Golf, June 1, 2012

I FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2012 I SPECIAL SECTION

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Perfectly polished BanBury GC offers the perfect balance of challenging and worry-free holes, designed

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STORY, PAGES 8-9

CHECK OUT OUR GOLF PAGE FOR LATEST LOCAL, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS

Boise area offers impressive variety of courses with familiar playability and price range. PAGES 4-9

No small potatoes Falcon Crest GCÂ in Kuna, Idaho, features many picturesque holes like No. 7, a 400-yard water-lined offering.

Page 2

The Spokesman-Review

Friday, June 1, 2012

GOLF 2012 – BOISE

Boise offers familiar benefits Jim Meehan

I

jimm@spokesman.com, (208) 765-7131

’ve spent some time in Boise.

I watched future Olympian Ian Waltz launch the discus so far that officials at the 1995 state track meet had to find a longer tape to measure his record throw.

I covered numerous Idaho-Boise State football showdowns, including the Vandals’ gutsy two-point conversion that clinched a Humanitarian Bowl berth in 1998.

On a recent trip I started counting the different hotels I’d stayed in, reaching 12 without hesitation and 20 in a matter of minutes.

The first two, by the way, are long gone and have been converted into other businesses.

What I hadn’t done in Boise is play much golf – until recently. The golf

scene in Boise is similar to Spokane: Interesting, quality courses and affordable green fees. That’s a great combination.

Spring temperatures were in the 60s and 70s and the courses weren’t packed.

At one venue, our foursome never waited to hit a shot.

I toured Quail Hollow, BanBury and Falcon Crest and the most expensive 18 holes was $36.50, including roughly $5 for a pull cart.

I played Quail Hollow about a dozen years ago and several holes started

coming back to me when I stepped on the tee boxes.

I played BanBury about five years ago and I could recall most of the holes. It was my first time on Falcon Crest, which has one of the most talked-about holes in the Boise area – the unforgiving 18th. Grabbing a bite later at an airport eatery prior to catching a flight home, I overheard a Boise resident debating the pros and cons of the 445-yard par-4 hole.

In the following pages, you’ll find a recap of my 54-hole tour.

In this section

Quail Hollow (Boise) offers plenty of challenges to players, especially in the form of pushing your decisionand shot-making abilities. Pages 4-5 Falcon Crest (Kuna, Idaho) sports an 18-hole course and two 9-hole layouts, all with considerable distance considerations and other obstacles to keep your competitive juices flowing. Pages 6-7 BanBury (Eagle, Idaho) boasts an elegant and balanced design of simple and difficult holes, conceived by the late John Harbottle (also the designer of Palouse Ridge in Pullman).

Pages 8-9 Pinehurst No. 2 prepares to host both the U.S. Open and Women’s U.S. Open in 2014; and commentary on why parity in pro golf is not such a good thing.

Pages 3, 10, 12

BanBury photo

The 400-yard par-4 ninth hole at BanBury Golf Course in Boise is covered with dew as the sun illuminates from behind. This challenging hole is skirted by water on the left side, trees and rough to the right and features a tricky, undulating green.

Listing of area golf courses, including contact information and greens fees. Page 11

Spokane, Wash. / Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Friday, June 1, 2012

Page 3

GOLF 2012 COMMENTARY R By Dan O’Neill, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lack of dominant player bad for the game of golf

Associated Press

North Carolina course will play host to men’s, women’s events on consecutive weeks.

Double duty

Famed Pinehurst will host both U.S. Opens in 2014

By Joedy McCreary Associated Press

PINEHURST, N.C. – Things are starting to take shape before the first doubleheader of U.S. opens.

In just over two years, Pinehurst’s renowned No. 2 course will play host to the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open on

consecutive weeks – the first time the USGA has attempted such a feat.

Organizers said Friday they’ll keep an eye on the freshly renovated course next month to see how it behaves in typical June weather and make any necessary tweaks.

Ben Crenshaw led the course’s yearlong $2.5 million facelift in which,

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ST. LOUIS – Parity and dissemination can be good.

For instance, it would be nice to have parity where owning an iPad is concerned. And in-ground swimming pool parity would be a plus.

Sports are lousy with division and parity these days. The eighth-place Los Angeles Kings are in the Stanley Cup Finals, the 9-7 New York Giants won the Super Bowl, and the 2011 Cardinals – with the eighth best record in baseball – slipped in the back door to win a World Series.

For those teams and those towns, it’s great stuff.

For fans of Cinderella, it’s fun to re-live the fairy tale.

But parity has a flip side.

If Cinderella gets to the ball every time, it’s not special.

You need a sinister, prevailing stepmother for the fairy tale to happen.

With parity, there is no David and Goliath, no Bronx Bombers, no Big Machine. There are only Davids, bombers and machines. The

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capital-letter attrition alone is alarming.

Parity is prominent in professional golf these days, and it’s not an especially good thing. With the U.S. Open fast approaching, the game is listing without oars in the water, without identity.

Fred Couples gave the Champions Tour a charge last summer, but the spark

seems to have faded. The leading winner on the tour this season is someone named Michael Allen.

