Eastern Washington/Coeur d'Alene golf advice

[jp7249]

Hi, planning a buddies trip to Coeur d'Alene in early September. We are probably going to fly in/out of Spokane.

We are playing at Circling Raven and CDA, Just trying to decide between Palouse Ridge or The Idaho Club. Any advice or guidance? Any other places we should be looking at?

Thanks!

[schneidm10]

Play Palouse ridge. I haven’t played the Idaho club but I haven’t heard great things. There’s water everywhere and you can lose a lot of balls. My friend is a local pro in the area and has played tournaments there. The winning score for golfers of that caliber was close to 80.

Palouse Ridge is my favorite course in the area. I highly recommend it. Plus they usually have good deals.

[jp7249]

Thanks! Where can I find deals? Are they on golfnow/teeoff ?

[schneidm10]

They usually have this thing called destination Palouse that’s $65. Usually it can be found in a golf magazine around this area or if you ask them about it when you book a tee time and let them know you’re coming from Spokane, they will give it to you. The price no matter what comes with range balls and a cart.

[Steele47]

Fully agree that Palouse is a fantastic course and it's one of my favorites here. Generous fairways. It's just a 'big' golf course. Idaho Club is very difficult. Some guys don't like to play overly difficult courses. I do sometimes treating it as a sort of novelty,,, break away from a usual round. There are some really gorgeous holes there you would be hard pressed to forget. I think the slope there is 147.

Indian Canyon in Spokane is great old school track. They've had 3 USGA events (Think a Publinx, Junior Boys, and Womens Am although not sure) there over the years. Qualchan is also a good track. Only mention these two in case you want to stay closer to Spokane/CDA.

[pldbryan]

If you want to drive a bit, go check out Wine Valley in Walla Walla. I would say that it and circling raven are the two best tracks in E WA. It is a bit of a drive but well worth it IMO. Plus you could hit some wineries if you like that sort of thing.

If it were me, I would skip Indian Canyon and play the Creek of Qualchan. Way better course If I get to pick.

[pldbryan]

Oh yeah, if you have any pull into getting on some AMAZING private courses, Blackrock and Gozzer are right there and you cannot do better. Rock Creek is another fully private I would out just below the two above.

[Edaw68]

If you're already going south from CDA to play Circling Raven, you're already halfway to Palouse Ridge, so logistically it's easier. One caveat for early September, check the WSU football schedule because football weekends the course is usually pretty crowded, and sometimes the deals others have mentioned aren't available. If you come during the week it's not tough to get on. Maybe try leaving CDA one day to drive to Circling Raven (about a 40 minute drive) for a stay and play deal, then the next day go play Palouse (another hour drive), then work your way back north.

How many on your trip? I can offer dining (kinda limited) and hotel advice in Pullman if you get down in this area.

[jp7249]

Thanks everyone!

4 of us are going. The Cougars are on the road that weekend....so no complications there. I found a few hotels that have stay/play deals with Circling Raven and Palouse Ridge. Any other advice would be appreciated.