Private Picks

The Best Behind-the-Gates Golf We've Played This Year

1. Pronghorn | Bend-Redmond, Ore.
The first of several new upscale, residence-based private clubs on the exploding Central Oregon market is a wonder of high-desert design and no-comfort-unturned delight. Jack Nicklaus’ course (pictured, right) opened first among the juniper and sage, wowing its fractional-owner members, but then came Tom Fazio to blow everybody away with a volcanic links-like circuit. A new clubhouse completes a true dream address.

2. Monterey Peninsula Country Club | Pebble Beach
The late architect Mike Strantz dramatically altered this storied club’s Shore Course, re-routing several holes to create his final masterpiece.

3. The Preserve | Carmel Valley, Calif.
Fazio’s only entry (so far) on the Monterey-area landscape is a remote, pristine piece of art set aside for some of America’s corporate chiefs in a protected natural wonderland.

4. Southern Highlands | Las Vegas
Consciously concocted to attract East Coast members to a Southern Nevada oasis, this super-luxurious club not far off I-15 boasts a Trent Jones winner and epic clubhouse.

5. Vellano | Chino Hills, Calif.
Greg Norman put plenty of Aussie ingenuity into this Italian-themed development in the heart of SoCal, including several golf holes that leave members and guests breathless.

6. Montesoro | Borrego Springs, Calif.
Another new Fazio tour-de-force in the desert near Salton Sea; the former Rams Hill is now a thrilling, wide-open journey into new-age heathland golf and mountain majesty.

7. Montrêux | Reno, Nev.
Home of the Reno-Tahoe Open, and one of Jack Nicklaus’ best West Coast efforts.

8. Gray’s Crossing | Truckee, Calif.
Debuting this past summer to strong reviews, this Peter Jacobsen-Jim Hardy product gives this mountain community yet another big-bucks calling card.

9. Somersett | Reno, Nev.
Tom Kite’s former Texas-based design team does it up right in the hills west of town.

10. Grizzly Ranch | Portola, Calif.
Bob Cupp adds a crowning touch to this golf-rich region in the Northern Sierra Nevada.