Stock Farm - Montana - USA

Situated in the visually spectacular Bitterroot Valley, Stock Farm Club opened in 1999, offering its members a dizzying array of outdoor leisure pursuits that range from hiking to hunting, tennis to trekking, canoeing to cross country skiing. There’s also an equestrian centre and a captivating Tom Fazio 18-hole design which forms the centerpiece of an upmarket residential development.

Unlike a lot of courses that take a little while to get going, Stock Farm hits the ground running right from the start, with four really solid opening par four holes. The 356-yard 3rd, in particular, is a stunning hole built along a ridgeline where the tee shot has to carry a ravine onto a fairway that doglegs left towards an infinity green.

The par five 8th is another memorable hole on the front nine, with water flanking the left of the fairway as it veers left towards a three-tiered putting surface – and there’s a nasty nest of bunkers on the opposite side of fairway for those who play it too safe when trying to avoid the aquatic challenge down the left.