The LPGA seems to spend most of its time in foreign countries, places like Brazil, Thailand and Galloway, N.J. The top four LPGA players, and eight of the top 10, are Asian, See COMMENTARY, K10

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The Spokesman-Review

Friday, June 1, 2012

GOLF 2012 – BOISE

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Your first decision comes before your first swing.

Hole No. 1 is a 277-yard par 4. There are a series of bunkers left, trouble right, a pond in front of the green and a creek behind the putting surface. And the green is just a tad bigger than your kitchen table.

4520 N. 36th St. Boise, ID 83703 Contact: 208-344-7807, quailhollowgolfclub.com

Move on to No. 3. Elevated tee box, hard dog-leg left, creek just beyond a fairly tiny green. The distance is 339

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“People try to get it close, but it’s a tight shot,” pro Matt Ennis said. “Not many try it.

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GOLF 2012 – QUAIL HOLLOW pond. The par-4 12th is just 376 yards from the blues, but a water hazard essentially surrounds the landing area.

The 14th is just 295 yards, but it’s severely uphill.

Expect an uneven lie on your second shot to a green that is the only level surface on the hole. The 15th is a quality, downhill par 3, but judging the yardage is tough with the wind and elevation change.

The 16th, a 521-yard par 5, plays uphill for the second half to a sliver of a green that is literally 10 paces wide. There’s another dramatic elevation change on the par-3 17th, but the best is yet to come on No.

18, a scenic 428-yard par 4 with a pond along the right and the unique double-green.

“You’re probably up

there a little higher than you think you are,” Ennis said. “You get a chance to hit one off the cliff and swing for the fences.”

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Continued from K4 perfectly and you have to hit it so high to a small area.”

Quail Hollow is a unique blend of holes that brings the golfer’s decision making into play. The front nine is almost two different courses. The first five holes are for shot makers who put away the driver and can determine correct yardages and targets. On the final four holes, the terrain is fairly wide open and forgiving and driver becomes a realistic option.

The course was designed in the 1970s by Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge, and opened under the name “Shamana.” Ennis remembers it well.

“When it first opened I was a junior golfer and it was kind of an upper-end course,” Ennis said. “All that sage brush on the hillsides was just off the fairway so if you hit it off the fairway it was gone.

Super challenging.

“Over time we went through some changes and

Take No. 2, a 180-yard par 3. The tee box and green are elevated, but the Gold/blue tees rest drops into a valley that Yardage: 6,325 swallows up shots with Rating/Slope: 70.7/129 improper distance and/or direction.

White tees “Definitely one of the Yardage: 6,234 signature holes,” Ennis said.

Rating/Slope: 67.1/125 No. 5 is another Red tees placement-style hole with a Yardage: 4,494 pond on the right. The Rating/Slope: 66.1/116 massive horseshoe-shaped green shares a putting surface with No. 18, but they rarely cross paths. it’s much more playable.

Several holes were changed There’s a sand trap between so people could get around the two that helps keep approaches from straying in 4½ hours.” too far.

Getting it around still “That’s such a big double requires a great deal of thought and execution. It’s green, we can put the hole both in front or back and less than 6,350 yards from the tips, but it’s not the kind we have so much room there that it’s nice,” Ennis of course you try to said. overpower.

Three of the closing four “It’s target oriented, the holes on the front are par 4s greens are small with a lot of slope,” Ennis said. “A lot that range from 380-410 yards. of people who first play it The par-4 10th features a love to play it again so they know where to hit it. We’re drive to a landing area that can’t be seen from the tee close to downtown and box. No. 11 is another people like it because risk-reward par 4 that pays there’s some scenery and off if your drive from the different shots with the white tees clears a sizable elevation changes.”

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Page 6

The Spokesman-Review

Friday, June 1, 2012

GOLF 2012 – BOISE

Soaring sprawl Spacious 36-hole Falcon Crest a golfer’s paradise with distance, challenges aplenty

taking plenty of club to avoid the water in front of the green.

The 16th is a 511-yard par 5 that becomes negotiable with a wellplaced drive over a pond. The hazard continues up the left side and comes into play if the second

By Jim Meehan shot isn’t struck solidly. One of the jimm@spokesman.com, (208) 765-7131 players in our foursome sent his approach to the back of the green his sprawling, 36-hole complex and had to deal with 20 feet of sits just outside Boise in Kuna, fringe on his putt. but it’s only a 15-20 minute drive No. 17 is a tough, 430-yard par 4 from downtown. The 18-hole track that demands two quality shots. is Falcon Crest, a diverse layout More work awaits on the with one of the toughest closing two-tiered green with the back stretches anywhere. shelf, where the pin was located, There’s also Robin Hood, a maybe 25 feet deep. nine-hole executive course with And then there’s 18. It’s 479 yards five par 3s and four par 4s, and the from the back tees, 445 from the Freedom Course, a nine-holer that championship tees. One member of travels 3,914 yards from the our foursome was probably a 14 professional tees. Freedom’s par 5s handicap and he told me early in are 714 and 640 yards. Three par 4s the round that he’d never made check in at 462, 467 and 473 yards. better than bogey on No. 18. His “It’s probably one of the toughest playing partners started reminding nines in the state,” pro Rick O’Neill him of that fact early on the back said. “It used to be tougher, but we side. He was pleased when he filled in a couple ponds and that drained a 5-footer for bogey. made it easier. There’s a good The view from the tee box is variety with five sets of tees and Falcon Crest photo unsettling: A massive pond that you can play it from 2,700 to No. 15 at Falcon Crest is a challenging 422- forces some players to put their 3,900.” yard par 4 with water in play around green. driver in the bag and hit something Falcon Crest didn’t get shortin the 240-260 range. One can cut changed on yardage either. From off more distance trying to hit a sliver the back tees, it measures nearly 7,100 of land that borders the left side of the yards. pond but it’s a low-percentage shot. An The par 3s are probably the most 11102 S. Cloverdale Rd. ideal drive leaves a 180-yard approach memorable holes on the front side.

