100 miles east of Billings sits the Forysth Country Club. A nine-hole track that isn’t too far from the Yellowstone River and is visible from the Interstate. It’s a perfect place to stop on a drive through the area for a round with the family.
I walked into the Forsyth Country Club clubhouse on a perfect 75-degree Sunday morning and met Kevin Hoover and his grandson. They had graciously offered up to show me around the golf course on what turned out to be a wonderful day for golf.
The first hole at Forsyth Country Club is a 319-yard straightforward par 4 with out of bounds stakes on the right and trees lining the fairway. The tee box sits just a few feet from the clubhouse entrance and immediately under the American flag that blows in the cool early summer breeze. A small mounded green is protected by a large bunker just a few paces in front of the right-hand side of the green.
The short length of Forsyth Country Club provides the longball hitter with countless birdie opportunities throughout the nine-hole course that measures in at just under 3,000 yards on the par 35 front nine white tees and just over 3,000 yards on the par 36 back nine blue tees.
The fourth hole plays as a drive-able par 4 on the front nine at just 271-yards but becomes a par 3 on the back nine measuring 168-yards. With O.B. stakes to the right and a pond that comes into play on the left the hole could surrender birdies or an eagle but can also force big numbers with a poor tee shot.
The blind uphill seventh hole is a short 124-yards but is protected by a pair of bunkers in front of the green. This short of a tee shot makes for an exciting trip up the hill to see how close you are to the pin.
The closing hole at the Forsyth Country Club is another hole that plays as either a par 3 or a par 4 depending on if it’s your ninth hole or eighteenth. The ninth is an overwater tee shot to the green that sits right in front of the clubhouse. It plays 148-yards with a smaller pond located just off the front right of the green.
As Kevin and I finished our round on this perfect morning in Forsyth we had to laugh at all the help we had from his grandson who loved to pull the pin for us on every green. It was among a list of his duties like finding the right club for his grandpa to hit, cleaning golf balls in the ball washer, and getting to drive the golf cart.
That’s one of my favorite things about the game of golf. It’s family friendly and the perfect way to get young kids involved in the game is to get them out with you. It’s quality family time in the great Montana outdoors, what could be better?
If you would have asked Kevin’s grandson, just getting to drive the golf cart one more time.
Montana's Longest Drive 