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The 17th at The reserve (Fought Course), Aloha, Ore.
473 yards (gold) When we were first routing the course," recalls architect John Fought, "I saw this part of the land and I remember thinking, 'Boy, this is going to be neat.' Sometimes you can just sense that a hole is going to be special before it even is completely laid out." There are several taxing holes at The Reserve, a new 36-hole complex in the Portland, Ore., suburb of Aloha, and the 17th stands out as perhaps the most demanding of them all. The Reserve's 17th possesses the rare quality of being a killer without being overly penal. While there is plenty of trouble, there is also surplus room to avoid it. The hole doglegs slightly to the left with trees on both sides. A creek that meanders in snake-like fashion along the left makes a tee shot to the right quite inviting. The problem with that is that such a drive leaves an extremely long approach to an immense double green that also serves as the putting surface for the 11th. A pot bunker in the middle separates the putting surfaces of the two holes and is some 180 feet from the front as one plays the 17th. The Fought Course, designed by the former U.S. Amateur champion and opened for play last summer, is fairly well-treed and has more than 100 bunkers. The other 18, designed by Atlanta-based architect Bob Cupp and opened this past spring, has few bunkers and few trees. It gets its personality from links-style mounding and water hazards. The Fought Course was the site of last month's Fred Meyer Challenge, a popular three-day charity event featuring many PGA Tour players.
— Bob Robinson
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