Circling Raven Golf Club

Circling Raven Golf Club is an 18-hole public course near Worley, in the Idaho Panhandle, built beside the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. It is owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the federally recognized tribe descended from the Schitsu’umsh people. The course was designed by Gene Bates and opened in 2003. It is a par 72 of 7,189 yards from the back (Gold) tees, spread over about 620 acres of wetlands, pine and aspen woodland and Palouse prairie grass, which is a great deal more land than eighteen holes usually occupy.

Wikipedia places the course about three miles northwest of the small town of Worley, in southwestern Kootenai County, at an elevation of roughly 2,600 feet. The resort describes it as 25 miles from Coeur d’Alene and a 45-minute drive from Spokane International Airport; Wikipedia gives about 30 miles to Coeur d’Alene. The resort lists the casino’s address as 37914 South Nukwalqw, Worley, Idaho 83876, and course directories give the golf club its own address on U.S. Highway 95, also in Worley, ZIP code 83876.

The course has piled up rankings. The resort says it has been named the top public course in Idaho by Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and Golfweek, and Golfweek has repeatedly placed it among the best casino courses in the United States. From 2021 to 2023 it hosted an event on the Epson Tour, the LPGA’s qualifying tour. This page gathers what public sources say about the course, its history and the way it plays, and is clear about where those sources disagree.

A tribal course on a 620-acre site

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe opened its casino in 1993, about 25 miles south of the city of Coeur d’Alene. A hotel followed, and the golf course was added in 2003 as an amenity of what has since grown into a full resort. A 2008 statement from the casino’s chief executive at the time, quoted in a press release, framed the course as a way to honor the land and the tribe’s people as well as an attraction for resort guests. That release also describes how the opening was delayed after migrating elk damaged two of the new greens, a detail that says a good deal about the site.

The course is named after Circling Raven, a leader in Coeur d’Alene tribal history. The 2008 release describes him as a spiritually powerful leader whose name came from his close bond with the raven, which guided him on his journeys, warned him of danger and showed him where to find fish and game. A 2019 article in Colorado AvidGolfer calls him a prophetic 17th-century chief, and the tribe’s 2026 season announcement says he guided the tribe through difficult times. The course restaurant, Twisted Earth, takes its name from his successor, according to the same Colorado AvidGolfer article.

Every hole carries a name in the Coeur d’Alene language, with an English meaning that the resort publishes on its course tour page. The first is “Gallops on the logs”, the fourth “Twisted Earth”, the fifth “Circle Dance”, the sixth “Bear Paw”, the ninth “Grandmother”, the 10th “Moose Crossing”, the 12th and 13th both “Grandfather”, the 15th “Steals Horses”, the 17th “Coyote”, and the 18th Schitsu’umsh, “Discovered People”, the name the tribe uses for itself.

Gene Bates, the architect, is described by Wikipedia as Florida-based and by Colorado AvidGolfer as a Colorado State graduate. He was given an unusually large canvas. The 2008 release says the layout meanders through 620 acres of which only about 100 are cultivated ground, and gives a total of 670 acres once the practice area, practice green and clubhouse are included; Wikipedia says the course covers more than 600 acres and the practice facility 25. The same release lists the wildlife on the property as elk, deer, moose and the occasional black bear, and Colorado AvidGolfer adds eagles, foxes, ravens and trout. The course had been a member of Audubon International’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program since 2004, according to that release; we did not find a more recent confirmation.

The greens were planted with L-93 bentgrass and the tees, fairways and rough with bluegrass, according to the 2008 release. In 2019, Colorado AvidGolfer reported that the tribe had asked Bates to draw up a master plan to reinvigorate the course, with bunker changes, possible new tees, a more Poa-resistant bentgrass on the greens, a possible extra nine holes next to the practice area and a site for golf lodging. We found no source saying how much of that plan has been carried out. More recent work is documented: an October 2025 release published by Indian Gaming lists a bunker renovation, irrigation improvements and an upgraded short-game area that season, under superintendent Kal Zaranec, and the 2026 season announcement mentions a new section of cart path, restored wooden bridges and wildlife silhouettes marking yardages on the range.

