Summary: Playing Snake River Sporting Club was one of my golfing highlights of 2015.It was interesting how I ended up playing at Snake River Sporting Club.My car was part of the massive Takata Airbag recall and I received a notice from the dealership to bring it in to have the air bag replaced.I took it in and they said it would take 30-45 days, but luckily they would provide a courtesy rental car.I decided that it was time for a good road trip, so I took the 8 hour plus round trip drive to Jackson Hole in one day.As of the 2015/2016 Golf Digest rankings, Snake River Sporting Club was ranked #1 in Wyoming, so I wanted to see if it lived up to its ranking.I arrived at Snake River Sporting Club at about noon and was greeted by Jeff Heilbrun, the General Manager/Chief Operating Officer.Jeff gave us a quick tour of the stunning club house and after a quick warm-up session, we were on our way to play our round of golf with Jeff on the Tom Weiskopf design.Jeff told us we could either go in carts or try out the new golf boards.I had never tried the golf boards and they seemed like a fun alternative, so we gave them a try.(Note: golf boards are fun, but I was as tired as if I had walked the course, so keep that in mind when deciding whether to use a golf cart, a golf board, or walk.) Jeff had us start on the back nine which I believe he did strategically. I personally think the front nine is the better of the two nines and if I was in charge, I would switch the nines so that you end with more dynamic holes but they didn't ask me! Overall Snake River exceeded my expectations. The course has good design variety, is cared for immaculately, and the location can't be beat.The course is unique based on its proximity to the scenic Snake River.I’ve been told it is very difficult to get the proper permits to place a golf course near something such as the Snake River due to environmental concerns, so the fact that Snake River Sporting Club was able to do that is astonishing.But if you like outdoors, and specifically, if you like being in the mountains near a river when you’re outdoors, you won’t find a more incredible location for a golf course than Snake River Sporting Club.
Favorite Hole: #15, 221 yard par 3.#15 provides an amazing few of the Snake River and the green looks like it’s built on a sod-stacked bunker if that makes sense (see picture of #15 green).Maybe there’s a proper golf architectural term for a green that looks like this, but I don’t know what it’s called, so feel free to comment below if you know what the green on #15 is called.