Silvies Valley Ranch trip report

[Edaw68]

Today was day one of my journey to the Retreat and Links at Silvies Valley Ranch, home of the goat caddies.

 

http://silvies.us/

 

Today was a stopover day at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla WA, a course I've heard many good things about and been meaning to try for a while. Since it was right along my route to Silvies, I took the opportunity.

 

Wine Valley is a links style course, but it's not seaside, instead winding through wheat fields. Terrain is rolling plains, not super hilly. The course appears to have a lot of fescue grass, but normal bent mixed in, so it doesn't really play as fast as I expected. I was able to stop approach shots on the greens easy enough. The course feels firm, but doesn't really run out like balls do at say Bandon. The green complexes have a lot of little bumps and swales, so there are a lot of shot options. It's mowed pretty tight, so you can play low shots if desired, but the greens have kind of a soft top layer so if you want spin you can do that too. The front nine is pretty normal, but the back nine has 3 par 3's and 3 par 5's.

 

Conditions were overall pretty good, but there were some obvious dead spots near the greens and in the fringe.

 

Design wise I really enjoyed the course, especially the par 3's and par 5's. Some good variety in those. The weak spots on the course in my opinion were the par 4's. Too many played the same with little variety from driver, mid or short iron to the green, and try to make a putt. The only ones that stood out to me were #4 where you have the option of trying to slingshot a drive off the hill on the right to get some extra roll, and 17, which has nice fairway bunkering.

 

All the par 5's I enjoyed, but the favorite hole for me was #7, a reachable par 5 with a punch bowl green complex. You have options of challenging fairway bunkers or laying back safely and having a forgiving wedge in. If you go for the green in 2, be prepared to hit a line drive approach through a narrow gap, where the punchbowl shape will reward you, or hoist a towering shot over the front bunker.

 

I teed of at 1245 as a single (my wife in the cart with me), played through a couple groups on the front nine, and finished by 3. Cart and range balls are included with greens fees. The course would be walkable without much trouble, but I took the cart due to it being 95 degrees out. Best shot of the day for me was an 8 iron out of the left fairway bunker on #9, over a water hazard, to about 15 feet. I promptly wimped out on the birdie putt. Speaking of bunkers, these aren't sand traps here. It's basically clay in dirt form. On fairway bunkers this is actually pretty nice, allowing a fairly normal shot. On the greenside ones though you need to really hit hard to get the club through the dirt, or just barely hit behind it.

 

Overall the round went well, 41-38 for a 79. Playing this course a few times would be a big help as the lines you want off the tee, and different little mounds and things at the greens, aren't very obvious. On #2, #4, and #9 I hit tee shots where I should have taken a different line or not hit driver.

 

Overall lots of fun, I will return sometime for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

After the round at Wine Valley we pushed on to Pendleton, OR (about an hour and a half, thanks to some roadwork) to stay the night. Tomorrow morning it's on to Silvies, a little over 3 hours drive hopefully. 1:15 tee time on either the Craddock or Hankins course (reversible courses on the same ground), whichever is in play tomorrow.

I will try to post again tomorrow night, depending on Wi-fi or cell service. (I'm guessing it may be spotty given the pretty remote area) If no wi fi then expect a big dump on Friday.

[mallrat]

Nice

[pgww]

Nice write up for one of my favorite courses, and good choice on playing it en route to Silvies since they are both designed by the same guy. Haven’t been to Silvies but am hoping to this fall; thus, I am really looking forward to your review of the place.

[oregongolf]

I think you'll really enjoy Silvies. It needs a couple years to develop, but they're well on their way. Think Gamble Sands 3 years after it opened.

[spud3]

Nice. Figured you'd like the par 5's at WV. Can't wait to hear more about Silvie's

[Exwinger20]

My wife and I were there a few weeks ago and it was an amazing experience! The golf is really good and a lot of fun but the people there really made it great. We really enjoyed it and hope to get a chance to go back in the future. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.

[duffer987]

Good stuff Edaw! I was going to give you a like, but then instead of a couple pics of Wine Valley, there's some pic of some dude in shades and a cap :-p

 

Looking forward to hearing your view on Silvies.

