One of the things the Inland Northwest is known for is its availability of affordable, playable and scenic golf courses. And that number is growing every summer. One of the newest ones is Circling Raven in Worley, site of this year's PGA Sectional tournament the past few days (check out Steve Bergum's story here).

Steve is our golf writer, but I got the opportunity to fill in for him recently when Jack Nicklaus visited Sandpoint to work on The Idaho Club, the new course Nicklaus' group is designing on the former Hidden Lakes course. While touring the construction site, I was enthralled in how much time Nicklaus took on perfecting the greens.

I also vowed to play the Old Works, Nicklaus' course built on the remains of the old smelter in Anaconda, Mont. With my son Jack – named after the golfer, but not attracted by the sport one bit – headed to Bozeman for college this fall, I made plans to stop in Anaconda on the way home and play the course with my eldest son, Tyler.

And we found out first hand how tough Nicklaus can make a green.

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