29
SUN VALLEY
TRAIL CREEK COURSE TRAIL CREEK COURSE
PAR 4 382 YARDS
Sun Valley, ID
208.622.2251
www.sunvalley.com/golf
One of Idaho's most acclaimed layouts, the Trail Creek course at Sun
Valley bridges a golf gap between classic and modern. The Robert
Trent Jones Jr. design of the '80s honors the natural setting of one of
America's original resorts. With the famous ski slopes—the first chairlift
was developed here in the 1930s—looking on from above, the Trail
Creek course occupies the valley below, winding its way through trees
and across a stream. The 14th hole is a short par 4—382 yards from the
championship tees—that has a beautiful stairstep of bunkers along the
left side of the hole.
The key is to keep your drive right without being too friendly with a stand
of trees or, beyond them, out-of-bounds markers. Otherwise a shot from
the left must find its way over that seductive string of bunkers, which
can produce long, uphill sand shots to the green. Once there, the green
offers a large and relatively flat surface, sloping slightly from back to
front, a reward for getting there in the first place.
Sun Valley has been recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top 75
resort courses in North America. The Jones design artistically follows
the creek to supply a full complement of shots to best avoid water and
bunkers. The course crosses the creek seven times in the first nine holes
alone.
14
Photograph courtesy of Sun Valley
