[Bill Satterfield]

Here is another photo tour of a great course I played this summer; Gozzer Ranch.  Gozzer Ranch is a Discovery Land property (Discovery also owns and operates Iron Horse in Montana, Vaquero in Dallas, etc.) designed by Tom Fazio.  Discovery Land is known for high-bedget golf courses with signature "comfort stations".  I got a hoot out of the fact that they had soft serve ice cream and root beer on tap so you could make a root beer float mid-round.  The bunkering features jagged edges with some long straw grass plantings and the natural basalt rock found on the property was featured on several holes throughout the day.  I thought the variety in the layout was excellent and the setting was gorgeous.

Anyway, the course is another great addition to the Coeur d'Alene area that continues to produce some excellent tracks.  Here are some photos:

The first hole is a 456 yard par four that plays back uphill; a stout way to start the round.



The second hole is a 571 yard par five that turns left towards the green and features a pond on the inside corner and a large "catch" bunker along the left side and entire back of the green.



The third hole exposes the natural basalt rock formations and plays downhill to a green that features spectacular views of Lake Coeur d'Alene.



I should have taken a better picture of this hole, because it is a great driveable par four that plays uphill and measures just 278 yards.  If you are going for the green you need to tee it up on the far left of the tee box and let 'er fly to an elevated green to the right.



The 5th hole is a 475 yard par four that plays pretty much straight away and features massive waste bunkers up the left side.


The 6th hole is a dogleg right par four that plays to a green that is fronted by a pond and large bunker. 



The 7th hole is a par 3 that didn't seem to work quite as well as other par 3s Fazio has done when working with dynamite and rock.  It reminded me of a woefully inferior version of the 8th hole at Pronghorn.



The 8th is a big par 5 (605 yards) that is intimidating from the tee due to the narrow gap you are faced with and limited view of what lies ahead.



When I got to the 461 yard par four 9th hole I instantly felt like I was at Castle Pines in Colorado.  I was playing in the trees on a big par four that doglegs right and plays uphill to a green.  For me, I instantly flashed back to the front nine at Castle Pines.

[Kalen Braley]

I wanted to bump this with a few comments.

Gozzer Ranch first and foremost was a terrific course and an excellent overall experience as our forecaddy was really on the ball.  What the pics don't really show are the elevation changes and the extent of the doglegs on most holes.

The 4th hole really was one of the finest short 4's I've ever played.  Its a quasi dogleg right with clear risk/reward components strong at play.  Perhaps Andy can add a view from the tee to compliment Bills shot.

The 8th was drop dead gorgoeous in addition to being very strategic...I just wish it had a little more space off the tee, but a minor quibble.

I must admit I was mostly just expecting a pretty face as I knew the area and have read all the comments on Fazio "eye candy" courses, but this course really did deliver on playability and fun as well as forcing players to make decisions on several shots.....and the eye candy was plenty terrific too.  I'll bump the back 9 as it was even nicer IMO.

P.S.  The comfort stations didn't hurt either even if they were a bit over the top!! 

[Andy Troeger]

Here's the 4th from the tee--its not a great photo as the hole was into the sun and I didn't manage to block it very well. You really can't see much from the tee anyway.

[Tom_Doak]

Kalen / Andy:

That last picture is a great short par-4???

What makes it a great hole for the 90% of people who can't try to drive the green?  Is there something cool for them to do?

[Andy Troeger]

Tom,
I don't think the 4th is a great short par four, although the drivable aspect certainly allows for some risk/reward. I went for it and ended up off the fringe playing it once but I doubt that I would go for it regularly. I do think its a good hole and allows for a wide variety of results, but as you mentioned it really only comes into play for the long hitters. The hole is pretty short, however, perhaps about 290 uphill, so even mid-length hitters could hit driver and try to get to the front of the green for a short pitch. The 12th is MUCH better, although you really have to be long to think about reaching the green. Even with that its a better hole with significantly more options on ways to attack.

[Jim Franklin]

I'll second what Andy said. #4 is a drivable par 4 with little interest in the lay up zone. Going for it was interesting though as you had to cut the ball to get it close. Any hook and you were in trouble.

