Circling Raven GC with pics

[Tommy Williamsen]

When I was in Idaho this past summer, I played a course that I knew nothing about.  It is southwest of Coeur D'Alene in Worley.  It is owned and operated by the local Indian tribe and is next door to their Casino.  

They did everything right, from the clubhouse, practice area for both the short and long game, to the golf course.  The course was designed by Gene Bates on rolling prairie.  The course is playable  for all handicappers and difficult enough for anyone. The fairways are wide enough to allow some stray shots but venture to far a field and you are in a golden jail.

Unfortunately I did not get too many good pictures but here is a link to a course tour.

http://www.circlingraven.com/coursetour.html  

[Tommy Williamsen]

Here are a few of the pictures I did take.

[Brad Swanson]

Tommy,
   The greens in the pictures look to not have much if any containment earthwork around them.  That's a big plus in my book.  You should've written a travelog on your trip out west this summer.  I sounds (and looks) like it was quite a tour.

Cheers,
Brad

[Tommy Williamsen]

Brad the greens and green sites were very interesting.  The greens a lor of movement but did not have severe slopes or undulations.  Around the greens were not only bunkers but chipping areas.  There was very little long rough around the greens.  What rough there was was significantly away from the greens themselves.  A good short game is a plus but the greens were pretty large so hitting the greens was not to difficult.  But hit it on the sides and the ball will be repelled.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Has anyone else played this course?

[Kalen Braley]

Tommy,

I've played this course also and really liked it.  I'm headed up to Spokane for a long weekend in a couple of weeks and will get out there again.  Perhaps a course review is in order when I play it...

[Jesse Jones]

Tommy,

I played the course this summer and thought it was very interesting. I thought the Par 3's were the highlight of the course. The Par 5's were also a treat.
 The 6-7-8 three hole strech was outstanding.
Toss in 10 and 12-Very nice.
I didn't like the serious distances between holes.  There's no way anyone is walking that course.  I also thought there were some questionable green complexes.
But overall, it's in great shape and a treat to play.

[Kalen Braley]

Jesse,

I too very much like 6 and 8, and would also throw in #4, 11, and 13.

10 is a cool little risk/reward short par 4, as much as my buddy thinks its just a bomb and wedge hole...

The only exception was number 18 and seemed to be a case of "I have little space to work with, but I gotta get back to the clubhouse somehow" and I really didn't like it.  Did you get the same impression?

[Jesse Jones]

Idont think 18 is a bad hole, I just don't know how you run out of room when the course is spread out over 600 acres.

[Kalen Braley]

Idont think 18 is a bad hole, I just don't know how you run out of room when the course is spread out over 600 acres.

You are right,

There was plenty of room to work with out there.  The problem I saw from when I played it and from looking at aerials since then, is that there is a massive wetland on the east side, and the road on the west side, so they had to jam that narrow hole in between the two to get back home.  When playing the course, you tee off over the wetland on #1, and then again on number #10 to get to the other side of it.  With #9 coming in they had more land to work with between the road and wetland on the north side of the clubhouse, but on #18 it appears they did not...

I guess this could just be a function of wanting to have returning 9s...

[Jesse Jones]

Well, it is a resort course. Returning 9's are almost a requirement. Unless you have a great halfway house.
Also, the bunkering on #18 makes no sense whatsoever.
Except for one greenside bunker, the rest are unnecessary and sit right in the wheelhouse for weaker players.

[Kalen Braley]

Well, it is a resort course. Returning 9's are almost a requirement. Unless you have a great halfway house.
Also, the bunkering on #18 makes no sense whatsoever.
Except for one greenside bunker, the rest are unnecessary and sit right in the wheelhouse for weaker players.

I would call Pebble beach the utlimate Resort Course and it doesn't have returning 9's...

Another issue with 18 at CR is the containment mounding down the entire left hand side of the hole to keep the ball from going on to the HWY.   And all the way down the right hand side its a red staked hazard.  Moral of the story, miss it right if you gotta...

[Tommy Williamsen]

Add me to the list that felt 18 was only a way to get to the clubhouse.  It did feel as though it were shoe-horned in.  I can't remember what was on the right side of the fairway, but it seemed to me at the time that building a hole there would not have been easy. They certainly did have a bunch of land to work with,  It is too bad too, because 18 was a very unsatisfying finish.

[Kalen Braley]

Add me to the list that flet 18 was only a way to get to the clubhouse.  It id feel as though it were shoe-horned in.  I can't remember what was on the right side of the fairway, but it seemed to me at the time that building a hole there would not have been easy. They certainly did have a bunch of land to work with,  It is too bad too, bucause 18 was a very unsatisfying finish.

Agreed Tommy,

It really was a shame because 1-17 ranges from good to great holes and 18 was a letdown.  I guess CR is the poor mans version of CPC..  

(Although, IMO, CR really creschendos with 10-13 which is not to take away from 15 and 16 which were both solid holes.)