that I think is actually really nice is the fact the course is semi-private so it’s a private club and the only way you can play it as a non-member is if you are staying at Rasada Resort so that means it doesn’t get a whole lot of play the entire time I was out there we never had to worry about people in front of us or behind us even when the course is a little bit busy for the most part it doesn’t ever feel busy and the way the holes are designed is for the most part you don’t see any of the other holes so you really feel like you’ve got a unique golf experience all to yourself out in nature with stunning views and uh I mean what more can you ask for from around a golf but on top of the golf there are so many other things to do here whether you’re looking for a boys trip a couple’s trip a family trip Brasada is one of those places as are a lot of the places in central Oregon that can really cater to whatever type of trip that you want so before coming out here me and my wife were kind of debating do we want to make this a romantic getaway for us and if you do that you can stay in the brand new bungalows that have just been built in the last couple years that are absolutely stunning so these bungalows are adults only they’ve got a modern design they overlook the mountains and then there’s a private adults onlyly pool right outside of them so you can truly relax and not have to worry about the chaos of kids and families and all of that stuff that can happen at a lot of other resorts but in the end we decided we did want to take our four-year-old and we are so glad that we did we’re staying one of the two-bedroom cabins we’re overlooking the 9inth Tox and this place has honestly been perfect for us there’s two rooms that are essentially two masters both on suite kings we’ve got a hot tub we’ve got a nice big deck the accommodations are really nice and one of the great things about being in a cabin is you also have a full kitchen so if you want to come out here for a week you want to make some of your own meals you are fully equipped and set up to do that but if you’re the type of person where you’re like “Yeah I’m on vacation i don’t want to cook.” You also have some great options the two primary ones are the Ranch House and Wild Rye and I’m going to be completely honest our dinner at Wild Rye was one of the very best meals I have had in a long time i had a lamb shank we had a brie appetizer we split a wedge salad that was one of the best wedges I had ever had and one cool fact that I learned before I came is that the person that put together the cocktail program and the beverages he’s the same guy that founded Trick Dog in San Francisco so if you know anything about me you know I’m kind of a cocktail nerd i’ve traveled all over the place going and specifically visiting cocktail bars well Trick Dog has for years been one of the best bars in the world and so often when you come to resorts you don’t expect to have truly world-class cocktails well once I learned that he was the one that created the cocktail menu for Wild Rye I got really excited but I got to say overall everything about it the drinks the food the views were all really really good like much better than I expected them to be but I will say one thing if you do come to Brasada you have to do this you got to go to Wild Rye get their s’mores dessert go out to the fire pit that’s overlooking the mountains and roast some s’mores they make their own graham crackers they make their own marshmallows it truly was the best s’more I have ever had and watching my four-year-old roast her marshmallow and run around at sunset it was one of those like core memory type moments not just for her but for my wife and I as well so Wild Ride would be considered the fine dining option which everything here is super casual you can show up in shorts flip-flops not a problem but the more casual option is the ranch house so you can go there for breakfast lunch or dinner the potatoes we had for breakfast this morning were some of the best potatoes I have ever had and the food there across the board is wonderful and you can also go sit on the deck there and be treated to epic views one of the recurring themes you’re going to find at Bratada is insane epic views it they’re they’re great so let’s say you’re coming out here with your family not everyone’s a golfer you might be wondering well what else is there to do well fortunately a whole lot compared to all the other big resorts out here they definitely put a bigger focus on their equestrian program so if you’re into horses you want to do pony rides horseback rides you name it you can do it here and then as you might expect they’ve got a great athletic center so they’ve got a full gym with pelatons and great machines and then they also have a wonderful resort style pool so we’ve been to the pool every day we’ve been here my daughter loves it one of the things that you don’t necessarily think about this till you have kids a lot of the other resorts to go on the water slide you have to be 48 in tall and so if you’ve got younger kids maybe they’re jealous that they can’t go on the water slide that’s been a thing for us here they have the perfect size water slide where it’s still fun for bigger kids but it’s also doable for younger kids as well and they’re not poling everything they kind of say “Hey adult make sure your kid doesn’t drown keep an eye on them.” And then as I mentioned if you’re an adult you’re on a romantic getaway and you don’t want to deal with kids you have your own private adults only pool with a nice bar and the whole deal so you don’t have to worry about all the chaos going on at the resort pool so best of both worlds as with every resort these days they’ve got a bunch of pickleball courts they’ve got tennis courts they’ve also got a kids hangout area that had video games pop a shot uh board games all sorts of like family-friendly stuff like that also while we didn’t do it on this trip there is a kids club and I have heard it is amazing we have friends that have been here and they said their kids absolutely love it never want to leave so if you’re looking for a little adult time on your family trip know that there are options for your kids as well all that to say if you can’t tell we have truly enjoyed our time here i’ve spent so much time in Sun River Prong Horn Tethero i love all of those places but I you know had just admittedly kind of overlooked Brasada Ranch and I’m not going to make that mistake again because this place truly is as good as any of those and depending on what you were looking for it might be the best fit out of all of them with all that in mind I can assure you it’s not going to be another 12 years before I come back here we’re leaving tomorrow and already I can’t wait to plan our next trip my name is Sean Ogle the founder of this thing here breaking 80 where we talk about cool golf courses and cool golf resorts if you got some value out of this maybe subscribe give this a thumbs up drop a comment if you have any questions and if you’re trying to figure out which video to watch next I would maybe go check out this one right here with that I hope you have an excellent day and I’ll see you on the next video peace

Full written recap of Brasada Ranch and Brasada Canyons: https://breakingeighty.com/brasada

Learn more about Brasada Ranch here: http://brasada.com/

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
0:00 One of the most fun golf courses I’ve ever played.
0:45 Brasada Canyons. A Peter Jacobsen-designed course.
1:01 Hole 3
2:37 9th hole.
3:05 Hole #12.
4:13 15th Hole.
6:31 Very “playable” course.
7:11 Every hole could be a “Signature” hole somewhere else.
7:55 Lots of other things to do here.
8:13 Cascade Bungalows.
8:37 Sage Canyon Cabins.
9:04 2 primary restaurants.
9:49 Everything here is first rate.
9:57 An activity not to miss.
10:21 Wild Rye Restaurant.
10:28 Ranch House Restaurant.
10:50 Lots of other activities.
12:18 We truly enjoyed our time here.
12:47 Close.