30 of 70: Hangman Valley Golf Course, Spokane County, WA

View from just off the 16th green

 The Hangman Valley Golf Course, played on June 22nd, became one of our favorite courses along with Indian Canyon and Palouse Ridge. It is highly photogenic and Brenda had a great time taking pictures all over the place. As at Qualchan, which is just down the road from Hangman, Latah Creek meanders throughout the course adding not only beauty but a fair amount of challenge. The front nine starts in a mild fashion with two fairly straightforward holes if one understands that both tee shots are blind shots. Number 3 offers a challenging first crossing of Latah Creek and demands a long and well placed drive.

Number 5, which is probably the signature hole, is considered the most difficult on this course and plays at 610 yards from a lovely elevated tee comparable only to the 16th hole which also plays from a similar elevation to an elevated green some 604 yards away. These types of holes make the game challenging and exciting but other holes, such as number 10, may be more challenging to the average golfer, since on that hole, the tee shot must again cross Latah Creek but the angle is such that it feels more like the crossing of a gorge. That tee shot has to carry over 200 yards just to reach the fairway, a daunting task for most senior golfers like me.

 My favourite holes on the back nine were 11 and 17, both par 3's. The first one is rather pretty and would have been prettier had the water falls been running. It is also a challenging par 3 over water to an elevated green. Brenda managed her usual par on a par three. I, on the other hand registered a three putt for a bogey. Off the tee box, we had time to observe a deer feeding on some foliage. 17, a long par 3 rewarded me with a birdie which was the highlight of my round. Without disclosing our scores, which shall remain a state secret, as mentioned previously, I once again applaud Brenda's victory.

29 of 70: Downriver Golf Course, Spokane WA

Daryl and I with our mascots.

The Downriver Golf Course is one of many municipal golf courses run by the Parks and Recreation department of the city of Spokane. Built in 1916 it is the oldest, and for many, the most popular course in Spokane. It is seen as very player friendly yet it offers challenges for players of all skill levels. We played it on June 21st and it was in really great shape.

Downriver is a lovely course and does have some canyon like opening holes. There are virtually no water hazards on this course and sand traps are rare and far apart. The course plays rather tight and the rough can be penalizing. The forest, however, represents the greatest danger at Downriver as I found out on far too many occasions. Phil Michelson or Bubba Watson might have fun playing creative shots out of those lies I found, but it did not do much for my game. Such is life on a golf course. The par 3's are for the most part fairly long which would be a handicap for most women players and perhaps this is why we have seen so few women on the courses during our week in Spokane.

We had an enjoyable round of golf in spite of the hazards we had to negotiate. And the company was most pleasant. This was to be Daryl's last round with us and he certainly wanted to leave a lasting impression scoring a 77 on that day. We also had the pleasure of Kevin Soderquist's company on this occasion. Kevin, a long time friend of Daryl's, and a fierce competitor, managed an 85. I did well on the front nine with a 43 and perhaps I should have stopped there. The back nine excursions in the forest cost  me a 49 to leave me at 92 once again. Brenda's score, like those of all US presidents, remains a state secret.

28 of 70: The Creek at Qualchan, Spokane WA

The Creek at Qualchan is a lovely course which steals your heart as soon as you see it on your left driving in from downtown Spokane. The day we played it, the course was lush green and in the sun you could already see the undulated fairways calling on you like the Sirens in the Odyssey. What you didn't see, of course, was the danger lurking upon your arrival on the first tee box. You are standing on a cliff, 100 feet above the distant faiway, and just below the cliff runs Latah Creek which meanders all over the course. Your first tee shot must carry not only the creek, but a wide patch of rough similar to the one pictured above. This signature hole is, however, a short par 4 and a good tee shot will set you up for a birdie (as for Daryl) or an easy par (as mine). The second hole is a far more difficult par 4 which demands an accurate tee shot leaving you with a blind second shot to an elevated and well protected green. Our bogeys here didn't feel that bad.

