High on Mt. Whitney: Lone Pine, Calif.

by Peter Hemming

Spring in the Sierra is a magic time. The mountains shed their coat of winter snow. Wild flowers bloom in alpine meadows. Migrating birds begin to arrive, hibernating squirrels awake to look for nuts, and the air is filled with the sounds of ... Fore! Did I say nuts?

In the shadow of Mt. Whitney, just south of the little town of Lone Pine is a hidden jewel of Sierra golf, the Mount Whitney Golf Club. A nine-hole course designed by William Bell (who designed the courses at La Jolla and Torrey Pines), has been serving the community and surrounding area for more than 40 years.

Located off Highway 395, sandwiched between the high desert of the Owens Valley and the rocky cliffs of the Sierra foothills, the MWGC can hardly be sidelined as an insignificant afterthought, something to pass on the way to the larger courses at Bishop and Mammoth. The Northern California Golf Association rated the Club one of its best.

James Garner played here during the filming of the movie Maverick in 1994, and 60s bombshell Abby Dalton and her husband come down from their home in Mammoth twice a year. Pro golfers Jerry Barber and Johnny Potts have strolled through the fairway.

“It’s a golf club that’s extremely friendly, very hospitable and just a fun bunch of people,” says club professional Brad Taylor. “It’s not just a job, it’s doing goodwill toward the town.”
But don’t let the manicured greens and nice clubhouse fool you. This is not miniature golf. The Mt. Whitney Golf Club has as challenging a course as you’ll find anywhere. Getting up and down to make your par can be difficult because there are nice little slopes and humps to negotiate. The course greens’ speeds are measured between 10.5 and 11. “We have the fastest greens in the West,” says Taylor with pride.

There are two sand traps per hole, and a lot of trees to play around. On any given day you’ll see T-shirt-clad locals mixing with Tehama-dressed 50-milers (that’s anyone who lives 50 miles or more away), equally sharing the joy and frustration of a game invented by the same people who think it’s music that comes out of a bagpipe. But on that same day you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find a course that’s not so crowded that you can’t enjoy a good game of golf.

The best time to play is between April and October. An occasional dusting of snow during the winter season may close the course for a few days; otherwise its open seven days a week, from sun-up to sundown. In summer, temperatures can reach the 100s, but there are enough trees for shade and there’s drinking water along the course. Like any golf club, there’s a driving range and putting green.

In the clubhouse you’ll find a pro shop, lounge, restaurant (hamburgers, fries and sandwiches) and bar (only members and invited guests can buy booze), and there’s a rental shop if you forgot to bring something.

Brad Taylor relates this story, “If you come before the club opens, ask the groundskeeper for a key to a golf cart and just start playing. You can pay later. We trust people here.” Perhaps that sums up the character of the Mt. Whitney Golf Club. FG

Note: Golf packages and discounts are available if you stay at the Boulder Creek RV Park just south of town or the Dow Villa and the Best Western in Lone Pine.