By Ed Stone   

gogolfandtravel.com                          

In 1927, a date-palm caretaker for the Greenland Ranch, now called the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort, laid out three-holes of golf.  Little did he know he was building the lowest golf course in the World.  At 214 feet below sea level, it is unique, the undisputed lowest and is now a “must play” for avid golfers.  I know…you’re asking where is the highest?  The purported highest is the La Paz Golf Club in Bolivia, which is at an elevation of 10,800 ft.

By 1931 the course was expanded to nine holes and later to 18.  In 1997, Perry Dye, Pete’s oldest son, was hired to renovate and make some very strategic improvements.  

Now, the Furnace Creek Golf Course measures 6,236-yards from the blue tees (the tips) and offers a most challenging round for all levels of players.  I must warn you that due to greater gravity and barometric pressure your golf ball does not travel as far as you would normally hit it.  The course is fairly tight with tree-lined palms and tamarisks.  Water comes into play on nine of the holes.  Several fairways parallel each other allowing space for those not always hitting the middle of the fairway.   Most of the greens are small with some interesting undulations.

Recently, the course received certification in Environmental Planning from the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System  (ACSS), a program administered by Audubon International. The ACSS helps landowners preserve and enhance the environmental quality of their properties.
       
"The Furnace Creek Golf Course is home to a variety of wildlife, and we believe it is our

responsibility to maximize our ability to coexist with the wildlife and help preserve the natural environment," said Chris Bessette, superintendent of the Furnace Creek Golf Course.
  
In spite of its name, Death Valley is very much alive and is home to more than 1,000 plant species and 51 species of native mammals, 307 species of birds, 36 species of reptiles, three species of amphibians and five species and one subspecies of native fish.
       

As part of the Audubon International program, the golf course staff is involved.  They enhance wildlife habitat by placing nesting boxes for cavity-nesting birds, utilize integrated pest management techniques, conserve water and maintain food and cover for wildlife.  It is noteworthy that Xanterra, the owner of Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort, is a leader in the hospitality industry for environmental sensitivity.  They are the recipient of honors from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Travel Industry Association, Colorado Department of Public Health, State of Arizona and Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

The majority of the land where the golf course is built was once the alfalfa field providing feed for the mules hauling borax out of Death Valley to Mojave for processing.  Many of us remember the 1952-1970 television series, “Death Valley Days” hosted by The Old Ranger, Stanley Andrews (1952-64), Ronald Regan (1964-66), Robert Taylor (1966-68) and Dale Robertson (1968-70).  Ahhh yes, there were commercials with Rosemary DeCamp, the spokesperson for Twenty Mule Team Borax…and even talking boxes and cans of borax.

It was the Pacific Coast Borax Company who introduced tourism to Death Valley.  With the number of people coming in and out of the Valley for the mining operations, there was a need for respectable accommodations.  The company hired Albert C. Martin of Los Angles to design and create the mission-style structure so guests could enjoy a spectacular view of Death Valley.  On February 1, 1927 the Furnace Creek Inn opened with 12 guest rooms, a dining room and lobby area.  Back then, the rates were $10 per night and included meals.

During the next eight years, 54 more rooms were added.  In 1929 the resort began using the Travertine Springs for generating electricity and water for a new swimming pool.  Today, this

spring flows through the pool and is used to irrigate the Inn’s gardens.  This is one of those “comfortable elegant” places where you feel special.  Service is impeccable and the food is above outstanding.  Today, the Inn is a AAA Four-Diamond-rated hotel with most of the 66 rooms overlooking Death Valley.

The company also saw a need for another type of accommodations that is “closer to nature.”  Thus, the 224-room Furnace Creek Ranch was opened in 1933 for families and adventurers.  The Ranch is located within a mile of the Inn and adjacent to the golf course.  This self-contained resort offers two restaurants…excellent food and charming atmosphere, saloon…a great watering hole, general store…with most anything you would need while traveling or exploring Death Valley, and the Borax Museum…a “must visit/stop” for history, maps and information.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts own and operate the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort in Death

Valley.  The food and beverage service at the Inn and the Ranch are outstanding.  Chef Mic (Michelle Hanson) is to be commended not only on exquisite food preparation but also on presentation.  In all due respects, this facility is closer to a Five-Diamond than a four. 

The most popular man-made attractions in Death Valley is called the Death Valley Ranch or Scotty’s Castle.  The story behind this “must see” museum/home is quite interesting.

Walter Scott ran away from his Kentucky home in 1883 when he was 11 years old to become a cowboy in Nevada.  He learned all the tricks of the trade and at the age of 18, Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, touring Europe and the United States, recruited him.  After 12 years of touring, he decided to take up prospecting for gold.  He convinced several wealthy associates that he had a gold mine in Death Valley, agreeing to split the profits once the ore was extracted.  He was affectionately called “Scotty” for most of his life.

After leaving the Wild West Show, he returned to this Southeast California area…a place he was very attached to in his younger years of being a cowboy.  On a trip to New York City, Scotty met his wife Josephine, whom he called “Jack,” in a sweet shop and promised her a gold mine and beautiful home out west.  En route, they stopped off at a gold mine of one of Scotty’s friends.  

The friend gave “Jack” two large size nuggets.  These two gold nuggets would become an important entrée for Scotty in later years and the persuasion for building the largest manmade attraction in the Death Valley National Park.  However, his wife was not very happy living in such isolated environs.  She would give Scotty an ultimatum to either take her back to the “big city” or she would leave him in the desert.  Scotty stayed in the desert enduring temperatures up to 135 degrees.

