The Reserve Golf Course at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky Montana is one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world. Indeed, if you’re not a member or lucky enough to be a guest of one then the chances of playing the course are slim if not impossible. Of course, golf’s exclusivity is often a subject that divides opinion and there will be many in Missoula and Montana in general who take exception to how limited entrance is to the course.
That is a perfectly understandable viewpoint to have but then one must also look at the positives that this course will bring to the state of Montana as a whole should the PGA deem fit to add it to the yearly roster. Indeed, there is now a very good chance that the PGA Tour will come to Montana for the first time in its history which is hard to believe when you consider the size of the state but as mentioned, that could all be about to change.
The Match puts golf in Montana on the map
The potential decision to do so primarily comes down to how successful a certain exhibition match was during July 2021 and how much international coverage The Reserve Golf Course at Moonlight Basin received during the event. Of course, ‘The Match’ being referenced was between Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers, who took on Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady. DeChambeau and Rodgers would eventually beat Mickelson and Brady by a score of 3 and 2 in their matchplay shootout.
In reality, The Reserve Golf Course couldn’t have asked for more of a rockstar lineup to advertise what they have to offer given the global reach that superstars like DeChambeau and the recently retired NFL quarterback Brady have.
This pair in particular have captured the sporting public’s imagination in their respective codes which is why all eyes would have been on them in Montana. For instance, DeChambeau is in many ways the biggest talking point on the PGA Tour given how he has experimented with his Cobra golf clubs over the years which has paid remarkable dividends and ultimately improved his game by catapulting him into the top ten best players in the world, according to the latest official world golf rankings. Interestingly, the 28-year-old has been tipped, as of the 2nd of February, to win the Masters in April at odds of +1600 in the latest Betway online betting golf markets. What these odds suggest is that he will make it to the number one position in the world by the end of 2022 and in doing so, increase his global appeal even further.
Needless to say and as far as his debut appearance in Montana went, there would have been millions of his devout supporters following his journey to Moonlight Basin in 2021, as there would have been for his opponent Brady.
NFL’s GOAT brings viewers to the mountains
This is especially true when you consider that the NFL ratings are currently the highest they’ve been in six years. In other words, The Match came at a good time for Montana given how revered Brady is in the NFL and how many fans would have tuned in to watch him play golf. This was a man who after all, attracted a viewership of 96.4 million people for the playing of the 2021 Super Bowl final that he would end up winning with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take his official count to seven Super Bowl titles.
That would have only made the case for a regular PGA Tour event to be held in the state even stronger as the viewing figures for The Match would have piqued the interest of the tour’s governing body. Yes, a lot of those people would have tuned in because the face of the sporting giant Under Armour was playing but then you have to take into account the knock-on effect that the course benefits from with first-time golf watchers blown away by the sweeping vistas of Moonlight Basin. At the end of the day, it’s no secret that a breathtaking golf course maximizes any golf experience.