The intoxicating combination of the McKenzie River and the Willamette National Forest is extraordinarily otherworldly.

Open spaces outdoors, distance between players, tee times booked in advance and long, leisurely games—it’s hard to envision a more pandemic-friendly sport than golf.

Much has changed since the game of golf’s formative days, when shepherds in Scotland would pass long hours by knocking a pebble with a stick at a target, counting strokes along the way.