Our next stop on our golf journey is the Jawbone Creek Golf Course in Harlowton, MT.
That’s a unique name for the course. The story I heard was that the developer of the short-lived Jawbone Railroad was good at flapping his jaws but not that great on paying his bills. He may not have left a great legacy but he sure left an interesting story!
The Jawbone Creek Golf Course is 9 holes. We were the first ones to tee off so it felt like we had the course to ourselves. There were several other groups that appeared in about a half hour though so this course was getting some week-day play from the locals.
This photo shows one of our group teeing off and you can see a water hazard and behind that is an old cemetary enclosed by a white fence.
The Jawbone Creek Golf Course is the only one in the region, perhaps the world, that encloses a cemetary. I was kind of curious to know how many golf balls end up in the cemetary each season but I didn’t ask.
It was a beautiful crisp fall morning when we started out but after two or three holes of golf the sun was stronger and jackets came off. An amazing note, Harlowton has a nearby wind farm so I always expect the wind to blow when I’m there. During our golf game it was very calm.
Local golfer Loren Haarr played the course with us so, in addition to finding out information about the course, we also learned about the community.
If you drive through downtown Harlowton you’ll see the “E57B”, an electric train engine proudly displayed on one nicely landscaped corner.
Harlowton was the end of the line for the electric rail line that ran from Miles City, MT (the eastern edge of Montana) to Harlowton in central Montana. There is no passenger rail service now but the history of the electric line is preserved here.
Back to golfing – I had read where the Jawbone Creek’s bunkers were log-faced and I finally got to see that.
One of the bunkers is named The Devil’s Dungeon so I imagine more than a few golfers have spent some time trying to chip out of that.
Our golf group loved this course.
The Jawbone Creek Golf Course was challenging and it was in great shape.
Central Montana had more than it’s share of moisture this summer and that created problems for many businesses. It was a plus for the golf course though and even Loren commented that the course had never looked better.
More to come about the Jawbone Creek Golf Course and Harlowton.