rtoland99

Greens were in the best shape I have seen them in my four trips to the Idaho Club; however, many of the fairways were dry and had numerous brown spots on them as if they weren't being watered enough or didn't receive enough fertilizer to maintain growth.

For only having been open for two weeks, the course was in decent shape, with the exception of the 7th and 9th tees, which had very little grass and you had to tee of from a mat. greens were a bit bumpy, but the aerification that looked to have been performed fairly recently was growing in nicely.

The staff at the Idaho Club was friendly and engaging and the sheet beauty of the setting was incredible. The clubhouse was spacious and well designed and the beverage selection available in the bar was impressive. The pro shop could use some additional merchandise selections, however.

The course was scenic and routed through forests, rivers and some impressive rock outcroppings. The river valley keeps the soil fairly soft. With all the water available, I was surprised that several of the teeing grounds were not well conditioned...many divot marks with no sand applied.

The fairways were in excellent shape and the bunkering was clever and strategic. The sand; however was very inconsistent. I found the sand on holes 5-12 dry and playable while the others, particularly #14 to the left of the green were wet and heavy.

The course was tough, as I imagine Mr. Nicklaus and the founding members wanted it. I used every club in my bag and enjoyed the variety of tee shots you had to hit. I found the green complexes exceptionally difficult with many hard slopes and significant undulations. The green complex on #6 was pretty penal and perhaps coming in with a short iron was the reason behind the design of this hole. I found #4 green with a front pin placement to be nearly impossible. In our foursome, we were all within 25 feet of the hole...3 bogeys and one par, saved from 15 feet.

I love a challenge and definitely will play the course again. I liken it to the situation that Pete Dye must have found himself in after he first debuted the TPC at Sawgrass. There was some salty language tossed at the course by the tour pros and to Dye’s credit, he listened. He softened some of the courses more penal features and made it a very playable yet stern test.