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
Big Sky, MT • Private
The Reserve At Moonlight Basin
1020 Hwy 64
Big Sky, MT 59730
United States
Overview
The Reserve at Moonlight Basin was just the third course from Montana to appear in the national rankings when it debuted in 2023, joining Tom Doak’s Rock Creek Cattle Company and Robert Trent Jones’ Yellowstone Country Club, which surfaced in the 1960s on the list of America’s “Toughest” courses (a fourth joins this year, Tom Fazio's Stock Farm at 185th). 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 in 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 of 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 since 2023.
Highest ranking: 176th, 2023-'24.
Previous ranking: 176th.
2025-'26 ranking: 181st.
Best in State: Ranked second, 2019 to current. Ranked fifth, 2017-'18.
2025-'26 ranking (and previous): 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
“It should be on every golfer's list for the prettiest golf courses in the United States."
Read More2025
Review
“Moonlight Basin is a Jack Nicklaus designed golf course in a very high end development in Big Sky. What makes it different than many of the mountain golf courses that you can play? Most mountain courses are routed along the base of the mountain where views primarily up at the end of a range. On the contrary, Moonlight Basin is in the middle of the mountains and the views are 3 dimensional in every direction. I have played most of the top 200 courses in Golf Digest's rankings. It is difficult to compare the beauty of an oceanside course like Pebble Beach, Pacific Dunes or Royal County Down to a mountain golf course like Moonlight Basin, Banff Springs or Rock Creek Cattle Company. However, Moonlight Basin has my vote for the prettiest golf course that I have ever played. It is simply spectacular and must be played to be believed. The great architects have all realized that it is impossible for a golf course to compete with the beauty of nature. Alister Mackenzie wrote in depth about it, especially with respect to the reverence that golfers have for Cypress Point. He realized that even the best design work is lost when a golfer is placed in one of nature's best places. Such is the case at Moonlight Basin. Each hole is simply stunning. However, the individual golf holes are very good and certainly a lot of fun to play. The 2nd hole was a charming dogleg to a tucked away green among the pines. The 6th hole has an unbelievable view from the tee with a great risk/reward second shot. The 13th hole is another wonderful par 5 with an exciting approach, whether on your 2nd or 3rd shot. Obviously, the topography of the golf course presents limitations. In order to avoid overly steep uphill holes, there are several drives uphill from green to the next tee. So, Moonlight Basin will not be the cup of tea of the walking only golfer. Yet. any golfer that loves his fun shots among the most impressive views in golf should run, not walk, to Moonlight Basin. Moonlight Basin is as scenic and fun as golf gets. Upon ending my round, I wanted to immediately go back to the first tee and start again, which is the ultimate compliment to any golf course."
Read More2025
Review
“Just WOW! Not sure there is a mountain course in the U.S with better views. Very difficult. The greens especially. On the wrong side of the pin is virtually an automatic three putt. Requires very accurate shots from tee to green. Not too sure how a high handicapper would enjoy anything other than the views on a day to day basis."
Read More2025
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