#12 was pretty cool going for it or laying up.

[Kalen Braley]

Kalen / Andy:

That last picture is a great short par-4???

What makes it a great hole for the 90% of people who can't try to drive the green?  Is there something cool for them to do?

Tom,

I played the same tees as Andy and Jim so admittedly it was too long for my capabilites, but from the tees that I would normally play from it was only 265 which is well within reach for someone like me when I hit a good drive.

12 was certainly the better short par 4 but at well over 300 yards was way out of my range.

[Richard Hetzel]

Bill,

That course looks incredible, even without the root beer floats!

[Kalen Braley]

Bill,

That course looks incredible, even without the root beer floats!

Rich,

That wasn't even the best part...when you come off the 18th tee they give you a huckleberry popsicle that is to die for.  Yet another reason I miss the PNW, huckleberries and all its various summer time goodies they use them in. 

[Matt_Ward]

Can someone place into context Gozzer Ranch with other TF courses one has played ?

I mean it's wonderful to hear the glowing accounts of the course -- but I'd like to get some sort of context from which the person raving about the place can then place the course against other key TF existing layouts.

Do people see the layout beyond the likes of Shadow Creek? Victoria National? Galloway National? Black Diamond? Glenwild? etc, etc, etc.

I don't doubt it's likely the best for the immediate area but that bar is one thing when placed against a national standard.

One other thing -- are the playing corridors wider than what the pics show -- or is the narrowness really in effect only for those who venture to the tip tees.

Be helpful if the tip tee length plus slope and CR is posted to give me a fuller account. Thanks ...

p.s. Guys, love the foodstuff stories but what the hell does that have to do with the architecture ?

[Jim Franklin]

Matt -

Check your inbox.

The course is 7317 from the tips with a 74.7 slope and a rating of 139.

I have it in my top 5 Fazios. But I also like Shadow Creek more than you. I have not played Glenwild, not many reasons to get to Salt Lake if you know what I mean. Victoria National, The Alotian, Wade Hampton are ahead of it with Galloway, Karsten Creek, Black Diamond, Hudson National, Dallas National, The Preserve, Flint Hills, etc... behind it.

[Matt_Ward]

Jim:

Thanks -- I'll send you a follow-up message to your offline note to me shortly.

One other thing -- you have Shadow Creek and Wade Hampton -- both ahead of Gozzer Ranch. I find the two you listed to be two of the most overrated layouts given their existing national position on the mag ratings.

What does Gozzer Ranch bring to the table beyond the food stuffs that clearly resonated with so many others?

[Jim Franklin]

There was a nice variety of short holes, long holes, dog legs that were not too cramped. There were some excellent elevation changes and two of the best skyline greens I can recall. I half expected them to be framed by trees, but thankfully they were not. Very cool approaches to those holes. It was also firm and fast as opposed to being over watered which was nice. And then you had some spectacular views. Mucci says they don't matter, but Huckaby says they do. They were great.

[Jonathan Cummings]

Gozzer is quite nice with half a dozen stand out holes (as folks have pointed out the two short 4s may be the best).  Probably two of the most memorable features at Gozzer are the pair of "infinity" greens.  The esthetics of the place are off the map.  I've played probably 40-50 Fazio courses and Gozzer is somewhere in my top quarter of those courses.  If you include the PNW Doak's Cattle Company is head and shoulders above Gozzer Ranch.  The Bandon courses, Chambers, Wine Valley, RCCC and a few others beat out Gozzer for PNW "best of".  JC

[Andy Troeger]

In terms of other Fazio's I'd put Alotian Club at #1, Victoria National #2, and then Gozzer Ranch #3. Karsten Creek would be 4th followed by (not necessarily in order) World Woods Pine Barrens, Whisper Rock Upper, Estancia, Flint Hills National, and Aldarra.

I think there's a bigger gap behind Gozzer Ranch and those courses that follow than between it and the two courses ahead of it. Those first two are comfortably Top 50 USA to me and Gozzer would fall around that number.

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