Championships and rankings

The course has a long tournament record for a resort layout of its age. Wikipedia notes that a team from Royal Dornoch in Scotland came in September 2005 for a friendly international match and cultural exchange. The Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Championship was played here in August 2006, won by Ryan Malby according to Wikipedia, and again in 2012. The Spokesman-Review’s account of the 2012 edition, a 54-hole event, describes Ryan Benzel winning a three-way playoff over Jason Pitt and Corey Prugh after all three finished at 14 under par; the playoff went to the drivable par-4 sixth and ended on the par-3 seventh. Benzel told the paper the greens were perfect.

The biggest event so far was the Circling Raven Championship on the Epson Tour. Wikipedia lists the first edition, planned for 2020, as cancelled because of the pandemic, followed by three editions in late August: Peiyun Chien of Chinese Taipei won in 2021 at 16 under par, Jillian Hollis of the United States in 2022 at 18 under, and Ren Yue of China in 2023 at 13 under, after a playoff with Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand. A 2024 article by the Washington Golf association confirms the tour stop ran from 2021 to 2023. We did not find why it ended.

The rankings are numerous, and they come from different lists, which explains why the numbers vary. The resort’s site claims the No. 1 public course in Idaho from Golf Magazine (2024-25), Golf Digest (2024) and Golfweek (2024), as well as 14th place in Golfweek’s list of America’s 50 best casino courses in 2024; an October 2025 release says the course was 17th in Golfweek’s casino list in 2025. Golfweek ranked it second in Idaho among courses you can play in 2008, according to a release of that year, and first in 2019, according to Colorado AvidGolfer. Wikipedia cites Golf Digest rating it the third-best public course in Idaho in August 2015. The British site Top 100 Golf Courses places it sixth in Idaho, behind several private clubs, in a list that mixes private and public courses.

What the course asks of you

The resort’s course tour page gives the full card. The front nine is a par 36 of 3,564 yards from the Gold tees and the back nine a par 36 of 3,625. Each nine has two par 3s and two par 5s. The tee sets, from the resort’s hole-by-hole figures, add up to 7,189 yards for Gold, about 6,579 for Blue, 6,108 for White, 5,378 to 5,389 for the next set depending on the source and 4,708 for the shortest. Wikipedia, citing the USGA, gives a course rating of 74.1 and a slope of 144 from the Gold tees, 71.3 and 138 from the Blue, and 69.6 and 131 from the White for men, with 70.4 and 137 and 66.7 and 121 for the two forward sets on the women’s side. Those are serious numbers: a slope in the 140s from the back tees puts Circling Raven among the more demanding public courses in the region.

Reviewers agree on a few constants. The holes are big, in proportion to the land. Many tee shots carry over wetland or native grass. Bunkers are large and irregular; Colorado AvidGolfer calls them amoeba-shaped. The greens have unusual shapes that allow tucked hole locations, and Matt Saternus of Plugged In Golf, in a 2019 review, notes that the constant changes of elevation make distances hard to judge and advises trusting the yardages on the cart GPS. Wind is the other factor raised in an older review published by ABC7 Chicago, whose author recommends both the GPS and a rangefinder.

