Local Group Buys Post Falls Links Driving Range Planned For Prairie Falls Golf Course

The Prairie Falls Golf Course was sold to a group of five local investors this week.

The new owners plan to begin construction on a driving range at the 9-hole course next month.

Within two to three years, golfers should be able to play 18 holes at the 130-acre course, said Jim Beldin, one of the investors.

“We saw it as a quality course and a good opportunity,” said Beldin, former president of the Avondale Golf Club in Hayden Lake and human resources manager at Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

“They certainly put it in an excellent location.”

The course winds through the Prairie Falls subdivision, which eventually will contain more than 400 homes.

The course formerly was owned by Prairie Falls Development Corp., which is developing the subdivision.

The sale was finalized Wednesday. Beldin declined to disclose the price or the names of the other investors in the Prairie Golf Limited Liability Co.

However, the other four investors also have ties to the golf industry, he said.

The course was advertised at just under $1 million, although developers placed its value at closer to $3 million.

Prairie Falls Development Corp. will continue to operate the course, which opened this summer, through the end of the season.

Next spring it will open with a new driving range and chipping, putting and sand trap practice areas, Beldin said.

Architectural design work also is under way for the second nine holes on the undeveloped portion of the course.

“We’re excited to be part of the community,” he said. “(The course) is an excellent recreational opportunity for the people of Post Falls and the Valley.”