Kuna, ID 83634 over water. A bailout drive to the right From the tee box on No. 5, there’s an leaves a 215-yard shot, often from a 80-foot elevation drop to the green, Contact: 208-362-8897, downhill lie. which makes club selection your first www.falconcrestgolf.com The pond was drained last year and priority. There’s a pond to the left, crews removed 20,000 balls. bunkers and a sizable green. No. 8 is Believe it or not, the hole used to be weathered ball a much needed bath. similar, but probably plays 10 yards “We actually had a hole-in-one there tougher than the current version. At shorter and the drop-off is closer to 60 one time, the huge pond that gobbles feet. With the pin tucked into the back last year,” general manager and left corner on a 25-foot-wide shelf and superintendent Mike Rapp said. “The up drives and approaches sidled up closer to the spacious green. Roughly a steady crosswind, keeping the ball on guy hit a hybrid off the back tee.”

10 yards were filled in, giving golfers a The back nine has a nice mix of the right level was nearly impossible.

No. 9 is the classic risk-reward short holes. The par-5 11th has a fairly small bit more margin for error on a hole with very little to begin with. par 4. It’s downhill and only 285 yards, landing area and a sunken bunker “It’s definitely the most talked about but to get home you’ll have to fly or get awaiting second shots that don’t travel hole,” O’Neill said. “I know the far enough to reach the green. a lucky bounce over a creek that majority of people don’t like it, but it’s The side turns downright difficult guards the front of the green. There’s a on 15. During my round, the 15th played probably one of my favorite holes.

100-yard long trap along the left side.

There’s not going to be a lot of ties For fun, I hit two balls, an iron layup to 422 yards into a healthy wind. I hit a after that (closing) stretch.” nice drive and still had 7-iron left, 80 yards and a driver that gave a

T

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The par-3 5th hole at Falcon Crest plays 186 yards from the Ch

Friday, June 1, 2012

Spokane, Wash. / Coeur dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Alene, Idaho

Page 7

GOLF 2012 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; FALCON CREST

The numbers Back tees Yardage: 7,089 Rating/Slope: 73.5/131 Championship tees Yardage: 6,569 Rating/Slope: 71.1/128 Middle tees Yardage: 6,102 Rating/Slope: 68.8/122 Forward tees Yardage: 5,463 Rating/Slope: 65.3/110

h hampionship tees and has an 80-foot drop from the teeing area to the green. With water to the left and bunkers in play, hitting this large green is key to making par.

Falcon Crest photo

Page 8

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Spokesman-Review

GOLF 2012 – BOISE

Variety of gems all sparkle Beautiful BanBury challenges, thrills

By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com, (208) 765-7131

It probably says a lot about BanBury’s layout and playability that I toured the last nine holes in a wind tunnel and still thoroughly enjoyed this challenging course in Eagle, on the outskirts of Boise.

The winds picked up considerably as I made the turn and, just my luck, the next four holes played into a stout breeze. It became a serious crosswind with debris skittering across the 14th, a tough 190-yard par 3. For some reason, my mood picked up on No. 15 with the wind at my back.

Yet the conditions really didn’t matter much. This 13-year-old, John Harbottle-designed course has plenty of variety to keep one’s attention from start to finish.

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Jim Peterson photo

Hole No. 9 at BanBury Golf Course in Eagle, Idaho, is a par 4 that plays 390 yards from the black tees and has an undulating green.

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Page 9

GOLF 2012 – BANBURY

BANBURY

Continued from K8 Water, in the form of streams, ponds and rivers, comes into play essentially from No. 8 to the clubhouse. The course is beautifully maintained and the holes weave seamlessly through the natural environment and a 105-home development.

“Most of the feedback I get is that it’s a players’ course,” pro Jerry Breaux said. “The player has to get on the right set of tee markers. Once in a while we’ll see newer players playing on the wrong set of tees so we help them with a recommendation. It’s not very forgiving for new players.”

Breaux said the design follows several of Harbottle’s tenets: punishing bunkers, an occasional short par 4 where 2s and 6s are possible, and greens shaped according to the challenge presented by each hole. Harbottle, a prominent designer of courses in the West, died last week at the age of 53.

