A complex of yellow barns and an 18-hole course with a spectacular setting of mountains, birches, pines, oaks, and lakes, The Ranch is one course where risk and reward is very much a part of the game. From its very first hole, a 510-yard par 5, a golfer must consider cutting the corner over wetlands to even have a chance at reaching the green in two. Although not particularly long, it’s a thinking course; each hole offers up choices.

“I always stop and look back to see how the hole plays,” says head professional Hope Kelley who has been with The Ranch for six years. “Hole No. 17, a 195-yard par 3 over water, is one of our best short holes on the track, but it’s hard to pick just one as a favorite. They’re all interesting.”

Well-irrigated bentgrass from tee to green bordered by sweeps of high fescue, the Damian Pascuzzo-designed course rolls out over 340 acres of open meadows and woodlands, land once used as a dairy farm. Cut by creeks and a smattering of wetlands, this is one course you will want to play more than once.