Seated in a wooden rocking chair on the patio of the Tributary clubhouse, David McLay Kidd reflected on the man who first brought him to the 1,500-acre property outside of Driggs, Idaho in the West Teton Valley.
“This was a dream of Jon Huntsman Sr.,’’ said Kidd, referring to the late billionaire businessman and philanthropist. “He had a great vision for this place. He died a few years ago (2018), so he never saw it come to fruition. He never had a chance to see it flourish. Now I see it flourishing. Everything Jon envisioned is coming to pass.’’
A lifelong conservationist and outdoorsman born in Blackfoot, Idaho, Huntsman in 2007 founded what was then “Huntsman’s Springs’’ private country club community He hired Kidd to create a golf course worthy of the land. Indeed, Kidd created an outstanding course – framed on one side by the Grand Teton Mountains and on the other side by the Big Hole Mountains and the Snake River.
The 2008 Recession, however, caught up with Huntsman’s Springs, as did most of the Teton Valley and nearby Jackson Hole, meaning there wasn’t much development of any kind for the next few years.
David McLay Kidd
“It never had a chance to flourish,’’ Kidd said of Huntsman’s Springs. “Now I see it flourishing. Everything is coming to pass as Jon had envisioned. Having Jon as a mentor and knowing that his vision has come to pass gives me immense satisfaction.’’
Kidd’s satisfaction is born from two things. One, BDT Capital Partners, which bought Huntsman’s Springs in 2017, has poured millions of dollars into the property’s infrastructure and real estate component and eventually changed the name to Tributary; and two, the renovation of the original course design.
“The course was 15 years old, but because you have to go through an Idaho winter, every year is like five years in Southern California,’’ said Kidd, whose best-known courses include Bandon Dunes (Bandon, OR.), Machrihanish Dunes (Scotland) the recently-opened GrayBull Club (Maxwell, NE.). “So, this course is already 50 years old.
“Because I live in (Bend) Oregon, I came over and played here a lot. I watched how others played it. I’ve matured a lot as a designer, so during its refresh, I was able to make adjustments to the holes… make them more interesting and more playable and probably more strategic. I took out a lot of bunkers (the original design had approximately 150 bunkers), which opened up some scoring lines.’’
“The wind through the winter and summer months had scoured sand out of the bunkers or reshaped them,” said Kidd. “Sometimes we embraced those new shapes that nature had given us, and sometimes we didn’t. We took the opportunity to take a fresh look at the whole golf course and where bunkers were, where they weren’t and where they had grown in.’’
The result is a 7,313-yard, par 72 layout that indeed complements to mountains framing and the low-density private residential community, with land ownership that begins at $750,00 and homes that sell for between $3 million and $5 million.
In addition to the golf course, Tributary is a sportsman’s paradise, featuring seven fishing ponds, trails for cross-country skiing and walking; a recreation barn with access to hatchet throwing, e-biking, paddleboarding; and a two-mile, and elevated boardwalk through the 500-acre fen for wildlife viewing.
The community also has a 27,000 square-foot clubhouse; wellness facility with a fitness center and spa; restaurant (don’t pass on the Grilled Elk Chops) and bar; and a pool and hot tub each with mountain views.
On clear days, Grand Teton (13,775 feet) is visible from almost anywhere on the golf course – beginning on the practice range.
Outside of Tributary, the eclectic mountain towns of Driggs, Wilson and Victor lead to the larger town of Jackson and Teton Village at the base of famed Jackson Hole Ski Resort.
While Jackson Hole and Teton Village each live up to their glitzy reputations, some people opt for a more authentic Western (and more quiet) experience. That is, about a 40-minute drive over Teton Pass to the West Teton Valley and Tributary.
Who needs Hollywood when you have the Teton Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and the Snake River each as your backyard?
“The golf course is the (Tributary) centerpiece, but we really wrap our arms around the entire Yellowstone ecosystem,’’ said Jeff Heilbrun,Tributary’s Director of Real Estate. “That’s our amenities base. You can do some of the best fly-fishing in America, take a ski trip, or take a hike in Yellowstone National Park, and come back to the same bed you woke in.’’