Oregon Drift

COQUILLE — For a private golf course, the nine-hole track at the Coquille Valley Elks Lodge  does a lot of public good.

The course is the only facility on the South Coast that is private — golfers must be either Elks or their guests to play.

But the exceptions to that rule all benefit the public.

First, the Elks Lodge, located about halfway between Coquille and Myrtle Point, is the home course for high school golfers at Myrtle Point, Coquille and Powers. And they get to use the course for free during golf season.

Second, active military members play for free.

Third, it’s busy many summer weekends for charity tournaments, which are open to the public. And the Elks Lodge gives those groups, ranging from high school sports teams to fire departments and police Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs, a great deal to hold events at the course.

“That’s what we’re here for — the community,” said Margaret Hampton, who manages the pro shop.

But the course primarily serves members of the lodge, who pay just $400 a year for unlimited golf — the fee for joining the Elks Lodge is just $1 per year of age (with a maximum initiation fee of $50) and the annual dues are $90.

“There’s no place you can play for this kind of money,” said Bugs Bishop, the president of the golf association at the course.

What the 100 or so golfers who pay for individual or family ($525) yearly golf passes find is one of the shortest courses on the South Coast, but also one with plenty of challenge. Water can come into play on all but one of the holes, and the short downhill ninth hole has its own peril with out of bounds left and a green that is difficult to stop a tee shot on during the summer.

“It’s a short course, but you can get in trouble,” Bishop said.

One of the challenges is small greens, which in the case of the second, seventh and eighth holes also come with difficult slopes.

Long drives on the third, fourth and fifth holes — all relatively short par 4s, can end up in trees or water.

“You have a lot of big guys come here and bomb the ball and get in trouble,” Bishop said.

Golfers who keep the ball in play can post good scores, though.

The course has six holes that are par 4s and three more par 3s. The par for 18 holes is 66 and the yardage is just 4,558 for men and 4,490 for women.

Bishop said that he usually shoots one to two strokes higher than his handicap when he plays on longer courses.

The sixth through eighth holes will challenge golfers of any handicap.

The par-3 sixth hole plays slightly downhill, but is 228 yards long from the back tees.

No. 7 is the longest hole, measuring 367 yards, and comes with the toughest green. It slopes from left to right, and during the summer, it’s nearly impossible to stop a downhill putt without hitting the hole.

The eighth hole is a left-handed dogleg that plays 308 yards up a hill and comes with a blind second shot — the only thing golfers can see at the green is the top of the flag.

Both the seventh and eighth holes play as par 5s for women.

The Coquille Valley Elks Lodge bought the golf course, then Coquille Country Club, in April 1960. The clubhouse burned down shortly thereafter, but members rebuilt it in time to start the best-known tradition of the course that year, the State Elks Match Play Championship, held each Labor Day Weekend.

This year, that tournament marks its 50th year.

Members of Elks lodges from other parts of Oregon and other states will find their way to the course for the event, starting with practice rounds today and their first matches Saturday morning.

The course typically is in its best shape for this event, but the greens are outstanding nearly year-round, which Hampton attributes to the greens superintendent, Cal Napier, who has been at the course for 27 years.

She also credited summer helper Colton Holmes for his efforts keeping the course in shape.

“The course is probably at its peak right now,” Hampton said.

The State Elks tournament is the highlight of the year at the course, but the lodge frequently sees visitors from other areas who come to stay in their motor homes on the site.

Bishop said that the visitors, like the members of the Coquille Valley lodge, are drawn by the friendly feel of the lodge, which leads many golfers to stay long after their rounds to visit.

“The atmosphere is what brings people here,” Bishop said.