
There’s no limbo music with this question and it may not refer to your lowest golf score, but Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California is the lowest golf course you can play in the whole wide world. At 213 feet below sea level, that is one foot greater than the 212-degree boiling point of water, and it is a hot spot literally and figuratively.

The next question is, with a name like Death Valley, who would want to go there? The reasons are many and sound. First, anyone checking off National Parks must visit Death Valley. President Hoover designated it a national monument in 1933, and Congress stamped its National Park status in 1944.

Photographers love the diverse topography in Death Valley for otherworldly landscape scenes. Ansel Adams made famous the 10-to-15-mile area of sand dunes while Artist Drive thrills amateurs and pros alike with a nine-mile loop of rainbow mineral deposits weaved into geological carpets and walls. Zabriskie Point is one of the most photographed spots in the universe and is our banner location on our website’s home page.

Badwater Basin is the lowest elevation at -282 feet and is a seascape of salt flats for miles until the Black Mountains climb up with the park’s highest elevation at Telescope Peak in the west at 11,049 feet. Look back across the road and upwards is Dante’s View at 5,475 feet. Reached by a long and winding road, when the sunset is timed there with a full moon rising, it is an inspirational event. Death Valley is an astronomer’s dream with the Dark Skies Festival in February selling out.

Near Badwater Basin is Devil’s Golf Course, not a playable course but a landmark name for the expanse of salty borax crystal trails. Balls placed in the crunchy holes, often the same size as golf balls, are not for swing shots but for more photo ops. Par count would be eternity.

The real Furnace Creek Golf Course is surprisingly lush. We first played it in 2013 and did not have a significant recollection of the layout or quality. We remembered taking our golf cart up a ramp to the drive through window that served the halfway and 19th refreshments and were a bit disappointed that it was removed but more delighted with the other food and beverage options as well as the renovated course, this time playing very memorable holes.
Shady Tamarisk trees line fairways bringing dramatic mountain vistas into focus. One of the largest aquifers in the United States remarkably furnishes abundant water for irrigation in one of the driest areas on earth. White roadrunners or coyote cutouts mark the 150-yard lines, and those live creatures are often seen as well. The 18-hole course is a par 70 which further begs the question, how low can you go?

Furnace Creek was created as a three-hole course in 1927 by the date palm caretaker, Murray Miller and expanded through the years as the first grass golf course in California’s desert region, with the help of William F. Bell in 1968, and a redesign by Perry Dye in 1997.

The Ranch at Death Valley has served hospitality since 1933, spawned by the Borax Company. This is where Ronald Reagan’s famed Death Valley Days show was filmed, where the 20-mule team ran for real, as well as in the Borax commercials. (If you are too young for this reference, check your favorite internet search engine). It is where Hollywood stars such as Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, Elvis and many more still today, like Goldie Hawn, Matt Damon and Diane Keaton, escape to hang out.

There’s a new sheriff, or at least a new owner, new GM and more new hires in this little, legendary, old west town. They join with long time employees, all passionate about their desert home, intent on enriching and renovating every aspect. Don Forehope grew up on the reservation here with his dad working the course and is now assistant superintendent. His favorite holes are 2 and 6 with the water, willows and coots.

Anschutz Corporation acquired the property as part of the Xanterra Travel Collection and has pumped in the million plus funding needed to enhance not only the course but the entire Oasis. Philip Anschutz built fortunes in oil, railroads, telecom, real estate and entertainment. Among Anschutz’s assets is Windstar Cruises and his western art collection is said to be one of the most comprehensive in the world. Much of that art now adorns the buildings at The Oasis at Death Valley. The Last Kind Words Saloon at The Ranch is filled with it – historic movie posters, wanted fliers, antique firearms and taxidermy animals. Libations and classical dishes accompany the museum works here, while The Ranch 1849 Restaurant holds more historic paintings for buffet diners to enjoy.

Stay in the upgraded Ranch Rooms along the course, or in the new cozy cottages on palm lined streets, magically lit by the moon, stars and lamps at night. Front porch seating facilitates relaxation and engagement with other guests. Behind a row of oleanders are the stables for riding the dusty trail. Bring your kerchief, hats and boots in season because horses go home during the hot months. There is something for everyone in the frontier town setting with shops, restaurants and an authentic ice cream parlor.

On the hill above, The Inn at Death Valley reopened in 2018, with classical renovations remaining true to the primary architecture. The Inn’s bedrooms have special amenities and balconies while the 11 Inn Casitas are sweet duplex bungalows for gathering with friends and families inside or out on the community grass with patios and ponds for reflecting and connecting.

A tour is a must to appreciate the history and modernism of the four diamond Inn at Death Valley, from the mine shaft tunnel to the tower, from the lobby to the Gold Room. Gazing out the 60-foot panoramic lobby window, you would swear the salt fields were a lake, a brilliant mirage and the ultimate deception for thirsty pioneers. You can’t help but conjure the wagon teams coming with sheer grief to reach the salt but then what elation to find the miraculous oasis sprung from the aquifers. An abundance of spring water streams naturally (2,400 GPM) from two local sources feeding into The Pool at The Inn which releases its waters through the Inn Gardens, then to The Ranch Pool, Furnace Creek Golf course, and eventually to the desert beyond. Both pools’ fresh water is 84 degrees year-round and turns over every 8 hours, chemical free, for a silky-smooth sensation. The Pool at the Ranch is spacious with plenty of chairs while the Inn Pool is more intimate with guest cabanas.

The Inn Gardens epitomize the Oasis effect at Death Valley. Terraced stone walkways lead by streams and trickling waterfalls with date and fan palms, flowers and shrubs. The quiet power of nature is restorative for a meditative or exercise trail.

The Inn Dining Room is an elegant affair with attentive staff ready to serve delectable meals accompanied by the finest libations and wine. Among The Inn’s characters, you might find Gary giving a groovy account of the “famous cats” who have visited, as he has done for 30 years. Lisa can help plan a “Till Death do you Part” wedding or other meeting. Her coach and Managing Director of Sales and Marketing, Randy Wilcott, brings hospitality know how from most recently, the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas. The Oasis has a winning team to ensure the best of times.

Beyond The Oasis at Death Valley, day trips include the various drives through the park, planned out at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. Or Scotty’s Castle is an hour away with limited guided tours on Sundays since it was closed due to severe damage from floodwaters in the storm of 2015. But soon the infrastructure will be ready for more visitors to learn about the charismatic, wild west storyteller who fell in love with Death Valley at rodeos where he was recruited for the Buffalo Bill show. Scotty spoofed rich Chicago mobsters into thinking he had a gold mine and even though he milked them for money, they became lifelong friends. The Spanish style mansion was built in the 1920s for the rich and famous to stay. Inside, the self-playing organ is also being refurnished to again blast music in a sound room to beat any band.

Now that you know why to go to Death Valley, the final question is, how do you get there? Catch one of the zillion flights into Las Vegas and drive or limo two hours through the beautiful vast desert. Or fly your charter plane directly into the small Death Valley airport.

Beware, if you try wandering there in the summer and run out of water, you may very well perish in the inferno. However, in the fall through spring, The Oasis at Death Valley is a fine, adventurous place to flourish. Yea though we walked through the valley of death, we look forward to returning for golf and more. For a limited time, book any room at the Inn or stay in one of The Ranch’s new cottages and get a free round of golf to see how low you can go. www.oasisatdeathvalley.com