Golf in Montana ?where to play early May

[Left53]

We do annual golf trip to British Columbia , thinking of changing it up this year!what are your fav courses in Montana ,do they have stay play?

[costby]

What part of montana, we are a very big state.

[Left53]

Northern

[gr00vetech]

If you can find a way to get out on Ironhorse in Whitefish thats the spot. Whitefish Lakes South is a good option if not.

[lylehuska]

Wilderness club

[bbslurp413]

Totally agree with Whitefish Lake. Very enjoyable

[ScubaSteve]

We've been going on an annual spring golf trip for over 20 years. For the majority of that time our destination was the Columbia Valley in BC as there are a lot of great courses in that area. Over the last 5-7 years however a lot of those courses have become very expensive, and with a good exchange rate in the US we started alternating the BC trips with trips to the Whitefish/Flathead Valley area. We have enjoyed the Whitefish area courses so much and the value compared to the BC courses is excellent, that we now go to Whitefish almost every year near the end of May. I'm actually just in the process of planning this years trip! So far the proposed plan is Eagle Bend (2 rounds), Northern Pines (2 rounds), Wilderness Club (at least 1 round), Whitefish North (at least 1 round).

We are coming from Saskatchewan so we either stop at Desert Blume in Medicine Hat, or Paradise Canyon in Lethbridge on the way down. Highly recommend both of these if that is the direction you are coming from.

One thing to remember about golfing near Whitefish is that you can only book tee times a couple days in advance at some of the courses. The other option is that you can get an advance booking at these courses by paying a $5 reservation fee per golfer, but the problem with this is that there are only certain days and times that you can advance book which makes it a bit tricky if you want to have all your tee times booked before you get down there. We have found however that if you are a bit flexible with what time you want to golf, it's usually not a problem to get decent tee times if you only book 2 days in advance. You will also want to phone the courses or check their websites as they do green/fairway maintenance around that time of year so you will want to schedule your tee times to avoid that as much as possible.

Also, there are some very good condos/houses for rent through VRBO.com etc. It's a bit of drive if you stay up the mountain (about 10 minutes up a winding road) but that is where the majority of the rentals are located. Lots of good restaurants in Whitefish as well.

I've played a lot of the Flathead Valley courses so here is my quick opinion.Here is the order that I would rate the courses we have played:

1) Eagle Bend - Located in Bigfork which is about 30 minutes SE of Whitefish. Usually in very good condition by mid-May. They have an 18 hole championship course and 9 additional holes designed by "Nicklaus Design". The championship course has 18 great holes, all of which are well designed and interesting. The more we play this course, the more we like it and appreciate the design of each of the holes. The Nicklaus 9 isn't quite as good but it's cheap to add this to your 18 and get 27 holes in for a good price if you are looking to extend your golf day without playing a full 36.

2) Wilderness Club - Located in Eureka which is about 50 minutes north of Whitefish. If you are coming down from BC, this would be a good course to play on your way down. This course also has a lot of very interesting holes and the couple times that we have played it, we had the whole course to ourselves. We did find however that the fairway conditions on some of the holes are not as good as you would expect for a $100 course, however that could be related to winter/spring conditions at the time as well. If you are staying in Whitefish (or driving past Eureka on your way down) it is worth the trip for at least one round. There is a great summary of holes with photos etc at golfclubatlas.com (just google Wilderness Club golfclubatlas)

3) Northern Pines (previously Big Mountain) - This has to be the best bang for buck course in that area. The front nine is a links style and the back nine has some elevation changes, trees and water. An interesting course that is always in great shape by mid-May. For $65 including cart this course if well worth a couple rounds. Some of our group put this course ahead of Wilderness Club on their preferred list.

4) Whitefish North - A great old school course that meanders through the trees in Whitefish. If you like golfing treed courses in BC, then you will enjoy this course. It's usually in very good shape (consistenly better than the Whitefish South course) and a great price as well. The restaurant in the clubhouse serves very good meals/suppers as well.

5) Whitefish South - Same price as the North course but a more modern course where some of the holes are routed through houses and condos. Some interesting holes around a scenic lake, but they are offset by quite a few weak holes and houses/condo holes. Worth a play once just to see it, but we normally don't play here anymore. Conditions can sometimes be a little iffy as well compared to the consistent good conditions on the North course.

6) Meadow Lake - Located in Columbia Falls about 15 minutes east of Whitefish. This is considered a resort course as it is associated with the surrounding resort condos etc. What this means is that the majority of the holes (especially on the back nine) are routed through condo development, some very close to the fairways and greens - we've hit more than a few of them! Conditions are usually pretty good, but it's another course that has quite a few weak holes, especially on the back nine. We normally don't play here anymore. Some of us would rate this ahead of Whitefish South.

7) Buffalo Hill - located in Kallispell about 20 minutes south of Whitefish. We played this several years ago - some holes were recently redesigned so can't comment on the changes. At the time we thought it had lots of interesting holes, but way too many blind shots which most of my group don't like. If you are ok with blind shots, or want to play it a couple times to learn where to hit your shots then it might be worth a try.

Other Options - There are lots of other courses within an hour of Whitefish, but we haven't played any of these.

Ironhorse - Like someone above mentioned, Ironhorse looks to be a nice mountain course high above Whitefish. To my knowledge it's a private course so not sure how to get on. We drove through the course once and there was lot of elevation change, but the conditions looked a bit iffy due to it's height on the mountain.

Village Greens - in Kalispell. Haven't played it but there is info and photos online.

Cabinet View, Glacier View, Indian Spring - other courses within an hour of Whitefish. Haven't played any of these but info and photos online.

There's lots of info online about golf in this area, if you google various things. Hopefully my info has helped you out!

[Left53]

Thanks scuba I usually play Kokanee springs info will come in handy

[cdnrockies]

I am surprised no one has brought up Old Works. A little further south but more than worth the drive. Maybe the best value I've ever played.

[Golf-Junkie]

Spanish Peaks closed - place was amazing.

If not that, Yellowstone Club - highly recommended.

I believe May is still pretty iffy weather wise. Are you doing any fly fishing, not sure if there's a hatch that early?