The Legend at Bergamont

An exceptionally challenging golf course designed by Andy North, just south of Madison.

Published on January 23, 2012

Andy North earned a reputation as a player who excelled under difficult conditions. North never would have won two U.S. Open titles – showing off his short-game skills on the 72nd hole both times to win by one stroke – if he couldn’t hit all the shots, learn from his mistakes and keep his head when the going got rough.

It’s hardly a coincidence that those are the same attributes required to score well at The Legend at Bergamont, a challenging, thinking-man’s golf course and the centerpiece of Oregon, just south of Madison.

North didn’t bite when given the chance to offer advice for first-time Bergamont players, saying: “I think the biggest thing (is) playing it a couple times, and then you figure out the best way to play it. That’s part of golf. At any golf course – but I think particularly at The Bergamont – you have to figure out how to play holes.”

That’s true. So let’s identify some Bergamont characteristics, even if North won’t.

First, many landing areas are more generous than they appear from the tee, and the greens are medium to large with subtle breaks and rolls rather than dramatic tiers or shelves.

Hazards abound. The Bergamont features 75 sand bunkers and water is in play on eight holes. But the most challenging – and picturesque – trait might be the tall fescue grasses, which will adorn earthen mounds separating many fairways. The fescue could be waist-high by midseason, and neither finding a ball in, nor hitting a ball out of, the thick stuff will be any bargain.

It all adds up to an exceptionally challenging golf course from the 7,330-yard back tees, which carry a hefty course rating of 75.0 and a slope rating of 137.

But North also took pains to ensure that the par-72 course is playable for the average golfer. For example, a quick look at the layout reveals that most of the trouble is found on the left side of fairways and greens, where it tends to complicate matters for better players who are more likely to hook the ball. Less trouble exists on the right, so higher handicappers – read slicers – are not punished too severely.

North tried to give better players an option and less talented players an out. For example, the par-4 third hole at 403 yards from the back tee, one of the more difficult holes on the course, plays uphill and into the prevailing wind so some players may have difficulty getting home in two shots. With deep bunkers on the left, North placed an inviting chipping area short and right of the green, so players can lay up, chip on and hopefully make no worse than a two-putt bogey.

Bent grass greens, tees, and fairways and dramatic elevation changes add to the allure of the golf course and contributed to its recognition as one of Golf Digest’s “Top 10 New Courses in America” in 2006.