Award-Winning Amenity of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and its CDA Casino Resort Hotel in Worley, Idaho Continues to Garner Best-Of Awards
(WORLEY, Idaho) – While accumulating best-in-kind honors has been a constant since Day One at Circling Raven, some distinctions stand out more than others. Golf Digest magazine’s biennial ranking of “America’s Greatest Public Courses” is one of them.
It’s not just that the magazine is considered, along with a select few others, the Holy Grail resource for discerning golfers and resort lifestyle travelers. It’s also the methodology employed.
Golf Digest’s biennial rankings are determined by the magazine’s course rating panelists, a group of several hundred low-handicap golfers who rate many thousand U.S. courses on a 10-point scale in various criteria.
“Considering there are roughly 13,500 public access courses in the U.S. being named one of the ‘100 Greatest’ by this esteemed magazine is extremely humbling and gratifying,” said Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel CEO David Lasarte-Meeks.
This is the debut for Circling Raven on Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” and it didn’t just eke in. The Gene Bates-designed course landed at an impressive No. 61, joining the likes of other heavyweight courses such as Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pacific Dunes, Whistling Straits, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Bethpage (Black Course), and Torrey Pines (South Course), which hosted Tiger Woods’ epic U.S. Open Championship win over Rocco Mediate last summer.
Also on the list is Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course (No. 75), which is an easy, scenic drive from Circling Raven and one reason why many avid golf travelers seek out the Idaho panhandle for a spectacular, value-laden golf-resort getaway. Another reason is Palouse Ridge in Eastern Washington and a short hop from Circling Raven. Palouse Ridge was named a best-new course last year upon its grand opening by many prominent golf publications, and it, along with Circling Raven Golf Club and Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course offer a formidable trio of A-plus golf courses close to one another and Spokane Airport (GEG).
In addition to being named one of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” Circling Raven also shone in Golf Digest’s “Best-in-State 2009-10” breakdown, both biennial lists of which appear in the May 2009 issue which is currently on newsstands.
The Best-in-State lists combine both public and private courses, and Circling Raven came in at No. 5, trailing three private courses and a recently-shuttered public-access resort course. Hence, Circling Raven is effectively the No. 1-rated public course in Idaho by Golf Digest.
This is the latest award garnered by Circling Raven, which has accumulated 40 since its first full season (2004). Recent honors bestowed upon Circling Raven include:
* Top 100 Courses You Can Play 2008-09 – GOLF Magazine
* Top-40 Casino Courses in the U.S. (No. 4) – Golf Digest
* No. 1 in Idaho, America’s Best Courses You Can Play – Golfweek Magazine 2009
* Top U.S. Resort Courses – Golfweek Magazine 2008
* America’s Top Golf Courses – Zagat Survey 2007-08 rankings
* No. 1 Tribal Golf Course in America – Native American Casino Magazine 2008
* Top 36 Resort Courses in the West – Fairways + Greens Magazine 2008
* Resort Merchandiser of the Year – PGA of America Northwest Section 2008
* Resort Merchandiser of the Year – Inland Empire Chapter of the PGA 2008
* Service Excellence Award by the Coeur d’Alene Area Chapter of the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor
For more information about Circling Raven Golf Club or Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel call 1-800-523-2464 or visit www.circlingraven.com.
About Circling Raven Golf Club and Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel
Owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and convenient to Spokane (WA) airport, the casino resort and golf club are nestled on a reservation covering 345,000 acres of mountains, lakes, old-growth forest and farmland. The resort spans the western edge of the northernRocky Mountains. Tribal history also tells us that Circling Raven was a spiritually powerful leader, his name coming from his close relationship to the raven, who helped guide him on his journeys, warn him of danger and show him where to find fish and game.
Circling Raven was created amid a unique blend of wetlands, grasslands and woodlands. At 7,189 yards, the par 72 championship layout meanders through 620 acres, only 100 representing cultivated ground. Wildlife is abundant, including elk, deer, moose and an occasional black bear. In fact, the opening was delayed due to damage on two greens by migrating elk.
Golf Course
* Yardages: Gold, 7,189; Blue, 6,578; White, 6,108; Red, 5,389; Green, 4,708
* Total Acreage: 670 (including practice area, practice green and clubhouse)
* Amenities: The clubhouse is 6,500 square feet, including the Twisted Earth Grill and full service bar. Both locker rooms include showers and lockers. The practice facility covers 25 acres; separated into areas for wedges, sand play and all clubs in the bag. The Stensgar Pavilion adjacent to the course is a full service event venue, used for golf, business, wedding and other events.
* The casino resort hotel adjacent to the course includes 202 rooms, casino, restaurants, and other amenities.
The Coeur d’Alene Casino offers 1,800 machines for play in smoking and non-smoking areas, off-track betting for horse and dog races, high-stakes bingo, entertainment and many other amenities. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week every day of the year. The resort is regularly voted the most popular casino in the Inland Northwest.
Contact:
Dan Shepherd, Buffalo Communications, 703-891-3320, dshepherd@billycaspergolf.com, www.buffalocommunications.com