“Hitting into a bunker, he definitely wants it to be a penalty,” Breaux said. “He likes character on the greens. If the hole dictates a long shot, there’s a bigger target. If it’s a shorter shot, there’s a little more

Jim Peterson photo

The picturesque 18th hole at BanBury Golf Course plays relatively short for a par 5, measuring 478 yards from the black tees and 499 yards from the tips.

character, more stuff on the greens. He wants the hard holes to be really hard and the easier ones to be fun to play.”

BanBury has hosted several prestigious events, including the 2005 U.S. girls junior tournament, the first USGA event held in Idaho. In-Kyung Kim won the tourney. Morgan Pressel, coming off a runner-up finish in the U.S. Open at age 17, made it to the semifinals. BanBury has been the site of several state amateurs and qualifying for the Nationwide Tour’s Boise Open.

This summer, the boys Junior America’s Cup will

roughly 90-feet long but narrow, with numerous humps and bumps. If your Red tees distance or direction is a tad Yardage: 6,890 off, making par will be a Rating/Slope: 73.3/132 chore. Same goes for the Black tees green on the par-5 second.

Yardage: 6,337 The last four holes of the Rating/Slope: 70.9/129 side are some of the best on White tees the course. No. 6 runs 427 Yardage: 5,729 yards to a plateau green, Rating/Slope: 68.0/122 making four a prized score.

Blue tees Breaux counts No. 8 as one Yardage: 5,257 of his favorites. It can be Rating/Slope: 65.5/115 played from 190 to 220 yards to a sizable but thin green, bordered on two sides by water. I set a ball be contested at BanBury. on the back center and The front begins with two holes where the biggest rolled it toward the front left pin location and it key is a wisely placed approach. The first green is broke about 15 feet.

No. 9 was probably my favorite hole. It has length (400 yards), peril (water skirts the left side, trees and rough right) and a tricky green. The pin was about 8 feet from the back left edge and misses left of target will probably trickle down a shaved bank into a pond.

Find the putting surface and you must deal with a series of undulations.

The back side has several gems. The fairway on the par-5 12th is divided by a hazard, forcing a player to try to fly it or lay up – a decision heavily influenced by wind conditions. Down the fairway, a swollen river had spilled over into the rough on the right side.

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The par-3 14th is 249 yards from the tips. The par-3 16th is 155 yards, most of it over water. No. 17 is drivable for big hitters at 302 yards. Few attempt it, but Breaux recalled a college player launching a driver within 6 feet and missing the eagle putt.

I played the scenic par-5 18th at 505 yards, hit a solid drive and promptly dunked a 6-iron approach into a pond that borders the front of the green.

“Now that players are hitting the ball so far, it’s turned into a really good par 4,” Breaux said. “We had 150 college players here a few years ago and they played it as par 4.”

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Friday, June 1, 2012

The Spokesman-Review

GOLF 2012

COMMENTARY

Continued from K3 difficult for American audiences to fully embrace.

But where this diversity is especially relevant is at the axis of golf, the PGA Tour, or post-Tigermania PGA Tour. The situation was exemplified by the recent Masters. The game’s “Big Three,” i.e. Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, were easily the most enchanting players at Augusta National in April. The problem? They were just ceremonial starters.

Once the actual tournament began, things settled back into a more anonymous, diluted state.

Coming off his first victory in 30 months, Tiger Woods offered up his worst performance as a professional at Augusta and tied for 40th. Bubba Watson won the tournament, but hardly won the ratings. Viewership was down 22 percent from a year earlier.

Strange isn’t it? A lefthander had not won at Augusta until Mike Weir in 2003. Now a lefthander has won five of the last 10 Masters. Now that’s parity.

Bubba’s breakthrough continues a trend. After Woods won on an injured knee at Torrey Pines in 2008, and then took the year off, Padraig Harrington lifted the environment by capturing two majors in succession. Since, there have been 13 majors won by 13 different players. Two of the 13, Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera, had won a major previously. None of the 13 have won another.

Watson now becomes the flavor of the week. He joins Rory McIlroy, Charles Scwartzel, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer and even Harrington as players the golf press props up to fill the void. People got especially carried away with McIlroy, suggesting he had the perfect swing, perfect disposition and perfect opportunity to take the reins.

To be fair, he does have the perfect ancestry, but since winning the U.S. Open last year, McIlroy is an imperfect 0 for 3 in the majors. Don’t misunderstand; McIlroy is a terrific talent and just 23. There is every reason to believe he will win many more tournaments, even more majors.

Associated Press photos

Bubba Watson, who won The Masters in April for his first major championship, added to the growing list of 13 winners in the last 13 majors.

But to this point, he’s not unlike Schwartzel, Watson, McDowell, Trevor Immelman and others. All moved to the head of the class but stopped raising their hands.

The PGA Tour is 22 events into the season and has 20 different winners. Last year, for the first time since 1991, as few as two wins paced the circuit. The anything-can-happen, anyone-can-win element is nice.

But without predictability, you have no favorites, no upsets, no antagonists, no protagonists, no color, no romance. You have indifference.

In terms of excitement, golf is stagnant. The scene still depends on a player who is no longer the player that created that energy to begin with. Woods still makes ratings jump, but he’s rarely

majors. Ernie Els? Please.

