Oregon Golf Destinations
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Salem
About an hour south of Portland on I-5, Salem is Oregon's capital city, though hardly the state's golf center. It is the state's third largest city with a population of about 100,000-plus, and there is a modest mix of private and public-access golf courses to choose from.
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Bend/Central Oregon
Once a small logging town with just a few town streets, today Bend is central Oregon's largest city, lying on the eastern end of the Cascade Mountain range. It's proximity to the mountains, as well as streams, Deschutes River and desert have helped generate a culture of outdoor buffs that come for hiking, rafting and in the winter, skiing.
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Eugene
Located in the southern end of the Willamette Valley, the Eugene area is ripe for wineries, running, cycling, fishing, hiking, canoeing and some very affordable public golf. It's also home of the University of Oregon, where Casey Martin, famous for his disability discrimination lawsuit against the PGA Tour, is the school's golf coach. It's also where the school's championship track teams have earned this charming city's nickname, "Track Town USA."
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Oregon's Northern Coast
The northern Oregon coast is one of the more popular tourist destinations in the state. From Astoria to Lincoln City, you'll find charming cities, cool weather and great views of the Pacific Ocean. Astoria, for example, is located next to the Columbia River, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.
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Portland
Residents love Portland with as much enthusiasm as the magazines that frequently praise the city for its "livability" - and part of that has to do with its abundance of outdoor activities. Come the warmer months when the rain subsides, golf becomes a big draw. And when it is raining, the masses huddle up in one of the city's countless coffee shops, or more than two dozen microbreweries.
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Bandon & Southern Oregon
Once home to little more than fishing, lumberyards and one of the West's larger ports in Coos Bay, the southern Oregon coast has quickly emerged as one of the world's top golf destinations.
