River’s Edge Golf Course in Bend sits on the flank of Awbrey Butte.

BEND — One of the most popular public golf courses in Central Oregon could easily now be a housing development. But homeowners surrounding River’s Edge Golf Course in Bend were determined to not let that happen.

Now that they still have their course, they want to make it great again.

“I think people are pretty excited about the new ownership,” said Jeff Kramer, president of the corporation of homeowners associations that now owns the course. “We’re doing a lot of things for the course, and taking care of it in the way that it hasn’t quite been taken care of the last several years. People are excited to see some of the changes.”

Kramer said they hired a new superintendent and are focused on greening up the course, improving the putting greens and redoing the tee boxes and bunkers.

“We’re doing various things, just to make it a more fun and enjoyable place to play for a range of golfers,” Kramer said.

About a year ago the homeowners were told that the fairways around their homes would be plowed up and turned into a a Pahlisch Homes housing development with 400 homes. But last fall a settlement was reached with the former River’s Edge owner to abandon the development plans and preserve the golf course.

Business owner Wayne Purcell sold the course to the group of homeowners associations that surrounds the 141-acre golf course for $500,000, according to an email sent to homeowners. The settlement preserves River’s Edge as a “playable 18-hole, par-72 golf course in perpetuity.”

Kramer, a retired lawyer who lives near the golf course, was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. He purchased his home in November 2019 and moved into the house in April 2020, one year before the announced sale of the golf course.

The lawsuit arose because residents said they bought their homes based on advertising and other promises they were buying into a golf course community.

“We had broad community support from all the homeowners, financial support and ultimately the voting to approve the settlement that we were able to negotiate,” Kramer said. “We couldn’t have done this without that broad community support. And we had strong facts and we had an excellent lawyer.”

As land becomes increasingly valuable and housing increasingly scarce in Central Oregon, other golf courses in the area may soon face the same dilemma as River’s Edge.

“Every course is different, but as land becomes more valuable, and as the pressures to build homes and accommodate newcomers to the community grows, then it’s going to be tempting for people who own golf courses to try to do what we avoided here,” Kramer said. “Yeah, I think we’ll see this being more of a threat to other golf courses.”

According to the course website, River’s Edge was designed in two phases beginning in 1987 by the late Robert Muir Graves, whose portfolio also included Big Meadow at Black Butte Ranch and Widgi Creek Golf Club. Originally conceived as a nine-hole golf course, River’s Edge was expanded to 18 holes with the acquisition of the upper half of the property in 1992.

Graves was intrigued by the lava rock and the geology around that section of the Deschutes River and incorporated many of those elements into the design, according to riversedgegolfbend.com.

“Robert Muir had a great vision when he designed this course, and we look forward to getting it back into shape,” said Jennifer High, general manager at River’s Edge. “We will have golf here as a public course in perpetuity, meaning that generations will be able to come and play golf here. I run into people all the time who remember playing here when they were a kid, and now they’re coming back.”

High said she and other golf course employees are emboldened by the support they have from the homeowners and the community surrounding the course.

“Just the ownership and the pride they’re taking in providing this to the community is really impressive,” High said. “We want to make sure everybody is aware that we’re not going anywhere, and they’re going to have an improved golf experience.”