Look back at the history of the game. From Harry Vardon to Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones to Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson to Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, Palmer to Nicklaus and Player, and then Tom Watson. Sprinkle Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, Johnny Miller, Raymond Floyd and Seve Ballesteros among them.

Every decade, the game has had dominant genes, players who win multiple championships, players you can be passionate But the camera will continue to about, one way or another. Even jumping into contention. when the stars faded, you had The former No. 1 is now No. 7, follow Woods until someone Nick Faldo, Nick Price and Greg steps forward to hog the approaching his 36th birthday and officially injury prone. He has headlines. Mickelson will be 42 in Norman fill gaps with dominant periods.

June. He has carved out a place been absent or missed the cut at This decade of golf is in a on the radar, but it’s not going to six of the last 14 majors, and strange place right now. It has no finished 23rd or worse in three of grow any larger.

Vijay Singh is 49, done winning stars, just lots of … yawn … parity. the last four.

Rory McIlroy is the defending U.S. Open champion, but does not have a top-20 finish in three tries in majors since his win at Congressional in Bethesda, Md., last year.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Spokane, Wash. / Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

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AREA COURSE DIRECTORY The following is a directory of area golf courses. For a digital version of this list, visit www.spokesman.com/golf •Antler Springs GC (509) 292-GOLF. 18-hole greens fees: Weekends: $37 with cart, $25 without; 9 holes with cart $27, $15 without.

Weekdays: $25 cart, $20 without. Seniors and juniors (ages 11-17) receive $5 discount any day. Wednesdays 2 for 1. Tee times: no deadlines, but recommended for Wednesdays, weekends.

•Avondale GC (208) 772-5963. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays, $53, except Mondays at $32. After 2:30 p.m., $35. 9hole weekends/weekdays, $28. 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: no deadlines. www.avondalegolfcourse.com.

•Bryden Canyon GC (208) 746-0863. 18hole greens fees: weekends $26; weekdays, $22. 9-hole: daily, $17. 18-hole cart fee: $14 per seat; 9-hole: $9 per seat. Tee times: no deadlines. www.brydencanyongolf.net.

•Chewelah G&CC (509) 935-6807. Until May 15: 27 holes (includes cart), $50 on weekends, $45 M-Th.; 18 holes $40/$35. May 16-Sept. 5: 27 holes $60/$55; 18 holes $50/$45. Sept. 6season close: 27 holes $50/$45; 18 holes $40/ $35. Seniors $5 discount M-Th.; juniors $5 discount on 9 holes, $10 on 18 or 27 holes M-Th. Walking rates all season: 9 holes $20/$17, 18 holes $35/$30, 27 holes $40/$35. Tee times: no deadlines. www.chewelahgolf.com.

•Circling Raven GC (800) 523-2464. 18-hole greens fees (with golf cart and use of practice range): Through May 12: Monday-Thursday: $65, Friday-Sunday: $75; May 13-Oct. 2: Monday-Thursday: $80, Friday-Sunday: $95. Oct. 3-end of season: Monday-Thursday: $65, Friday-Sunday $75. Tee times: 30 days in advance. www.circlingraven.com.

•Coeur d’Alene GC (208) 765-0218. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays, $29, $24 for seniors. 9-hole: weekends/weekdays, $17, $15 for seniors. 18-hole cart fee: $27; 9-hole: $17. Single person 18-hole cart fee: $17; 9-hole $10. Tee times: Friday-Sunday and holidays, call prior Tuesday; Mon-Thurs, prior Thursday. www.cdapublicgolf.com.

•Coeur d’Alene Resort (208) 667-4653. 18hole greens fees: weekdays/weekends, April: $150 for day guests, twilight rate April daily $75, (after 2:00), May/October: $175, twilight $90, June/September: $195, twilight $110; July/August: $220, twilight $135. Fees include cart, range balls and forecaddie, sports massage and complimentary bag tag. Best values: Golf packages available, include lodging and golf. Spring starting at $99 per person based on double occupancy. Specials will be announced throughout the year. Tee times: no deadline if staying at hotel. 30 days advance otherwise. Call for Good Neighbor specials starting at $75. www.cdaresort.com.

•Colfax G&CC (509) 397-2122. Summer rates: 18-hole greens fees weekend/weekdays, $21.50. 9-hole: weekends/weekdays, $14. 18hole cart fee: $20; 9-hole: $13. Winter rates: 18hole greens fees: $16, 9-hole: $10. Tee times: weekends, call one day in advance; weekdays, no deadlines.

•Dominion Meadows GC (formerly Colville Elks CG) (509) 684-5508. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $27/25; Senior 18-hole: $23/$21. College $23/21, Junior $18 (no weekend rates), 9-hole fee: weekends/weekdays $21/ $19; Senior 9-hole: $18/ $16. College $18/ $16, Junior $13/ $10. 18-hole cart fee: $24; 9hole: $12. Tee times: Call one day in advance. www.dominionmeadows golf.com.

•Deer Park G&CC (509) 276-5912. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $29 ($20 for sunset rate after 3 p.m., with $10 cart fee); weekdays (Monday-Friday) $26 ($21 for seniors). 9-hole: weekends after 3 p.m., $17.50 ($16 for seniors); weekdays (Monday-Friday) $17.50 ($16 for seniors). 18-hole cart fee: $29; 9-hole:

$14.50. Tee times: weekends/ weekdays, call one week in advance. www.deerparkgolf.com.

