Golf Getaway
Under the Big Sky
Idaho/Montana border worth crossing for great golfing
Fisherman, hiker, skier, stargazer, adventurer, nature lover and, yes, even those more "civilized" sportsmen who favor golf as their outdoor activity—there is room for all of your personalities in the tamed wilderness of the Teton Valley in southeast Idaho.
And, if you come for a visit and decide you want to stay, communities are sprouting up throughout the area that are integrated with the landscape to preserve the integrity of the surroundings while addressing the primal desire so many share to get back to the simple pleasures that nature provides.
This area is active throughout the year, but when winter’s snows give way to the fairways, your biggest challenge will be deciding which course to try first.
Moonlight Basin • Big Sky, Montana
At 7,500 feet of elevation and 7,800 playable yards, this par-72 course impresses experts and embraces beginners.
Located in the heart of Moonlight Basin, the course perfectly integrates the spectacular beauty of the area with the natural contours and challenging alpine terrain of this revitalized landscape.
Low-density real estate development means the views you love will stay that way. Elegant facilities include a luxurious clubhouse and state-of-the-art fitness and wellness center.
Teton Reserve • Tetonia, Idaho
GolfWeek Magazine says “Teton Reserve is home to perhaps the most unique golf course in this country.”
And now you should be asking yourself, why? The whys are plenty.
Designed by Hale Irwin, it’s North America’s first reversible-routing, 18-hole championship golf course, with two distinct directional tee box settings for 16 of 18 holes on the course, giving golfers two courses in one.
There’s also a world-class, 500-yard, double-ended practice facility.
Designed as part of a 448-acre boutique golf community, you can come and play for a day, or get in for the long term with various forms of housing available.
Western craftsman homes, cabins and paired homes complement the golf offerings at the foot of the towering Teton Mountains in Idaho’s Teton Valley. The golf club’s 8.5-acre, four-season recreation campus will include a swimming pool, tennis and croquet courts, complete health and fitness center and relaxing health spa.
And, finally, Teton Reserve is only five minutes south of Driggs, Idaho, which was voted No. 1 “Best All Around” or “The Best 50 Places to Live” by Men’s Journal Magazine. That means only an hour from many of the nation’s most incredible spaces like Yellowstone National Park, 35 minutes to Jackson Hole Ski Resort, 30 minutes to Grand Teton National Park and four hours from Salt Lake City.
Spanish Peaks • Big Sky, Montana
This club 18 miles from Yellowstone National Park features a Tom Weiskopf Signature Golf Course.
And, it is likely one of the few, if not only, private communities where you can ski to your back door and golf out the front while basking in pristine wilderness.
Declared by Travel + Leisure Golf as one of America’s Top 100 Golf Communities, this course has been at the forefront of the larger design to bring high-quality golf to the area.
“Located on 3,500 acres in the secluded Gallatin Valley on the edge of Yellowstone National Park, the outdoor sports hamlet of Spanish Peaks will require you to take a deep breath,” said a writer for Stratos. CNNMoney.com ranked The Club at Spanish Peaks as No. 8 among 25 Dream Vacation Homes.
By design and by virtue of the gently rolling alpine meadows, the course is destined to become one of the best in the Rocky Mountains. Fairways transition beautifully to flowering alpine meadows. If you can take your eyes off the view and concentrate on your game, you’ll find a par-72, 7,102-yard course that is both challenging and infinitely enjoyable for players of all abilities.
Big Sky, Montana • The Yellowstone Club
Another club located in the center of year-round play, this Tom Weiskopf-designed course is 18-hole championship and a perfect 10 in beauty.
Flagsticks are set against snow-capped mountain peaks, and tee boxes are tucked among fragrant lodgepole pines and signature jackrail fences. Weiskopf has designed a course for The Yellowstone Club that’s sure to become one of the most celebrated mountain golf courses in the world.
Steve Satterstrom, senior director of golf operations at The Yellowstone Club, says the appealing aspects that come to mind when describing the experience start with a first tee at 8,000 feet that wanders down the mountain and back up for the last nine. Guests of members are free for golf and skiing. There is a full caddy program, member valet service to and from the club and the Titleist Pro V 1 for a practice facility.
Each of The Yellowstone Club’s 18 holes offers multiple tee placements, ensuring maximum playability within a course that’s sure to become one of the most celebrated mountain golf experiences in the world.
And, coming soon:
Huntsman Springs • Driggs, Idaho
Resting at the foot of the Grand Tetons, Huntsman Springs, designed by David McLay Kidd, will be an inland golf course fitting the natural terrain and landscape of the native habitat. The spectacular setting is ideal for a golf course, and the design relies heavily on the existing wetlands habitat. In an effort to produce a cohesive relationship between residential, recreational, and natural components throughout, an additional 50 acres of wetlands will be constructed to meander through the golf course.
McLay Kidd, a young Scottish course designer with global roots and recognition, is best known for his classic links-style courses of St. Andrews, Scotland, and Bandon Dunes, Oregon. The Huntsman Springs course will feature a private clubhouse with practice facilities, a restaurant and a full-service retail shop and is well ahead of schedule with a late 2009 opening possible.
For more details on all these courses and more visit www.idahogolfmag.com
Photography in chronological order courtesy of Moonlight Basin, Teton Reserve, Spanish Peaks and Yellowstone Club.
Compiled by Jennifer Liebrum
Compiled by Jennifer Liebrum
