Players flock new Circling Raven Golf Club

WORLEY, Idaho – Oct. 13, 2004 – Circling Raven Golf Club and the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel have jointly announced the golf club – for the second consecutive month – has substantially exceeded projected rounds played. In its first full season, Circling Raven is nearly 15 percent above projected rounds year-to-date and recently concluded September by registering 22 percent more rounds than anticipated.

“Circling Raven has quickly become the hottest golf club in the Northwest,” says Director of Golf David Christenson. “Our player surveys tell us golfers find the course design and conditions to be outstanding and the customer service top notch – all the things we aspired to achieve when we set out to build Circling Raven.”

In addition to players discovering and enjoying Circling Raven, top industry participants and “best-of “golf course raters at national golf publications find Circling Raven to be a golf club of the highest order. Circling Raven was named a ‘Top 10 New Courses You Can Play’ by GOLF Magazine this season.

Contributing to Circling Raven’s acclaim is the value it affords players. It charges $75 with cart for a round, while other nearby courses provide a wide disparity of prices. Twenty minutes away, Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Club goes for $185, while public golf in nearby Spokane, Wash., runs in the $25 range.

The course is so good that it has drawn a number of celebrities to play it, including Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue), talk show host Maury Povich, former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien, Hall of Fame baseball player Joe Morgan, NBA Hall of Fame member Bill Russell, Seattle Seahawk Cortez Kennedy, Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hansen, S.F. 49ers coach Dennis Erickson, erstwhile World Series perfect game pitcher Don Larsen, and many others.

Convenient to Spokane (WA) airport, the resort and golf club are owned and operated by the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe on a reservation covering 345,000 acres of mountains, lakes, old-growth forest and farmland. The resort spans the western edge of the northern Rocky Mountains.

Golf, gaming (video gaming machines, off-track betting, bingo), brand-name entertainment, fine dining, plush lodging and a spectacular array of natural resources – including majestic snow-capped mountain views – define the resort.

Circling Raven was created amid a unique blend of wetlands, grasslands and woodlands. At 7,189 yards, the par 72 championship layout meanders through 620 acres, only 100 representing cultivated ground. Wildlife is abundant, including elk, deer, moose and an occasional black bear. In fact, the opening was delayed due to damage on two greens by migrating elk.

The player’s experience is that of a links-style course. On the back nine, the only hole a golfer can see is the hole he or she is playing. Wetlands impact play on 13 holes, natural grasses complement the wetlands on 16 holes and a mix of Ponderosa Pines, Aspens, Cottonwoods and Birch blend into the scenery throughout. The blue grass fairways and bent grass greens are closely manicured, as would be expected at a premier resort golf course.

The player’s greatest challenges are “Tees and Threes,” meaning accurate driving and careful management of the four par 3s, all measuring over 200 yards from the back tees. White sand, brought in from Emmet, Idaho, fills 60 bunkers. Circling Raven has been awarded a place in Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary System.

The course namesake is revered in Coeur d’Alene tribal lore. Circling Raven was an 18th century headman, or chief, whose vision foretold the coming of the “black robes” and the dramatic change they would bring to the tribe. When Fr. Pierre DeSmet, the famed Jesuit missionary, arrived in the region in 1842, Circling Raven’s vision had already been shared with several generations of tribal members. As a result, the tribe embraced Catholicism and in short time built the Old Mission Church at Cataldo. Completed in 1852, it remains the oldest standing building in Idaho.

Tribal history also tells us that Circling Raven was a spiritually powerful leader, his name coming from his close relationship to the raven, who helped guide him on his journeys, warn him of danger and show him where to find fish and game.

For more information about Circling Raven Golf Club or the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel, visit www.cdacasino.com, or call 1-800-523-2464.