•Downriver GC (509) 327-5269. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $29, weekdays (Monday-Thursday) $27, (with discount card the weekends are $23, weekdays $20). 9-hole: weekends $29 ($19 after 3.p.m), weekdays $20 (with discount card weekends $20 after 3 p.m., weekdays $15). 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call previous Friday starting at 2 p.m.; weekdays, call two days in advance by 2 p.m. www.spokaneparks.org.

•Esmeralda GC (509) 487-6291. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $29, weekdays $27 (with discount card $20 during weekdays, $18 for seniors, $23 on weekends). 9-hole: weekends/weekdays (only available after 3 p.m.), $20 (with discount card $16). 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call previous Friday starting at 2 p.m.; weekdays, call two days in advance by 2 p.m.. www.spokaneparks.org.

•The Fairways GC (509) 747-8418. 18-hole: Tuesday-Friday greens fees $22; Monday $17 (high school students $12, senior citizens $18, everyday); weekends $27. 9-hole: weekends/ weekdays $17. Everyday after 4 p.m. $17. Tee times: weekends/weekday tee time opening varies, call clubhouse for availability. www.golfthefairways.com.

•Hangman Valley GC (509) 448-1212. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Thursday), $27, weekend $29; rate for pre-book $32; county discount card $22 M-Th, weekends $24; 9-hole: weekdays $21. Seniors rate with discount card M-Th $18.50. Juniors – 9 or 18hole $15, 10.50 with junior discount card. 18hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call the previous Saturday by 7 a.m.; weekdays, call on Tuesday at 7 a.m.

Course does not allow fivesome parties.

•Harrington G&CC (509) 253-4308. 18-hole greens fees: Wednesday-Sunday $18, $16 for seniors; Monday-Tuesday $10 (except holidays). 9-hole: weekends/ weekdays $13, $11 for seniors. 18-hole cart fee: $23; 9-hole: $13.

Tee times: no deadlines.

•Highlands GC (208) 773-3673. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $35; seniors weekdays/weekends after 2 p.m. $28; juniors, weekdays $15 and weekends $22 until 2 p.m. then back to $15; 9-hole: $22 weekdays/weekends after 2 p.m.; 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call up to one week in advance; weekdays, up to one week in advance. Twilight time is after 3 p.m. and is $25 with cart, $20 without. www.thehighlandsgc.com.

•Idaho Club (208) 265-2345. 18-hole greens fees: $125 includes golf cart. Twilight rate (after 2 p.m.) $80. Tee times required.

•Indian Canyon GC (509) 747-5353. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $29, weekdays $27 (with discount card $20 during weekdays, $18 for seniors, $23 on weekends). 9-hole: weekends/weekdays (only available after 3 p.m.), $20 (with discount card $16). 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call previous Friday starting at 2 p.m.; weekdays, call two days in advance by 2 p.m.. www.spokaneparks.org.

•Liberty Lake GC (509) 255-6233. 18-hole greens fees: weekday (Monday-Thursday) $28.24, $15.69 for juniors. With $30 discount card the rate is $21.97, $19.35 for seniors and $10.98 for juniors. Weekend $30.33 and $25.10 with discount card. Seniors after 3 p.m. is $19.35. 9-hole: weekday $21.97 and $17.78 with discount card. 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call on Saturday one week in advance; weekdays, call the previous Tuesday morning.

•The Links GC, Post Falls (208) 777-7611. 18hole greens fees: Friday, Saturday, Sunday $36; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday $31; 9hole Friday, Saturday, Sunday $24; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday $19; Tight-Wad-Tuesday: 18-hole: $21; 9-hole: $14. Seniors 60+: $26 for 18 holes, $14 for 9 holes. Juniors: $19 for 18

holes, $14 for 9 holes. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9hole: $15. Tee times: no deadlines.

•MeadowWood GC (509) 255-9539. 18-hole greens fees: weekday (Monday-Thursday) $28.24, $15.69 for juniors. With $30 discount card the rate is $21.97, $19.35 for seniors and $10.98 for juniors. Weekend $30.33 and $25.10 with discount card. Seniors after 3 p.m. is $19.35. 9-hole: weekday $21.97 and $17.78 with discount card. 18-hole cart fee: $14 per person; 9-hole: $7 per person. Tee times: weekends, call on Saturday one week in advance; weekdays, call the previous Tuesday morning. www.meadowwoodgolf.com.

•Mirror Lake Municipal Golf Course, Bonners Ferry, Idaho (208) 267-5314. 9-hole greens fees: $16, weekends and holidays $18, juniors $9. 18-hole: $23, weekends and holidays $25, juniors $13. Cart trail fee: $5.

•Painted Hills GC (509) 928-4653. 18-hole greens fees: weekends (Fri-Sat-Sun) $24, $22 for seniors, $18 for juniors; weekdays $22, seniors $18, juniors $13; 9-hole: weekends $18, $16 for seniors, $12 for juniors; weekdays $16, seniors $14, juniors $10; 18-hole cart fee: $12 per person; 9-hole: $6 per person; $10 for weekdays and $13 weekends twilight (twilight rate begins two and a half hours before sunset; Tee times: Call one week in advance. www.spokanegolf.com.

