Tetherow Resort
About Tetherow Resort
Tetherow Resort opened in 2008 in Bend, Oregon, and is one of the area's signature resort properties. This residential community and members club has a 50-room lodge as well as cabin rentals up to five bedrooms large onsite. The golf course was designed by David McLay Kidd and features rugged bunkering, large greens and undulating holes. It has been ranked in various Top 100 public lists for the U.S. The course also offers Golfboards as an alternative to carts. Tetherow has three restaurants onsite, including the The Row, The Cafe and signature dining at Solomon's. Resort guests can access an outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna and fitness center onsite.Facts
Amenities
Services
Rules
Tetherow Golf Experience Package
Golf courses at Tetherow Resort
Images from Tetherow Resort
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Unique Bucket List Course
It's an extremely difficult 2nd shot and putting golf course. You need to see it more than once to understand the nuance on and around the greens. I personally loved the challenge. Can't wait to be back.
Bandon-like feel with fescue, tight rolling fairways with knobs and bumps. Everything plays firm and fast. I thought there was ample room off the tee. Tee boxes were a little worn at the end of the season, but fairways and green were in great shape. Sand was soft and fluffy and the fescue gives you a variety of pot-luck lies in the rough and around the holes.
The only disappointment was that public play is not allowed before 11am. So you can't really take advantage of the reduced replay rate, except perhaps in June or thereabouts.
Amazing
Don’t let the rumors you’ve heard about the greens dissuade you from plating here. The course is beautiful, the layout thoughtful and challenging. One of my favorite courses.
Play this course. Best in bend area
Ride a Finn Scooter at Tetherow
I made the mistake of playing Tetherow in 2021 in a golf cart. The ONLY way to fully maximize this wild golf adventure is riding a Finn Scooter. It's easy to learn and adds to the whole experience. Tetherow is maddeningly challenging. You'll be on cruise control until a weird bounce or a nasty hazard derails your momentum. It's endlessly fun, no matter what the crazy greens do to your game.
Wild greens, big scores, big fun
This is one incredible facility. The clubhouse sits on a ridge overlooking the range and DMK course. It's a stunning introduction.
I can see how the course would be polarizing. You might love it or hate depending on your tolerance for over-the-top greens. The bouncy turf will help you hit some monster drives, but it is also loaded with mounding that can kick the ball into some impossible lies. If you don't mind a few big numbers and some frustrating three-putts, then playing here could be a highlight of your entire trip. I'd like to play it again before passing judgement.
DMK greens
The history of Tetherow is interesting. It came to be after a massive fire cleared everything out. It was ranked as high as #54 on Golf Digest.
Was curious to see how they 'softened' the course, after a few years since playing. Plays a bit more friendly, mounds/humps now kick ball in play instead of out of play. The greens are huge, BUT the actual area where the pin is placed is tiny.
Embrace the DMK layout, have fun, and hit some of the craziest putts you can imagine. Awesome saff, as always!
Outstanding!
We took a boys trip last weekend to the Bend area. 5 courses in 4 days. Tetherow was our last course and we all agreed it was the icing on the cake! This was the most fun round of golf we have played in a long time. Best thing to do here is show up without expectations of score. Yes the greens are challenging, yes the fescue is tall, yes the tee box demands good shots. Most people will never play a layout like this in their lifetime so get out and have some fun with it!
Greens are crazy
course is challenging. greens are way to many hills on everygreen .not realistic ..would never go back .facilities as far as practice area was minimum
Close to Perfect
Played here the day after a fair amount of rain. The course was in phenomenal shape and was extremely scenic and fun to play. A couple of things to note though:
-Golf boards: Cost extra and can be quite hard to figure out. We enjoyed them but it probably slowed us down and wasn't worth the money in hindsight
-Rentals: The rental clubs were great (M5 everything), but were dirty when i got them and the bag had some trash in it. This shouldn't happen with a round this expensive.
