b'This is no happy accident. The best architects in the game accentuate their designs with a regions natural beauty, says Fought, an Oregon native who co-designed Crosswater, and redesigned Sunriver Resorts Meadows course and Black Butte Ranchs Glaze Meadow.It allows you to create things that are interesting and fun, Fought says. You can do golf on dead-flat land, but it is surely more fun when you can work with rock outcroppings or rivers, spectacular vegetation, and a climate that is good for growing grass. Aspen Lakes Golf CourseCentral Oregon is such an outdoor place, and with the beautiful topography and natural features, it just lends itself well to golf. If you can find a spectacular site and you are a decent golf architect, you should be able to do a phenomenal golf course.The regions unique landscape and topography have produced a diversity of golf found almost nowhere else on earth. From Bend, the regions vibrant cultural hub and its largest city, desert links carved from the regions volcanic rock, classic parkland-style designs, Scottish-style links, and mountain courses with fairways shaped by ponderosa and lodgepole pines are all within 30 minutes.Most of the golf course architects of note over the last 50 years have worked here, Kidd says. So a golfer gets to come here and not only enjoy the different stunning landscapes, but they also get to walk through probably half the history of golf course architecture in the United States all within 30 minutes of one another.Kidd calls the combination of natural attributes, great architects, and the regions dry and sunny weather in summer and fall theSunriver ResortCrosswaterperfect hat trick, for golf. Even that doesnt tell the whole story of Central Oregon. Because as the region has emerged as a golf destination, Central Oregon has grown up with a rich culture and culinaryPronghorn ResortJack Nicklaus Signature Coursescene, as well as its well-earned reputation as a mecca for craft brewing.But like everything in Central Oregon, what makes golf unique in the region is its natural beauty.Golfers dont always know when weve done a great job with strategy, Fought said. But golfers certainly notice beautiful grass and they certainly notice aesthetics like you can get in Central Oregon. When you can get that, its just heavenly. And Central Oregon has just so much of itit has mountains, vegetation, topography, rock formations, and water. Its one of the best places in the United States for that.Zack Hall'