Pronghorn Golf Resort blends top-notch golf with a family-friendly environment within the natural beauty of Central Oregon. The resort includes the public Nicklaus Course and the private Fazio Course (play on the Fazio Course is available to guests at the resort). The Nicklaus Course was ranked #28 on Golf Digest’s 2013 list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” and #38 in Golf Magazine’s 2012 “Top 100 Courses You Can Play.”

Pronghorn is located in Bend, Oregon (which, somewhat confusingly, is nowhere near North Bend, the home of Bandon Dunes). Bend claims that it has 300 days of sunshine per year, and the clear blue skies we experienced did nothing to lead us to believe otherwise (the 1-hour frost delays each October morning, on the other hand, were a bummer). Our trip started with a one-hour direct flight from San Francisco to Redmond/Bend airport, followed by a 30 minute drive to the resort. Don’t forget to have your smartphone on and Waze up and running to make sure you don’t miss any turns.

Auberge Resorts took over management of the resort and its 48 guest units in May of 2012. Our sense as of our visit in October 2012 is that Auberge has not yet fully imbued the resort with their vision of luxury – Pronghorn still struck us as somewhere between a 4 and a 5-star experience. If you’re looking for something more permanent, there are also Pronghorn fractional ownership options and homes for sale.

As befits its location in central Oregon, the design of the resort has a lodge-like feel, with recurring notes of timber and stone, and numerous fireplaces and outdoor firepits. The Junior Suites we booked were spacious and comfortable – the full-blown 2-to-4 bedroom Villas (aimed no doubt at families) take things to another level, with full kitchens equipped with Viking appliances. The staff is friendly and eager-to-please, but not quite operating at the efficiency level of the top resorts.

Our resort reviews don’t rate the courses themselves, but the on-site Nicklaus Course is challenging and interesting – though the inclusion of an obligatory waterfall felt a bit forced. In terms of course layout and design, we preferred nearby Tetherow (ranked #66 on Golf Digest’s 2013 list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses), which we felt was better integrated with the surroundings.

One thing that took our breath away at Pronghorn was the view of the night sky. Pronghorn is set within a 20,000 acre juniper forest, and the lack of ambient light enables you to take in a spectacular panorama of constellations. The resulting perspective on your place in the universe produces a lasting sense of calm and well-being…at least until you push a 3-footer that lips out for a four-putt.

Pronghorn doesn’t provide the single minded dedication of the greatest golf resorts, and doesn’t have the service level of ultra-luxury hotels, but it is a fine establishment that would be a great place to bring an entire family to experience outdoor activities such as golf, swimming in the pool, tennis and fly fishing.

SCORE
88
GRADE
B+
Service
87
Accommodations
87
Fitness Center
88
Spa
N/A
Pro Shop
88
Food
85
Integration
92
Value
91

Pronghorn: View Accommodations and Packages

Pros:

Cons:


87 / B+

SERVICE

The staff at Pronghorn is friendly and well-intentioned. There was not the same level of crispness that one experiences at a 5-star resort, but this could just be in keeping with the culture of the surrounding area, or perhaps Auberge hasn’t been able to impose its training on the staff yet.

 Pronghorn Club & Resort

Click to enlarge

87 / B+

ACCOMMODATIONS

Pronghorn is currently poised somewhere between a four and five star hotel. We booked a pair of Junior Suites for our two-night stay. Pronghorn is composed primarily of two-story residence villas ranging between two-to-four bedrooms. The Junior Suites are appended to a villa and take up only a portion of the ground floor – thus each Junior Suite shares a common wall with the villa and part of the villa is directly above the Junior Suite.

Pronghorn Club & Resort

Click for more images

The room was spacious and featured high ceilings, and the design matched the thematic timber and stone found throughout the entire resort. The room was clean and up-to-date, with the only noticeable wear found in the towels.

Features included:

The biggest problem with the rooms (and what drove the rating down in this section) is the lack of insulation between the Junior Suite and the adjoining villa. Conversations could be clearly heard through the wall, and the thumping noise as people pace back and forth upstairs was enough to raise the dead (or at least someone who had just finally been able to fall asleep after the 3:30 A.M. alarm incident). Thankfully, the adjoining villa was unoccupied on the second night, providing for much more blissful slumber.


88 / B+

FITNESS CENTER

The Fitness Center at Pronghorn is located in the Clubhouse, so it was a short walk (about a block) from the room. It was of a respectable size and featured a good deal of natural light. There is no additional charge for use of the Fitness Center.

Pronghorn Club & Resort

Click to enlarge

Features include:


N/A

SPA

Like the Fitness Center, the Spa is located in the Clubhouse, a short walk from our rooms. As we mentioned above, there is no permanent spa staff on site, and we were unsuccessful in our attempts to make massage appointments 24 hours in advance. As a result, we didn’t visit the spa and can’t comment on the facilities. We did visit the outdoor hot tub, which was also a short walk from our rooms. Pronghorn’s pool area features two hot tubs, one of which is set slightly apart and reserved for adults only.


88 / B+

PRO SHOP

Pronghorn Club & Resort

Click for more images

The Pronghorn Pro Shop is good-sized, with a variety of logo gear available for men and women. They had a particularly strong selection of high-end clothing. The staff seemed a bit too preoccupied with helping someone spend untold riches from a store credit, but when they finally turned their attention toward us, they were helpful and pleasant…plus we happened to be there on a day when seemingly everything was twenty percent off. Score!


85 / B

FOOD

We sampled each of the three restaurants at Pronghorn. It’s a bit of a drive to anyplace off of the resort, so you’re pretty much stuck with what they have on site. Based upon our sampling, Auberge has yet to have upgraded the culinary options, so perhaps there will be improvement in the coming months. The prices were overall reasonable, even with the mandatory 20% service charge.

Pronghorn Club & Resort>

Click for more images

92 / A-

INTEGRATION WITH GOLF COURSE

The resort does a fair job of integrating golf into your stay.


91 / A-

VALUE

We booked the Nicklaus Stay and Play package for $514 (two nights), which included:

A package can also be designed around the Fazio Course (which is only accessible to those staying at the resort – the Nicklaus Course is open to the general public). The typical greens fees on the Nicklaus Course are $175 per round, so the cost of the hotel works out to about $170/night. The pricing struck us as a pretty fair deal – it isn’t a five-star experience yet, but it was extremely pleasant.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.