I recently had a conversation with someone who had a family member seeking to play golf in every state. He said the golfer only had two states remaining, one of which was Idaho. My response was when he plays Idaho, be sure to play Coeur d’Alene golf course in northern Idaho.
I fondly remember this course as one of the most beautiful I have played. It was 30 years ago, when I attended a national conference in Coeur d’Alene. Naturally, I thought about playing golf. My wife was with me on that trip and decided to ride along in the golf cart. She was glad that she did, not that she enjoys my golf but she could appreciate the natural and landscaped beauty of the Cour d’Alene golf course.
The course is most famous for its true island green. The green is actually a floating barge, which is moveable to create different yardages. A small boat on a cable transports the golfers from the shore to the green. I did par the island green.
It took some getting used to the course, where the fairways were cut short and almost as smooth as many course greens. Carts are not allowed on fairways to maintain the quality of the course. Required forecaddies help you with yardage, divot repair, and lost balls. It was my first experience with forecaddies.
The course adjoins beautiful Lake Coeur’ Alene, and it reminds me of Lake George in New York. In addition to beautifully manicured fairways and greens, there are tall pine trees and flowers. I recall one particular hole with a large cluster of red geraniums as a backdrop to the green.
Coeur d’Alene golf is truly a beautiful course and remains vivid in my memories over these many decades.
