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RED LODGE, WHITE TEES, AND BLUE SKIES

by Anthony L. Scaggs

An early start was in order—taking pictures and playing golf makes for an arduous day. My first stop was the Red Lodge Mountain Resort, a 72-par course with some type of water on 13 of the 18 holes.

The open fairways twist around houses, trees and across meadows. The course designer was Bob Baldock and the head pro is Jim Halberg. I met Sherry Weamer who knows her way around the Pro Shop as well as the Real Estate Marketing Department.

The locals say that the sun shines five out of seven days and if you are not playing golf you can ski. The 2,016 vertical drop with over 30 runs covering 25 miles and 250 inches of snowfall makes the Red Lodge Mountain Ski Resort a winter solution to keep your golf game in shape. Remember it is the legs that give you golf swing power and balance.

After stretching and hitting a bucket of balls, I headed for the #1 hole—a very friendly 372 yard, par 4 to start the round. The other inviting holes are 3, 4, 5, and 13. You have probably figured out that these are the dry holes.

I played from the blues tees. This turns the Golf Course from 5,603 yards at the forward tees, to 6,408 yards from the white tees to 6,768 yards. This course is challenging enough to make it interesting, but friendly enough to make it fun.

Pause for a minute at Hole 6, their signature hole. After the shock wears off, you tee off from a hill sloping down to the island that looks like a thimble floating upside down in an ocean. For the faint of heart and, at times, the smarter one may lay-up to the left or the far right with the hopes for chipping near the pin and a tap-in par. If you are like me, you pick your line of flight, address the ball, focus, take a smooth back swing with a gentle rotation of the hips which pulls your arms and hands through. After making contact your wrists rotate and you complete the swing. By the way, if you are like me, buy an extra sleeve of balls.

Houses meander along the boundaries of the course, while streams flow through {Red Lodge Image #2} the fairways and ponds {Red Lodge Image #1} dot the landscape, these esthetic touches combined with a friendly golf course make this a golf stop worth making.

Yellowstone Country Contacts:

Travel Montana, 800 548-3390, http://visitmt.com

Red Lodge Mountain Golf Course – P.O. Box 750 – Red Lodge, Montana 59068, (406) 446-2610

Red Lodge Real Estate Marketing Department, (406) 446-2358

Images copyright 1999 SearchWrite

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