I have a shameful admission. My only ask, dear friends, is that when it’s done, please don’t think less of me.
I’ve proudly lived two-thirds of my life in New England (that 22-year exile to Minnesota notwithstanding) and I have to let you know that until last week I had never been to the Mount Washington Resort. Oh, I’ve sailed Lake Winnipesaukee, camped in Franconia Notch and skied Cannon Mountain.
But Mount Washington never made it to my bingo card. That means I’ve never played Donald Ross’s northernmost U.S. golf course, the Mount Washington Resort Course.
Until last week, that is.
Before we discuss whether it should be on your bingo card, let me say this. The golf course itself is considered one of the best public-access tracks in the Granite State. It’s a fun resort course with enough challenge to keep it interesting but without the usual dose of self-loathing Donald Ross courses tend to inflict (Don’t be above the damn hole. Ever). The hotel itself, the Omni Mount Washington Resort & Spa, is borderline spectacular. The setting, while not quite the Rockies, is a mountainous Heaven on Earth.
Is it, however, an appropriate “Buddy Trip” golf destination? That’s a little more difficult to answer but, by golly, we’re going to try.
What is the Omni Mount Washington Resort all about?
Nestled in Bretton Woods in the northern end of Crawford Notch, the Omni Mount Washington is a marvelous masterpiece of the Gilded Age. Opened in 1902, it’s an official National Historic Landmark and features all the modern amenities, attractions and luxuries you could want.
As a golf destination, however, it deserves an asterisk.
I don’t mean that in a negative way, however. The Donald Ross course at Mount Washington is about as fun of a course as you could play. It’s challenging without being punishing and playable without being vanilla. It’s not “Bucket List” worthy but if you’re in the Northeast and looking for a Buddy Trip destination, you could do worse.
Perhaps it best fits in a narrower window: the “Buddy Trip with Significant Others.” That, friends, is where it shines. First off, the Ross course (plus the nine-hole Mount Pleasant course) is perfect for couples. The five tee boxes range in length from 5,200 yards to just over 7,000, making it playable for the longest and shortest of hitters. Second, there is plenty for the non-golfers in the group to keep them engaged and occupied well beyond the stereotypical “spa treatments.” If you’re bored at Mount Washington, well, it might just be a “you” problem.
A classic from a different age
If you’re into history, you’ll love the Omni Mount Washington story. Coal magnate and New Hampshire native Joseph Stickney invested $1.7 million ($66 million today) to build his resort. At the grand opening in 1902, he reportedly greeted his first guests by saying, “Look at me, gentlemen, for I am the poor fool who built all this.”
Sadly, the “poor fool” died just one year later, leaving his wife Carolyn to take over. In an age when women didn’t do such things, Carolyn was a hands-on steward of the property and, by all accounts, The Boss. Under her guidance, the resort expanded to offer a variety of activities for its wealthy summer guests including tennis, squash, horseback riding and mountain recreation.
Known as “The Princess” after marrying a French aristocrat, Carolyn realized golf was becoming essential to luxury resort travel. The rising popularity of Pinehurst proved as much so she commissioned Donald Ross to build a golf course. By that time, Ross was already an in-demand, premier architect. Hiring him was a commitment to create a golf experience to rival other summer resorts in Newport, the Adirondacks, the Poconos and the Alleghenies.
The resort reached its historical apex in July 1944 when it hosted the Bretton Woods International Monetary Conference. More than 700 delegates from 44 allied nations gathered at Mount Washington to organize the post-WWII global economy. That meeting established the gold standard, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
(Editor’s note: If you do visit the resort, do not miss historian Jim Early’s walking tour. It might be the most interesting thing you do during your stay)
Enough history. What about the golf course?
The Mount Washington resort course is considered one of Ross’s more underrated works. It’s remarkably flat and walkable for a mountain course, and is considered an archetype for “resort-style” courses. It’s friendly without being a pushover and challenging without robbing you of your will to live. You can score well here but careless play can bring a string of double bogeys.