• Hole 1, par 5, 513 yards. A dogleg left around wetland, with bunkers on both sides of the fairway. Several reviewers treat it as a fair start and a birdie chance, and a reviewer on Top 100 Golf Courses writes that long hitters can reach it in two.
• Hole 3, par 3, 217 yards. Downhill across grassland to a sloping, bunkered green, often into the wind according to the ABC7 review.
• Hole 4, par 4, 406 yards. The No. 1 stroke index for men on the resort’s card. Deep bunkers split the fairway into an upper and a lower level, and the choice of side is the hole; Golf Course Gurus calls it the best par 4 on the course.
• Hole 5, par 5, 574 yards. The longest hole on the front nine and the No. 1 stroke index for women.
• Hole 6, par 4, 387 yards from the Gold tees. The Spokesman-Review called it a drivable 272-yard par 4 as set up for the 2012 playoff, which shows how much the tees can change a hole.
• Hole 8, par 4, 386 yards. Golf Course Gurus names it the signature hole: a forced carry from the tee, bunkers right and wetland beyond the green. The ABC7 reviewer called the tee shot one of the prettiest on the course.
• Hole 9, par 4, 474 yards. The longest par 4, with wetland left and out of bounds right, according to Golf Course Gurus.
• Hole 10, par 4, 336 yards. A short, drivable par 4 with wetland in front of the green and trees to avoid, described by Plugged In Golf as a reward for confident drivers.
• Hole 12, par 5, 581 yards. The longest hole and the No. 2 stroke index. A tree stands in the fairway, according to the ABC7 review, and Golf Course Gurus calls it the best par 5.
• Hole 13, par 3, 253 yards. The longest par 3 on the card and the hole most often singled out: a steep downhill shot with a forced carry Golf Course Gurus puts at about 220 yards. The ABC7 reviewer calls it the most intimidating hole on the course, and Plugged In Golf the toughest of the par 3s.
• Hole 15, par 4, 426 yards. Downhill and tree-lined; Plugged In Golf notes that the approach must be controlled to avoid going long.
• Hole 17, par 5, 559 yards, and hole 18, par 4, 435 yards. In the final round of the 2012 professional championship, Jason Pitt and Corey Prugh both birdied the 17th, according to the Spokesman-Review; Colorado AvidGolfer describes the 18th as well guarded.

Plugged In Golf also points out a gap between the White tees (around 6,100 yards) and the Blue (6,578): most of the extra length goes to the par 4s, and the carries get longer. For many players that makes the choice of tees more important here than at a typical resort course.

What golfers say

Public opinion on Circling Raven is plentiful in volume but thin in detail, and it is overwhelmingly favorable. In October 2026 the 18Birdies app showed an average of 4.8 out of 5 from about 280 reviews, with course condition rated 4.7 and value 4.4, the lowest of its sub-scores; it labels the greens fast and the difficulty hard. The Hole19 app showed 4.9 from 27 ratings, most of them without written comments. Top 100 Golf Courses had three reviews averaging 4.5. We also read the longer reviews of Plugged In Golf (2019), Golf Course Gurus (undated, grade B+) and an older review published by ABC7 Chicago. The points below summarize recurring themes; they are other people’s opinions, not ours, and we name no individual app users.

What comes up in its favor

• The setting is the most consistent source of praise: wide views, no houses along the holes, and the sense of having the course to yourself, with other groups rarely in sight.
• The layout is described as challenging but fair, a course that rewards straight driving and good thinking more than raw power.
• Conditioning scores are high, and the greens are often described as fast and true.
• The practice facility, the large pro shop and the Twisted Earth grill draw compliments; Plugged In Golf calls the grill one of its favorite on-course restaurants.
• Pace is generally reported as good, helped by the space between holes and the cart GPS.

What comes up against

• The forced carries are intimidating for some players, and wild hitters are warned they will struggle.
• Fairways are only of average width despite the size of the property, and misses end in thick rough with awkward pitches.
• The greens can be hard to read, with subtle breaks and hole locations tucked into corners.
• The distances between holes make the course impossible to walk in practice: carts are mandatory.
• Value scores lower than condition in the app ratings, without the reviews we could read explaining why.

Criticism is scarce. We found no detailed negative review, and most of the written opinion we could read comes from enthusiastic golf media or very short app comments. Readers should treat this section as a sketch rather than a balanced survey.

