So, we are what, 3 weeks into the arctic wonderland that the Inland Northwest has become? Too bad I traded in my skis for golf clubs long ago. Now the problem is, you can't hop over to Kennewick or Lewiston to play... not even the…
The US Open was not quite as tough this year, with torrential rains softening up Bethpage Black to the point the pros could spin back wedge shots on the greens... a sight that makes the USGA cringe. In years past, they didn't give the putting…
This week's PGA Tour event in New Orleans turned out to be quite dramatic coming down the stretch on Sunday, with a lot of guys in contention, but nobody grabbing it in the end. Saturday's leader Jerry Kelly won for the 3rd time on tour,…
Okay, it's time to play, right? Enough is enough. How can I get my season started right with a crazy, way too much golf at once blitz? Well, let's see...If you can get to Circling raven this week, the rest of April is only $50.…
So I'm guessing you watched the Masters on Sunday... if you didn't, why in the world are you on this website? One of the best Sundays at Augusta... just incredible. For me, even better, it was up for grabs, as opposed to Tiger winning by…
The week before the Masters is usually unnoticed, but some interesting things happened at this year's Shell Houston Open. Since moving the tournament to the Redstone golf club 3 years ago, they try and emulate Augusta conditions to prepare the players headed to the Masters...…
Here's a plea to the 7 people who read my blog... please post local course conditions so we know were to go! Here's what I know:Indian Canyon: hit balls there the other day, not a lot of grass on the range, and it's very wet.…
Has it really been 4 years since Retief Goosen had won a PGA Tour event? Seems like it couldn't be true, but his win at the Transitions (?) Championship in Tampa this week was his first in quite a while. He has come back in…
Following this week's World Golf Championship at Doral, interesting things happening in the world golf rankings. Phil Mickelson has jumped over Sergio Garcia for #2 in the world, and is closer than he's ever been to overtaking Tiger Woods for #1 in the world. If…
Monday morning... watching highlights of the tournament at Doral. OK, so it's not in the 80's and we won't have perfect greens to putt on for quite a while, but oh well. Can we play yet?Painted Hills is open on permanent greens. If you haven't…
I will address the local golf situation first, sad as it may be, with snow falling this Sunday in the first week of March. Assuming it warms up beyond freezing, Painted Hills golf course in the Spokane Valley is open, on permanent greens. It's a…
The Accenture Match Play event this last weekend became much more exciting when it was revealed it would debut the return of our lord and saviour... oh, wait. Sorry. It's actually Tiger Woods. If you watched any commercials for it though, you would have thought…
Nice title, right? Actually, this year's LA Open (Northern Trust Open? Please) was very entertaining, but not quite a Hollywood ending. I'm guessing most screenwriters would have Fred Couples winning, his balky putter somehow coaxing the final putt to creep over the edge of the…
The AT&T at Pebble Beach is always fun to watch... more for the course than for the actual tournament. Especially this year, when the weather went nuts to the point of canceling the final round, and they just hand the trophy to Dustin Johnson. Here,…
The AT&T at Pebble Beach was held this weekend, and the annual time for me to wistfully stare at the TV, drooling over holes 7-11, is here. Add to that the Golf Channel just had a top 10 show of "Top 10 Ocean Courses", and…
Have you ever been watching the US Open, the hardest test in professional golf, and thought, "I could play that course."? Well, typically that will never happen, as the Open is usually played at high-profile private courses, like Oakland Hills, Winged Foot, or Shinnecock. However,…
This week's PGA tournament at Torrey Pines in San Diego, the Buick Invitational, is typically where Tiger Woods begins his play for any given year. Of course, that was mostly due to his sponsorship with Buick, which is no more. Maybe we'll actually see him…
Hey! This week's PGA event was held at TPC Scottsdale, a public course, and you know I love when the big boys play a venue where you or I can hack it up there and play almost the same game. Question is... is it worth…
On tour this week was the FBR (Phoenix Open), played in Scottsdale in front of the largest crowds all year for a tournament. If you watched it, they love to show the 16th hole, a short par 3 that normally would not be a big…
This week the PGA Tour stops in the Palm Springs area... La Quinta, to be precise. Perfect golf conditions are leading to record scores... 20 under in 2 days? Sheesh. But, I'll take perfect golf conditions any day... 75 degrees, no wind, perfect greens... sign…
It seems like just yesterday when the national media largely ignored the Northwest as far as premier golf courses are concerned. If it wasn't somewhere in California, a western course was unknown. The creation of Bandon Dunes in Oregon brought much attention to this part…
Eric has an 8 handicap and lives near Qualchan. He was born and raised in Spokane and one of the reasons he loves the area is the quality and variety of the golf courses, and the good people who play them. His home course is the Creek at Qualchan and the best course he’s ever played was Oregon’s Bandon Dunes. Some day he’d like to play Cypress Point.
