
Aidan Bradley

Aidan Bradley

Aidan Bradley

Aidan Bradley

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Aidan Bradley

Aidan Bradley

Aidan Bradley

Lone Mountain Land Company

Aidan Bradley

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller

Evan Schiller
The Reserve At Moonlight Basin
The Reserve At Moonlight Basin
1020 Hwy 64
Big Sky, MT 59730
United States
Overview
The Reserve at Moonlight Basin is just the third course from Montana to appear in the national rankings, joining Tom Doak’s Rock Creek Cattle Company (No. 56) and Robert Trent Jones’ Yellowstone C.C., which surfaced in the 1960s on the list of America’s “Toughest” courses. Located near Big Sky at an elevation of 7,500 feet above sea level, the Jack Nicklaus design is the highest (in altitude) in the rankings. Big sky is apt—the course was built on the site of an old ski mountain with 360-degree panoramas of the surrounding Rockies, and the impressively large holes race, slalom and dive across circuits of terrain that twist different directions through the wilderness. With numerous downhill shots through the thin air, the championship yardage of 8,000 yards doesn’t seem egregious, and scoring well actually requires a high degree control in judging where the ball will carry and settle. The epic vistas of holes like the par 4 first and par 5 17th (at over 700 yards) are sights to behold, for golfers and non-golfers alike.
About
Awards


Ranking history:
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked 176th in its debut appearance (2023-'24)
Best in State: Ranked second, 2019-'24. Ranked fifth, 2017-'18.
2023-'24 ranking: 2nd.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“The Reserve at Moonlight Basin is hands down one of the most scenic courses I have ever played. The views on each hole are incredible and it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what's next. Due to the high elevation, the ball flies forever, making it a ton of fun. The course is challenging, but fair and is a must play if in the area!"
Read More2024
Review
“Extremely beautiful course in excellent shape. Most scenic mountain course I have played. Multiple fairways on several holes, allowing strategy and hero shots. Holes 1, 17 and 18 are notably great holes. Feels natural to the terrain and long distance is perfect given the elevation. Penal if you miss the fairways and a few tight driving and landing areas heighten the challenge."
Read More2023
Review
“When you drive to the course, the ski resort is all around you. The scenery is spectacular! Hang on when you step onto the first tee...the vertical drop from back tees to green is at least 200'. It is an astounding starting hole!"
Read More2023
Review
“Starting with the good, the vistas here are breathtaking. Right out of the gate on the first hole and going all the way to the 18th tee, really nice job of creating something that's quite simply breath-taking with all of the elevation changes. Want to spend most of this space defending what I'm sure is an outlier score on the challenge catagory. Tough but fair...course is certainly incredibly tough...the handicap rating from all of the tees supports this. Don't think I would call this course fair at all though. Fairways play incredibly narrow given how the slope and how firm they are. While some fairways are ~40 yards, given angle and sloping, they play much closer to 20-25 yards wide (and that's not factoring in what happens if you drive through a fairway and are too long...which is an issue on several of the holes). One could argue driver is not right club on these holes, but I'm not sure how many scratch players can routinely hit approach shots of 200+ yards (even considering the altitude). That's all fine if the greens are such that they allow player to make up for some of these difficulties, but the greens call for much more precision than approach shots allow. Great example is the 260 par 3 14th (from one tee up). Pin was back left and there was about 5 yards of space player had. I'm not sure I know of any scratch or worse golfers who have this shot. Bailing out right (again not much area to miss) gives player incredibly difficult chip shot. I'm ok with a few holes like this if balanced out with some easier ones, but would imagine most 5 handicaps are going to go through ~a box of balls playing this course, and lament the seemingly relentless test that the course asks of a player. If this score is removed for being an outlier, I would appreciate the chance to further defend my evaluation here."
Read More2022
Review
“Moonlight Basin might be the most beautiful mountain course I've seen. It is partially around the mountain from Big Sky, so it takes seclusion to a new level. The terrain is severe, so some of the holes play way downhill. The course is challenging but gives enough width to be fair. Make sure the cart has bear spray before you set out!"
Read More2021
Review
“Difficult course with unbelievable beauty. For scratch golfers it is a must to play"
Read More2021
Review
“Huge elevation changes with unparalleled views of the spectacular Big Sky mountains."
Read More2020