ROCK CREEK CATTLE COMPANY

RUNDOWN:  Welcome to the number one course in Montana! This place truly does earn its spot atop the Golf Digest list of "Best Courses in Montana." You will not leave this place feeling let down at all. You will be engaged from the time you enter the property until the time you leave. We have a hard time coming up with many courses that are as impressive as RCCC. The course seamlessly blends into the landscape. There is not a weak hole on the entire property. In fact you may leave each hole thinking it has been your favorite yet. It won't be until after the round that you will pick out a favorite hole. Tom Doak does a masterful job of keeping you fully engaged the entire round. The course can play tough but there is plenty of room off the tee and if you hit your spots on approach then you can score well. There is plenty of trouble out there of course, but you will not leave thinking there was anything unfair out there. All in all you will need to prep yourself to boot your favorite course off you own list, this place really is that good!
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COURSE INFO AND DIRECTIONS​
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Designed by Tom Doak in 2008. 
Private Golf Course.
Golf Digest's # 1 course in Montana. 
Golf Digest's # 56 course on the 100 Greatest List for 2023-'24.
5 sets of tees ranging from 4,494 to 7,486 yards

https://www.rockcreekcattlecompany.com/

(406) 846-3474 105 Pauly Drive Deer Lodge, Montana 59722

Hole 4 Par 4 - 457 Yards - "Unforgiven"

This is not the first hole that will make you think, "this place is special", but it sure as hell will help you see why it is. 457 yards from the tips and it plays uphill the entire way. Get your big boy pants on because you can't pull up here and be timid in any way. This is a fantastic par 4 that requires some shot making to walk away with a par. There is plenty of room off the tee even though it looks a little smaller due to some of the slopes. Give it your all if you want to have an iron into the putting surface. Finding the fairway will leave you an uphill lie that will naturally bring in a higher ball flight. Plan for the uphill and don't be afraid to take an extra club here. This is no place to let the ego come into play, since you most likely don't hit it nearly as far as you tell your wife you do. Left of the green is much better than right as a large slope will help push your ball back to the putting surface. These greens are unreal good and if you can hit your lines, the ball will definitely hold it. Walking away with a par here will feel like you walked away with birdie.

Hole 6 Par 4 - 443 Yards - "Bad Man's Bluff"

Tom Doak seems to be a master at making you feel like there is not much of a landing area off the tee. Our host assured us multiple times out here that there is quite a bit more room than what we could see. I chose to test that advice a little here and slapped it out to the right on a line I thought for sure was trouble. I was surprised to find it barely off the green grass and in a spot I could still hit my approach. Kev decided to hit almost every fairway out here on this visit. I don't think he missed the middle of the driver face the entire time, how boring! But it was actually quite impressive to watch his drive sail through the thin mountain air on nearly every drive. The approach shot is the toughest part of this hole though. There is a large false front ready to reject any approach that comes up a little short. There is a tough bunker guarding the front right of the green and the miss left falls off to a tight chipping area. You really do need your "A" game here on your approach. 

Hole 7 Par 4 - 486 Yards - "Magnificent Seven"

Bunkers tend to be visually impressive, especially on a course such as this. The bunkering at RCCC is visually appealing, as long as your view is not from inside one. However, you won't need to worry about that here since there is not a single bunker on the seventh hole. Nothing about this hole is less visually appealing though. From the tee there is a large rock in the center of the fairway that acts as your aiming point to this blind fairway. There is a ton of room to the right, but hitting it left of the rock will generally not work in your favor. Smash your drive over the rock or to the right of it and you should roll down the large hill in the middle of the fairway. The green is protected by some of the native areas, so don't sleep on the approach or you could wind up with a double bogey from 100 yards out....Kevin. This is just one of those holes that sticks out in your mind after the round. We love this one!

