The Ball Does Go Further Up Here Teeing it up at the state’s top courses in Jackson Hole and Sheridan By Dina Mishev
Teton Pines golf course
I am a spoiled golfer. Having learned to play (and still learning to play, in fact) at the high altitudes of Wyoming, I can’t deal with my stunted shots at sea level. Seeing my balls fall out of the sky a good 10-percent sooner than I’m used to, I can get downright witchy (at least I think that was the word my partner used to describe my behavior). And down there, there isn’t even any good mountain scenery to distract me.
The last thing I expected to do in Wyoming was take up golf. Ski, yes. Hike, yes. Mountain bike, yes. But golf, not really. Having not already picked it up while living in Washington D.C. or Chicago – where there aren’t so many other sports for it to compete with – I didn’t think it would call to me in Wyoming. But a friend dragged me out one day and, right after we had to take a forced break for a moose drifting across the driving range, a new outdoor addiction was added to my list.
While there are close to 100 courses scattered throughout the state (and new ones seem to open every year), Jackson Hole and Sheridan are the epicenters. Here’s what you’ll find in each.
Jackson Hole
Teton Pines
The only thing rivaling the views here is the service, which is impeccable all the way. And, when the member roster includes such big wigs as Vice President Dick Cheney, we guess it had better be. The course itself is impeccable as well: an Ed Seay and Arnold Palmer designed par 72 that goes 7,400 yards from the back. In 2002, both Golf Digest and Condé Nast Traveler recognized it as one of the top 75 courses in the country. If you’re a strong iron player, you’ll most likely agree. If you have accuracy issues however, you might find Teton Pines frustrating. It’s not improbable there are more balls in the water features lurking on the periphery of holes than there are fish in the nearby Snake River.
Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis
The valley’s oldest golf resort, JH Golf & Tennis has hosted numerous U.S. Golf Association National Championships since opening in 1963. Golf Digest also consistently ranks it the number one course in the state. The resort’s head golf pro attributes the accolades to the course’s classic design (it was redesigned in 1973 by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.). Perhaps most classic of all is the 13th hole, a short (169 from the back) par 3 over water with, what else, views of the Tetons in the background. When including JH
Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis
Golf & Tennis in a recent list of best courses in the country, Sports Illustrated ran a photo of this hole. But JH Golf & Tennis isn’t one to rest on its laurels. A $3 million renovation began in fall 2004 and will ensure the course remains the top-ranked facility in the state.
Sheridan
The Powder Horn Golf Club
You could take three golf vacations to hit three different kinds of courses – Scottish-style links, target golf, and wide-open fairways – but why when one place has them all? Powder Horn Golf Club has taken 900 acres of flat Wyoming grassland and massaged and manicured it into the No. 65 course on America’s Top 100 Courses list. The surprise is that it isn’t ranked higher. Mountain 9 resembles a typical links course, complete with a life-size replica of St. Andrews’ famous Swilcan Burn Bridge. Stag 9 features target golf with tricky shots over natural hazards to greens tucked into the woods. On Eagle 9, added in 2001, fairway bunkers call for premium shots off the tee to avoid the many wetlands and creeks meandering through the course.
Kendrick Municipal
The hilly, 18-hole public course is an oldie but goodie. Built in 1930, recent times have seen it rated as one of the state’s top 5 courses by Golf Digest. While all of the courses around Sheridan focus on views of the Big Horn Mountains, Kendrick one-ups them with vistas of historic Sheridan as well (from the higher holes at least). Keeping with its vintage feel, walking is welcomed here, if you can handle the 6,800-yard length.
Buffalo Golf Club
It’s no wonder people travel from far and wide to play the 18-hole, up-and-down Buffalo Golf Club course. In a single season, the pros see players from nearly every state and a dozen foreign countries. And it seems everyone hears about the course through word of mouth. But, having opened in 1928, Buffalo Golf Club has had a few years to generate a buzz. Recently, the par-71 course received four out of five stars from Golf Digest and was featured in USA Today. Players comment on the water features running through 11 of the holes as well as the course’s “fun factor.”
Sheridan Country Club
The area’s original course, dating back to the presidency of Calvin Coolidge (1923 – 1929 for those not up on their Presidential timeline), Sheridan Country Club is a vintage, 9-hole jewel with separate tee boxes for 18-hole play. And, even though it’s right within city limits, there are still Big Horn views from every hole.
Here I am in Bridger-Teton National Forest with six feet of snow on the ground. I’m on the back of a 60-pound sled behind eight Alaskan huskies. And these dogs love to run. I started off my morning the toughest way possible – rolling out of 400-thread-count sheets in my room at the Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole, flicking on the gas-burning fireplace and drawing back the shutters to look out on the mountain. read more
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