Circling Raven - Hole #8

Circling Raven Earns Idaho's Top Spot in 'Golfweek's Best 2019 - Best Courses You Can Play by State' List

By Brian Weis

Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel today announces that Circling Raven Golf Club, the resort's acclaimed championship course designed by Gene Bates, has garnered Idaho's No. 1 ranking in "Golfweek's Best 2019 - Best Courses You Can Play by State," the media company's annual compendium of America's finest playing venues.

Every year, Golfweek's elite team of course raters, which currently boasts more than 850 evaluators, surveys more than 3,600 courses - grading each nominated course on Golfweek's 10 strict standards of evaluation.

Owned and operated by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Circling Raven sprawls expansively across 620 acres of gorgeous Palouse Region topography, part of the Tribe's ancient ancestral homelands in the Idaho Panhandle. It is one of many highly regarded amenities of the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel.

"The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is proud to hold this honor; we strive to exceed our guests' expectations on and off the course," said Francis SiJohn, CDA Casino Resort Hotel CEO and Tribal member. "Circling Raven is celebrating its 15th Anniversary season this year with special offers and events, and we hope this acclaim inspires players to visit and experience all that we have to offer."

Located approximately 55 minutes from Spokane International Airport (GEG), Circling Raven measures 7,189 yards from the rear tees. The Tribe recently announced that it has commissioned Bates to draft a Master Plan for course enhancements that are intended to ensure the golf club shines as brightly in the next 15 years as it has since its inception.

Many who play Circling Raven, which includes a nationally honored retail shop and the excellent Twisted Earth restaurant with bar, claim it as an immediate member of their all-time best golf experiences. Other Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort amenities and activities include the full-service Spa Ssakwa'q'n; a variety of hotel rooms and suites; bars, restaurants, lounges, and eateries; cultural immersion options, and more. The casino is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation with a planned Spring 2019 unveiling.

Traveling golfers often play Circling Raven and Coeur d'Alene Resort Course, located roughly 45 minutes apart. CDA Resort Course was ranked No. 4 in Idaho by Golfweek.

Circling Raven has garnered numerous best-in-kind honors since opening, including being rated as a Top 100 Resort Course, Best in State, and a Top U.S. Casino Course. Its golf shop has won national and regional awards for its excellence and its variety of products, displays, and performance.

More Information:
www.cdacasino.com
800-523-2464

Revised: 06/12/2019 - Article Viewed 12,330 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.