Golf Welches Oregon style means this: you tee off with Mt. Hood filling the sky behind the green, a herd of elk may or may not be grazing on the fifth fairway, and you are 10 minutes from a hot tub. It is not a golf destination in the Bandon sense. It is a place where golf fits nicely into a mountain weekend, which for most of us is better.
Mt. Hood Oregon Resort: the main event
The only course in Welches proper is at Mt. Hood Oregon Resort, and it has 27 holes across three nines: Pine Cone, Thistle, and Foxglove. The resort has been through a few names and owners over the decades (locals still say the Resort at the Mountain), but the golf has stayed consistent.
The Pine Cone and Thistle nines are the older, more traditional layout, tree-lined with the Salmon River nearby and a few forced carries. Foxglove is newer and more open, with bigger greens and the best mountain views on the property. Playing Foxglove and Thistle together is our usual combo when we want the views and the challenge.
Practical stuff:
- Rates are moderate for resort golf. Expect peak summer weekend rates to be roughly double the twilight or off-season rate. Book online.
- Twilight starts mid-afternoon and is the best value in July, when it stays light until nearly 9.
- Carts are available and worth it on the Pine Cone and Thistle nines, which have more elevation change than they look like from the parking lot.
- There is a driving range and a decent restaurant with a patio facing the mountain. The patio is where you end up regardless of how you played.
The elk situation
This is real. A resident herd of Roosevelt elk wanders the course, particularly in fall and winter and in the early morning. They are large, they do not care about your tee time, and the course asks you to give them a wide berth and not play through them. It is one of the more memorable things about golf here. Bring a camera and patience.
Season and conditions
Welches sits at about 1,300 feet, so the course is usually playable from spring through late fall and often through mild winters, though expect soft conditions and cart-path-only rules after rain. The prime window is June through September. Early October is a secret good time: cool mornings, fall color on the maples, fewer people, and the mountain often shows its first new snow.
Winter golf is possible on dry weeks. It will be cold, the greens will be slow, and you will have the course mostly to yourself.
Other courses within reach
If you want a second course or a different vibe, head down Highway 26:
- Sandy area. About 20 minutes west, Sandy has a couple of casual public options that are affordable and unfussy. Good for a quick nine with kids or beginners.
- Gresham and east Portland. Roughly 45 minutes brings you to a cluster of solid public courses, including Persimmon Country Club, which is semi-private with a hilly layout and views back toward the mountain.
- The Dalles and Hood River. Over the mountain via Highway 35, about an hour and a bit, Indian Creek in Hood River and the Dalles Country Club offer drier, sunnier conditions when the west side is socked in. This is the play for a rainy forecast.
Making a golf weekend of it
Our version: arrive Friday, hot tub, early bed. Saturday, 18 holes at the Resort with a mid-morning tee time (the fog burns off the fairways by 9 most summer days), lunch on the patio, then back to Wildwood Basecamp for the rest of the afternoon. The cabin sleeps eight, which is two foursomes, and the bunkhouse lounge handles the post-round card game.
Sunday morning, non-golfers in the group can walk the Salmon River Trail or drive up to Trillium Lake while the golfers play a second nine. Everyone meets back at the cabin for lunch and the drive home. Our Mt. Hood things to do page has the full list for the non-golf half of the trip, and if anyone wants the mountain view without swinging a club, our post on easy Mt. Hood viewpoints has them covered.
Honest notes
- Mosquitoes on the Salmon River holes in June and early July. Pack repellent in the bag.
- Cell service is spotty on parts of the course. Sort out the group text before you tee off.
- Bring layers. Mountain mornings in July can start in the 40s and finish in the 80s.
- The resort is a resort, so there is lodging and a spa on site. We think a cabin with a private hot tub and a full kitchen is a better base for a group, but we are biased.
Golf at Mt. Hood is not about a championship test. It is about hitting a decent approach shot while a glacier watches you do it. That is plenty.