When most people dream of having the most effortless and luxurious mountain vacation, they are probably wishing that they were a part of the Talisker Club community. This exclusive Park City club consists of a world class golf resort named Tuhaye, private on mountain lodges at Deer Valley, along with many other exclusive 4-season amenities in the surrounding areas. Talisker is designed to give its members the best of what Park City has to offer, wrapped in luxury and exclusivity.

Casey and I were lucky enough to be invited to spend a day experiencing the Talisker lifestyle at their Tuhaye golf club. We would tour their fabulous clubhouses, dine at the Tuhaye Table Cafe, and play 18 holes on the Mark O’Mera designed Tuhaye golf course. We knew this was a fantastic opportunity and a rare glimpse into this exclusive club; a chance to experience life a few levels above our normal routine.

The first thing you notice on the way to Tuhaye are the spectacular views. I’ve lived in the mountains for quite a few years now, but the views on the drive up to Tuhaye will impress anyone. Located on the backside of the Jordanelle Reservoir, the property has commanding views of the Wasatch Back, with Deer Valley front and center.

Upon arriving at the main entrance, we were greeted by a VERY enthusiastic Talisker employee as he made his way out of the guard building at the gate. With a straight face and as enthusiastically as humanly possible, he nearly shouted, “WELCOME TO THE GREATEST LAND IN ALL OF AMERICA!”. At first we thought he was messing with us, and we all cracked up inside the car. Then we realized he was serious as he continued his welcome speech, “IT’S A GREAT DAY FOR GOLF! OH, YOU ARE DINING WITH US TODAY?! WELL, WE HAVE SOME OF THE FINEST FOOD IN ALL THE LAAAND!” I have never been greeted with such gusto and enthusiasm in all my life. I was really taken aback. Apparently he was very happy to see us and loves his job very much. I guess if you are going to do something for a living, you might as well give it everything you’ve got. Moving on…

Since we had over an hour before our scheduled tee time, we decided to check out the clubhouses and grab some lunch at the Tuhaye Table Cafe. As you would expect, the main clubhouse left nothing to be desired with high-end finishes everywhere we looked. Even the bathrooms and locker rooms were spectacular, with a flat-screen TV lounge in the men’s bathroom and free wine samples in the ladies locker room. The main clubhouse also features a spa, workout facilities, and a large outdoor pool area complete with a water slide. Impressive.

Since it was late fall, the club was practically empty. In fact, we had the entire Table Cafe to ourselves during our leisurely one-and-a-half hour lunch. This made for excellent service from the staff, and we had the sole attention of the chef. We each ordered sandwiches off the lunch menu, which contained a nice variety of creative choices. However, when our waitress brought out a spinach and artichoke dip appetizer that we didn’t order, we knew we were in for a treat.

Chefs tend to get creative (and generous) when they are bored from a lack of customers, and this is the situation we found ourselves in. Our warm spinach dip came with house-made sesame and asiago crustinis, which were perfectly toasted. After our unexpected appetizer, our server surprised us again with a second course of soups. The chef had prepared a warm potato chowder with bacon and shrimp, which was absolutely perfect on a fall day. I am normally not a huge fan of potato soups, but it had excellent flavor and I would gladly have gone for seconds.

When our sandwiches arrived after the first two courses, I knew there was no way I could finish the entire thing. My panini was packed with fresh ingredients like turkey, avocado, salami and peppers. The side of house-made ketchup went great with my fries, but Casey said her side salad was equally delicious.

We were all at the point of being completely full, but our waitress had one more surprise. She presented us with individual dessert plates that contained a pumpkin pie tart, lemon ice cream, a ginger cookie, and a vanilla wafer “sail” that was embedded with toasted pumpkin seeds. Wow. And yeah, it did taste as good as it sounds. We had the opportunity to meet the chef after our meal and we thanked him for one of the best golf lunches we’ve have ever had.

I’m not really sure how we managed to play golf after our huge meal, but we soon forgot about the luxury clubhouse as we made our way around the front nine. I know I’ve said this a few times so far, but the views from Tuhaye are breathtaking. The golf holes on the front nine take full advantage of the scenery with views of the entire Wasatch Back on most every hole. These pictures taken on my iPhone don’t really do it justice, but you can get the idea. The back nine has some tricky holes that would be more manageable on a second or third time around the course, but the layout is generally forgiving and I would have a blast playing this course all the time.

So, if you have a spare $100,000 laying around and want to join one of Park City’s most exclusive clubs, or you feel like buying a large home in a gated golf community, Talisker’s Tuhaye may be the club to join. I have played golf at most every other private club in the Park City area, but for the complete package, Tuhaye just may be my favorite.

You Might Also Like: