Just curious ,I used to live in Sandpoint and loved the old "Hidden Lakes" and was wondering if Nicklaus did that piece of land justice .I cant find anything recent on the web .

I don't have anything solid for you, but I heard that it was not going to be completed until sometime in '09. Plus, we have had one rough winter around here (Spokane), and I know that Sandpoint had it just as bad. Most of the courses are hurting a bit, so it would not surprise me if they are running behind schedule. They reworked one hole at my home course, Downriver G.C., and they are two month's behind due to weather. I can just imagine what they are dealing with.

Thanks for the update . I miss Hidden Lakes ,it was so tough with the pack river on 14 holes .I donated a lot of balls in that river .

Hate to pull the old thread hijack but i will be in Spokane in two weeks and was wondering what are the best courses to play, character and fun round count a bit more than boring and immaculate.

Indian Canyon
Downriver
Creek at Qualchan
Chewelah Golf - North of Spokane if you have the time
Circling Raven - in Idaho if you have the time

Priest lake is very good .Stoneridge in Blanchard is good .Mirrior lake is a fun muni and the drive up is worth the trip (near Bonners Ferry Id.)Hayden lake has a club that was built in the early 1900s .And of course ,Couer d' alene resort is spectacular.

Try Meadowwood G.C., Downriver G.C. is in great shape and the new hole should be in play by then, Indian Canyon is a great track but not in the best of shape yet, and Hangman Valley G.C. is a great track. We have a bunch of great courses. And I agree with a previous post, Try and play Circling Raven if you can.

What is the new hole at Downriver? Moeadowwood is good as stated (may parents live adjacent to the back 9).

They have taken #6, the par 3, 115 yards, straight uphill, and put in a new tee box 90* to the right, lengthened the hole to play between 145 and 170, and incorporated the temporary green into the old green to make it one of the biggest greens on the golf course. It is a beautiful looking hole and I cannot wait to play it, but a part of me is really going to miss that short, blind, uphill shot and the excitement of seeing how close that well struck shot really is.

I'm having a hard time picturing the new tee box on #6. From what I remember, there wasn't a lot of room there in the first place, with the stairs coming up from #5. You are right...the anticipation of where your ball ended up was cool but I could not stand the mat we had to hit off of. More times than not, I hit a bad shot simply because the mat was garbage.

The mat is still garbage. To give you a better idea of where the new tee is, envision yourself on the green, looking at the tee box for #7. Turn 60* to the right and you would have been looking into heavy trees and rough. They cleared this area out and have turned it into the new hole. I will try and post some pics if I get a chance, but it will take a bit of time.

That is the one hole I always remember. And yes the mat is garbage. Wonder if the new tee will use mats? Hopefully they can get enough sun on the new teebox to have real grass.

Ok, much better description. I was thinking to myself, "how the heck did they lenghten that hole?" but now it makes sense. Shoot, I'll be in Spokane mid-August so we should probably donate a Reel Feel mat to the course (shameless plug for a sponsor) to make the hole more playable. Hopefully they did go with a grass tee box.

The new tee is bona fide turf. That was part of the reason for the new tee location, so the sun would hit it and the grass would grow. Plus, The grounds crew were having a tough time keeping the hole mowed due to the steepness of the hole. I am going to miss it, but the new set-up is going to be much better. And as for the mat, since we won't need one, I think the old mat should be sacrificed in a big bonfire to pay for all of the times I was sprayed with dirty mat water after a nice summer deluge!