Grey Goatee Golf and Travel

Eagle Point Golf Club

This article appeared first in LocalGolfer.com.

by Jack Seybold
The development of golf courses in the early-to-mid-’90′s was part of the phenomenon described by Jim Kopenhaver in the September 2013 issue of  The Pelucid Perspective as the “build-a-course-a-day decade.” The supply of golf courses was seen as insufficient, lenders were gung-ho, and Tiger Woods’ dominance of the PGA tour was fueling a surge in the sport’s popularity.

Courses seemed to be popping up everywhere, much to the delight of everyone, from beginners to the discriminating golfer, who welcomed the chance to play more than one course in their area. Eagle Point Golf Club was part of the rising tide of course construction.

Riding the wave
Residents of Eagle Point, near Medford, in Southern Oregon, had long speculated about the Naumes property, known as Melrose Orchard, as a site for a golf course. The little valley had been a hay-growing operation for years when in 1992 Gregg Adams and Dan Bunn announced that they had contracted with Robert Trent Jones Jr. to develop a golf course there.

After breaking ground in 1994, Jones, keeping with his philosophy of course design, created fairways from the natural rolling landscape along with the strategic placement of four lakes, eighty-six bunkers (I think I have visited all of them), and eighteen undulating greens. Keenly aware of the Rogue Valley’s infamous “gumbo” soil, Jones invested over a million dollars worth of special sand, to facilitate drainage, and hydroseeding, to bring forth a verdant topping. Eagle Point Golf Club is only one of 275 course projects Jones has been involved with over his career. Eagle Point holds a special place in Jones’s heart as the only course he actually owned from the beginning.

Jones says he likes to play a golf course that feels like a golf course, which is what he tried to design at Eagle Point. In a recent article in Medford’s Mail Tribune, Jones told reporter Tim Trower, “I fight for the integrity of shot-making. We spent a lot of time here getting it right.  I think we did a pretty good job.”

Eagle Point opened in 1996.  With four sets of tees ranging from a hefty 7,099 yards from the tips to a comfortable 5,071 yards from the forward tees, players of all levels could look forward to an overall distance that catered to their abilities.  Featuring superior drainage, grass in the fairways that held the ball up like it was on a tee, and yawning cape- and bay-style bunkers, the course was quickly noticed as a premier golf facility. Golf Magazine listed it as one of its “Top 10 Public Courses of 1996,” and Golf Digest has ranked it as one of the top-15 “Best Places to Play” in the state of Oregon.

Over the years, Eagle Point has hosted many prestigious tournaments, including the Oregon Amateur Championship and the OGA Stroke Play Championship. Jones was the majority owner for several years before selling his share of the course to concentrate full-time on course design.

Between 2005 and 2010, according to Kopenhaver, the golf-course economy followed the natural flow of supply and demand. The number of rounds played per year mirrored the economic downturn of 2008.  Modern young people and die-hard golfers alike focused on the increasingly weighty tasks of earning a living with little space in their lives for a round of golf.  Financially troubled courses began to close as the industry contracted. Some  courses faced foreclosure, including Eagle Point, where budget cuts and cutting corners left the course in a state of “physical disability.” It was still one of the best courses to play in Southern Oregon, but it had lost its luster.

Noticeable change
Traveling during August and September this year kept me from my customary Monday seniors event at Eagle Point. In early October, my seniors partner, Earle, and I began playing regularly again, and we  noticed that subtle alterations had materialized in our absence. Little things, but definitely different. There was a new man behind the counter at the pro shop, an earnest, robust youngster, who addressed me by name. We picked out a golf cart. Hmm, new seats. It didn’t take long to land in a bunker, and to my delight I found that fluffy sand had replaced the shallow, packed dunes that in the past had sometimes caused me to bounce my sand wedge into the ball and knock it over the green. There were new ornamental plants and shrubs planted around the club house.  A fresh vibe had somehow animated Eagle Point. Soon we learned that the course was under new management.

For the love of golf
The story of Bob Hyer’s acquisition of Eagle Point Golf Club contains notes of serendipity and destiny.  It’s a story of opportune phone calls, chance meetings and timely transactions following unpredictable turns in the path.  Like Arnold Palmer and his Bay Hill, Hyer just wanted a place of his own to play golf. He is an avid golfer — to put it mildly — with an affinity for the courses of Robert Trent Jones Jr.

Robert Trent Jones Jr. (left) and Bob Hyer.

A business associate had alerted Hyer about the availability of Eagle Point. In a nutshell, Eagle Point’s owner, faced with foreclosure, had turned the property over to the bank.  Hyer made an offer, but the deal fell through due to a competing offer, which eventually failed. The bank changed hands, and Hyer’s original offer was accepted.

Hyer took possession of Eagle Point on July 30, 2013. That very day, a convergence of circumstances led to a chance meeting with Jones and a memorable round of golf at Chambers Bay, widely considered Jones’s grandest work. The original owner and the new owner immediately became friends, and in October Jones was on hand during a tournament that benefitted Habitat for Humanity.  He spoke admiringly of the course’s return to quality under Hyer’s ownership.

