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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Canyon Among Best ‘Affordables’

Got a bendy tee ball? Indian Canyon will give you a lesson in forestry.

Get yippy over parabolic putts? Meet your doom.

Flat lie? Never happen.

No. 1 and No. 10 at the Canyon are like golfing down black-diamond runs at Schweitzer.

And on No. 9 and No. 18, caddies might be less appropriate than Sherpa guides carrying oxygen tanks.

But because golfers, by definition, are masochists, Indian Canyon is a much-beloved patch of grass and timber.

And the 61-year-old tract has once again earned national recognition, recently being ranked No. 6 in the “Affordables” section of Golf Digest’s list of “America’s Best Courses Everyone Can Play.”

Rankings are based on evaluations submitted by a panel of nearly 800 golfers, who judge each course on six criteria: shot values, design balance, playability, aesthetics, memorability and conditioning.

The “Affordables” courses are defined by green fees at or below $50. Eighteen-hole fees at Indian Canyon are $22 for non-residents and $16.50 for residents.

Two other Washington courses - Kayak Point in Stanwood (No. 39) and Harbour Pointe in Mukilteo (No. 58) - were on that list.

In the “Upscale” list, The Coeur d’Alene Resort ($175) came in at No. 34, with Desert Canyon ($65) of Orondo, Wash., one place behind.

“Spokane is really lucky; this is a golfer’s heaven,” said Indian Canyon pro Gary Lindeblad.

The Canyon has been on various lists of the nation’s top public courses almost since its opening in 1935.

But harsh winters in the late 1980s and early 1990s caused considerable damage to its greens - dimming the course’s lustre considerably.

The renewed recognition of the course, Lindeblad said, “has given us a tremendous amount of confidence in our superintendent (Don Nelson).”

The use of fungicides on the entire course at the end of the season and the purchase of blankets to protect the greens shows that city golf managers “realize we’ve got this incredible treasure and they’re going to take good care of it,” Lindeblad said.

The honor also tells Lindeblad that there is still a place for courses with traditional designs.

“Anymore, golf courses get kind of gimmicky; new courses tend to be tricked up with weird bunkers and man-made lakes and streams,” Lindeblad said. “This is one of the few courses left that’s built entirely on natural terrain.

“It’s kind of like a 1947 Buick convertible - it’s just a real treat to sit in and drive once in a while,” he said.

H. Chandler Egan, a highly regarded course architect most famous for his redesign of the prestigious Pebble Beach course, laid out Indian Canyon.

“I have never seen a municipal course that has any more beautiful natural setting than this one will have,” Egan said in 1932.

The key to the course’s reputation, Lindeblad contends, is its location.

“What’s fortunate is that in 1930, when they started looking for sites for the golf course, that they had the foresight to pick this place,” Lindeblad said. “Although the construction at the time was pretty difficult, they pulled it off.”

And labor in the Depression? Well, it was abundant and cheap.

“It was a WPA and CCC project,” Lindeblad said of the construction. “The total budget for this course was so minimal; I can’t remember the exact figures, but it was something like $80,000.”

The course generally operates at near capacity, anyway, so more national recognition will not mean much more play.

“It doesn’t translate into any more numbers,” Lindeblad said. “But it probably does in terms of more outof-town play.

“It’s amazing how many people who call in from Seattle or California or Minnesota who are going to be coming through on business and want to play because they plucked the name off that kind of list.”

Top national honors in the categories went to Sandpines ($50 in Florence, Ore.) and Pebble Beach ($225).

Chip shots

For those of you plugged into the Information Super-fairway, a Seattle company might be able to help out with your golf-related travel plans.

Golf Travel Online (http://www.gto.com) is an Internet-based travel service.

“With a few mouse clicks, online users can reserve an entire golf vacation complete with airline tickets, resort accommodations and tee times,” company founder and CEO Paul Pigott said.

GTO provides profiles of courses and travel packages available.

“We served about 300,000 pages in the first month, meaning people requested that many pages of information,” said J. Scott Codespoti, publicity director.

Starting the week of April 27, golf lessons for adults and children will be available at all four Spokane city courses.

Monday is the deadline to enroll. Call 625-4653.

The American Red Cross presents its first Miniature Golf Classic next Friday.

The Fernwell Building (Riverside and Stevens) will be transformed into an 18-hole miniature golf course winding throughout offices.

Two levels of fees (depending on perks) are $100 and $180 for teams of four golfers.

Phone 326-3330 for information.

Birdies Golf Center is offering several special events this month, with a putting contest and a $1 million hole-in-one contest starting today at the facility on North Nevada Street behind Northpointe Plaza.

On April 20, the Golfing Gorilla will visit Birdies.

Call 468-5000 for specifics.

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