After golfing at Canyon River near Missoula, Montana:
http://canyonrivergolfclub.commy wife and I hit the road and travelled southeast a bit to Anaconda...
Anaconda is the site of Old Works, a course designed by the Jack Nicklaus company, and quite an engineering feat. From the course's website:
In 1883, an Irish immigrant, Marcus Daly backed by J.B. Haggin and others purchased the land on which the city of Anaconda and the Old Works were to be built. In September 1884 the Upper Works began production, with a capacity to treat 500 tons of ore daily. (Remnants of the Upper Works can be seen today when playing the front nine at Old Works.) In 1886, installing updated equipment increased capacity to 1,000 tons per day. The need for more smelting capacity from the Butte mine's resulted in construction beginning on the Lower Works in 1887, one mile east of the Upper Works. Shortly after completion, the Lower Works were destroyed by fire. The rebuilt Lower Works were operational by 1889 with a capacity to process 3,000 tons of ore daily. To keep up with the ore supply, a third smelter was planned across the valley. Marcus Daly never saw these Reduction Works in operation; he died in New York in 1900.
The new more modern Washoe Smelter had the capacity to process all of the ore from the Butte mines, resulting in the dismantling and closure of the Old Works. The location lay idle until 1983 when it became a super fund cleanup site. In 1989, Anaconda citizen's formed a group to promote the construction of a "world class" golf course on the site. Through hard work and cooperation, between the community, ARCO, State and Federal Agencies along with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, ground was broken on May 26, 1994.
With 5 sets of tees, the course plays to 7,705 yards/75.8 rating/135 slope (Slag), 7,211/73.4/131 (Gold), 6,776/71.6/125 (Copper), 6,144/68.5/113 (Limestone), and 5,348/70.1 women/122.
On the entrance road...
Smelter ladles near the clubhouse
Holes to note:
The uphill par-5 3rd hole on the northern edge of the property, playing to 587 yards (back tees/Slag)...
Downhill par-4 #5, at 463 yards...
Below is the uphill 6th hole, a long par 5 stretching to 600 yards...
Looking back down the 6th hole...
The downhill par-3 7th playing at 238 yards...
Hole #9 was my favorite hole on the weeklong trip. From the back tees at 485 yards, it's a stern par-4 whose strategy is dictated by the green's angle to the fairway and the day's pin position. The mound on the right side hides a vast fairway, and the fairway bunker on the left dares you to shorten the hole, a dogleg left, by hitting anywhere near it. Thin wispy fescues between the tees and the fairway enable topped shots to be found, always a nice feature for the duffer...
Looking back from behind the 9th green. Note the wide expanse of fairway, particularly the area hidden by the mound from the teeboxes...
Then it was a quick visit to the clubhouse for a great cheeseburger and onto the back nine...