The Coeur d'Alene experience

The Coeur d'Alene Golf Course recognized by Golf Digest

Sitting about 130 miles east of Moses Lake is one of America's top golf courses.

And why should you care? The drive itself can push you away, but the drive home can keep you going back.

It is an experience that will leave you remembering North Idaho the way it was meant to be remembered. Plus, it is an opinion shared by Golf Digest, the largest magazine solely dedicated to the golfing fanatic.

Nestled in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains and on the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene, the 6,757-yard par 71 Coeur d'Alene Golf Course is an adventure that offers scenery, intimidation and golfing challenges, but it also leaves opportunity for high rewards with high risks.

The Coeur d'Alene is becoming a golfers paradise and the awards and rankings are all the proof it needs. Since opening in 1991, the course has worked its way toward national recognition, constantly pushing for higher standards.

"We survey a lot of our guests and ask what they like and don't like and what they like about other courses," said Mike DeLong, director of golf at the Coeur d'Alene Golf Course. "That and with our owner, we are always in the continual improvement mode. It is never good enough."

DeLong said they are about 10 percent away from the quality they are looking for, but with only 90 percent accomplished, Golf Digest still ranked it nationally No. 1 in golf course conditioning and No. 2 in customer service and the best golf course to play in Idaho in its May 2004 edition.

In October 2003, Golf Odyssey ranked the Coeur d'Alene Golf Course experience as one of the top 20 golfing destinations in the world, encompassing courses such as St. Andrews, home of the 2003 British Open, and Pebble Beach, Calif. in that same edition.

The rankings have become Coeur d'Alene's badge of honor.

"We use some of those things as motivational tools," DeLong said.

After a valet parks your car and unloads your bags, you walk through the Coeur d'Alene Resort in search of the boardwalk where you wait for your ride to the clubhouse. Your ride shows up in the form of a handcrafted boat with two Chevy 350 engines to take you to your golfing getaway.

The experience gets better as your driver pushes on the throttle and you leave the resort, move past one point of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains and come into view of the Coeur d'Alene Golf Course.

But, that is where awe can slowly fade away as the sight of the No. 14 floating green comes into view. According to Dylan Hill, caddy at the golf course for four years, that is where the intimidation begins.

The floating green is the trademark hole for the The Coeur d'Alene, changing length from 100 to 175 yards daily.

The lake has become a threat for any golfer. Holes 11 through 14 have brought the lake into play, but the most noticeable is the trademark floating green.

Hill and other caddies share the idea that golfers take caution when approaching those holes.

"They have water holes 11 through 14 and then they have a lot of bunkers that make it more challenging," said fifth-year caddy Andy Nault.

But, Coeur d'Alene has made the experience a little easier. Each group gets a caddy to walk them through the course, set up each shot, give distances to the green and obstacles to keep in mind.

Their job is what makes the course enjoyable.

"We want to see guys hit the shots and get next to the pin," Nault said. "We want the players we caddy for score well."

"I definitely take pride in my work with my customers," Hill added.

It is the experience with the caddies that have prevented The Coeur d'Alene from advancing in technology on the course.

"The world is infatuated with technology right know and the GPS systems that are on carts right now is really cool, but having the caddy is better than that," DeLong said.

It is that personal experience with a caddy who knows the course and is willing to help the guests with the golf experience that sets The Coeur d'Alene apart from other courses.

And according to Golf Digest, the grooming is the other. The short fairways, well cut greens and deep bunkers make the course unique. But that has become the Coeur d'Alene way.

DeLong said the course went through a complete renovation over a year ago in an attempt to make the course better, more appealing to the eye and filled with more challenges to the golfer.

"We tried to add trees, bunkers or length that would penalize a good player and a bad shot, but not the average player," DeLong said.

DeLong added that before the renovation, the biggest complaint against the course was "we were too easy."

That soon changed and what followed was a five-star rating from Golf Digest and a Gold Stamp from Golf Magazine.

"The owner wants us to achieve as high a level as we can," DeLong said. "When the owner wants that, it is a trickle down affect. We just have to use our brain and keep it going."

Your 18 holes ends with a good-bye from your caddie, the feeling of playing the course, good or bad, and experiencing the the 15,000 square-foot floating green.

The boat that brought you to your golf getaway awaits at the dock to bring you back to your vehicle where a valet puts your bags back and leaves the car running.

All that is left is the replay of the golfing experience at one of the world's top ranked golf courses and 130 mile drive back to Moses Lake. Worth the drive for anyone wanting the golfing experience.

Writers note: The course challenges any golfer, whether you are a low-handicap or a casual player. But the experience is seeing The Coeur d'Alene's well-groomed fairways, deep and wide bunkers, but the view of the course with the lake as a backdrop makes every shot worthwhile.

The start of the experience by boat changes the experience, leaving a feeling of entering a new realm and the excitement of seeing the floating green for the first time brings anticipation. But, when you stand on the tee box and look out at nothing but lake standing between you and 15,000-square feet of grass, sand, trees and Geraniums, the nerves can take over a little.

Yet, you feel a certain drive to beat the floating green and you line up your shot and with your swing, watch the ball sail over the lake towards the green, only to fall short. That is what happened on my first attempt, but the second shot went on the green and I parred the hole.

Who really counts water hazard penalties anyway.