What Sun Valley Co. did with the Pavilion, the resort is aiming to do with golf as it opens the doors to its new golf and nordic clubhouse today.
The company is introducing an expansive, and clearly expensive, golf amenity just over a week after it began play on its new nine-hole White Clouds Course.
The Sun Valley Club, as it's officially called, is a 58,756-square-foot lodge on the southeast side of Trail Creek Road, just up the road from the old clubhouse.
In traditional Sun Valley Co. style, throngs of workers were still milling about the facility right up until its scheduled opening. Monday witnessed frenetic activity, as furnishings were screwed into place, brass railings were welded and the pro shop was stocked.
However, amid the bustle, it was impossible to get distracted from what has also become a Sun Valley trademark: beautifully appointed and spacious buildings. Included in the latest addition, along with the retail and rental shop, is a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, bar, locker rooms, indoor driving range and virtual golf.
As well, the second floor of the four-story building, designed by Ketchum-based architecture firm Ruscitto/Latham/Blanton, holds a large garage for a fleet of golf carts and separate storage for around 350 bags. A rental and storage area for Nordic skis is also on this level.
The bottom floor, which is underground, is currently being used for storage. However, Sun Valley Night Manager Rick Hickman, who gave a sneak peak of the clubhouse Monday, said the resort has possible grandiose plans for that space as well. Due to its high ceilings, Hickman said, the area could be turned into a health spa, including a lap pool.
Hickman said another potential addition to the property could be indoor tennis courts, which would be housed near the clubhouse in an inflatable, bubble-style facility.
Already constructed out the clubhouse's backdoor is what Hickman, a former golf pro at Sun Valley, called one of the best practice areas in the country.
The impeccably landscaped 12-acre driving range, which provides spectacular views of Bald Mountain, has a large enough tee area to accommodate both the public and those participating in the golf school. Adjacent to the range is an area for chipping, pitching and bunker practice, as well as a putting green. This latter skill can also be practiced on the 52,000-square-foot Sawtooth Putting Course, which features 18 undulating holes.
Those new features and the clubhouse have required changing the layout of the holes on the Sun Valley Golf Course.
Hickman said that beginning next season, golfers will be able to rotate between the White Clouds and Sun Valley courses for a round, whereas play is currently restricted to the respective courses. In addition, the resort is looking into constructing another nine-hole course farther north, on the bench that sits behind Trail Creek Cabin.
Breakfast will be served at the clubhouse from 7-11 a.m., and lunch from then until 3 p.m. In addition to being able to sit down and eat at the bar and restaurant, golfers will be able to order food and drink from an intercom at the ninth hole tee on the Sun Valley Golf Course and pick it up from the clubhouse, which is next to the green.
The clubhouse opens at 5:30 a.m. today, coinciding with the first day of the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament.
Sun Valley Co. Night Manager Rick Hickman offered a sneak peak of the resort’s new golf and Nordic clubhouse on Monday. Including the restaurant, shown here, the facility includes a pro shop, locker rooms, an indoor driving range, bar and expansive outdoor practice area. The Sun Valley Club opens today at 5:30 a.m.
Photo by David N. Seelig
