Golfers are always searching for a golfing destination that others may not have discovered, but when they do it's difficult to keep a hidden gem secret for very long. They have to tell others and the word quickly spreads.

It's obvious that word is getting out about Montana's Flathead Valley, framed by Glacier National Park to the northeast, the Salish Mountains to the west, the Whitefish Range on the northern rim and the Swan and Mission Ranges on the east, especially since Golf Digest named it one of the top 50 golfing destination in the world.

I would second the magazine's description: “There's perhaps no better place in the nation for home-on-the-range hospitality, exceptional value and genuine mountain splendor than Montana's Flathead Valley.”

While it requires a change of airplanes—Salt Lake City and Minneapolis/St. Paul are the two chief places to pass through—for most arriving from other places in the United States and might cost a little more to get there, golfers will be surprised to find green fees very reasonable ($35 to $75 even in high season), considering the quality of the golf courses.

Helping to get the message out about this hidden golfing gem has been the Flathead Valley Golf Association, a coop marketing effort of nine public golf courses located within a 50-mile area of this special corner of the world.

Surprisingly, no two of these golf courses are really alike. Each has its own unique qualities. In fact, you'll even find dramatic differences on the same course.

Big Mountain Golf Club, formerly called Northern Pines and designed by two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North, features a front nine reminiscent of a links across the pond since it was built on an old potato farm. The back 9 then drops down to play through the trees near the Stillwater River. The par 4 No. 14 requires a drive through a narrow chute of trees over some marsh land and has to be one of the most challenging holes. Big Mountain has the best bent grass greens that I've seen in a long time. If you can't make a putt, you have only yourself to blame. I made everything inside eight feet the day I played and had a good round despite hitting just three greens in regulation.

Buffalo Hill Golf Club, designed by Robert Muir Graves, traverses through three distinctly different terrains—Buffalo Hill where it got its name, a river bottom near the Stillwater River and a flatter bench top with numerous lakes adding to the challenge. The locals like it as evident from it being named the best golf course in the valley seven straight years by the Daily Inter Lake newspaper.

Giving the facility 27 holes is the original 9 built in 1936.

National publications seem to favor the North and South courses at Whitefish Lake Golf Course, the first 36-hole facility in Montana, as the best ones around. The North features a more old fashioned traditional look with tree-lined fairways. The original 9 was built in the 1920s and doubled as an airport. It has been remodeled and lengthened over the years. The Lakes 9 was added to the Woods 9 in the 1960s. The South is shorter, but calls for more target golf and features three challenging holes near Lost Coon Lake, which has a spooky look with stumps emerging from the water after an ice storm 60 years ago. The nearby Grouse Mountain Lodge built one of the 9s and then final 9 was added in 1994. The courses are operated by the city of Whitefish, offering locals a $500 annual membership.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable rounds I had came on the Village Green Golf Course, located very close to Buffalo Hill. It's a fun course that seniors really like, especially since the course offers 2-for-1 specials on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It can be challenging with water coming into play in the landing areas for errant drives, but offers plenty of birdie chances as rewards for good approach shots.

Meadow Lake Golf Course, which was remodeled by Dick Phelps, offers some of the most challenging approach shots in the valley because of all the elevation changes and roller-coaster fairways. The undulating greens can “eat your lunch” as three putts are the norm rather than the exception.

Glacier View Golf Course, located near the entrance of Glacier National Park, doesn't seem to have been kept up as nicely as the others, but offers some fantastic views of snow-capped peaks up to 10,000 feet high. It's short at just over 5,000 yards and plays to a par of 64. “It's where we go when our egos need a boost,” said our host Jeff La Laverdiere.

While it requires a little more drive time, the southern end of Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi at 28 miles long and up to 15 miles wide, shouldn't be overlooked.

Polson Bay started out as a 9 holer as part of a WPA project in the 1930s. The additional 18, designed by John Steidel and located across the highway on the shores of the lake, offers the most bang for your bucks with an interesting mix of holes with spectacular views of the lake and the Mission Mountains. If all the locals are as nice as my partner that day, Tracey Dooley, it's no surprise why this is the favorite of golfers in the southern end of the valley.

The Mission Mountain Golf Course, located 14 miles south of the lake, also offers great values and has spectacular mountain views, but we didn't have time to get down there.

The Cabinet View Country Club in Libby is closed, undergoing some extensive work as part of the EPA's efforts to clean up asbestos problems.

Tom Fazio's new Iron Horse Golf Club is located in the valley in a gated community and has a “member only” policy. My high school classmate Guinn Smith says he's heard it may be the best in the state.

The Red Lion is the place to stay if you are playing Big Mountain, Buffalo Hill and Village Greens in Kalispell while the 145-room Grouse Mountain Lodge (my favorite) is within walking distance of Whitefish Lake.

While the golfing season is short, mid-April to mid-October, golfers can enjoy extra playing time even after work in the summer since the sun doesn't go down until 10 p.m.