The Idaho Golf Trails

Now in its eighth year of play, the Idaho Golf Trail entices golfers to sample the best in Idaho golf. There are more than 100 golf courses statewide, and the golf trail features plenty of courses that you might have read about in national golf publications because of their quality, challenge and experience.
“The courses on the Idaho Golf Trail range from very good to worth-crossing-a-continent to play,” said one golf connoisseur.

The golf trail made up of 15 courses is organized into four loops – the Northern Loop, Central Loop, Southern Loop and Eastern Loop. Because of the broad distances between the different regions of Idaho (many mountain ranges stand in the way of direct travel north-to-south), it’s best to focus on one region at a time.
Almost all of the courses on the Idaho Golf Trail are embraced by a resort, so it’s possible to arrange accommodations and recreation activities as part of your stay. A golfer could play the Sun Valley course in the morning, fly fish for rainbow trout on the Wood River in the afternoon, and then take in an ice show at Sun Valley Lodge.

• Sun Valley, Banbury Golf Club, and Falcon Crest Golf Club comprise the Southern Loop of the trail. One could start out in the Boise area and hit Banbury and Falcon Crest, and then scoot up to Sun Valley (2.5 hours away) to finish off the southern loop.

• In Central Idaho, all four courses are in close proximity near McCall and New Meadows. The meticulously groomed Whitetail Club is a stone’s throw from Payette Lake. Jug Mountain Ranch, nestled in the woods, is a gem and Meadow Creek, a pine forest layout, is about 30 minutes from Whitetail and McCall. Tamarack Resort Osprey Meadows is the fourth course in the rotation.

• In Northern Idaho, all four courses on the trail are located close together, near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, just 30 minutes from the Spokane, Wash., International Airport. The 18-hole course at the Coeur d’Alene Resort offers a tantalizing chance to hit a clean iron onto a floating island green on Lake Coeur d’Alene. You can play hide and go seek at Circling Raven, south of Coeur d’Alene, where all of the nearby holes are hidden by wetlands and lush vegetation. Stone Ridge, near Spirit Lake, features multiple water hazards and sand trips. The University of Idaho course completes the group.

• The Eastern Loop consists of Teton Springs, Pinecrest and Teton Reserve.
After completing the experience of playing all 14 courses on the Idaho Golf Trail, players may be just as impressed with the surrounding mountain and lake scenery as the golf experience itself. Players would travel along five scenic byways, four river corridors and three major lakes to experience the trail.
For more information on the Idaho Golf Trail, see www.visitidaho.com