Wikipedia

Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club

Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is a championship golf club in the northwest United States, located in North Plains, Oregon, northwest of Portland. The award-winning 36-hole club opened 32 years ago in 1992 and has hosted several major golf tournaments, including the U.S. Women's Open in 1997 and 2003 and the Safeway Classic on the LPGA Tour from 2009 through 2012. The Witch Hollow course is private; the Ghost Creek course is public.

Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
Club information
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is located in the United States
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club
Location in the United States
Coordinates45°36′50″N 123°00′07″W / 45.614°N 123.002°W / 45.614; -123.002
LocationNorth Plains, Oregon, U.S.
Established1992, 32 years ago
Typeprivate / public
Operated byEscalante Golf
Total holes36
Events hostedSafeway Classic
(2009–2012)
WinCo Foods Portland Open (2014–)
2006 U.S. Women's Amateur[1]
2003 U.S. Women's Open
1997 U.S. Women's Open
1996 U.S. Amateur
Websitepumpkinridge.com
Ghost Creek[2]
Designed byJohn Fought,
Robert E. Cupp
Par71
Length6,839 yards (6,254 m)
Course rating73.8
Slope rating139
Witch Hollow[3]
Designed byRobert E. Cupp
Par72
Length7,017 yards (6,416 m)
Course rating75.1
Slope rating143

History edit

In 1986, Gay Davis and Marv French were shown 350 acres (1.4 km2) of farmland in rural Washington County just north of North Plains.[4] The same day they looked at the property they made an offer and by late in 1987 they had an option for the property.[4] Then in 1989 Pumpkin Ridge Partners was formed with French, Davis, and Barney Hyde.[4] Next, in 1991 the group secured additional financing by bringing in Shigeru Ito as a 50-50 partner. The Japanese investor from Nagoya financed the $20 million golf club.[4]

In August 1990, construction of the course began with American Golf Construction Company as the general contractor.[5] The club opened on April 1, 1992, with the Ghost Creek course in operation.[4] When Pumpkin Ridge opened, membership cost $37,500.[6] The first hole-in-one recorded was by Bob Staab of Portland in June 1992.[7] In September 1997 National Golf Properties purchased a 50 percent stake in the golf club and then leased the property to American Golf Corporation.[8]

In 2003, the club had three of the top six best holes in the Portland area, including the best overall hole.[9] LPGA hall of fame golfer Nancy Lopez named the 18th hole at Pumpkin Ridge in 1997's Women's U.S. Open her favorite hole in the world in 2005.[10] Escalante Golf purchased the course in October 2015.[11]

Tournaments edit

Since 1993, Pumpkin Ridge has hosted nationally significant tournaments, which started with the Nike Tour Championship that year and again in 1994 at Ghost Creek.[12] In 1996, Pumpkin Ridge hosted the men's U.S. Amateur, where 20-year-old Tiger Woods won his unprecedented third consecutive title on the Witch Hollow course and then turned professional, with Nike founder Phil Knight on hand.[13][14] This event had the highest attendance in the history of the U.S. Amateur, with attendance for the week at 65,353 to watch Woods rally and win the final over Steve Scott on the 38th hole.[15] The U.S. Women's Open was played at Witch Hollow in 1997 and 2003.[16]

The U.S. Junior Amateur (boys') and Girls' Junior Championships were held at Pumpkin Ridge in 2000, contested on both courses with the finals at Ghost Creek.[17] And in 2006, Witch Hollow hosted the U.S. Women's Amateur, where Kimberly Kim won the title as the youngest winner ever for that tournament.[18][19]

From 2009 to 2012, the Ghost Creek course hosted the Safeway Classic on the LPGA Tour, currently played in mid-August. In 2013, the tournament was moved back to Portland, played at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Beginning in 2014, the Witch Hollow course has hosted the WinCo Foods Portland Open on the Korn Ferry Tour.[20]

In 2022, Pumpkin Ridge hosted the second event of the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series.[21]

Ghost Creek Golf Course edit

 
Ghost Creek course

The Ghost Creek course was the first course to open, with play starting April 1, 1992.[22] It was then named the best new public course in the country for the year by Golf Digest.[4] Later it was named as the fifth best public course by Golf magazine in 1996.[23] For 2007-08 Golf Digest ranked it 68th in the country public golf courses.[24] The par 71 Ghost Creek Course has won several other national awards. This Robert E. Cupp and John Fought designed golf course is 6,839 yards long.[2] In Zagat's "2006/07 Guide To America's Top Golf Courses", the club's Ghost Creek course was named fourth most popular in the Northwest.[25] On that same course the 14th hole was named one of the 100 toughest holes in golf in the book "Golf's 100 Toughest Holes."[26]