Signature holes include the par-3 fifth hole. It’s long-ish with a bunker that looks like it hugs the front of the green (it doesn’t), all against the magnificent backdrop of the hotel itself. The par-5 11th is the big photo op. The hotel looms in the background with a strategic landing area. If you’re aggressive, you can hug the left side and maybe catch the hill, but that’s typical Ross risk/reward. The second shot is also typical Ross. There’s a good-sized bunker on the right and plenty of fescue on the left. What looks like a generous landing area tightens up in a hurry, with Ross saying, “Go here, not there, or you will pay.”
The par-4 18th is a gem of a finisher. It’s less than driver off the tee with a daunting approach over the Ammonoosuc River. The green is harder to hit than it looks, with the clubhouse hovering right behind. Typical of Ross, it’s pitched sharply from back to front, so don’t be above the damn hole.
Ever.
The course underwent a major restoration in the early 2000s. Time and nature had taken their toll so the resort hired Brian Silva to return it to Ross’s original design. The updated course reopened in 2007 and has consistently ranked among the top five public-access courses in New Hampshire.
How does Mount Washington fit into a White Mountains golf trip?
The Mount Washington course isn’t a top-tier Ross design but it might be one of his most enjoyable to play. The views are unmatched. As mentioned, the hotel lurks like a giant white-and-red cruise ship in one direction while the Presidential mountain range, including Mount Washington, stands guard in the other.
If you’re planning a “Buddy Trip with Significant Others,” the Omni Mount Washington can serve as an excellent home base. When you’re not playing golf, the resort offers horse-drawn carriage rides, horseback trail riding, mountain hiking, rock climbing, zip lines, fly fishing, tennis and other activities. The historic cog railway can take you all the way to the top of Mount Washington, provided a 37-degree incline won’t freak you out. There are plenty of dining options at the resort and in the area.
For a fuller golf itinerary, Mount Washington assistant pro Braxton Brown recommends Waumbek Golf Club in nearby Jefferson, N.H. and Maplewood Golf Club, 20 minutes away in the town of Bethlehem. Both are also Donald Ross designs.
About 45 minutes south is Owl’s Nest in Thornton, N.H. It’s a more modern golf destination with better overall conditions but you’ll miss the old-school Ross charm. Go further south and you can add Lake Winnipesaukee and another Ross course, Laconia Country Club, to your itinerary. Other public-access tracks worth playing in that area include The Ridge at Castle Pines in Moultonborough and Lochmere Country Club in Tilton.
How much does it cost?
As you’d expect, the Omni Mount Washington isn’t low-end or even budget-priced. It’s a luxury resort and is priced as such. As a four-season destination, the area does offer plenty of less expensive hotels and motels.
The golf course itself uses “dynamic pricing” which, depending on your point of view, lets you choose the price you want or inflates the prices for preferred tee times. Either way, prices will float. For resort guests, prices fluctuate from $150 on weekdays to $210 on weekends. Non-resort guests will pay anywhere from $175 to $230.
By comparison, Waumbek and Maplewood generally run under $100. In that light, three rounds of Donald Ross golf in the White Mountains for under $450 sounds more digestible.
There is also a Mount Washington Unlimited Golf Package which includes resort accommodations and unlimited daily golf from arrival day through departure day. The package includes the Ross course and the surprisingly challenging nine-hole Mount Pleasant course which is also on-property. 2027 pricing has yet to be set.
As a four-season resort, the best time to go is now, right after Labor Day and before the last week of September. Summer is over and foliage season hasn’t started so pricing and availability will be better. The course is open until mid- to late October, and when the leaves do turn, the Presidential Range views promise to be unforgettable.
MyGolfSpy Experiences: Final verdict
Mount Washington definitely isn’t a “Bucket List” golf trip. It might qualify as a “Buddy Trip” destination for New Englanders looking for a North Country Donald Ross adventure. Its sweet spot, we feel, is in that “Buddy Trip/Significant Other” category. The golf is worth the trip and there are plenty of activities to keep the non-golfer entertained.
And for goodness sakes, you can’t beat the scenery.
We hope you enjoyed this trip into the White Mountains. While the Donald Ross course at the Omni Mount Washington Resort & Spa isn’t Ross’s greatest architectural statement, it’s still a very good Ross course. Its biggest accomplishment is that it aces the resort course test. It balances strategy, playability and challenge with scenery, hospitality and fun.
That, we believe, is that exact recipe The Princess was after when she hired Ross in the first place.
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