The views on this course are incredible and one could easily create a photo blog. Brenda, my official photographer on this adventure, did  shoot a number of great pictures and was perhaps distracted from her golf game. I, on the other hand, had no excuses for my poor performance. We had our moments but they mostly came on the par 3's. We both managed a par on the 4th hole which is a reasonably long par 3 and never did worse than bogey on any of the others, including the most difficult eleventh hole. I played well for the most part but when I had a bad hole, it was really bad and turned into triple bogeys and even quadruple bogeys.

Daryl fared better than Brenda and I, and posted an 85 for his round, his lowest one to date. He has been steadily creeping down and that seems quite promising. His chances of breaking 80 are much higher than mine and that of Chris Zelkovich whom I have referred to in my last installment. For a more comprehensive review of The Creek at Qualchan, you might want to pay a visit to the Golf Course Gurus' website which I have recently discovered and enjoy thoroughly. In closing, I leave you with a picture of a blue heron seen on site.

27 of 70: Palouse Ridge Golf Club, Pullman WA

Signature hole, 10th, 626 yard par 5

Palouse Ridge Golf Club designed by John F. Harbottle III is a fabulous new course owned by the Washington State University and is considered to be one of the best university courses in the US. It is a links course routed amongst the palouses which are rolling hills giving you a very accidental layout, again similar to Tobiano but without all those canyon crossings. Discussing the course with Daryl, I agreed with his suggestion that the main quality of this layout is that each hole offers multiple options of play, each option being weighed on a risk/reward scale befitting each player's skill level.

Daryl played an excellent round that included two birdies and two memorable holes: the  15th par 4 playing from the middle tees at 307 yards that Daryl reached in 1 and easily birdied (missing the eagle put by a mere 3 inches) and the par 5 fifth hole where, trying to reach the green in 2, he landed into deep fescue. From there he managed to find the green in regulation which was a superb effort. He however had to negotiate a 60 foot putt on greens that had been aerated the day before and proved to be difficult to putt at the best of times. His bogey on that hole felt more like a par and was quite rewarding.

Brenda and I managed a birdie each, the highlight of this round for both of us. Hers came on the par 3 eleventh hole, mine on the par 5 18th when I had finally found my lost swing thanks to Daryl's observations and coaching skills. I had been playing fairly poorly for the first 13 holes then shortened my back swing and started coming back square at the ball at impact thus improving my shot making considerably. Needless to say that on our continuing competition Brenda won this match by a very large margin. As I have learned recently from Chris Zelkovitch's blog, Breaking 80 things will often get worse before they get better and that all of us can go from an 85 to 105. And yes, I might have reached the hell of golf but there will be redemption. As for wildlife, the adjoining palouse is farmland. Reminds us of our time in Switzerland, no bells on these cows though.

26 of 70: Indian Canyon Golf Course, Spokane WA

True to its name, Indian Canyon is built in a canyon but as opposed to Tobiano, which we have played and blogged earlier, you never have to shoot accross the canyon, you just play up and down through it. There are some substantial drop holes that play reasonably long as a par 4 for men and par 5 for ladies. Conversely, you will find some long uphill par 4's or short par 5's. Indian Canyon is a relatively short course playing at only 6255 yards from the back tees but it remains a fairly challenging course. You will rarely find a flat lie even when you land in the middle of the fairway. The fairways are narrow and the rough penalizing. There are no water hazards to contend with but the trees are plentiful and often encroaching into the fairways. The greens are often multitiered and strongly undulated as well as challengingly fast.

Indian Canyon is ranked as the 25th best public course in the US and in the past often served as a PGA tournament venue. We really enjoyed our round in spite of the winds and the occasional rain shower. We thought for a while we might have to quit after nine but managed to finish the round with pretty decent scores. Daryl had a magnificent birdie on number 8 which is a risk reward hole. It is a short dogleg left par 4 playing at 267 yards from the blue tees. Daryl aimed over the trees protecting the elevated green and landed the green in one and two putted for his birdie. He shot an 87 and I had a 92 which happened to be reasonable scores in windy wet conditions. Brenda's moment of glory came on the 17th hole, the best and most difficult par 3 on the course, playing at 224 yards from the blue tees, 204 from the white and 164 from the red, she scored the only par, Daryl and I saving our bogeys. I would love to play Indian Canyon again. Along with Palouse Ridge and Hangman Valley Golf Course it is one of the top three courses we played this week.

