Course Profile: Bar Run

about

In 1965, the Guido family established a mining operation called Umpqua Sand & Gravel on a site nestled into a bend of the South Umpqua River outside of Roseburg, Oregon. As the property’s deposits dwindled, the Guidos decided on a new direction: they would transform a portion of their land into an RV resort, complete with an 18-hole golf course. They hired Oregon-based architect Dan Hixson to design the course, and site-clearing began in 2019. After the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Hixson and lead shaper Norbert Painter had to slow their work, so construction took longer than initially anticipated. Ten holes opened for preview play in summer 2021, with the full course, named Bar Run, debuting in summer 2022. Just 6,215 yards from the back tees, Bar Run is what the Scots sometimes call a “sporting golf course”: fun, funky, and not always inclined to take itself seriously. It’s a convenient and appealing rest stop for those passing through the southern Willamette Valley on the way to or from Bandon Dunes.

Take Note…

A rarity. When I spoke with Dan Hixson last year, I wondered aloud whether Bar Run was the first affordable public golf course to open in Oregon since before the Great Recession. He guessed that the last had been his own design at Bandon Crossings in 2003.

The Hixson Trail. Like H. Chandler Egan in the 1920s and 30s, Dan Hixson has spent the past two decades gradually improving the quality of golf architecture in the Pacific Northwest. He has taken on projects of all shapes and sizes, from short-game-area redesigns to low-budget renovations to ambitious new builds. Hixson’s four high-profile original designs—Bandon Crossings, Wine Valley, the reversible course at Silvies Valley Ranch, and Bar Run—are all worth checking out, but his influence on a multitude of everyday public courses in Oregon and Washington may prove to be an equally impressive part of his legacy.

Baked goods. If you’re driving south to Bar Run from Portland or Eugene, stop at Creswell Bakery for a pastry or sandwich. An Oregon institution.

Concrete jungle. Since the Guidos own a sand-and-gravel mining business, it’s no surprise that they also run a concrete supply. So they were able to give themselves a good deal on the raw material for Bar Run’s cart paths. A consequence of this synergy is that the cart paths are very visually prominent on many holes—unfortunate, given that the course is easily walkable.

Family fun. Bar Run’s secondary attraction, catering primarily to RV guests, is a small aquatic complex featuring a lazy river. Who among us can resist a lazy river?

Local color. In a nod to the property’s former use, the Guido family has placed pieces of mining machinery (a tractor, a crane, etc.) in a few spots on the golf course, out of play but in view. A little cheesy? Sure—but also earnest and distinctive.