Getting there and playing

Circling Raven is open to the public. Tee times can be booked online through the resort’s golf pages or by phone through the pro shop or the clubhouse. According to the resort’s site, phone reservations during peak season are limited to 45 days ahead, while online booking remains open beyond that window. The 2026 season announcement adds that guests can book stay-and-play packages combining golf and a night at the resort. The resort also sells a frequent-player card, the Raven Card, and runs leagues, clinics and a women’s program.

The season is that of a northern course. The course opened on April 3 in 2026, and the October 2025 release says the 2025 season ended on October 26 and that the course is closed from November until spring. In 2026 the resort divided the season into a shoulder period from opening day to May 17 and a peak period from May 18 to early October. For winter, the Circling Raven Golf Suites, an indoor simulator room inside the casino resort that opened in late 2024, offers simulator golf to visitors aged 18 and over.

The resort’s golf FAQ sets out the rules. All players must use the GPS carts, which are included in the round; private power carts and push carts are not allowed. Golf attire is required, with no jeans, T-shirts or men’s tank tops. Rain checks are issued only when staff judge play to be potentially harmful to players or the course. The cancellation policy is stated differently on different pages of the resort’s site, from 24 hours to 48 hours to seven days ahead, so check the terms at the time of booking.

The course is on U.S. Highway 95, the main north-south road through the Idaho Panhandle, south of Coeur d’Alene. Spokane International Airport is the nearest major airport. The resort has hotel rooms, a spa and several restaurants, and the golf clubhouse houses the pro shop and the Twisted Earth bar and grill, open daily during the golf season according to the resort. Check the resort’s golf pages before travelling, since dates and booking rules change from one season to the next.

How we built this page

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap and Wikidata for the location and identifiers; Wikipedia’s articles on Circling Raven Golf Club and the Circling Raven Championship for the setting, the ratings, the early events and the Epson Tour results; the resort’s golf pages at cdacasino.com, read through archived copies from 2024 and 2025 because the site did not answer our server directly, for the hole-by-hole card, the hole names, the acreage, the awards claimed, the FAQ and the staff; the resort’s 2026 season announcement, republished by First Call Golf; an October 2025 release published by Indian Gaming; a 2008 release on The Golf Wire for the opening, grasses and wildlife; a 2024 Washington Golf article; Colorado AvidGolfer (August 2019); the Spokesman-Review (September 2012); OpenGolfAPI and AllSquareGolf for the card and ratings; and Plugged In Golf, Golf Course Gurus, ABC7 Chicago, Top 100 Golf Courses, 18Birdies and Hole19 for opinions.

Where sources disagree, we say so. The opening year is 2003 in Wikipedia, Colorado AvidGolfer and course directories, but the resort counted 2024 as its 20th season and 2026 as its 22nd, which would point to a first full season in 2005; we keep 2003, the year most sources give for the opening. Golf Course Gurus gives a rating of 74.5 and a slope of 140 from the Gold tees, against 74.1 and 144 in Wikipedia, OpenGolfAPI and AllSquareGolf; we follow the majority. The Blue tees are 6,578 yards in the 2008 release and 6,579 when the resort’s hole figures are added up. The names of the two forward tee sets, Red and Green, are attached to different yardages from one source to another: the 2008 release and Golf Course Gurus call the 4,708-yard set Green, while the resort’s tour page labels it Red. Distances to Coeur d’Alene are 25 miles for the resort and about 30 for Wikipedia. The acreage is 620 for the resort, more than 600 for Wikipedia and 670 with the practice area for the 2008 release. Rankings differ because they come from different lists and years.

Some details will age: the rankings, the season dates, the booking window, the staff, the work done on the course, the app ratings read in October 2026 and the prices, which we deliberately leave out. We reproduce no quotations from reviewers. Nobody from Panxis has played or visited this course, and this page is no substitute for a round.

The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say over its content. This page contains no commercial link and earns us no commission. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.

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