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SUN VALLEY
WHITE CLOUDS NINE WHITE CLOUDS NINE
PAR 5 637 YARDS
Sun Valley, ID
208.622.2251
www.sunvalley.com/golf
When standing atop the White Clouds Nine at Sun Valley, your eye captures a stunning
360-degree view of the Wood River Valley, encompassing Bald Mountain, Dollar Mountain,
the Pioneer Mountains, Angel's Perch, Devil's Bedstead, and the home of Ernest Hemingway.
Approaching the fifth tee box, golfers first notice the words of the Sun Valley Resort owner
inscribed on a stone marker: "This is not all about golf."
White Clouds—a nine-hole addition to the Sun Valley Resort golf scene that opened in 2008—
reaches dramatically from one plateau to another; nine holes with breathtaking views and
memorable shots. It is links-style golf because it has few trees and lots of bunkers, and is as
fun as it is difficult, as fascinating as it is frustrating.
The course begins its ascent on the second hole with a par 3 hanging over the gorge, and then
a short par 4 that has as much risk as there is reward. Then comes the first of back-to-back
par 5s, climaxed with the fiendish fifth that is generally best managed rather than conquered.
First of all, it can play more than 600 yards. At this point and at that altitude, you might think
you need a sherpa rather than a golf cart. The tee shot should avoid anything left, as should
the second shot; if hit right and long enough it will funnel down toward a green that is a reverse
tier and slopes from front to back. As memorable as the hole is, the location and especially the
views are what you really remember—just as the owner, the late R. Earl Holding, hoped you
would when he added that plaque.
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Photographs courtesy of Sun Valley