25 of 70: MeadowWood Golf Course, Liberty Lake WA

Daryl on the driving range at MeadowWood where one uses floating balls.

On Sunday June 17th (Fathers Day), we met with our friend Daryl Hitchcock for a long anticipated week of golf in the Spokane area. Daryl, with whom we had worked in Switzerland, is a native of Spokane and had offered to guide us around the local courses, most of which he had known in his youth with one exception, Palouse Ridge Golf Club, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

The week started at MeadowWood Golf Course which at first appears to be a fairly innocuous layout but it doesn't take long to realize that it really has teeth, particularly when you are playing in extremely windy conditions such as we had on this day. And you know it's windy when the water fountains shoot sideways and you can feel the spray on the fairways and greens. The front nine offers open fairways with the occasional water hazard or sand trap; reasonably easy for the most part. My favorite hole by far, is  on the front, the #9 par 4 with the lake on its left. It plays as a long crescent and the water comes into play on both your tee shot and your approach. Probably one of the best views on the course.

The 10th hole is a mirror image of the ninth and appears to offer an easier escape for the average golfer but strangely enough, I had a par on 9 and a bogey on ten. Number eleven is the prettiest and the best par 3 on the course. From the blue tees, it plays at 196 yards over a pond to a well protected green with sand traps on the front and left and encroaching trees on the right. A very challenging and yet inviting hole and it was by far the most rewarding par I had all day. 12, 13 and 14 offer some respite but from here on, there is no room for errors. The 15th hole plays as a dogleg right with a green nestled right behind the water hazard with sand traps both in the front and back. It demands a very accurate approach shot to avoid trouble. Number 16 is the signature hole, a 607 yard par 5 playing uphill all the way with a sharp dogleg left at the end. 17 is an extreme uphill par 3 and 18 is an extreme downhill dogleg right. A very uncharacteristic finish to what started as a flat layout. We did however have an enjoyable day!

24 of 70: Fort in View Golf Course, Fort Saskatchewan AB

The Fort in View Golf Course proved to be somewhat less than I expected. The website shows a number of interesting pictures and the course is fairly well publicized so one is thinking of another good golf outing. When I got there, however, the first impression I got was that of a huge farm expanse covered by 27 holes of golf. Not really a pretty sight.

I was partnered with Wes and Chad, Wes being a regular player at Fort in View but out for the first time this year. He plays elsewhere of course, but what he likes about Fort in View is that, with 3 different nine hole courses you can always get on. The Buck nine, the Clark nine and the Simpson nine can be combined to provide a regular 18 holes of golf. On any given day, the course combines two of these nine for those playing 18, the other nine is open for those playing a shorter game. Highly practical.


Yesterday, we first played the Buck nine. The first hole was quite rough as it had suffered severe winter kill, not only on the fairway but also on the green which was almost unputtable. Fortunately, the short par 3 second hole offered a quick diversion. It is a fairly elevated green over the water and comes as a surprise in an otherwise flat course. Perhaps one of the prettier holes on this front nine. And as I managed a par, it cheered me up some. Perhaps I could settle in a simple practice round after all. But I soon found out that the par 3's were the only ones I would par all day. I did again have problems putting and that got me reflecting about it. In Florida, in spite of the fact that we played a different course each time out, the greens and putting conditions were quite similar even if some greens were far more undulated than others, one could easily adapt. Here in Canada, so far at least, we have found vastly different putting conditions which makes the game quite challenging when playing a course only once.

The second nine we played was the Simpson, Wes' favorite. It is a short nine but I found it somewhat difficult and, perhaps, a little too gimmicky for my taste. The second hole, for example, is a short par 4, a  severe dogleg right where, even from the corner it is difficult to see the green nested in the trees. There are also many water hazards on this nine and they are often invisible to the newcomer which adds to the difficulty. Perhaps what makes this course attractive for the regulars is a desire to overcome these difficulties or again, as for Wes, the challenge of blind shots over trees as a shortcut to the green. As for me, I am looking forward to another course and another day of golf.