Dan Hixson is quickly becoming one of the Pacific Northwest’s most popular golf-course architects. We’ve been a fan ever since he made his mark on the golf scene with Bandon Crossings, a family-owned course just down the road from famed Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. Since then, Hixson has gained acclaim for original designs at Wine Valley (Walla Walla, Washington) and the reversible routing at Silvies Valley Ranch in Eastern Oregon. And now he’s digging in a sand-and-gravel mine just off Interstate 5 in Roseburg, Oregon for his latest project, which will eventually include a boutique resort with RV spots and possible tiny house accommodations.
We’d like to tell you the name of the golf course — but nobody knows it yet. Originally called “Callahan Ridge” during construction, Hixson and the Guido Family (who own the mining property alongside the South Umpqua River) realized the project needed a name with more identity — and more wow factor. Enter the @NameOurCourse Sweepstakes that runs through March 1, 2021 (just a few more days after we’re posting this Episode 166 of “Talking GolfGetaways” with co-hosts Mitch Laurance and Darin Bunch — and don’t forget new podcast producer Kris McEwen). Click here for more about the GolfTripX-sponsored Sweepstakes, the chance to win a Lifetime of Free Golf by suggesting a name and also get into a drawing for a Preview Play Foursome this summer by following the @NameOurCourse social media on Twitter and Instagram.
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Hixson, Laurance and Bunch (who has signed on to help with marketing for the project) recount the Untitled Roseburg Project’s origins, what Dan first thought of the site (which includes sizable excavations that create water features throughout), his thoughts on the routing (which we know from Episode 141 is often an obsession with Hixson) and how the first 10 holes are coming to life for public play this summer. And Dan even adds a few thoughts about the final eight holes that will be built later this year in anticipation of the full 18 opening in 2022.
And if listeners want to start dreaming about the course, hole by hole, we close the episode with another of GolfTripX’s “Talking Yardage Guide” segments in which Hixson describes each of the existing 10 holes in more detail — from No. 1 with its unique “Dance Floor” surprise just off the fairway to the 14-16 stretch that begins with a striking reclaimed steel bridge as golfers tee off on a sweeping cape-style 5-par before hitting two very different back-to-back 3-pars. And then there is the hole Darin is most looking forward to playing — the par-3 11th with its boomerang green with an “ace-hunting” front bowl.
As always, we hope you enjoy the connection.
