Hot on the Trail

The idea of an Idaho Golf Trail was hatched several years ago while Carl Wilgus was having lunch with the director of sales for the Whitetail Club near McCall Idaho.

The conversation centered on the wonderful assortment of resort golf courses in the state.

“I had read and heard about some other golf trails, like the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama and the Jack Nicklaus’ (Bear Trace) Golf Trail in Tennessee,” explained Wilgus, the assistant deputy director of the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor in Boise. “I went out and did a little research and realized something like that probably made sense for our state.

“We have some quality golf courses and quality golf experiences to offer, but Idaho has never been recognized as a golf destination.”

From there, Wilgus went about selling his idea to department officials, and in 2003 the Idaho Golf Trail became a reality.

Because of the locale of the six courses that originally bought into the idea, the Trail was divided into a North and South Loop. The charter members of the North Loop included the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, Circling Raven Golf Club and Hidden Lakes Golf Resort. The South Loop was comprised of the Whitetail Club Golf Resort, BanBury Golf Course and Sun Valley Golf Course.

The thought, Wilgus explained, was to bring some of the state’s top golf resorts under one promotional umbrella and market them as part of perfect vacation plan.

“And when I say ‘resorts,’ I’m talking about facilities that offer both golf and lodging under the same kind of operation and management,” Wilgus added. “We did that largely because the tourism promotion dollars we get to promote the Golf Trail come primarily from taxes on lodging.

“So rather than promote just stand-alone golf courses, we decided it was our responsibility to go with courses were connected to a lodging component.”

This spring, three more resort courses were added to the Trail. The North Loop picked up StoneRidge Golf Course near Blanchard, and the South Loop added Osprey Meadows at Tamarack in Donnelly and MeadowCreek Golf Resort in New Meadows.

“The idea is to have people fly into either Spokane or Boise and travel either north to south or south to north and play nine quality courses,” Wilgus said. “Or, for those who are short on time and can’t take a full week off, there is the option of just playing either the North or South Loop.”

Wilgus said the Idaho Golf Trail differs from those in other states by appealing to more than just the hard-core golfer.

“We wanted ours to be more than just a golf experience, per se,” he explained. “We’ve turned ours into kind of scenic drive, as well, with great places to stay, good food and plenty of ancillary activities.”

So far, Wilgus claims, the Idaho Golf Trail has lived up to expectations.

“What I had hoped would happened has happened in that it’s raised the general bar of awareness of Idaho being a place to come and play golf,” he said. “And we’ve noticed from many of the inquiries we received that people are investigating not only the Golf Trail, but what other courses and activities might be available in the area, as well.”

Wilgus likes the fact that all of the original charter member courses have remained a part of the Trail, and he sees more becoming members in the near future.

“We’ve got some who already want in,” he said. “We’re just waiting for some more development to come in and provide the same kind of experiences provided by our current members.”

Wilgus said he would like to see and East Loop added to the Trail, with Idaho Falls serving as the entry point.

“With the geography of our state, that makes a lot of sense,” he added. “And I would love to see some development take place between New Meadows and Worley, so the travel distance (between the South and North Loop) would be shortened a little bit.”