The Great Northwest Golf Trip – Part 2 (Idaho/Washington)

The second part of this long golf trip was a pure joy.  As soon as we entered Idaho, we had an afternoon tee time at Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course. (# 97 in the Current Rankings)  This is the course that many have come to know as the course with the floating island green.  I must admit, I have always thought that this was a little gimmicky to attract attention to their course and resort but after seeing this hole, I have completely changed my mind.  It is a beautiful hole that plays anywhere from 95 yards to a robust 218 yards.  It is a rather large green that is trapped in the left rear and the front right.  With the different shades of green, the white sand bunkers and the large red geranium flower bed in the rear, all surrounded by the blue waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene, this hole is both a challenge and a beauty.  Yes, you do take a boat to the green and back piloted by a friendly captain.  But this course is so much more than just the Number 14 island green hole.  It is a rolling tree lined course that is in excellent condition throughout.  This Scott Miller design sits on the hill overlooking the lake and almost every hole is special.  There are many tree lined holes and the condition of the entire course was outstanding.  The staff is very organized and quite helpful.  It has a large pro shop and a wonderful restaurant with an outdoor patio that not only overlooks the lake but the famous par three floating green as well.  Because of the view and the menu, we had lunch and dinner at this special eatery.  It is truly a joy to play this course and to soak up the entire Coeur d’Alene experience.  It was a challenge getting away from the resort hotel the next day though as they were hosting an Ironman Triathlon and there were over a thousand athletes competing.  It took over 20 minutes to go the 3 miles to the interstate because of all the city streets that were either closed or blocked.  This was just another travel surprise that we worked around.  When you plan a trip well in advance, you come to expect the unexpected like this Ironman and the earlier eclipse, but you give yourself plenty of time, try to smile and roll with it.

Just down the road 30 miles is another gem of a golf course called Circling Raven.(# 97 Last Ranked 2015)  It seems that each course we play just keeps getting better.  A completely different type of golf course than Coeur d’Alene, I feel that Circling Raven should still be in the Top 100 Rankings.  This course is part of a Casino/Hotel/Golf complex, but could certainly stand on its own.  Architect Gene Bates was able to use over 500 acres to find 18 holes that flow through the rolling fescue covered hills that offered an amazing contrast to the green fairways of Circling Raven.  Almost every hole is situated so other groups cannot be seen or heard which adds to the serenity of this site.  It has plenty of challenges but the fairways are wide and you have to hit the driver well off line to end up in that beautiful but high golden grass.  The greens were very large and in immaculate condition and not sloped to the extreme.  On the contrary, their subtle breaks offered an even tougher challenge when trying to calculate the break of your putt.  The pro shop was huge and the restaurant  had very good food and service.  It is so much fun to play a course like this, especially with such a variety in the hole designs.  Nice people, a wonderful setting and a great golf course adds up to an experience that you wish you could repeat many times. 

Two miles from Spokane and four hours from Seattle, in the high desert of north central Washington, there is a links style course that is amazing.  Gamble Sands (#37 on Current Rankings) is a David McLay Kidd design that you will fall in love with. Wide fairways with firm fescue grass and super large greens make this a fun golf experience.  Even when you hit it crooked and catch one of the many waste bunkers, you just take your medicine and look forward to the next challenge.  The remote setting and quiet surroundings adds to the golf ambiance.  The Inn at Gamble Sands is outstanding in every way and I would encourage you to stay on property and play for two or three days before  departing this golf oasis.  Be sure to take a local forecaddie, especially the first time around as it is essential for finding your lines and for reading the greens.  I believe that our forecaddie Dave saved me at least three shots per side.  Not everyone will like this course the first time around if the only type of golf they have played is parkland style with the ball high in the air, but given a chance, golf as it is played in Scotland is a great deal of fun.  One of the best examples of this was on a 170 yard par three, Dave told me I could go at the flag with the 170 yard club or I could hit it 145 yards on a line 50 yards right of the green and use the slope of the fairway.  I chose the latter, and it was a joy to see the ball roll down the hill to about 15 feet from the hole.  Gamble Sands is a Top 25 course on my list of favorites.

In our quest to play all 193 courses ever ranked, we always look forward to playing the courses that fell out of the ranking as far back as 2003 or 2005.  We have found that many of these courses may not stack up to the current Top 100, but it is great when you become introduced to a course that you love.  Good examples of the this would be Brickyard Crossing (#100 in 2003), Crandon at Key Biscayne (#79 in 2003), Golf Club at Glen Mills (#85 in 2005) and Links of North Dakota (#53 in 2009).  Unfortunately, Semiahmoo (#70 Last Ranked in 2003) was not a pleasant surprise.  This upstate Washington course is an Arnold Palmer design and the hole variety is good for this type of course.  What I mean by that is this, I was expecting a resort course similar to Coeur d’Alene, but this course was built for a real estate development and every hole was lined by homes or condos on both sides of the fairway and many of them very close to being in play.  Not only was this a disappointment, the condition of the tees, fairways and rough was far below average.  A great deal of grass kill from fungus plus quite a few weeds certainly took away any ambience this course could muster.  The greens though were healthy and rolled very nicely.   When we told several people we met on this trip that we were playing Semiahmoo, most indicated that we could do better but we needed to play it and see for ourselves.  Things must have changed dramatically over the past 14 years if this course was deserving of a Top 100 rating.  Currently, I would not even consider it for my second hundred.

The Semiahmoo Resort has a second course called Loomis Trails (#99 Last Ranked 2005) which was a better conditioned and more aesthetically pleasing course than its sister course.  There are very few houses on this course but there is a great deal of water.  Even though they advertise that there is water on all 18 holes, it really only comes into play on a few holes.  This Graham Cook design is a challenging course but is interesting and fun to play.  The normal ladies’ tees are over 5,400 yards which is a little long for most gals but the forward tees are only 4,300 yards.  Marilyn played a combination of the two which worked out well.  I agree with the people we had talked to in that this is a better course than Semiahmoo.  Like its sister course, it no longer is worthy of Top 100 consideration but is worth playing if you have the opportunity.

From the high of Gamble Sands to the low of Semiahmoo, we were anxiously looking forward to experiencing the host of the 2015 U. S. Open, Chambers Bay (#24 in Current Rankings).  When we arrived, I was underwhelmed by the entrance and the clubhouse.  This is a highly rated course that has hosted the U. S. Amateur as well as the famous Jordan Spieth Open.  I was expecting much more when I pulled into the parking lot but then remembered that this is truly a “muni” that is owned by the county and is currently managed by the Troon Golf Company.  The staff was very friendly and helpful and when I walked out the back of the temporary clubhouse, I was overwhelmed by the view of this great course and the Puget Sound.  Chambers Bay is a walking course and we were very fortunate to be assigned two wonderful caddies, Hagen and Kyle.  They were low keyed, friendly and most importantly, very knowledgeable and helpful.  This Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design is extremely interesting and diverse.  I have heard both positives and negatives about this course but I cannot think of anything that I do not like about it.  Wonderful diversity, fast rolling fairways, fast greens that require a lot of imagination (or help from your caddie) and nice elevation changes make this a great walk and a great golf experience.  The fairways are wide but being on the correct side can make your approach shots much more manageable. The greens were smooth and fast even though they are in the process of changing the grass to make the greens look and play more consistently.   Chambers Bay is certainly in my Top 25 favorite courses that I have played.  It is not your traditional parkland style course so it is different than most of those you play.  It is difficult and a challenge but do yourself a favor and play it, and be sure to take a caddie.