50 Words or Less
The Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley is one of the most unusual golf courses you’ll find. Demands accuracy off the tee and into the greens. Thick rough and slower greens allow for bold short game play.
Introduction
With almost 16,000 golf courses in this country, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. The Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley does not have that problem. As the name implies, this course is located inside the largest national park in the contiguous United States. It’s also the lowest elevation golf course in the world at 214 feet below sea level. Matt Meeker and I trekked to California to see if we could survive a round in this extreme environment.
Practice Facilities
The Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley has a small putting green and no driving range. The climate should take care of getting your body warm, but it would be good to be able to hit some shots given the premium this course places on accuracy. Do make sure to stop by the putting green to get used to giving your putts some extra oomph.
Customer Service & Amenities
The Furnace Creek Golf Course is part of The Oasis at Death Valley. The complex includes two hotels – The Ranch and The Inn – as well as numerous restaurants and amenities. This is a marvelous destination, especially for those that love nature. For an in-depth look at the resort, check out Matt Meeker’s feature HERE.
At the course, you’ll find the Wild Rose Golf Shop and Wild Rose Tavern. In the golf shop, you’ll find everything from hats, gloves, and shirts to water bottles and cigar cases. Much of the merch features a skeleton golfer and the phrase “Lowest Round of My Life.” It’s tough to leave without a couple items.
Throughout the resort, the staff is extremely helpful and enthusiastic about the property. There’s an obvious sense of pride about this place that every employee shares.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the pace of play at Furnace Creek is impeccable. If you like to play quickly – and the heat can make that a very fine idea – you’ll love this course.
Exclusive offer: Book your stay at the cottages at The Ranch or at The Inn by December 31, 2024 and travel by March 31, 2025 to receive a free round of golf and Oasis golf towel simply by showing them this article at check in.
Beauty & Scenery
Being located inside Death Valley National Park, you’d expect Furnace Creek Golf Course to be your prototypical desert course. It’s not. To start, it’s remarkably green. There are numerous spots on the course where you could completely forget that you’re in the desert thanks to the Tamarisk or Salt Cedar trees. This beautiful, invasive species lines several holes, sometimes impinging on your views from the tee box, if you’re playing the tips.
What brings you back to the reality of your environment are the mountains that background almost every shot. They’re near enough that you can see the incredible details of each peak. The mountains’ browns and oranges contrast beautifully with the azure sky and lush course to create unforgettable images.
Finally, Death Valley is home to loads of wildlife, some of which ends up on the golf course. During our round, we were observed by a young coyote. We were informed that the older coyotes generally steer clear of golfers, but the younger ones will get curious and occasionally steal a golf ball.
Tee Shots
Furnace Creek Golf Course tips out at 6,236 yards, but it’s not nearly as short as that number indicates. First, it’s a par 70, so you can bump that number up 300 yards or so. Second, at 214 feet below sea level, it’s the world’s lowest golf course. Just as playing at high elevation adds distance to your shots, playing at low elevation cuts your distance down. Unless you’re an extremely long hitter, this course will give you all you need.
The other thing that makes Furnace Creek Golf Course tough is that it’s quite narrow. By my ratings, it has four fairways that are below average in width and just one that’s slightly above average. Moreover, of the 28 fairway sides, eleven are unplayable shortly off the fairway and twelve have substantial trouble. If you’re not hitting the ball very straight, you can be in for a long afternoon.
Two things that work in the golfers favor are the minimal movement of the fairways and the thicker grass on and off. There are only two significant doglegs on the course – most holes play straight away. Within the fairways, the undulations are minimal, leaving accurate drives where they belong. Both the fairways and rough are thicker than average, which does hurt your distance, but it also keeps your stray shots from running further into trouble.
Approaches
There is a substantial edge given to players who keep their drives in the fairways of the Furnace Creek Golf Course. The thick, fluffy grass almost tees up your ball for your approach. In contrast, the thick rough wants to swallow it up. The rough isn’t so long or sticky that you can’t play an approach shot, but it will cost you some distance and control on your approach. On or off the fairway, you will have almost exclusively flat lies and stances.
