Over the years golf course architect and former PGA Tour player Tom Weiskopf has generated considerable acclaim for his golf course designs. His work for the 18-hole course at The Club at Spanish Peaks, a new residential development just an hour south of Bozeman, Mont., may surpass them all.
Nine holes of the course had a “soft opening” in late-summer 2006, with the full, 7,100-yard, par-72 layout ready for play this summer. The course will be accessible to only 395 homeowner-members and their guests.
A members’ clubhouse opened in February 2006. In addition to a golf shop and staging area, the clubhouse contains a dining room, bar and lounge, hot tubs, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a cart barn and ski storage areas. A spa and fitness facility, equestrian center and children’s facility, are also in the clubhouse.
“This course will be a pure, spectacular mountain golf experience,” Weiskopf said of his design. “The views are so spectacular you’ll want to trade your sand wedge for a camera. It’s very rare to find land that is so well suited for golf as the land at Spanish Peaks. I’ve gone to great lengths to design a progressive course that works in harmony with the natural landscape and bold views that surround it. The fairways open up corridors to three or four mountain ranges. You can actually see Spanish Peaks, Lone Peak and the mountaintops of Yellowstone from various tee boxes.”
The views to which Weiskopf refers span the horizon. In between are wide meadows laced by rivers and dotted with blue spruce, aspen and lodgepole pine trees, wetlands and ponds, and colorful wildflowers in summer. Wildlife abounds, with bear, elk, deer, moose, and coyotes, while birdlife ranges from bald eagles to ducks and geese.
In crafting the course, Weiskopf sought to “keep the feel of freedom and open space,” and to “keep the wildlife habitat intact, allow for the privacy of homeowners and maximize the views.” He added the layout will be walkable, though he allows there will be a few “exercise” walks from a green to the next tee.
Weiskopf, whose playing career on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour spanned more than 30 years and included 28 wins, is one of golf’s most respected players and designers. His more than 50 course designs have gained international acclaim and several rank annually among the best courses in the U.S. Among his better-known works are two in Arizona – Troon Golf & Country Club (Scottsdale) and Forest Highlands (Flagstaff), as well as Double Eagle in Galena, Ohio, and Loch Lomond in Scotland.
About Spanish Peaks The Club at Spanish Peaks is situated on 3,500 acres in a secluded valley 18 miles from Yellowstone National Park and within easy access of Bozeman. In addition to the Weiskopf course and related golf facilities, Spanish Peaks members enjoy ski-in/ski-out access to Big Sky Resort, fly fishing, stables and hiking, biking and bridle trails. Nestled between the Yellowstone Club and Big Sky Resort, The Club at Spanish Peaks is currently offering prime homesites, cabins and townhomes for sale from $700,000. Club membership is required with purchase. For more information, call 877/995-3104 or visit
www.spanish-peaks.com.