[duffer987]

Nice

Hey MR - off topic, but clear out your PMs inbox ;)

[Edaw68]

Ok, arrived today about 1130 after leaving Pendleton at 8AM. Drive took a little longer due to a paving project on HWY 395. Some good scenery on the way down.

 

 

 

Finding the resort isn't too difficult, decent signage on the roadway. I'd recommend having a printed copy of the directions though because cell service is very spotty. There's a security gate at the entrance, hit the buzzer and guest services will buzz you in. Follow the road (dirt road, but well maintained, my wife's Camry did fine) and go right to the Gatehouse, the check in building. They greeted us with complimentary drinks, took our pictures for our guest badges (doubles as a room key and resort credit card. cashless, cardless here, everything is charged to your room) Very helpful staff, introduced us to the area, gave us a swag bag (yardage guide for the golf courses and a couple of hydroflasks!) and then off to the room. They give you a golf cart to use for the duration of your stay to get around.

 

The room (single king, the ranch house) is very nice. Lots of space, couple TV's (direct TV here), big bay window, good couch.

 

 

 

 

 

The resort is layed out with all the guest rooms and cabins centrally located near a pond, along with the spa (still under construction) the guest services building, and the dinner service restaurant. It's about 3/4 mile to the clubhouse for the golf courses. After check in I took the cart to the clubhouse (the Hideaway) for a round and my wife went off on a Razr ranch tour. (she came back pretty dusty but said it was fun. Saw a bunch of antelope)

 

The view from the deck at the Hideaway.

 

 

 

That's the Chief Egan par 3 course down below around a pond. I rolled a few practice putts then took off as a single on the Craddock course. I played the grey tees (6340 yards, par 72, 68.6/118), but probably could have handled the white tees (7035 yards, but the ball flies off the driver and there's room to swing it). Photos and course impressions in the next post.

 

Sorry for the sideways pictures, I'll try to get that corrected for the golf course stuff.

[Edaw68]

First impressions of the Craddock course (one have of the reversible 18). Very wide open, they let you swing away. It was designed by Dan Hixson, the same guy who did Wine Valley. The bunkers are large, and fairly shallow, only saw a couple of them that looked nasty. But they have the same clay/dirt in them as wine valley, so your normal bunker technique will be iffy. That said, they are easy to avoid, lots of room to play around. I didn't get in one all day. The biggest hazard is the sagebrush. There's no OB that I could see, but if you're in the sage brush you're gonna need an especially benevolent golf god to have a shot. The greens and green complexes are similar to Wine Valley, lots of movement, swales, etc. The course if obviously still new and growing into itself. Fairways are a bit shaggy but smooth, and next year I can see these playing really fast. (maybe tomorrow, there was a few mowers out) The greens are very firm, but still new as well. Kind of a fesue-ish type of grass, a touch bumpy in the afternoon, but I think that will improve as the course matures. There's a few way back in the trees that still need work, they remind me of the bumpy dead areas of Pacific Dunes a few years ago with a Poa invasion.

 

Overall the design is fun, and obviously designed to be playable, not super difficult. I shot 81, thanks to a couple doubles from getting in the sage (my own dumb fault) and not making any putts. (I think my longest putt made was a 4 footer for birdie, my only birdie) The environment is high rolling plains and meadows moving into trees. (similar terrain transition as Bandon Trails, but not quite as abrubt) There are some absolutely spectactular views, rivaling Bandon.

 

 

 

The view from Craddock #4 (I think)

 

 

Craddock #7

 

 

Craddock #14 (let the big dog eat, the fairway is about 80 yards wide and downhill)

 

After the Craddock round (about 2.5 hours despite stopping to take a bunch of pictures) I grabbed a turkey wrap at the Hideway. Food prices here are gonna be spendy, 18 bucks for a turkey wrap and chips. (They told me at check in dinner is 55 a person, sounds like it's as a group, like on a cruise ship) The golf director wasn't around (I guess at a meeting) so I told the bartender that I was gonna play McVeigh's gauntlet and she said I could just come back and pay after.

