COEUR D'ALENE GOLF RESORT - Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

COEUR D’ALENE RESORT GOLF COURSE
On the Lake
Coeur D’Alene, ID
208.667.4673
www.cdaresort.com

Architect: Scott Miller
Par - 71
Excitement Level – 11/12
Difficulty – 5/12
Conditioning – Five stars
Cost - $185 peak, $99 reduced
Value – Five stars
Overall – Four and ½ stars

Tees Yards Rating Slope

Tournament 6309 69.6 121

Resort 5899 68.2 117

Senior 5428 70.4 114

Forward 4446 64.4 104

The sky is azure, the fairways are hunter and the water is crystalline. Many resorts boast an inflated price (sometimes $175 or more), but If ever a resort course were worth a $150, it's CDA. "When you look at a picture, you cannot believe the sky is that blue and the grass is that green, but it really is" said player Jim Donovan, a traveler all the way from New Hampshire.

CDA has suffered two knocks from purists. Many think it is too easy at it's mere 6307, yards, but as par is 70, many of the par-4s exceed 400 yards and the knock loses some of it's value. Second, the course's main draw - the incredible floating green at the par-3 14th - a huge island in the middle of the lake that is attached by the mainland by an underwater system of pulleys that move the green from side to side and to and from the lake edge has been vilified as a gimmick. You actually have to take a boat to the green. A digital readout on the tee shows the day's location - anywhere from 100 - 175 from the men's tee. The ladies have a special peninsula tee a little further in the lake.

Happily, most see the 14th as a fun addition to a solid and interesting golf course. Wide fairways offer multiple corridors of play for all skill levels. Most routes to the greens are open so novices can play the whole day without being overwhelmed.

Other interesting holes include the par-4 2d which has a serene green backdrop of the shimmering lake, the strategic par-4 11th with Furman Creek running down the left side before cutting sharply in front of the green, and the short par-4 13th with the lake on the left and two bights cutting into the fairway landing area and in front of the green.