While Furnace Creek doesn’t have dramatic elevation, the thick grass necessitates an aerial approach to the greens. A low, running shot is only going to get one or two strong bounces before the grass gobbles it up.
The same thing that makes the tee shots tough gives the approach shots their difficulty: the size of the target. The greens at Furnace Creek Golf Course are never more than average in size, and some are substantially smaller. You need to have strong control of your distance and direction to rack up greens in regulation here.
Greens & Surrounds
With minimal natural elevation, the surrounds at Furnace Creek Golf Course are subtle. Gentle mounds and swales can add a little challenge to your pitches and chips, but you’ll never be dramatically off balance. Additionally, there are just a few bunkers. The ones that exist are fairly deep, so skittish sand players would do well to avoid them.
The primary challenge in the surrounds is the rough. That same thick, heavy grass that will stunt your drives grows all the way up to the edges of the greens, hoping to add stress to your short game. Its not sticky enough to grab your club, but you do need to be prepared for a variety of lies.
What makes the short game at Furnace Creek Golf Course less stressful is the speed of the greens. These are some of the slower greens I’ve played – a necessary compromise with the brutal environment. Because the greens are slower, you can pitch, chip, and putt boldly. The green speeds are consistent around the course, and the ball generally rolls smoothly. Though there isn’t any extreme undulation on the greens, we found a lot more break than the speed led us to expect.
Overall Design
Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley manages to balance playability for the recreational golfer with plenty of challenge for those more skilled. Because there aren’t too many hazards and the length is reasonable, even a high handicapper can get around the course without too much frustration. That said, you need to have strong control of your ball striking to score well. Players whose ambition and ego outpace their talent can pile up penalty strokes for lost balls.
The other thing I appreciate about the design of Furnace Creek is the way that it balances length with green size and difficulty. On the longer holes, the course gives you larger, more gentle greens. The drivable par 4s, however, have greens the size of dinner tables to provide a balance of difficulty.
Favorite Holes
#2 – Par 3 – 178 Yards
Arguably the prettiest hole on the course, this mid-length par 3 is also one of the most penal. Water runs up almost the entire left side of this hole, and the left side of the green is steeply banked toward the hazard. Play your tee shot to the right center of the green, and enjoy one of the most undulating putting surfaces.
#17 – Par 4 – 310 Yards
On a course that’s largely straight, this curvy short par 4 really stands out. Off the tee, one of the course’s few fairway bunkers wants to push you to the left side of the hole. Don’t let it. Gather your strength and bomb your drive straight over the trap. If you play up the left, your approach will be blocked by a pair of trees short of the green. Bold shots to the right – even those in the rough – will leave a short wedge to a tiny green.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a unique golf experience, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything better than Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley. The harsh yet beautiful environment is unforgettable, and the course offers up plenty of opportunities for memorable shots.
Visit Furnace Creek Golf Course at Death Valley HERE
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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4 Comments
Hi Matt –
I just played there a couple weeks ago. Really enjoyed it, even the coyote. The course was challenging and in great condition, especially given its location, and the Inn is top shelf!
Best, Eric (Chicago NW Suburbs)
I live about an hour or so from Fyrnace Crrek. It is one of my favorite gourses. Your review was spot on. Anyone who has not played there should if they get the chance.
Played this course with a buddy 3x in 2022. Wasn’t quite as romantic an experience as you guys luckily had but we were grateful to be able to play golf during our week at Death Valley. I even aced #14, so that was nice. We weren’t fully prepared for the costs of the area, so a heads up to visitors – this was the place in the news where the most expensive gas in the country was ($9.99/ga for regular). That said, despite my skepticism about spending a week here, it turned out to be a really fun place to visit. Glad we went.
Heading to Utah in summer 2025, appreciate that the heat will be brutal in summer. How does the course look/play in July or is it just too hot to play.