Death Valley’s Low-Level Course Challenges Golfers Year-Round
by Debert Cook, CMP
Golfers are guaranteed to reach unprecedented lows when they play the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort’s Furnace Creek Golf Course located in Death Valley National Park, in Death Valley, California. At 214 feet below sea level, the 18-hole championship course is the lowest golf course in the world.
The AAA Four-Diamond-rated resort has been welcoming guests since the 1930”s. The golf course was developed in 1927 with three-holes and expanded to nine holes in 1931.
At 6,236 yards, the course is short by today’s standards with the advent of oversized clubs, composite heads and long-flying balls.
Furnace Creek Inn
In 1997 architect Perry Dye redesigned the course, and a high-tech irrigation system was installed to ensure the course remains in good playing condition year-round. Dye’s changes included completely rebuilding five holes, adding fairway bunkers and mounds to better define holes and rebuilding greens and tee boxes.
Furnace Creek Inn Hole #12
Open year-round, the Furnace Creek Ranch is situated adjacent to the golf course and features 224 rooms in a casual setting, general store, spring-fed swimming pool, tennis courts, horseback riding and the historic Borax Museum.
(…read more in the Spring 2008 issue.)