•Palouse Ridge GC (509) 335-4342. 18-hole greens fees Monday-Thursday for residents (live within 40-mile radius): February 19-April 30 peak $39, twilight $32, Faculty/staff $32, student $29, junior $19, senior 60+ $32. Monday-Thursday for non-residents: Peak $49, twilight $32. Friday-Sunday for residents: Peak (cart included) $59, twilight $39, faculty/ staff* $39, student* $39, junior* $29, Senior $39. Friday-Sunday for non-residents: Peak (cart included) $69, twilight $39. (* indicates space-available basis). Starting May 1: Monday-Thursday- Resident rate for peak $45, twilight $39, senior $39, faculty $39, student $26, junior $19. Non-resident Monday-Thursday: Peak $59, twilight $39. Fri-Sun resident: Peak $69, twilight $49, senior $49, faculty $49, student $39, junior $29. Non-resident FriSun: Peak $89, twilight-$65. Cart fees: all rates include a cart. www.palouseridge.com.

•Pine Acres (509) 466-9984. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $12; seniors/juniors (weekdays only) $11. 9-hole: weekends/ weekdays $8; seniors/juniors (weekdays only) $7. Pull carts $1. Tee times: none. Range bucket prices: 135 balls for $10, 90 balls for $7.50, 60 balls for $6.50. Club Rentals: $0.50 a club.

•Pomeroy GC (509) 843-1197. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $18. 9-hole: $12. 18hole cart fee: $20, 9-hole: $10. Off-course cart fee: $3. Tee times: none.

•Ponderosa Springs (208) 664-1101. 9-hole: weekends/weekdays $12, $6 to play again.

Weekdays: seniors (55 and over) $10, juniors (17 and under) $10. Ten-play passes: $90. Pull carts only: $2. Club rentals: $3 for a bag. Tee times: none. No dress code.

•Prairie Falls GC, Post Falls (208) 457-0210.

18-hole greens fees: weekdays $25; weekends $30. 18-hole cart fee: $30; 9-hole: $15. Tee times: one week in advance. www.prairiefallsgolf.com.

•Priest Lake GC (208) 443-2525. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays high season (June 18-Sept. 11) $55; 9-hole: weekends and high season $29; off-season $29 for 18, $15 for 9. 18-cart fee: $15 per seat, 9-cart fee: $12 per seat. Tee times: no deadline, but time availability varies. www.priestlakegolfcourse.com.

•Quail Ridge GC (509) 758-8501. 18-hole greens fees: weekdays (Monday-Thursday) $25; weekends $28. 9-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $17. 18-hole cart fee: $28, $14 per seat; 9-hole: $16, $8 per seat. Tee times: one week in advance.

•The Creek at Qualchan GC (509) 448-9317.

18-hole greens fees: weekends $29, weekdays $27 (with discount card $20 during weekdays, $18 for seniors, $23 on weekends). 9-

hole: weekends/weekdays (only available after 3 p.m.), $20 (with discount card $16). 18hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call previous Friday starting at 2 p.m.; weekdays, call two days in advance by 2 p.m. www.spokaneparks.org.

•Ranch Club Golf Course (208) 448-1731. 18hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $21. 9hole: weekends/weekdays $16. 18-hole cart fee: $20; 9-hole: $15. Golf all day (April, May, October, November): $15. Tee times: on weekends reservations are needed a couple of days in advance.

•Ritzville GC (509) 659-9868. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $22; weekdays $20; senior (Monday-Thursday) $17. 9-hole: weekends $16; weekdays $14, senior (Monday-Thursday) $12. High School students and below can play unlimited rounds for $5 (Monday-Thursday). Trail fee: $5. Tee times: no deadlines.

Subject to change because of city council.

•Sandpoint Elks GC (208) 263-4321. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $22. 9hole: weekends/weekdays $16. 18-hole cart fee: $22; 9-hole: $16. Tee times: none.

•Shoshone G&TC (208) 784-0161. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $26, senior $22, junior $18 (under 18 years). 9-hole: weekends/weekdays $16, senior $14, junior $9.

Monday except holidays, all day $20. 18-hole cart fee: $26; 9-hole: $13. Tee times: no deadlines.

•St. John G&CC (509) 648-3259. All-day greens fees: weekends/weekdays $15. 9-hole: weekdays $10.

•St. Maries GC (208) 245-3842. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $24; weekdays $20 (weekdays juniors, $8). 9-hole: weekends $15; weekdays $13 (juniors, $8). 18-hole cart fee: $26; 9-hole: $13. Tee times: no deadline.

•StoneRidge GC (208) 437-GOLF. 18-hole greens fees: May-Sept weekdays $32; weekends $35; weekdays twilight $22, weekends twilight $25; April and October $26 any time, twilight $18; Cart-$18 per seat. Large bag range balls-$6. Tee times: call 14 days in advance. www.stoneridgeidaho.com.

