One of my most enjoyable golf experiences. The country is beautiful, courses are well maintained, staff is accommodating and friendly! And the prices....Can't be beat! I visited the area in mid September and was greeted daily with sunshine and temps in the 80's with no humidity. Evenings were cool and comfortable. Expect green fees in the range of $43.00 to $56.00 including cart and expect slight increases for the 2000 season. The courses usually open as soon as the snow melts in late April or May and remain open until the first snow in November. The sun sets late in Montana and you can play well into the evening. Soft Spikes are required on all courses. 
279 Eagle Bend Drive Bigfork, Montana 59911 (800-255-5641) Yards 6854 Slope 121 Rating 71.7 Price: $32 to $54 The Nicklaus Design group was brought in to design an additional 9 holes to compliment the original 18 designed by William Hull, Jr. By re-routing the course to include the new design, mixed with the old, eighteen championship golf holes were created that will test the abilities of every level golfer. Bunkers are strategically placed to collect errant drives and guard the fast contoured greens. The greens are varied with thoughtful consideration given to their size based on the difficulity of the approach shots. In other words there are big , medium , and small ones. The rough is kept at about a inch high and is very thick. Water comes in to play on five holes. There are no gimmicks here, it's straight up golf. You see the hazards as well as the targets. The course is very well maintained with a practice facility, great clubhouse, excellent food, and a friendly professional staff. A few of the holes that stand out are the fifth, a short and tight, dogleg left, 300 yard par four. The sixth, a short downhill par three. Be sure to look back towards the tee on this hole. The ninth is a long par 4 (470 yards) with OB left and the fourteenth, a long par 4 (446 yards) with a wide open fairway. This is a grip it and rip it hole! Second shot is to an elevated green with water left.
3230 Highway 93 Kalispell, MT. 59901 (800-255-5641) Yards 7015 Slope 121 Rating 72.5 Price $29 to $54 Don't let the yardage scare you. This course can be played and enjoyed by any level golfer. Designed by Andy North and Roger Packard this Scottish-style links course features a blend of wide open fairways seeming cut and angled through tall native grasses and gently rolling faiways to picturesque greens framed by towering pines. This would be the perfect place to take your family if they wanted to learn the game of golf. The golf course is in great condition and you can see how the architects took into consideration the fact that all players are not scratch golfers. There are five sets of tees and hazards and bunkers are well placed to allow for an errant shot by a high handicapper or beginner from the front tees. Yet, pick off the one that got away from the low handicapper from the back tees. It is a very enjoyable golf course with a friendly staff that understands that the US Open will probably not be held here and their bread and butter is the golfers making tee times at their course. On the front nine you will find rolling fairways bordered with un-maintained mounding. The back nine is where things get interesting. Holes 13 through 16 wind along the Stillwater River with more dramatic changes in elevation than on the front and with trees lining the fairways. The 18th is a great finishing hole playing 430 yards from the tips. Add that to the beauty of the surrounding Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park and you will soon realize that you are standing in the middle of a post card! The clubhouse is small yet serves its purpose well. There is a practice area, putting green, and rental club available Whitefish Lake Golf Club - North Course Highway 93 North Whitefish, MT 59937 (406-862-4000) Yards 6556 Slope 118 Rating 68.7 Price $36 to $56 Whitefish Lake Golf Club is Montana's only 36 hole golf course and features spectacular views of Whitefish and Lost Coon Lakes. This course features bent grass fairways and greens. Maybe it's the weather or the soils in this area, but this course was also very well maintained. A rustic clubhouse with a great bar, good food, and TVs all around. You could tell that this would be the kind of place where you would stay longer then you should. The course is very traditional in design and the view of Big Mountain from the 4th tee box is fantastic. I can only imagine what it looks like in late April when the snow still covers the peaks of the mountain. The USGA slope and rating are about average but it seemed to be a tougher course visually than it played. You can tell it's an older course because the greens hold the ball and putt true. Here again the staff was very accommodating and friendly. Every hole on this course was either fun or a challenge. Sometimes both. Hole number three is a long par four playing 435 yards with great views of the mountain ski areas. A slight dogleg left with out of bounds right and a sand trap guarding the right side of the green. Hole number nine is a long, tree-lined, narrow, uphill par five playing 565 yards. Hole fourteen is a par four down hill then up to an elevated tee. The hole runs parallel to the river with great views. The 18th hole is a narrow par five up a slope then down to the green. There was a good assortment of long and short par threes and par fives. The only negative was the constant sound of the maintance equipment. It seemed everytime you turned around there was a mower somewhere nearby. On the positive is the fact that the course is located within walking distance of the Grouse Mountain Lodge where many rooms offer golf course views. Village Greens Golf Course 500 Palmer Drive Kalispell, MT 59901 (406-752-4666) Yards 6365 Slope 114 Rating 69.8 Price $46 Village Greens is an 18 hole golf course and residential development boasting the best-bent grass greens in Montana. There are no less than 10 holes with water in play. The fairways are fairly open, slope gently, and are bordered with mounding and young trees. There are multiple tee boxes on every hole offering variety and challenge to every level golfer. There is an all grass practice facility, putting green, full service golf shop, and Deli. Buffalo Hills Golf Course 1176 N. Main Street Kalispell, MT 59901 (406-756-4530) Par 72 Slope 131 Rating 71.4 Price $33 to $56 Buffalo Hills features an 18 hole Arnold Palmer design championship golf course and the Cameron Course a par 35 nine hole golf course. We did not have the opportunity to play or visit the course. However, we were told by many of the local golfing regulars that this is an outstanding golf course in great condition. The slope rating of 131 should give you a general indication as to its difficulity. |
|
All inquiries about this web site to webmaster@golfguide.com.