In my previous blog post, I talked about day one of my Western Montana trip with Bob Lee who sales for Simplot Partners. He had asked me if I would like to tag along with him while he made his sales calls in the area. Since I haven’t yet had a chance to visit this area, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get the guided tour.
On day two, Bob promised me that we would see a golf course like none other so I really didn’t know what to expect. When he told me that no one plays this course, I just figured it would be so remote that the course hardly ever got play. Part of that statement was right. It was, in fact, remote, but then again, this is in Western Montana and most courses are fairly remote. I found out that the owner, Jim Smith, is an eccentric fella who invented a remarkable medical device and made a fortune. After he purchased the golf course, he decided that he didn’t want to deal with the public, so in 1995, he decided to only allow he and his closest friends to play. We turned off the highway onto a nondescript road that had no signs what so ever to tell us that we were approaching a golf course. After meandering down the road, we came up to the course. As the name would imply, there were at least six beautiful lakes on the property.
Crystal Lakes Golf Course is a full-length course with a vacant pro shop and even a fleet of carts. What I didn’t know, was that this property is also a fish hatchery, an airport, and an air museum. What really surprised me was that Mr. Smith had built a full-size and almost identical replica of the Stonehenge right in the middle of the golf course. It was constructed right down to the 13-degree adjustment to make up for the latitude so it would line up correctly during the equinox.
The fish hatchery is known as the only disease-free fish hatchery in the country. They raise all kinds of trout species which they supply to the state of Montana. The mile-long airstrip dissects the golf course in half and sitting at the end of the runway is a collection of aircraft from WWI through today. Each one, in pristine condition and still able to fly. Mr. Smith no longer flies, but his first superintendent, Robert LeBlanc is his personal pilot and takes him where he needs to go. The day to day operations of the golf course are now handled by Joe Joliff.
We didn’t get too much time to spend on the golf course since there were so many other attractions to check out. One part of the course that was unique, in my eyes, was the island putting green. This wasn’t your typical island green, like perhaps the floating island of Coeur d’Alene that has a boat as a shuttle. This one had a bridge constructed just inches below the surface so it would appear as if the carts were driving on top of the water. All I can say is I hope you manage to keep it between the lines or you’ll be swimming!
On day two, Bob promised me that we would see a golf course like none other so I really didn’t know what to expect. When he told me that no one plays this course, I just figured it would be so remote that the course hardly ever got play. Part of that statement was right. It was, in fact, remote, but then again, this is in Western Montana and most courses are fairly remote. I found out that the owner, Jim Smith, is an eccentric fella who invented a remarkable medical device and made a fortune. After he purchased the golf course, he decided that he didn’t want to deal with the public, so in 1995, he decided to only allow he and his closest friends to play. We turned off the highway onto a nondescript road that had no signs what so ever to tell us that we were approaching a golf course. After meandering down the road, we came up to the course. As the name would imply, there were at least six beautiful lakes on the property.
Crystal Lakes Golf Course is a full-length course with a vacant pro shop and even a fleet of carts. What I didn’t know, was that this property is also a fish hatchery, an airport, and an air museum. What really surprised me was that Mr. Smith had built a full-size and almost identical replica of the Stonehenge right in the middle of the golf course. It was constructed right down to the 13-degree adjustment to make up for the latitude so it would line up correctly during the equinox.
We didn’t get too much time to spend on the golf course since there were so many other attractions to check out. One part of the course that was unique, in my eyes, was the island putting green. This wasn’t your typical island green, like perhaps the floating island of Coeur d’Alene that has a boat as a shuttle. This one had a bridge constructed just inches below the surface so it would appear as if the carts were driving on top of the water. All I can say is I hope you manage to keep it between the lines or you’ll be swimming!
Here are a few more pictures from Crystal Lakes Golf Course
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