How Can I Play Pumpkin Ridge?

The host venue for the second LIV Golf Invitational Series event has two courses - but only one is easy to experience

The 7th hole at Pumpkin Ridge
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, Oregon has hosted several prominent tournaments since opening in 1992, including the 1996 US Amateur, where Tiger Woods won his third consecutive title before turning pro.

It was also the host venue of the 1997 US Women’s Open, and held the LPGA Tour’s Safeway Classic between 2009 and 2012. However, it’s as the host of the second LIV Golf Invitational Series event that it’s really shot to prominence.

The club has two courses, Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek, and the Saudi-backed Series makes use of both, with six from the former and 12 from the latter. As for what the courses offer, both were designed by Bob Cup, and boast undulating tree-lined fairways and smooth greens in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Ash, fir and maple trees are prominent throughout, while there are also plenty of lakes, ponds and streams to give players plenty to think about.

The first hole at Pumpkin Ridge

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you’d like to experience Pumpkin Ridge, Ghost Creek is the easiest of the two courses to arrange a round on as it's open to the public. Tee times can be booked via the club’s website, with green fees ranging between $116 and $150 for two players. Another option is to purchase a Pumpkin Pass, which entitles holders to one free round and additional rounds between $35 and $90 depending on the times of day or year you play.

The third hole at Pumpkin Ridge

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s considerably more difficult to play the private Witch Hollow. Initiation fees are reportedly between around $25,000 and $42,000. However, the club website states there are “a variety of affordable membership options," and anyone who does become a member is also entitled to play at Ghost Creek.

Who Owns Pumpkin Ridge?

Texas-based Escalante Golf acquired the course in October 2015. The group also owns another host venue for the LIV Golf Invitational Series, The International near Boston.

When Did Pumpkin Ridge Open?

The 36-hole club opened in 1992. Since then, it has hosted several prestigious tournaments, including the 1996 US Amateur, where Tiger Woods claimed his third successive title.

Mike Hall
Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.