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May26
Sierra Bezdicek did everything she could Wednesday to keep the individual State 3A girls golf championship in the family. But the Mt. Spokane freshman was ultimately done in by a nasty double-bogey on the 315-yard par-4 15th hole at Liberty Lake Golf Course and came up a couple of strokes short in her determined effort to capture the title her older sister and senior teammate, Savana, won last spring.
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May20
Despite having a self-described golf swing that is “just terrible,” Shelly Christensen is having a major impact on junior golfers in the Inland Northwest.
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May13
While the most memorable of bad shots can sometimes leave a long-lasting impression – or a deep bruise – a forecaddie’s worst nightmare is trying to track down balls for golfers who string their bad shots together, say for the entire 18 holes.
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April29
I don’t know about the rest of you recreational golfers out there, but I’m on the verge of a meltdown because of this wet, cold spring.
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April22
When the high-tech industry shoved its way into the instructional arm of the golf business several years back, there were many technophobe-type PGA club professionals who understandably shied away.
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April15
There is a great deal of risk involved in nearly every aspect of the golf business these days. But the leap of faith Craig Schuh took this spring, when he decided to lease Deer Park Golf Club from the city of Deer Park, has raised that risk factor to a whole new level.
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April08
Just a few minutes of trying to comprehend the rate structure for Spokane County’s three public courses – as posted on the county’s website – my head exploded.
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This John Steidel-designed gem is part of the Wildhorse Resort & Casino, which is operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and is currently undergoing a massive expansion project that includes the construction of a 10-story on-site hotel – complete with 32 suites and both indoor and outdoor swimming pools – that is scheduled to open in September. The scenic par-72 course, which opened in 1997, features large bent grass greens, wide inviting fairways, six ponds, 66 bunkers and four sets of tee boxes that allow it to play anywhere from 5,718 to 7,112 yards long. The early spring views of the nearby Blue Mountains are sensational, and the condition of the course when I played it was remarkable, even in the middle of a heavy, day long rain.
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Spokane Country Club will celebrate its 100-year anniversary of the move to its current site with an open house from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday, April 29. As part of the celebration, the club will be offering 100-day trial memberships (April 23-July 31) to anyone who might have an interest in joining the 450 families who currently use SCC’s course, pro shop, practice facilities, clubhouse and swimming pool.
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Founded in 1929 as a nine-hole course inside Pendleton’s city limits, Pendleton Country Club was relocated to its current cite between Pendleton and Pilot Rock in 1958. The current layout also started as a nine-hole course, but was expanded to 18 in 1986, when nine new holes were mixed in with those already in existence. Today, the unpretentious country club draws the majority of its nearly 250 members from the two towns nearby, and allows daily fee access for golfers who reside outside of Umatilla County. Non-member golfers from within the country are also allowed a limited number of chances to play as a guest of the member.
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March15
The limited playing options for local golfers are expected to increase considerably this week with as many as eight additional public courses in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area planning to open for the season.
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Sept17
Beth Wrigley seems determined to put her record streak of victories in the Spokane Area Women’s Golf Association’s annual championship tournament out of reach of whoever eventually dethrones her. The former assistant golf coach at Whitworth University, who works part time as a registered nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital, used her short game to “get up and down from everywhere” at Esmeralda Golf Course on Thursday to fashion a final round of 8-over-par 78 and claim her sixth consecutive title in Spokane’s biggest women’s golf event.
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Aug13
Located on the eastern edge of the Washington State University campus, this John Harbottle III-designed wonder is already being hailed as one of the top college courses in existence, and with good reason. Stretching to a hearty 7,308-yard from the back Crimson tees, Palouse Ridge offers stunning views of the Palouse that most people have only seen in aerial photographs, along with some of the most unique hole designs in the Pacific Northwest.
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When Washington State University’s Palouse Ridge Golf Club shoved its way onto the national stage in late autumn of 2008, Inland Northwest golfers were understandably thrilled. Here was another magnificently designed high-end layout, capable of offering golfers of all skill levels another unique and memorable golfing experience. Those trying to scratch out a profit on the other courses within a 40-minute drive of Pullman, however, were understandably less jazzed.
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This short, but interesting, par-71 layout features a wonderfully diverse collection of holes that, like most of the other courses in the area, play over moderately rolling terrain just a little more than four miles south of Clarkston. Also, like all of the courses we played on our two-day trip, Quail Ridge offers gorgeous views of the surrounding hills and valleys, along with some challenging approach shots to elevated greens, many of which are nothing more than a rumor from fairway.
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Okay, there are some quirky holes on this 6,359-yard, par-71 course that is owned by the Lewiston airport and leased to the city. The 270-yard par-4 first, which plays downhill to a plateau green and leaves anyone unable to reach it off the tee with a completely blind second shot, and the nasty par-4 third, with its aiming bullseye that is rumored to be somewhere near the middle of the fairway, are the first to come to mind.
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Originally designed as a nine-hole layout by Francis L. James in 1933, this 6,602-yard, par-72 University of Idaho course was redesigned by Bob Bolduck in 1968 and expanded to 18 holes. It serves as the home venue for the University of Idaho’s men’s and women’s golf teams and like Palouse Ridge, offers some remarkable views of the rolling hills and distant mountains from its highest points.
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July24
Tracy Hanson’s decision to retire from a successful 16-year career on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour wasn’t as difficult as some of those even vaguely familiar with her competitive drive might think. “The last couple of years I’d simply been losing the passion and the desire to play and practice,” the 38-year-old Hanson explained during a phone interview from her father’s home in Post Falls earlier this week. “And the travel was getting a little old, too, being on the road nine months out of the year.”
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July10
Ryan Ressa was in full-scramble mode Friday morning in his coach’s office on the UCLA campus in Westwood, Calif. And he was loving every minute of it.
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June26
KELLOGG – A friend recently e-mailed me a link to a virtual tour of the Galena Ridge at Silver Mountain Resort golf course that opened nine of its proposed 18 holes to the general public earlier this week. His e-mail included a note that said, “This looks like a real ball-eater!”
and Chip Shots