The Tribute Club
Redmond, Oregon
The Tribute Club at Thornburgh will sit at the base of the Cline Buttes mountains, with sweeping views of the Cascade Range and the Three Sisters peaks. Vegetation on the near-2,000-acre property, which is untouched by development, includes sagebrush and juniper trees that are over 1,000 years old.
Used as a family ranch for more than 70 years, there has been a shift in focus for the land over the past 15 years. In 2006, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, and Dave Axland visited the site to design a golf course, but the project stalled following the financial crisis.
Fifteen years on, ownership decided to revive their plans and contacted Coore, who recommended WAC Golf for the project.
WAC is working with a figure of eight routing. The most dramatic holes were found at the extents of the loops, giving purpose for a routing that works to highlight the ‘bookends’ of the property. A steep ridge dotted with rock outcroppings adds drama to the ‘hub’ crossing between holes ten to eleven, and sixteen to seventeen. The bookends and hub do well to contrast the more subtle and wider middle sections of each loop. The result is a fun, dynamic, and varied walk.
Following clearing of the site in summer and autumn 2021, the design team moved in during the winter and began shaping throughout 2022. All of the golf holes have now been rough-shaped and irrigation lakes are nearing completion. Landscapes Unlimited is assisting with construction and grow-in. Irrigation installation and finishing will occur in 2023, with preview play anticipated in 2023.
Golf Architects: Rod Whitman, Dave Axland, and Keith Cutten
To view the Thornburgh Resort website click here.