Scotty attempted to secure financing to set up a gold mine in California and did so with several individuals.  Most of the deals went bust, but one became his fame and somewhat fortune.  Using the two gold nuggets given to his wife, he convinced these individuals he struck gold and they would be partners in his gold mine.  The first investor became wise to Scotty’s scheme, cut his losses and severed the relationship.  However, another investor, Albert Johnson became intrigued with Scotty’s stories and unusual character.  Johnson was a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in mining engineering and changed his career to insurance after severely injuring his back in a train accident.

For several years, Albert Johnson gave Scotty his loans and never ventured to see where the gold mines were in Death Valley.  Then, finely, Johnson decided to pay Scotty a visit in California.  They never saw a gold mine, but the dry air did help Johnson’s health and he enjoyed the friendship of Scotty.  Later Mrs. Johnson would visit and she too enjoyed the quiet location and climate…especially in the winters.

Albert and Bessie Johnson were very pious people and did not approve of Scotty’s wild behavior and shady antics.  They did enjoy his humor; story telling and even realized most of his stories, including business dealings were stretched more than they should believe.  Albert Johnson was once quoted as saying, “Scotty’s stories are my payment for the loans I have given him.”

One of Johnson’s largest investments during the early 1920’s was at the suggestion of Bessie and convincing of Scotty.  This was a 5,800 square foot Spanish-Mediterranean style home and a 6,700 square foot guesthouse with music room built on 1,600 acres at the Northeast corner of Death Valley.  Scotty only lived in the mansion the last two years of his life.  To the locals, Scotty told that he was building the two million dollar home with profits from his secret gold mines. When reporters questioned Johnson about the financing of the Castle, he agreed that Scotty owned the place, and stated that he was "Scotty's banker."

It took five years (1926-1931) to build the fortress touting the most modern of conveniences for its time.  Realizing the distance from civilization where this “castle” was located, there was an

electrical generator, air conditioning, refrigeration, solar heating, gas stoves, etc.  Mrs. Johnson was very religious and had her own music room in the Castle that was also used as a place to preach to the employees and surrounding neighbors…what few there were.  All employees were required to attend her church service each Sunday or not show up for work on Monday.  Many of the workers were local Native Americans and some skilled craftsmen from Spain, Italy and Los Angeles.

In 1930, President Herbert Hoover wrote an order to conserve two thousand acres of Death Valley and created a National Monument.   In 1931, construction was halted when Johnson discovered a surveying error.  He realized that the Castle was on federal land.  As the Great Depression was taking its toll, especially on the insurance business, construction was stopped.  The Castle stands today as it did in 1931, just as Johnson left it…incomplete. Thus, the mote in front of the castle was never finished even though the special ordered tiles are still in the basement ready for installing.  The mote was really a very large swimming pool.  But, to keep from paying a luxury tax, it was called a mote.

The U.S. Government later allowed the Johnson’s to purchase the house and land for $1.25 per acre.  Mrs. Johnson died in 1943.  She was thrown from an automobile near Townes Pass, some forty miles south of the Castle.  Mr. Johnson died in 1948.  Scotty died in 1954 and is buried on a hill overlooking the Castle.

Prior to his death, Johnson set up a foundation called the Gospel Foundation to which he willed the castle.  This foundation turned the Castle into a hotel and also conducted tours to help offset expenses.

In 1970, the National Park Service purchased the Castle and all lands from the Foundation for $850,000.  Federal law would not allow furnishings to be purchased.  So, the Foundation donated the furnishings in the Castle today.

Today, Scotty’s Castle (officially known as Death Valley Ranch) is one of the main attractions in the National Park.  Guides dressed in period costume from 1939 offer a one-hour tour of the castle 365 days a year.  It is open year round and attracts some 80,000 visitors per year. 

Center stage for any visit to Death Valley National Park is the Park itself.  The Park annually draws over 800,000 visitors and is the largest of the National Parks in the lower 48 states with 3.3 million acres.  The largest in the U.S. is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska (13.1 million acres).

There are miles and miles of roads to traverse and spectacular scenery in Death Valley National Park.  Hiking the many trails is where you learn to appreciate the colors, shapes, formations and unique typography of this unique Park.  Watching the sun rise or set at Zabriskie Point is like

none other.  Climbing through Golden Canyon is a bit treacherous, but easy for those in good shape for a two to three mile hike…in the mountains.  There’s Badwater, Artist Palate, Devil’s Golf Course and many other interesting places throughout the Valley.  Another attraction is the Harmony Borax Works Interpretive Trail.  Here is where one of the famous twenty mule team borax wagons is on display with excellent signage relating the story of how this product brought such fame and fortune to the area.  Also, the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center and Death Valley Museum are a “must see” to become oriented and educated about the area.  The National Park Service also operates this facility.  Here we found that the number one use of borax today is in making insulation for buildings…and, yes, the number four largest use is in soaps and cleaning agents.

Horseback riding is also offered at Furnace Creek Stables operated by Robin and Mark Berry.  They are located approximately one mile from the Inn and offer one-hour, two-hour, midnight and private rides as well as carriage rides.  What a perfect way to see the area just as the early settlers did.

America is blessed with some 56 National Parks.  Death Valley is one of those we would consider unique.  The stories of the 49’s trials and tribulations, the influence of borax to the area, the creation of the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort, the building of Scotty’s Castle and the many characters who conjure up stories about settling the area are all intriguing.  Thus, the reason to visit, play the lowest golf course in the world, relax and enjoy an area that is very much alive.

CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDE SHOW ON FURNACE CREEK GOLF COURSE, FURNACE CREEK INN & RANCH RESORT AND DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

For more information:
Furnace Creek Golf Course
Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort
Phone: 760-786-3373

Death Valley National Park
Reservations at in-park lodges
Phones:
Toll Free 1-888-297-2757
Or, 1-303-297-2757
Website: www.furnacecreekresort.com