Golfing in Stowe, Vermont - The Stowe Mountain Club and Stowe Country Club

- Standing at the Stowe Mountain Club first tee I was intimidated. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. The fairway landing area lay nearly 200 yards away, beyond a healthy swath of thick wetlands and up a steep hill.

"The front tees are our landing area," I quipped to my playing mates.

It was almost true.

While the trepidation never really left me, by the third hole it had become mixed with awe due to the extraordinary scenery. Like the name would suggest, the Stowe Mountain Club is surrounded by mountains; in fact the course is actually carved into a mountainside.

It's definitely one beautiful place to play golf.

Stowe, Vermont

Stowe has a long and storied history as a ski destination, particularly for those who like a challenge. The steep and nasty "front four" trails, famed in the ski world, helped to create that reputation when they were first cut in the 1930s.

The town's white church steeple set against snow-covered, ski run-striped mountains quickly became an iconic image of Vermont, and of the idea that Stowe was the place to play in winter.

Storied hostelries elevated the town into a snow-sliders' Mecca, first with welcoming B&Bs, and soon after with more upscale installations. Restaurants of all stripes followed, along with activities ranging from tennis and hiking to horseback riding and autumn leaf peeping, making the little town into an irresistible four-season lure by the 1970s.

The Stowe Mountain Lodge

Stowe's development has always exuded an upscale ambiance. Now that growth has been royally capped by the ski resort's Spruce Peak Base, and especially by the opening of the Stowe Mountain Lodge.

To play the Stowe Mountain Club you must overnight at Stowe Mountain Lodge. Not that such a fate can be construed as punishment. Opened in autumn 2008, the Lodge's goal was to be five-star all the way: rooms, dining, service, amenities.

The goal has been achieved. It's evidenced by accouterments like elegant marble flooring throughout; bamboo fabric bedding with anti-bacterial properties and kitchens in all rooms; a fitness room outfitted with the same equipment used in the Beijing Olympic village; a 16-treatment-room, full-service spa; fine dining and a snug pub; and concierge service that covers every base, from pre-stocking your fridge to pre-booking tee-times, storing golf bags, and arranging pre and post-visit club shipping.

Yes, this is a very comfortable and pleasant place in which to be spoiled rotten.

The Stowe Mountain Club

The golf course will not spoil you rotten, however.

Well, it will spoil your optic nerve by revealing stupendous views in all directions.

But otherwise, the course challenges you to be: long but accurate; strong but smart; firm but gentle.

This is a mountain course in the truest sense. I've not played a course with such elevation gains and losses. Take Number 7—from the white tees a 140 yard, par-3. The elevation drop must be at least 120 feet. The cart path snakes down to the green like a back-country hiking trail.

An Audubon Sanctuary, the forest, wetlands, a small lake and rocky outcroppings beyond the fairways yield little forgiveness. It's rife with side-hill lies and blind shots.

On Number 6 for example, you're hitting a 175-200 yard carry drastically uphill over a deep ravine, followed by a second shot that not only continues uphill, but must skirt a right-hand dogleg to a hidden green.

Indeed, the by-word for our round quickly became "Nice shot—depending what's down/over there."

The first-timer here must carry a yardage guide or golf GPS device. But it might be better to have a topographical map instead.

However, the overt challenges are continually tempered by those magnificent Green Mountains views, and a course that's as meticulously maintained as your compulsive Aunt Fanny's living room. You're going to have fun playing here, no matter your score.

The Stowe Country Club

It's a bit easier to have fun and score well at the Stowe Country Club. Set halfway between town and the ski facilities, the Club covers much lower ground, and therefore presents more level challenges.

Yes, it's still a mountain course, so you still go up and downhill at times. But, here the gradient changes are more reasonable, the fairways wider, and lost-ball count lower.

The initial holes can be puzzling. In the first six they vacillate between par-5s (three of them) and par-3s (two of those); thus presenting long and short tests very early in the round. Once past the sixth hole things settle down into a nice mix of distances, with the occasional hidden stream tossed in to force intelligent shot-making.

Playing the Country Club after the Mountain Club has the feel of having swung a weighted baseball bat before taking up a regular one: everything feels lighter and more approachable.

When combined, the Stowe Mountian Club and Stowe Country Club are a perfect compliment to each other, and Stowe's two courses offer the game's full adventure.