•Sun Dance GC (509) 466-4040. 18-hole greens fees: weekends/weekdays $24, discounted $20; juniors $13.50; seniors $20, discounted $17.50. 9-hole: weekends/weekdays, all 18-hole rates apply until 3 p.m; $17.50 (seniors $17.50; juniors $13.50). 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Twilight: $20. Tee times: call one week in advance. www.sundancegc.com.

•Tekoa GC (509) 284-5607. 9-hole greens fees: weekdays $12. weekends/holidays $15.

9-hole: $9. Tee times: none.

•Twin Lakes Village GC (208) 687-1311. 18hole greens fees: all week $35; seniors (Monday-Friday) $25. 9-hole: Monday-Friday and weekends after 3 p.m. and before 8 a.m. $22; Monday-Friday 18-hole for juniors is $18, under 9 is $12; twilight rate $28 after 3 p.m. 18hole cart fee: $14 per seat; 9-hole: $7 per seat.

Tee times: call one week in advance. www.golftwinlakes.com.

•University of Idaho GC (208) 885-6171. 18hole greens fees: Weekends $28. Weekdays $25, students $16, seniors $22, juniors $15. 9hole weekends: $17 after 2 p.m.; 9-hole weekdays: students $16, juniors $15, seniors $16.

June-September twilight (weekdays after 5 p.m.) $16. 18-hole cart fee: $13 per seat; 9-hole: $8 per seat. Tee times: accepted one week in advance. www.webs.uidaho.edu/golf.

•Trailhead GC (formerly Valley View GC) (509) 928-3484. 9-hole: $13.64 every day, $9.95 juniors/seniors; second 9: $6.82 adults, $5.69 juniors/seniors; Pull cart $3.80. Club rental $9.24. Power cart: 9-hole: $13.04, 18hole: $22.83. Sundays after 3 p.m. 9-hole $6.82.

•Wandermere GC (509) 466-8023. 18-hole greens fees: weekends $29; weekdays $25, seniors $21, junior $18 flat rate (regardless of 9-hole or 18-hole, after 3 p.m. on weekends).

9-hole: weekdays $19, seniors $16. 18-hole cart fee: $28; 9-hole: $14. Tee times: weekends, call one week in advance; weekdays, call one day in advance. www.wandermere.com.

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Page 12

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Spokesman-Review

GOLF 2012

PINEHURST

Continued from K3 that “we can kick the tires and see what we’ve got.”

Eight tees were added to the championship course, lengthening it by 271 yards to 7,485. The fairways were widened by an average of 50 percent, a move designed to give players more options. The tightangled dogleg on the seventh hole was widened to more closely resemble how it played in the 1940s.

Pinehurst Resort CEO and owner Bob Dedman Jr. said groundskeepers have eliminated “40 acres of the rough that we have come to know and hate.”

Only two cuts of grass remain: green and fairway.

Roughly 32 acres of grass was stripped and replaced with areas of hardpan, sand, pine straw and wiregrass — all components of the course’s original design.

“We obviously started on the track of preparing for (the two opens) over two years ago when we started working with Ben Crenshaw ... on the concepts to return some of the strategy back to the course,” Dedman said. “And it continues to evolve. ...

The beauty of that has been just adding that much more texture and more variety, and aesthetically, it’s significantly different than it was (when No. 2 last hosted the Open) in 2005.”

Dedman says the course should hold up well despite two weeks of nearly nonstop traffic, and that for the

Women’s Open, he expects the greens to be “somewhat more receptive than they would from a men’s shot approaching the green.

“Certainly the firmness and the texture of the fairways will be the same,” Dedman said. “Really, the only difference is the receptiveness of the greens, and they really have it down to the metrics.”

Reg Jones, managing director of the U.S. Open, says the biggest questions faced by the organizers at this point concern parking, transportation, booking volunteers and the other outside-the-ropes logistics that must be sorted out in the next two years.

But that’s where the region’s experience at hosting big-time golf comes in handy, and that’s why Jones says his crew is “looking forward to a home game in 2014.”

“When you look at the recent history of golf in the sandhills, I think it’s pretty obvious the USGA likes to be here,” Jones said.

Pinehurst No. 2 has hosted U.S. Opens in 1999 and 2005. The U.S. Women’s Open has been held at nearby Pine Needles three times since 1996 – but never at Ross’ masterpiece course. By 2014, the USGA will have held 12 championships in 20 years in the North Carolina sandhills, with the most recent such event at No. 2 being the 2008 U.S. Amateur.

Padgett says it didn’t take much convincing at all a

few years ago to persuade Dedman to go along with the proposal for backto-back Opens.

Padgett says he pitched the idea to Dedman, and then there was “just a long pause, and the only thing he said was, ‘Has it ever been done before?”’

“He got the idea of being first, never being done before, and the history part was all that he really wanted to know,” he added.

“It wasn’t hardly a 5-minute conversation, but it spoke volumes for his commitment and how he feels about working with the USGA. “It didn’t take him long to say, ‘We’re in.”

This June 2005 file photo shows construction behind a statue of the late Payne Stewart, who famously won the 1999 U.S. Open on the 18th green of the No. 2 course at Pinehurst (N.C.), which will host U.S. Open and Women’s U.S. Open in 2014.

FILE Associated Press

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