 

McVeigh's Gauntlet is what Bluto from Animal house would design. (Mr Blutarsky, why would you put a golf course there? BUURRRRPPPP WHY NOT!) It's crazy. Mostly a par 3 course, but there are a couple par 4's and a beer hole par 2.

 

 

 

The course is draped on some very hilly terrain, making essentially island greens and crazy elevation. The first par 4 is more like playing a 135 yard par 3 to hit a little knob of fairway, then a 125 yard par 3 to the green. Here's #2 green.

 

 

 

The beer hole is a bonus hole, par 2, basically a runway for you to putt. There's a cooler with beer left at the tee.

 

 

 

You'll need more balls than clubs probably. I think I shot 27, not including a lost ball on the beer hole. (it's possible!) It's still rough as it's been open less than a month, but could be a good place to screw around with your buddies, albeit much tougher to walk than say the Preserve at Bandon. If you're looking for a conventional par 3 course, the Chief Egan is the way to go. I'm gonna try for it tomorrow.

 

Alright, off to dinner. I'll try to log back on in a couple hours to answer questions. If not then more coming tomorrow, 36 holes scheduled on the Hankins course.

 

Oh for crying out loud, stupid pictures. I might do a photo dump just to fix that. Sorry!

[Edaw68]

More thoughts: they give you little Motorola’s to talk to everyone in your group, or back to various places here. Meal service is limited times, looks like ranch style for dinner (big group table. I’m guessing there’s less than 20 guests here at the moment. Nice porch to have drinks on outside the dining room.

 

 

[Edaw68]

More pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[duffer987]

Thanks for the pics! It reminds me a lot of the golf up in Plumas County (West of Reno, North of Tahoe) and some of the areas East of Sacramento.

[Edaw68]

Ok good morning WRXers, continuing from last night. I’m just gonna post this like a blog from my phone so photos work, and I can get WiFi.

 

Food options are good but limited. The only dinner option was the group dinner, no menu choice. Good food, 7 course meal based on goat meat and beef. There’s a good bar and nice place for drinks if you want it.

 

For breakfast I was back at the Hideaway, combo grill and pro shop. This is the only breakfast or lunch option.

 

 

 

 

 

View from the deck of #18/#1/#17.

 

 

 

That’s the entire breakfast and lunch menu.

 

Ok I’m off to play the Hankins course. We’ll see if the reversible course idea works.

[duffer987]

^I like how they list the booze at the top, lol.

[Edaw68]

Ok, played Hankins this morning. I think the reversible course is a success. Hankins is 6280 from the grey (middle) tees, 68.1 rating, 115 slope. (For the curious, the white tees are the long ones, 7075 yards, but only 71.8/120. Never seen a 120 slope at 7000 yards. There’s also a set of pink tees out but not listed. I’d guess 7500 or so, they are a long way back)

 

 

#2

 

The play is pretty much the same as yesterday, as expected given same terrain (literally in most cases) and designer. However, while the course(s) play both ways, you don’t feel like you’re just repeating it. You notice when you play the same green as the other way (I think 7 greens, and most fairways) but the angles, elevation, and approaches are different enough that it doesn’t feel like a repeat. Overall I think I like the Hankins direction better. (I shot 77, with my only real mistake being a lost ball in the sage). There’s also a couple of unique holes that don’t share ground with Craddock.

 

#13. Hixson has a flair for par 3s.

 

My criticisms: the bunkers. Had to play out of one today, and while I got out, the clay/mud stuff just is gross. If the lips are low I’d actually use a putter rather than a wedge. And they are very difficult to rake properly afterwards.

 

Another set of tees or two would be nice, around 6700. The ball flies here, but not enough for me to play at 7000.

 

Back to positive. The 18th is the long drive hole.

 

 

I mishit mine and still ended up just under 300. There’s signs on the edge of the fairway as markers. Managed to close with a birdie.

 

After this I jumped down to the Egan par 3 course. You won’t need more than a couple clubs and a putter, longest hole is 120. I took a PW and a SW, and probably didn’t need the PW. I shot 28.

 

 

 

Only took about 45 minutes to play by myself.

 

I’m going back out for a Hankins replay this afternoon.

