Idaho’s Circling Raven celebrates its 20th

As you pull into the parking lot at the Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, Idaho you can see it is something special. With its vast landscape and rolling terrain, you can see from the car that this is a course like no other.

    This is a course owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and a course that is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024. Since opening for play, this is a course that has won local, regional and national awards. Course designer Gene Bates has even admitted this is his favorite course he has designed in his years of golf architecture.

    “The diversity of the land was very unusual and favorable for designing a golf course,” said Bates. “We had wetlands, we had the Palouse and we had elevation. All we needed to do was connect the dots.”

    The course sprawls over 620 acres of rolling terrain with views far and wide and a chance to see a variety of wildlife including some moose who roam the property. When Circling Raven opened it was quickly named as one of the best new courses in the country. Since then, the awards have been coming in every year, including being ranked as the top course in Idaho and one of the top casino and resort courses in the country.

    The Coeur d’Alene Tribe started its resort with a small building in a parking lot. Since then, the resort has taken on a life of its own with a 300-room hotel, conference center, event center, multiple restaurants, a 60,000 square foot gaming floor and more. When the golf course was added, it really put the resort in a class by itself.

    What gets your attention from the first tee box is the vastness of the area. On the back nine, you don’t even see another hole as you wind through the hills and the trees and get a chance to take advantage of the elevation changes along the way. Some big events have been held through the years at Circling Raven, including the Road to the LPGA Tour, which made a stop for three years from 2021-2023 as one of its regular tournaments on the yearly schedule.

    At a recent 20th anniversary celebration, some of the comments from tribal members and media members spoke volumes about the course.

    “Once you putt out on 18, you don’t want the round to end – the course is that good,” said one.

    “It is like you and Mother Nature are playing a round of golf together,” said another.

    You get the idea. Circling Raven is a place where golf and nature come together. From the opening tee shot to the last putt on the 18th green, you will enjoy one of the top courses in the Northwest, and in the country.                  

For more information on Circling Raven and the resort see the website www.cdacasino.com.