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!