[Drofdarb23]

Did you take the Goat Caddies when you played McVeigh's Gauntlet?

[spud3]

$18 for a hot dog and chips?

 

wow

[Edaw68]

Did you take the Goat Caddies when you played McVeigh's Gauntlet?

Nope. Apparently they only have a couple goats trained as caddies, and it’s too hot for them to loop more than a couple times. So you have to put your name in a drawing before dinner. It seems like a lot of the kinks are still being worked out for the various novelties here. For example the tours my wife has done (one horseback, one Razr) didn’t seem to have exact times worked out. She came back much later than anticipated. The goats are another example. All in all it seems like they’re still getting used to being a golf resort in addition to a ranch. I’m guessing being open more than a few months will help the experience level.

[Edaw68]

$18 for a hot dog and chips?

 

wow

 

Yeah, the food options are one thing I’m not impressed with. The food is good, but very limited selection, and pricey. They need a basic restaurant option for dinner in addition to the big fancy group thing. We’re probably gonna trek into Burns (about 40 minutes south) and try our luck there.

[duffer987]

Thanks to that, I have now read the Burns, OR wiki page. So apparently you are in the 9th largest county in the US. Impressive!

[Edaw68]

Thanks to that, I have now read the Burns, OR wiki page. So apparently you are in the 9th largest county in the US. Impressive!

And I’ve only seen 1 traffic light.

[spud3]

Thanks to that, I have now read the Burns, OR wiki page. So apparently you are in the 9th largest county in the US. Impressive!

 

Yeah, but with the population of about 5 sq blocks of Chicago for all that space....

[spud3]

$18 for a hot dog and chips?

 

wow

 

Yeah, the food options are one thing I’m not impressed with. The food is good, but very limited selection, and pricey. They need a basic restaurant option for dinner in addition to the big fancy group thing. We’re probably gonna trek into Burns (about 40 minutes south) and try our luck there.

 

The Pine Room.

 

And if you're up for a little more driving and a really cool experience:

http://www.cowboydinnertree.net/

[Edaw68]

$18 for a hot dog and chips?

 

wow

 

Yeah, the food options are one thing I’m not impressed with. The food is good, but very limited selection, and pricey. They need a basic restaurant option for dinner in addition to the big fancy group thing. We’re probably gonna trek into Burns (about 40 minutes south) and try our luck there.

 

The Pine Room.

 

And if you're up for a little more driving and a really cool experience:

http://www.cowboydinnertree.net/

Ha, good guess, we’re at the pine room now. Waiting on steak to come out.

[mallrat]

Nice

Hey MR - off topic, but clear out your PMs inbox ;)

 

Just saw this. Anything I can do or help with?

[Edaw68]

Alright, trip over, back home enjoying my own liquour cabinet, and my final summary and thoughts.

 

Last night's dinner at the Pine Room in Burns was good. Steak was solid, not spectacular, but got a Tbone with potatoes, salad, green beans, salad, and shrimp cocktail for 28 bucks. Steak was good, shrimp cocktail was mediocre, but for that price I'm happy. Not expecting Delmonico or anything.

 

Yesterday afternoons round on Hankins was an experiment from the white (7000) yard tees. I shot an 87, including a mystery lost ball from what I thought was a good shot, must have skipped into the sage or something. Those tees are just a bit long for me, and reinforces my thought that a couple extra sets of tees would be nice, one at around 6700.

 

This morning I got up for an early round on the Craddock again, and played the greys after yesterdays experiment. Before the round I chatted a bit with the assistant greens keeper. I can't remember his name, but he just came up here from a course in Florida. We talked about the sand/mud in the bunkers (apparently they get it locally) and how it effects bunker shots, course conditions, and future plans. He said the winter lasted really late (actually froze about halfway into June) which had a big effect on grass growing. Apparently the McVeigh course has only had a few weeks of grass growth, hence the kinda rough conditions. It probably needed to delay the opening by a month or so. He thinks next month it should be pretty good. Same effect on the Hankins/Craddock, which up until 2 days ago was only getting mowed about 1 time a week. One interesting thing is they have irrigation installed throughout the cartpath areas (sprinkler heads right in the middle of the paths, protected by a PVC pipe) to eventually have all grass cartpaths. This should help with dust abatement. Good idea, it gets bad in spots. Oh and it's fescue tees and fairways, bentgrass greens for those interested.

