Spokane courses - Better than ever
There's been some improvements to already great golf courses in our area this year. I bring it up because I recently got to play the two new greens at the Creek at Qualchan, #10 and #15. If you can remember those holes, both were very challenging greens... too challenging, it turns out. #10 sloped off the front of the green so severely that any ball short of a front pin location could not hold the green, and any putt coming from above the hole went racing by, off the green as well. The result? Very limited pin locations on that green. The same issue was true on #15, with the entire left portion of the green unusable for hole locations.
Both greens have been re-done, #10 raised up to create a false front to the green, but with a realistic slope to the putting surface. The big bunker in front of #15 has been changed as well, allowing for that section of the green to be more level. These aren't huge changes, perhaps not even noticed by the once or twice visitor to Qualchan, but it will greatly increase pin positions, and as a result, conditioning of the greens.
Serious renovations at Hangman Valley have resulted in some complaints by a few people... concerning the bunkers. Hangman renovated all of their bunkers this off season, and added some new tee boxes as well. Trees behind the green on #4 were removed, to give it more sun. All in all, I love this improvement. Hangman has always been in my top 3 in the inland NW, with 2 caveats: It tended to dry out in the summertime, and the bunkers were a joke. Shallow, with the worst sand this side of Meadowwood, you couldn't play a proper bunker shot in years past. With the sand being so crusty and shallow, you would skip off the top and hit the ball flush 6 times out of 10. Now, the bunkers are deeper, more visually appealing, and yes, full of soft, fluffy sand. I've heard some say they are full of too much sand, that you can't even get out of them. My advice? Learn to play out of them. Just because you were used to the old bunkers does not mean the new ones are wrong... it's just very different. Plus, in the sand trap, more is better than less. At least you can swing under the ball and know the sand will lift the ball out. Bottom line, with the course improvements, Hangman is right up there for top to bottom quality in the Northwest. You would pay $75 or more almost anywhere in the U.S. to play a course that good.
One change that goes back 2 years in the making is the sixth hole at Downriver. For sure, this is the biggest change to one hole of any of the changes made to a city course recently... complete revision of the hole. If you recall, #6 was always a blight on an otherwise great older golf course... a totally blind par 3 that went straight uphill - and you had to hit off a rubber mat. Really? Yet, that was the case for many years. Now, they have moved the tee box up the hill and back into the trees, so you play across the hillside, not up. It's not like the hole has become a top par 3 in the region or anything, but as far as improvement, going from an absolute dud to a proper hole is well worth it in my book. Now, the question is... can someone figure out how to do the same at #13 at Qualchan?? Please???