Ghost Creek
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par 4 4 3 5 3 4 4 5 4 36 5 3 4 4 3 5 3 4 4 35 71
Black 73.8 / 139 447 414 184 533 218 371 431 573 469 3640 492 180 444 381 234 552 133 329 454 3199 6839
Blue 71.4 / 135 392 391 158 515 205 366 409 562 443 3441 474 170 406 356 219 531 125 301 428 3010 6451
White 69.1 / 132 372 364 128 495 193 341 384 497 419 3193 453 145 370 329 201 498 113 273 381 2763 5956
Red 70.6 / 129 328 325 108 414 179 316 301 462 368 2801 410 122 327 295 167 421 97 224 342 2405 5206
SI 9 11 17 1 13 15 7 5 3 6 16 8 10 14 2 18 12 4


Witch Hollow Golf Course edit

In 1992 when the Witch Hollow course opened, Golf Digest selected it as the second best new private course of the year.[4] This 18 hole course was designed by Robert E. Cupp.[3] The par 72, 7,017 yard design has a rating of 75.1 and had two of the top 500 holes in the world in 2000 as rated by Golf Magazine.[3] Golf Magazine in 2005 and 2006 rated it as one of the 100 best modern course in America.[3]

Witch Hollow
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par 4 3 4 5 3 4 5 4 4 36 3 5 3 4 5 3 4 4 5 36 72
Black 75.2 / 143 401 171 414 533 211 453 623 382 467 3655 212 553 143 410 470 175 432 422 445 3362 7017
Blue 72.7 / 142 379 157 386 498 187 415 564 360 427 3373 434 368 365 417 183 518 165 417 569 3436 6752
White 70.2 / 140 345 149 360 476 166 390 526 329 398 3139 172 505 109 367 450 141 366 352 494 2956 6095
Green 69.0 / 132 345 137 350 476 143 380 466 317 388 3002 158 421 109 355 423 141 356 352 423 2738 5740
Red 72.0 / 134 318 121 318 426 143 344 466 280 353 2769 133 421 92 295 393 126 327 318 403 2508 5277
SI 11 17 9 7 15 5 1 13 3 14 2 18 8 6 16 12 10 4

See also edit

 
Entrance to the club

References edit

  1. ^ U.S. Women's Amateur - 2006
  2. ^ a b Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club: Ghost Creek Golf Course. Golf Link. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club: Witch Hollow. Golf Link. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Robinson, Bob. One slick layout, The Oregonian, August 14, 1996.
  5. ^ Robinson, Bob. Davis watches golf course dream turn into Pumpkin Ridge. The Oregonian, August 29, 1990.
  6. ^ Wheeler, Ken. Joining a club gets more expensive. The Oregonian, April 21, 1993.
  7. ^ Bob Staab of Portland scored Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club's first. The Oregonian, June 25, 1992.
  8. ^ National Golf Properties Acquires Interest in Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Business Wire, September 24, 1997.
  9. ^ The Best Golf Holes 1. Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club's Ghost Creek. The Oregonian, March 9, 2003.
  10. ^ GIMME 5: The tougher the better. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 20, 2005.
  11. ^ Giegerich, Andy (October 7, 2015). "Renowned Pumpkin Ridge club sold to Texas golf course operator". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  12. ^ Robinson, Bob. Two-year-old Pumpkin Ridge growing up fast. The Oregonian, October 9, 1994.
  13. ^ Robinson, Bob. Woods Rallies into history. The Oregonian, August 26, 1996.
  14. ^ Manning, Jeff. Woods lays claim to new kind of green. The Oregonian, August 29, 1996.
  15. ^ Robinson, Bob. Woods Rallies Into History. The Oregonian, August 26, 1996.
  16. ^ U.S. Women's Open Championship 2003 Fact Sheet. United States Golf Association. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
  17. ^ Tokito, Mike. Pumpkin Ridge shifts to plan B. The Oregonian, June 26, 2005.
  18. ^ White, Ryan. A few rounds in Oregon. The Oregonian, August 30, 2006.
  19. ^ The Oregonian - "Pumpkin Ridge has seen history, from Tiger Woods to Nancy Lopez" - 2009-08-24
  20. ^ "Web.com Tour heading to Portland in 2014 for Regular-Season finale". PGA Tour. June 15, 2014.
  21. ^ Young, Ryan. "Saudi-backed golf league announces 8-event series after months of controversy". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  22. ^ Robinson, Bob. Golf Talk: What's haunting about Ghost Creek is its Beauty, The Oregonian, April 15, 1992.
  23. ^ Hunt, John. An open audition. The Oregonian, September 25, 1996.
  24. ^ America's 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses. Archived 2007-04-21 at the Wayback Machine GolfDigest. Retrieved on April 21, 2007.
  25. ^ White, Ryan. Tees and Greens Classic could shake up money list. The Oregonian, September 28, 2005.
  26. ^ Robinson, Bob. Golf Talk: Pumpkin Ridge's No. 14 not as tough as a new book says. The Oregonian, February 5, 2006.

External links edit

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