-Layout: Knowing where to hit tee shots or even find the right tee box can be confusing...a caddie may be a good idea to help with this
I would definitely recommend the course and hope I can play it again someday, but this place should try and clean up the small stuff (like rental clubs)
AMAZING
This is hands down the best golf course in the Bend area! I have played all the top courses there and this is without a doubt number 1. Great layout, amazing facilities, and excellent course conditions. I would highly recommend this course to anyone in or traveling to the Bend area!
Great course, lousy pace of play
Two of my friends played here for a morning round and had a second round scheduled for another course in Bend. Remembering they have a replay rate I asked if we could get a second time that day. They said sure and booked us 5 hours after our start time. They said with the new GPS systems they have that the pace of play was a lot faster. The GPS are great and they tell you when you are behind pace, but they can’t make you play faster. We say a marshall exactly one time during the round, at the turn, when he told us to relax and enjoy the sun despite being 17 minutes behind pace (for a 4.5 hour round!!!). We were stuck behind 4 groups of foursomes who did not appear to play much golf and were playing a scramble it appeared. While I can’t say for sure, I did not get the impression the Marshall was asking them to to hurry up. We wound up playing in just over 5 hours and had to rush to the pro shop to pay for our second round and go out. There was a fivesome in the first fairway and we were told it was smooth sailing once we got through them. When we got to the second tee there were 4 groups on the hold. We wound up playing that hole as an eightsome in order to try to see if we could get past them. When we got to #3 there was a twosome holding us up. And all we could see in front of them was group after group. I felt like the pro shop should have been honest with us about how busy the course was at that time. We played 36 at two other courses in the area and never had any trouble like this. The only saving grace is they refunded me the greens fee when we quit after #2. The impression I got is that they care about the greens fees and not about the experience of the non-member or someone who is not staying on site. I love the course, but I doubt I will be back.
Rough
Gorgeous views and creative layout. Greens were bumpy and slow at 10am. If you like circus puts this course may be for you. If the greens are fast you better land on the right level, otherwise you will be lucky to three put. Slow and bumpy, you better be inside 10ft. More enjoyable courses for less money in central Oregon.
there are not enough stars...
I would definitely give this course more than five stars if I could. It is one of my all time favorites. The whole facility seems to have an attitude and a vibe that is a little more modern and cool. It was certainly a welcome change from the usual formula for a top notch golf facility.
So let's get to the big question... Golf boards: great thing or greatest thing? I had never golf boarded before, but the videos looked really fun. I'm not a surfer, snowboarder, skater, or anything like that so I didn't know if I'd actually be able to pull it off. It's a little bit of baptism by fire on the way to the first tee, but I left wishing I could play every round with a golf board. It's super fun to cruise the fairways, and I think it does help distract your mind from getting too hung up on poor shots because you are way more focused on not dying!
There is actually a golf course here too, and it is fantastic! I am a big fan of the more natural, fast rolling courses. This course will test you. It's tight and there is trouble all around. Having a forecaddy is definitely very helpful! Precision is required with every swing, but good shots are rewarded (most of the time). This is a style of golf I really enjoy (also a big fan of Chamber's Bay), but it's not for everyone.
The views are breathtaking and the golf is great. It's a hard combination to beat! You should check it out.
Fun and challenging
I spent a day visiting courses out in bend in order to pick a course that was going to be challenging and unique. My first stop was Pronghorn and I was impressed with amenities. The course was beautiful but boring. I have golfed many tracks that look similar that did not cost as much. I looked a a few more tracks that were nice and can see why people like them but....BORING! When I arrived at Tethrow is was immediately impressed with what I saw. The pro shop staff might have thought they were on tour based on their tough guy attitude...LOL. The aloof attitude does not bother me anyway. I set a tee time for the following day with ease. My experience on the course was amazing I had a great caddie . Loved the greens and how you really can get creative on picking a line. Each hole is unique and segregated form the other holes. The views are amazing. This course is for anyone that loves to be challenged and understands that it can be difficult. My only complaint was my caddie played with me which I would have rather had him just caddie.
