Whitefish Lake Golf Club — Attraction in Montana

I am fortunate to not only be able to play at these gems, but also work here. The Whitefish Lake Golf Club is, in my humble opinion, the finest 36 holes of golf in Northwest Montana. I would venture to say that it is one of the best public golf courses in the United States. Thats right, PUBLIC golf courses. I am asked many times each day which I prefer and honestly, I can’t pick one over the other. So here is my take...

The North Golf Course (Original): Long generous tree lined fairways leading to tricky bunker guarded greens. Extremely healthy rough suggests (as many facilities do) to play the short grass. the North golf course is traditional in design where you have a front and back 9 that play to the clubhouse/proshop. Holes are varied and challenging with elevated tee boxes and/or greens and doglegs (right and left) playing adjacent to water features one way and pine trees (thick pine trees, to the other. “How are the views” this is always baffling to me, do you come to golf or look at the scenery? I know, both. One thing you’ll never run out of in Whitefish are views and the North Golf course will not disappoint. Views of Whitefish lake and Whitefish Mountain Resort are a couple highlights of the North Golf Course. Course suggested playing time is 4 hours.

The South Golf Course: Featuring the same course amenities as the North Course, the South offers more challenges (my opinion) in many ways than its neighbor across the street. Two major design factors of this golf courses design are 1. It is a continuous play golf course or no front/back 9 playing to the clubhouse. 2. The exquisitely maintained fairways lead you through a community of homes away (south) from the clubhouse where there is a food and beverage facility marking the turn back home. Many say that “its short” and once they finish they all the same thing “it plays much longer than what it says”. The challenges on the South course are, (in my opinion) much greater but offer great rewards if you are up to it. Club and shot selection here are more rigorous due to the sloped fairways, drives requiring a 240 yard carry to clear water hazards and tucked away/guarded greens. The experience here is not only challenging but beautiful, with views of the south valley and northern Mountains. Course suggested playing time is 4 hours.

Both courses have wildlife, mostly deer/geese but occasionally your garden variety Black Bear will stumble through and if you’re really lucky an Elk or Moose may make it’s way down to play a few holes. Let them play through and respect their game. Oh yeah, they have game.

I have my favorite, what will yours be?

Did I mention there is a Board of Directors that runs the golf courses? Yeah…...

I’ve never done a bad review but I’ll start off by saying we golf around the world, we had a crew of 4 & the group ahead of us started 4 minutes late. Then a group of 2 started before us, which is fine, but the club ranger starts hollering at us so we started playing right behind the twosome in front of us. Then we get to hole 9 and the clubhouse was pretty busy, both bartenders were super sweet as well as the attendants in the shop. As I’m waiting for our drinks and 1 sand which here comes the club ranger hollering again rushing us while the other group ahead of us was still inside… Needless to say, the ranger needs to learn a little bit of course etiquette. Never in all of the courses we’ve been to have we had such poor service on a course this nice. Either get more ppl in the clubhouse to tend to all the golfers on a busy day like this...

I spend a lot of time on the road and have occasion to eat at many restaurants, and its made me a bit picky about my dining experience... I have to say the meal I just had was outstanding. Kellie the waitress was fantastic. Attentive, polite, didn't huff when my wife changed her mind about her dish, I could go on... the courses arrived in a smooth rhythm with everything tasting fresh and well-prepared. The tuna tartar was exceptional! The steaks were great, a simple seasoning that didn't take away from the great beefy flavor they contained. We ordered medium well and got exactly that, which is a rarity these days. I wall absolutely be back, worth every penny. Thank you for a wonderful night out...