Course Grows Amid New Homes Developers Hope Their New Golf Layout Will Be Ready For Play By Next Spring
The grass on the first eight holes of the new Prairie Falls Golf Course is thick and soft.
Groundskeepers are mowing the fairways on a regular basis and numerous traps lurk around the course, waiting to frustrate novice golfers.
All they’re waiting for is the ninth hole and springtime.
The course, on the north end of town along Pole Line Road, will open for play in late May or early June, depending on weather and how quickly the grass grows on the ninth hole.
“This is an interesting golf course because there aren’t many golf courses with $99,000 houses around it,” said Bob Tomlinson, a developer of the course and the accompanying housing community. The prices of the homes in the development range from around $100,000 to just under $200,000.
Work on the course began about 2-1/2 years ago - the same time work began on the development.
“We started a little early because we used the fill material from the subdivision,” said Bill Radobenko Sr., one of the developers. The fill material he refers to is the excess earth removed to flatten the subdivision roads.
Because the course will be developed as the houses surrounding it are built, it might take as long as 10 years to complete the full 18 holes, estimated Fred Meyer, a partner in Tomlinson-Black, adding that 10 years was a conservative guess. Tomlinson-Black North Idaho is the marketing agent for Prairie Falls Community and Golf Course.
Meyer, a golfer, described the first half of the course as having plenty of hills and contours with relatively long, par-5 holes. They’ve planted about 5,000 trees and shrubs, and the 18 holes will take up about 120 acres. The course meets U.S. Golf Association standards.
“The contours of this course are coming out of the ground we’re developing,” he said. “It makes it a really interesting course.”
Ed Adair of Post Falls designed it.
“If you look at this green, that’s definitely a playable green,” Radobenko said, eyeing the grass on the third hole. “Basically, all we’re doing now is maintenance and mowing.”
The grass’s roots are healthy and long, said Mike Grilley, the golf course superintendent.
“The only thing I’m worried about is No. 9 because the green is pretty new,” he said.
The first nine holes have cost about $1.5 million to build. Finishing the course could cost about $4 million, Tomlinson estimated.
For the first nine holes, the greens fees will be about $10. Once the course is complete, the fees will be about $25.
“It (the greens fees) is going to have something to do with how the project goes,” Tomlinson said.
About 90 homes in the development are occupied. That leaves about another 10 under construction plus a few model homes.
The developers want to have about 400 homes with an average lot size of 75 feet by 125 feet by the time the project is complete.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo Map: Prairie Falls Golf Course and development