Renovations Upgrade Idaho Courses

Two of North Idaho’s most popular public golf courses have resumed normal operations after undergoing extensive facelifts the past year or so.

Avondale on Hayden, located on the shores of Hayden Lake, and Twin Lakes Village, near Rathdrum, are open once again on permanent greens - many of which have been redesigned or rebuilt.

The makeover at Avondale on Hayden, which started out as an apparently simple upgrade of the irrigation facilities, ended up costing $2 million, according to head professional Tim Morton. And it touched nearly every one of the 18 holes.

“The idea, originally, was to put in a new irrigation system,” Morton explained, “but one thing led to another, and before you knew it, we had a major renovation going on.”

The project, which began with the construction of three small lakes from which to draw water for irrigation, ended up taking more than 11 months. It also involved the addition of 18 new bunkers, the construction of new greens on hole Nos. 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15 and the redesign of existing greens on the fifth and 12th holes.

In addition, the existing bunkers and tee boxes were redesigned, and cart paths were installed from tee to green throughout the 6,500-yard layout.

The greatest aesthetic change most golfers will notice, Morton said, is the kidney-shaped lake that wraps around nearly half the green on the scenic, par-3 11th hole. The lake empties into a stream that runs down the fairway then cascades over rocks near the 18th tee.

“That will probably become our signature hole,” said Morton, adding he has heard nothing but positive feedback.

“Everyone from members to guests to walk-ons all say they like the changes,” Morton said.

The facelift did not alter the overall yardage of the course, but did change the rating and slope from the back tees from 70.4/113 to 70.6/122.

In order to complete the project, the course was shut down from Sept. 3 of last year until the middle of June, when nine holes were reopened. The other nine reopened near the end of July.

According to Morton, the course has managed to hold the line on green fees ($22 for 18 holes and $14 for 9), despite the cost of the makeover.

Twin Lakes Village, on the other hand, has raised its 18-hole green fees from $20 to $25 to offset the $1 million cost of its renovation project.

“But with the changes we’ve made and the condition of the golf course, we feel like it’s well worth the increase,” head professional Randy Buckenberger said.

As part of Twin Lakes Village’s new look, new greens were built on Nos. 1, 2 and 5, several water hazards were added and mounding was introduced along fairways and around several of the greens on the back nine. In addition, the existing sand in the bunkers - many of which were dug out and redesigned in order to be more visible from the tees boxes and approach areas - was replaced with white silica sand.

Buckenberger said the remodeling was done in order to make the relatively short course more challenging. Several holes, including No. 1, which originally measured only 281 yards, were lengthened, and overall yardage from the back tees was increased from 6,178 to 6,277 yards.

“The front nine was built in 1973 and the back in 1988,” Buckenberger said. “And the back nine actually came out a little bit tougher. What we did was try to equalize the nines a little bit by lengthening 1, 2 and 5, which were fairly short holes.”

In addition, water hazards were added near the No. 1 green, along the right side of the No. 2 fairway and next to the No. 8 green, making those holes “a little tighter and tougher,” according Buckenberger.

Surprisingly, the changes raised the course rating from the back tees only slightly (from 69.7 to 70.0) and dropped the slope from 124 to 121.

Still, Buckenberger said remodeling - which took nearly 18 months and required the prolonged use of temporary greens - has produced the desired results.

“We definitely toughened the course,” he said, “but we also made it more aesthetically pleasing. Before, most of the bunkers weren’t in view of play, but with the mounding, the repositioning and the white sand, they’ve become nice to look at.

“It’s a huge improvement, and everything that I’ve heard from our players … has been positive.”

, DataTimes