Patrick Oropallo has been Eagle Point’s head pro for eight years. His enthusiasm is evident for the new atmosphere brought about by Hyer’s ownership and the management expertise of Touchstone Golf, the firm hired by the bank, and retained by Hyer, to operate the course. Oropallo assured me the bunkers contain the same type of sand as before, but his budget now allows for more regular renewal of sand and more attention to bunker maintenance. Hyer’s wife, Chana (pronounced Shawna), a landscape designer, is putting her magical touches around the golf course as well.  She re-designed the plantings around the clubhouse, and will be landscaping the area around the comfort station adjacent to the 5th tee box this spring.

The recent attention to aesthetics and maintenance at Eagle Point hasn’t gone unnoticed by the patrons either.  Ray Embree, a retired college professor from Ashland, Ore., says, “Eagle Point is the finest course in the area.” Eagle Point has also made new investments in maintenance equipment and staff overseen by course superintendent Dave Stephens, who has held the position from day one.

Longtime member,Jim Brick pointed out the new introductory offer that aims to increase membership. Indeed, membership fees are lower than most other courses of similar quality, making an Eagle Point membership a great deal.

Offense vs. defense
Jones likes to build courses that require strategic shot-making.  A golfer plays against the course with the goal of getting around in the fewest shots possible.  Jones places fairways, rough and greens, and water and sand, to allow the course to have a chance to compete against the golfer’s attack.  “A course must have its defenses,” explains Oropallo. “Eagle Point is a thinking man’s course.  On any given par-4, it’s not always the best strategy to haul out a driver.”

The par-5, 522-yard 9th hole is particularly well-defended. You have to carry a pond on your tee shot, and cross a creek twice just to be in position for an approach (which crosses the creek again). Then you face the Scylla of a large greenside bunker on the right and the Charybdis of a steep bank on the left. There’s a smaller bunker on the left, too. The same creek you crossed three times lurks at the bottom of the bank.

Jones did not intend to make the course too difficult, either.  Well-placed shots on No. 9 can easily allow access to the putting surface in three and a one-putt for birdie. Risk and reward enthusiasts can go for the green in two, but the consequences can add strokes to your score.

Get through 9, and you arrive at the 348-yard 10th.  It’s a deceptive, short par-4 with dandy defenses.  The fairway bends left, and a long tee shot must fly over the edge of a golf ball cemetery–a jungle of blackberry bushes and tall trees. Long hitters can reach the green, but are more likely to bid adieu to a beloved Titleist. You can avoid the jungle by hitting toward a roomy steep bank down the entire right side of the fairway, often providing a side-hill lie for your approach. From there you must clear a greenside bunker with an imposing lip to a postage-stamp green, and a steep bank running down to more blackberries behind it.

Jones’s other expertise
Prevailing on well-defended holes provides much of the pleasure of a round at Eagle Point. Add to that the agreeable vistas, particularly the view from the 16th tee. I always imagine launching my drive to the majestic peak of Mount McLaughlin in the eastern distance. From the 2nd tee box, I might take more notice of the stolid Table Rocks to the west if two lakes, a creek and greenside bunkers weren’t immediate eye-catchers.  Each hole is unique and offers a singular challenge (or opportunity).

In tribute to Jones’s superior design, and just as agreeable as the vistas, is the smoothness of the fairways. Some golfers note that the fairways are so smooth you can write on your scorecard while in a moving cart.

Totem tells the tale
Oropallo says the totem pole on the property represents what has happened to Eagle Point over the years. During their round

The view to the clubhouse at Eagle Point Golf Club.

at Chambers Bay, Jones asked Hyer about the totem pole, a gift from a golf course owner in British Columbia which he had placed near Eagle Point’s third tee box in the mid-’90s. The carved 26-foot art piece had aged and weathered. Hyer arranged for artist Deborah Lynn Hutchings to research the colors and paints on the original.  She treated, primed, and finally restored the pole to brilliance in time for Jones’s celebratory visit in October 2013.The pole is an appropriate symbol for the course’s renewal. It is still visited by acorn woodpeckers, as one can see upon close inspection. Crevices in the artwork, as well as holes chiseled by sharp beaks, serve as woodpeckers’ pantries filled with acorns stored for later consumption. But, the pantry is colorful and attractive, and signifies Hyer’s aspiration to make Eagle Point even more of a golf destination–a place where you feel like you’re at home – the “Cheers” of golf.

Regular Joe
Bob Hyer has made himself a welcome addition to Eagle Point. He is personable and approachable, and members seem pleased with his attention to the course. The whole atmosphere has lightened and brightened. He emphasizes that his attention is directed first of all to the club’s members and their needs.

The employees at Eagle Point mirror Hyer’s familial nature. Robbie Stassi, the new teaching pro, is starting a new instructional program. Chris Berg, the new chef, has turned Talon’s Grill into a first-rate restaurant. Omar at the bar is very attentive and welcoming. Tish, the girl in the hospitality cart, was friendly and good-natured. Hunter DeLange, the sturdy young man behind the counter in the golf shop, has worked his way up from managing the golf carts to now being able to run tournaments. And everybody knows my name. Eagle Point has truly reclaimed the title of “the Cheers of Golf.”

Eagle Point at a Glance

Stay and Play: Lodging

Eagle Point golf has a new stay-and-play partner:  Courtyard by Marriott in nearby Medford. The package ($194, plus tax) includes a room with one king-size bed or two queen-size, free breakfast, a round of golf with cart and a free range bucket.

Contact info:

Eagle Point Golf Club
100 EaglePoint Drive
Eagle Point, OR 97524
541-826-8225
http://www.eaglepointgolf.com/