A group of old buddies. Dad along for the trip. A house in Bozeman. Three golf courses. Prime weather and the kind of Montana scenery that makes you understand why they call it Big Sky Country.
The last trip to Montana gave us pretty much everything we want from a golf trip.
We played Old Works, Big Sky and Bridger Creek. The courses were different, but the backdrop followed us everywhere—mountains, huge skies, wildlife and views that had a way of making you stop for a second before worrying about the next shot.
And for once, slow play wasn’t much of an issue.
Except when we had to let the deer play through.
That’s Montana.
The trip starts before the trip
Of course, getting there was only the visible part.
Before anyone boarded a flight, there were flights to compare. Transportation to coordinate. Houses to price and vote on. Sleeping arrangements to sort out. A meal plan for the house. Groceries. Restaurants. Tee times.
Then there’s choosing the golf itself.
Which courses make the list? What’s available? When does each course open its booking window? How do you approach a course where the best tee times aren’t available until a certain number of days out?
Flights, transportation and housing are really just the beginning.
After enough group trips, though, the process starts to feel like a well-tuned routine. You learn what needs to happen before the trip, what needs attention while you’re there, and what can simply be left alone.
Leave room between the rounds
We like a trip loaded with fun.
That doesn’t mean loading every hour of every day.
There’s a rhythm to a good golf trip. An early tee time can make sense one day. After a later night, a little more recovery time might make the next round better. A longer drive changes the equation. So can cost, dinner plans or what everyone wants to do away from the course.
The golf matters.
So does everything around it.
Dinner out. Food back at the house. A few hours with nowhere to be. The drive between courses. Whatever the group gets into that evening.
The fun between the fun.
Those parts don’t show up on a scorecard, but they’re often the stories everyone brings home.
And then there are the curveballs
Every group trip gets them.
Plans change. Availability moves. Something takes longer than expected. Somebody wants to adjust the plan.
Experience doesn’t mean curveballs stop coming.
It means you’ve seen enough pitches to recognize what’s headed your way.
You adjust. Find another option. Keep the group moving.
Handle it.
That’s part of what years of planning these trips has taught us.
Plan. Organize. Execute. Enjoy.
Group sizes change. Destinations change. Courses, houses, budgets and priorities change.
Our goal doesn’t:
Plan. Organize. Execute. Enjoy.
By the time it’s time to travel, most of the work should already be done.
Montana gave us great golf, mountain views, wildlife, time with old friends and another trip worth remembering.
Once we got there, our job was mostly to show up on time, enjoy it and pack enough golf balls.
And occasionally let the locals play through.
