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After opening a 30,000-square-foot bingo hall in the early 1990s, adding
considerable gaming space three years later, and building its first guest
rooms in 2001, the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, Idaho,
was ready for a golf course. Of all the architects considered for the job,
however, only one suggested building it on the east side of Highway 95.
Gene Bates, a former Vice President of Design & Construction Services
for Jack Nicklaus's firm who has since designed courses with Fred
Couples and Johnny Miller, thought the land on that side of the road was
significantly more interesting. And, though dealing with wetlands and a
railroad might make working there difficult, Bates was determined to make
it happen.
Being on sovereign land controlled by the Tribe's own environmental
department certainly made life easier, but when the building contractor
went bankrupt shortly after work began, Bates needed to think fast. A
combination of sub-contractors, Tribal workers, and Bates's own family
members labored tirelessly to get the course built and, when complete,
it covered 620 amazing acres of forested land, wetlands, and rolling
farmland. Since opening in 2003, Circling Raven has appeared in
numerous Top-100 lists, hosted several professional golf tournaments,
and built an ever-increasing number of admirers.
Circling Raven's back nine takes you on a mesmerizing journey that nears
its end with a superb par-5 where the tee shot must carry a water hazard
and avoid a 30-yard-long bunker on the left. As with all great strategic
holes, the closer you go to the sand, the easier the next shot will be.
Indeed, stay out of it and you'll have a clear shot at going for the green
in two. Bail right, however, and you'll need to cover another large bunker
farther up the fairway, and your angle into the green won't be nearly as
good. The putting surface itself is fairly flat, though back-left pins are
affected by a small bowl in that section of the green.
Architect: Gene Bates
Photography by Rob Perry
CIRCLING RAVEN
GOLF CLUB GOLF CLUB
PAR 5 ● 559 YARDS
WORLEY, ID
H O L E
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