Scenic, Challenging and Worth Trying
Let me just start by saying Tetherow is a very tough course. Fairways are hard and fast, and the greens have huge undulations and they are lightning quick. Many times a 3-putt is a reasonable result.
This last weekend the weather in Bend was stunning. 80 degrees and perfect. We began our round with a little wind but that died down soon after. Tetherow is also very dry right now, the fairways were even harder than usual. Everything was in good condition and the greens had mostly recovered from issues early on in the summer.
Overall the greens were true, the course can feel unfair sometimes though. It's not for the faint of heart, and not really for amateurs or those real loose off the tee.
It's worth playing to say you've played it, but not something you'd play a lot unless you want your ego bruised!
Dont waste your money
With respect to my fellow golfers who had a positive experience at Tetherow, I completely disagree with their reviews. Tetherow is in terrible shape. The greens are the worst I've ever played. I'm serious, their terrible and the excuses given by the pro shop attendants and the caddies for their condition are laughable. I truly feel sorry for the staff to have to apologize for the condition of the golf course.
Aside from the greens, we found the remainder of the course to be equally as poor. If you happen the land in a common landing area on any of the 18 holes, odds are you'll find an un-filled divot. I expect it at a muni, not at a course charging what Tetherow charges. Of course, our cart was out of sand/seed mix, leaving the caddy to make yet another apology.
We began our round mid-morning. By the time we made the turn, we were eager to pick up some beverages and some food. No luck., the snack shack at the turn is closed. Our Caddy left us to run to the club house to pick up an order for us, but as we played on, he caught back up to us on the 11 green. 2 full golf holes to get a drink? It's 90 degrees in Central Oregon during the summer.
The Hot Dog stand after 13, closed as well. Seriously?
Terrible golf conditions, zero opportunities to purchase as much as snack or drink and bunch of excuses and apologies for a rotten day of golf. That's our Tetherow experience. Unfortunately, we're not alone in disappointment. Sitting on the deck for a post round beer, we engaged in conversation with a few of the Tetherow members. It seems the greens were "murdered" a few months ago and the terrible service issues have plagued the course for the last few years. Shame on Tetherow management. The design is superb, the rest of the experience is miserable. Play Pronghorn, Play Brasada Ranch, Play Crosswater. Heck play Widgi, at they offer the ability to purchase a beer.
One final note - when warming up on the Tetherow range, place your ball in the dirt or a warn area of the range. You wont see a single blade of grass the range is made of, while playing the course. It's a completely different experience. My apologies if this comes across as venting, it's just an accurate description of our Tetherow experience.
A Rugged Masterpiece (with an asterisk)
Stayed and Played at Tetherow. First, if you are looking for a place to "stay and play" in the Bend area, this is it. The lodging is superb, and the views of the course are spectacular.
As for the course, I absolutetly loved it. It is a rugged beauty that has one "signature" hole after another. We played five courrses in the Bend area, and this is the only one where I can remember ALL of the holes. The ONLY reason I did not rate it higher is because the greens are not good - they used a certain herbicide to kill off poa and it backfired on them. Most greens are ok; some are not very good at all. Having said all of that, I would still play it again.
David McLay Kidd's High-Desert masterpiece
This course is unlike any other course in Central Oregon. David McLay Kidd created an all-fescue linkslike design that is extremly challenging, even though it has been softened up a little bit. The brownish look even gives the track a different visual appeal that can be seen at first glance. Due to the bumps, craters and hollows and the firm ground the ball can take unexpected bounces. The layout is sort of love-hate but I always enjoy tackling this unique design when I visit Bend.
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I am headed there next week and called the proshop to discuss. They say the greens are back to 90% complete as far as the recovery goes.