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PORTLAND
Golf Club
PAR 4 370 YARDS
Portland, OR
503.292.2651
www.portlandgolfclub.com
Portland Golf Club has so much history and cache that they
simply call the 11th the "Mallard Hole." The delicate par 4 can
require a blind approach to an elevated and severely sloping
back-to-front green. To start with, the tee shot must carry Junor
Lake to even get to an uphill landing area. The lake has its own
story, created in 1926 to add attractiveness and sportiness to
the course as well as impounding water from Woods Creek that
would be used for irrigation—Portland Golf Club was the first
club in the state to water its fairways.
While even the most skilled putter can be intimidated by the
green, there was a stretch in the '50s and '60s when Billy Casper,
a three-time Portland Open champion, made seven birdies in
eight tries. It's just one of many stories at a storied club that has
seen the likes of Ben Hogan, Peter Jacobsen, Bobby Jones,
Nancy Lopez, Cary Middlecoff, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus,
Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Sam Snead, Payne
Stewart, Lee Trevino, and Kathy Whitworth grace its fairways.
Hogan won the 1946 PGA Championship at Portland Golf Club
and led the US to a sweep of the Brits in the 1947 Ryder Cup
there. In 1945, Hogan shot 65-69-63-64 to win the Portland
Open. The 63—tied by Middlecoff at the Western Open—stands
to this day as the course record. More recently, Ben Crane, a
PGA Tour winner, learned the game at Portland Golf Club as a
third-generation member. And the Mallard Hole? It still ranks as a
great test of skill, as well as a sanctuary for wild birds.
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Photograph courtesy of Portland Golf Club
