< Back

Reaching the Heights: Spectacular mountain golf in Big Sky

BY: Jeff Wallach | MARCH 1, 2025

It’s not just the views that are breathtaking in Big Sky, Montana. At more than 7,000 feet in altitude, the destination requires a day to adjust to the high country. Then you can enjoy some of the best and boldest mountain golf anywhere in the U.S. And don’t forget that altitude will cause shots to travel 10 to 15 percent farther in the thinner air.

Establish base camp at the exquisite Montage hotel, perfectly situated for all Big Sky activities, particularly if you’d like to enjoy a sublime trout carpaccio followed by a bison rib eye at the elegant Cortina, arguably the best restaurant in the area. The hotels’ 139 guest rooms express modern mountain chic in a crafted lodge that’s home to a spa, music venue, sports bar with bowling alley, and more. Staff throughout are meticulously trained yet genuine in their cheerful efforts to provide superlative service.

Visible from Montage’s guest rooms and outdoor pool complex is the massive log clubhouse of the Spanish Peaks golf course, a Tom Weiskopf design largely free of housing and providing pristine views from 7,200 yards of great mountain golf. Weiskopf, who had a home on property, created corridors that showcase snowcapped peaks and wildflower meadows. Fairways wend through pine forests in solitude. Holes feature prodigious cape and bay bunkering (especially on dogleg turns), occasional blind shots, a cadre of forced carries, and superfirm greens that run faster than Usain Bolt after a triple espresso. The rugged track, which Weiskopf famously designed on horseback, has been ranked as high as number three in the state by Golf Digest.

Following golf, how about a little more golf? Weiskopf’s final project was Tom’s 10, a collection of immaculate par-three holes inspired by some of the architect’s favorites from around the world. Hit mostly wedges to green sites reminiscent of Pine Valley, Royal Troon and number six at Riviera, featuring a bunker in the middle of the green. Holes range from 90 to 161 yards and route over and around streams, wetlands and mountain forest, offering great wagering opportunities for serious competitors and a chance for the less experienced to enjoy 90 minutes of fun while finding out that perhaps golf isn’t as hard as they’d thought.

VIEW FULL ARTICLE ON BUSINESS TRAVELER
Photograph courtesy of Historic Crail Ranch Museum
JANUARY 26, 2024

Big Sky, Big Land.

A brief history of Big Sky from the canyon to the peak. …the ski area came first and the development followed. At destinations like Telluride and Breckenridge, ski mountains sprung up around nineteenth century mining towns with colorful histories and main streets lined with Victorian storefronts. Big Sky evolved differently. The vision for the resort […]

Read More >
JANUARY 23, 2025

8 Spectacular Ski Resorts To Try This Winter

Big Sky About four hours north, on the other side of Yellowstone, Big Sky Resort has evolved from fewer than 20 trails and four lifts in 1973 to more than 300 and 38, respectively, today. In December 2023, Big Sky, the largest resort in Montana (and one of the largest in the U.S.), unveiled its […]

Read More >
NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Real Estate Roundup: Ski In, Ski Out

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit, know that you are on the wrong side of history.

Read More >