Just a hop, skip and a few nine irons from the Canadian border, Jay Peak is proving that it’s much more than a sensational ski resort.
Turns out the golf at the course, in its fifth year of operation, is spectacular, too.
Golfers are finding out that the Jay Peak Championship golf course, a Graham Cooke design, is a thing of beauty.
Both playable and enjoyable, Jay Peak, in a fully wooded area, stretches out to 7,000 yards from the tips, with five sets of teeblocks. The course also offers its challenges (from the back, the rating is 73.1, with a slope of 138).
“We’re a mountain course, but we’re different than many others,” says Jay Peak’s GM of Golf Operations Jaime Stenger. “Often, you’ll see a lot of blind shots around corners, you get that target type of golf. (Our course) is straightforward. And only two holes are side by side.”
A walk along the course is serene, yet exhilarating. There’s plenty of wildlife as the course winds through brooks and streams, with a backdrop that’s breathtaking.
“On No. 7, it’s a slight dogleg right and when you come around the dogleg, suddenly you’re looking right at the mountains. It’s beautiful,” says Stenger.
So what’s the signature hole?
“Everybody asks that question. But, really, every hole is unique. It’s hard to pick one,” says Stenger. “Treeline to treeline, the course is very playable.
Much of the golf course’s business – 65-70 per cent of it – comes from Canada.
“We’re (eight kms) from the Canadian border,” says Stenger. “There are a quarter of a million people within 40 minutes.”
To see the course is to love it.
“To this day, 80-90 per cent (of our business) are first-time golfers here. And they’re just blown away,” says Stenger. “We’ve got the three main ingredients here: Incredible scenery, a grounds crew that’s second to none and the course is challenging.”
Jay Peak is fast building its reputation as a place to go for great golf.
“From a ski aspect, we’re very well known,” says Stenger. “We are known as a skier’s mountain where the hardcore skiers come. “Similar to that, it’s a course true golfers will enjoy. It’s not just, ‘hey, we made a golf course, come and golf,’ this is a true golfer’s paradise.”
Golf packages, including golf and accommodation, start at $99 per day (early and late in the golf season).
A 60-suite hotel opened in December (there are also 300 condos and townhouses on the mountain). Another 120-suite hotel will open in February, 2012 (attached will be a 35,000 sq-ft waterpark). A 13,000 sq-ft clubhouse (with a full-service restaurant) will open at the golf course in June. And an NHL-sized arena, with seating for 500, is also opening this spring.
On site, you’ll find a delicious Vermont-keyed menu, with plenty of locally grown foods, served up at Alice’s Table. And if you want to sip on a beverage or two, The Tower Bar is the place for you.
There’s no question Jay Peak has plenty of reasons for you to visit — year round.
For more info, check out jaypeakresort.com

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