The crew on the par 3 course at the Bayou in McMinnville.

Course No. 191 came off the list June 2 when Don and Pete returned to the Bayou Golf Course in McMinnville to play the Bayou’s par 3 course.

The Bayou was the second course we played over a decade ago when The Quest first started. At that point in time, we hadn’t clearly defined exactly what “every course in Oregon” would be. Once we determined that par 3 courses would indeed be part of the list, the nearby Bayou short course was just always one that we could do anytime — and we just never did. We’ve finally remedied that situation.

Along with frequent tagalongs Dave Cadd and Mitch Nosack, we went ahead and played the regular nine at the Bayou before attacking the par 3 course. The short nine is more than a pitch-and-putt course, two holes measure over 150 yards. It’s a challenging little layout, handicapped by the Bayou’s less-than-stellar putting surfaces. Much like the Bayou’s regular course — which has a great layout with dozens of mature trees — the short nine suffers when you have to putt around little weeds on the greens. That said, we all played well and had a fun day.

30 to go!