Running Y Resort • Klamath Falls, Ore.
Leavenworth Golf Course
...Located in the beautiful Washington Cascades.
added a birdie on the par-5 11th, an homage to the famed 13th at Augusta with a creek running down the left side and across the front of a two-tiered green. Yet, here I stand, the eyes of my group members upon me as my hand hovers over my four- and five-irons. At 170 yards, it’s a tweener for me, and even as I debate, I know I am dooming myself to a long night of second-guessing. I pick the five and take a practice swing as a lone hawk circles overhead, the only sound the low buzzing of a distant jet ski. I make a smooth swing and … glug! … the ball plunks cleanly into the lake, a good 15 yards short of the target. My shoulders sag. I grab the four, drop a second ball, and stick it squarely on the surface before two-putting for a heartbreaking five. After my round, I make an appointment to ease my pain with an afternoon massage at the Coeur d’Alene Resort and Spa, just a short boat ride across the lake from the signature course. An hour later, I meet Coeur d’Alene’s wine steward, Eric Cook, for a tour of the Resort’s impressive cellar, including the largest collection of wines anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. Cook notes that about a third of the Resort’s wines are Washingtonbased, a tribute to the quality of juice being made within our borders, and we toast the day with a glass of a Washington syrah. Staring out at the lake from my seat by the window at Beverly’s, Coeur d’Alene’s signature five-star restaurant, my shoulders eased by a 45-minute massage and my belly warmed by a delicious wine and one of the finest steaks I’ve ever had, I think about the island green out there somewhere in the dark, waiting for me, calling me back like a mythological Siren. Only next time, I’m hitting the four. — BB
RUNNING Y RANCH
15% OFF Coupon Book your tee time today!
Leavenworth Golf Course • 509.548.7267 9101 Icicle Rd. Leavenworth, WA 98829
Offer not valid with any other discount offers
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AUGUST 2010
18-Hole Golf Course located just one mile from the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth
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Klamath Falls, Ore. 800-851-6013 | runningyranch.com
nlike Prospector and Coeur d’Alene, which both sit minutes from I-90, or even Semiahmoo, just a few miles off the interstate, you don’t just happen upon Running Y Ranch. That’s because the full-service, all-inclusive outdoorsman’s paradise isn’t on the way to anything — it’s a true golf destination. Just across the southern end of Upper Klamath Lake from the mountain resort community of Klamath Falls, 90 minutes east of I-5 and just under eight hours from the Puget Sound area, it’s the furthest drive of the four, making it best to plan a long weekend, or even a twoday drive with a stop at one of Portland’s public tracks on the way. It’s the drive, though, that sets the scene — as you exit I-5 in Eugene and head southeast, winding through the colorful Deschutes National Forest, past eagle’s nests, raging rivers, over mountain passes and across dozens of scenic bridges, you’ll find it harder and harder to remember just what you were so worried about at work last week. By the time you arrive at Running Y, you’re in the right cascadegolfer.com