The Martis Camp Golf Course was named No. 3 on the Top 10 Best New Private Golf Courses list by Golf Digest magazine. The ranking is featured in the January 2010 issue.
This list marks the 27th anniversary of Golf Digest’s annual ranking of America’s Best New Courses. More than 900 panelists evaluate candidate courses on five criteria: shot values, design variety, resistance to scoring, memorability and aesthetics.
Martis Camp’s 18-hole championship golf course was designed by Tom Fazio and opened for play in June of 2008. Measuring 7,707 yards from the medal tees and 6,616 yards from the member tees, the Tom Fazio golf experience at Martis Camp blends thoughtful design with the dramatic topography of the High Sierra and the magnificent landscape of the Martis Valley. The front-nine takes advantage of awe-inspiring mountain views, while the next seven holes crisscross Martis Creek and wind through the valley floor. Then, in perfect crescendo, the finishing holes are framed by mountain vistas, concluding in dramatic fashion as the 18th green sits in the shadow of a seventy-foot rock promontory upon which the majestic Camp Lodge is being built.
Fazio has designed more than 200 courses throughout the world. “I was really awe-struck by the views and topography of the land at Martis Camp, so I wanted to naturally compliment what was already there,” Fazio said. “It’s certainly an honor to have our work recognized by an industry institution like Golf Digest. When we set out to design a golf course, we do so with the intent of being rewarded by the positive testimony from the golfers who play the course day in and day out. The terrain and surrounding views of the Martis Valley gave us so many possibilities. I believe we delivered a course to the Martis Camp members that will deliver a superior golf experience and take its place with the renowned courses of the Western U.S.”
And, the word is catching on about what a great course it is. Organizers of the Pacific Coast Amateur just announced that Martis Camp is the site of the 2011 Pacific Coast Amateur. This is one of the premiere championships in the world of amateur golf. The inaugural event was played at the Seattle Golf Club in Seattle, Wash., in 1967. Since that time, some of the finest clubs in North America have hosted the event, including Pebble Beach Golf Links, Los Angeles Country Club, Olympic Club, Sahalee Country Club, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Forest Highlands Golf Club (also developed by Highlands Management Group, the developers of Martis Camp.)