 

As far as playing the course, not a whole lot new from my round 2 days ago. The course is pretty straightforward, no real hidden strategies or anything. Shot 80, due to a couple of stupid ping pong holes where I got really lazy chipping. Did manage to finish the trip with a birdie on 18 though!

 

Overall, this was a very positive experience. My final thoughts: first of all this isn't a specific golf resort like going to Bandon or Pinehurst or something. It's a cattle and goat ranch, where they decided to put in a retreat/resort that includes golf. It's still focused on ranching.

 

Golf: I thoroughly enjoyed the golf experience. It's not going to measure up to Bandon (that's a very, very high bar) but they succeeded in their goal of fun. I liked playing the Craddock/Hankins and seeing how the reversible routing took effect on play. It was very well done, and I salute Dan Hixson for pulling it off. It's clearly designed to be fun, not host high level tournaments. (I heard through the rumor mill there's gonna be some course raters from one of the major publications there next week, so I'm curious to see what happens there) The Egan par 3 course is fun, if simple. (good way to occupy time, like Shorty's at Bandon, but not the quality of the Preserve) McVeigh's has potential as a challenge course, but even in normal conditioning it will be brutal for anyone over a single digit. Possible to not finish it, given how small some target areas are and how penal it is to end up in the sagebrush. The scenery of the whole area is rugged but beautiful, and the views are as good as anything as any place I've been.

 

Customer service: excellent. I didn't have any bad experience here, and even though it's apparent they're still learning how to be a destination place, I think they'll get it. Special thanks to Lisa at the Hideout (bartender, cook, waitress, part time check in for golf), Randall (Director of Golf? Kinda the golf GM. He's formerly of Bandon Dunes and Pumpkin Ridge) and Ryan in reservations for overall booking. Everyone else was good, but these are the ones who I dealt with. Thanks from my wife to Shelley the horseback tour guide.

 

Food service: this is my only negative of the trip. The food is good, everything I got was quality, especially the 7 course dinner my first night there. My issue, as I mentioned before, is the lack of options. For breakfast and lunch the Hideout was the only option, which has limited selection and is pretty pricey. For dinner on sight the only option was the dinner where the Head Chef picks the whole meal, and you have a group (as in everyone at the resort) dinner at the table, passing trays around. (I actually sat right across from Dr. Campbell and his wife Sandra, the owners of the whole place.) The group table While the food was excellent, I prefer being able to get a booth and pick from a menu. I think they need to add an option like McKee's at Bandon for getting something easy, as well as catering to those who would rather low key dinner.

 

Lodging/amenities: the room was excellent, comfortable, lots of space. This will be a highlight of the resort, especially when the spa is finished. (it's supposed to have a nearly Olympic size pool) Even the cheapest rooms on the place where I stayed are great, better than fancy places in like Vegas or something.

 

Getting there: for me at least, not bad at all. Actually a bit easier than Bandon, since it's closer. For anyone in the NW who drives to Bandon, Silvies won't be any worse. For people flying in, probably not any worse unless you're a fly into North Bend person. The best airline options are probably fly to Boise and rent a car (about 2 to 3 hour drive) or maybe the regional airport in Bend. (2 hour drive or so)

 

Activites (not golf): pretty good. I just played, but my wife did a couple tours, one on Razr and one on horseback. Both were very extensive, like miles, and covered vast areas of the ranch. She really enjoyed those. The list of other stuff available is pretty good too.

 

In conclusion I'm glad I went. I don't think it will replace my annual Bandon trip (again, super high bar to set) but in a few years Silvies will probably be pretty good. For all you golf people, I recommend it just to check out the reversible course idea.

 

I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. Thanks for reading.

[spud3]

Thanks for the recon!

[pgww]

Awesome report, much appreciated. If you went again as a single would you stay on property or off? There are options in John Day, Seneca, and Burns which look fine for a short stay.

[Walter]

More pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pictures !!!