Hole 8 Par 3 - 193 Yards - "Rio Lobo"

Here is your first taste of a par 3 and you need to take it all in, as it is one of the best out here. The snack shack to the left of the green might be tempting, but just hold on for a second and enjoy what is in front of you. Playing through the tees and over Rock Creek, this middle length par 3 is about as good as it gets. We played a tee up from the back while we were here. Our host told us the play was over the middle part of the bunker on the left side of the green. He said everything kicks hard right and will provide the best play to a back right hole position (it was the pin position the following day from when these videos were taken). It's one thing to tell us where to hit the ball, but then he goes and steps up and executes the exact shot he said to hit. Without the visual it would have been hard to trust that line, but it did exactly what he said it would. We both stepped up and hit the same shots and all three of us looked like pros. That was the case until we started putting. Kevin 3 putted after a piece of sand got in between the putter face and the ball and completely killed the speed. I missed a straightforward 10 foot putt by pushing it and hitting it at least a foot short. We could quickly forget our mistakes because the snack shack was now in view.

Hole 10 Par 5 - 632 Yards - "High Noon"

Welcome to the highest point on the course. You might need a minute to catch your breath before smashing one down this fairway. Once you gather yourself the tee up the big stick and see if you can pummel a drive over the mountains out there! Since you surely over estimated your length off the tee, just avoid the bunkers on the left side here. Once again there is a bunch of room to the right that you can't see from the box. The farther right you go the more you have to take on the danger lurking for your approach shot. Keep it right off the box and keep it left on approach. If you are trying to go for it in two then hug that left side and it will help push your shot to the right. Right is danger and will most likely result in a lost ball and an inflated score. If you want to tell your buddies about your low round, then you might just want to play it safe here. 

Hole 12 Par 3 - 175 Yards - "The Good" & Hole 13 Par 3 - 265 Yards - "The Bad"

Back-to-back par 3's are not all too common out on the golf course. However, if you can think of others you have played, then they are probably memorable. These two one shot holes are no different. They play completely different from each other and will test you in different ways. The 12th hole plays downhill to a very protected green. Don't be a sissy here or you will pay the price in the bunkers short of the green. Pull the extra club but don't be long either as another bunker awaits and will wreck havoc on your scores. This hole provides a better scoring opportunity, if you want to call it that. So pick the proper club and don't fat it into the bunker!
The 13th hole is a beast of a par 3. Any par 3 that requires you to think of pulling driver if the wind is up, is scary in our mind. You need to make sure that you hit it far enough to cross over the deep cut where the road is. Once you pass that then you have quite a bit of room to come up short here. Long and left is real bad as you fall off the mountain from there. I decided to chunk the ever loving crap out of my tee ball, but still made sure I cleared the junk. Kev hit his right up by the green. We both proceeded to almost jar our shots in and walked away with a par. That is a win in our book for sure. These holes will test you, but they stand out as one of the better back-to-back par 3's out there.

Hole 15 Par 4 - 352 Yards - "Shootout At The OK Corral"

Now you are speaking our language here! A drivable par 4 always brings out the driver for us. They call it drivable because you can drive the green, not because you will. 95% of the time we don't actually drive it, but 100% of the time we are going at it with all we got! You can run your drive right up the middle between the bunkers or, if you can carry them, place your drive over the bunkers on the left side. Either line doesn't leave much room for error as there are multiple bunkers that are waiting to snatch up your drive. Kevin would have driven it on but it faded slightly and he got to enjoy one of the bunkers on the right of the green. I gave it my all but came up short but in the center of the fairway. The green has a lot of contouring that can help or hurt your approach shot. If you wimped out on the tee and hit an iron, then you have the ability to hit into some of the areas of the green. If you went for it then chipping around the green can be tough depending on the pin position. Use the contours to your advantage though and birdie is very attainable here. 

Hole 16 Par 4 - 467 Yards - "Big Jake"

This hole may be my favorite par 4 on the course. The way it sits on the side hill with the large pines lining the entirety of the hole just looks visually impressive. The hole is far from easy but it's actually a very enjoyable test out here. The fairway is wide once again, giving you confidence that you can step up and smack your drive. Everything falls to the right the entire from tee to green. Hugging the left side brings into play some tough bunkers, but shortening this hole on that line doesn't necessarily make it easier. The shot into the green from the right will play more uphill but you can play into that slope a little more if it suits your shot shape. Avoid the smaller bunker in the middle of the fairway though as that will definitely spell trouble. The left side of the green is where you want to play your approach as it will fall towards the putting surface. Right brings about trouble with some deep bunkers. Strike the ball well and you can be rewarded, mess up and this hole will bite you! All-in-all it's a solid par 4 that really sticks out as you replay your round in the clubhouse.