Circling Raven Golf Club

Circling Raven Golf Club earns five stars the hard way, by laying out a vast, beautiful stretch of land and daring you to keep your head together for four hours. This place doesn’t feel designed so much as unleashed. Wetlands bleed into meadows, forests creep up on fairways, and the whole thing sits under a sky so big it makes your swing thoughts feel small and slightly ridiculous.

The setting is flat-out gorgeous, but it’s not decorative. It’s functional beauty. Water appears exactly when your confidence spikes. Wide corridors lull you into a false sense of security before angles and wind quietly rewrite your plans. The course doesn’t shout or threaten. It just watches, patiently, while you talk yourself into bad decisions.

Conditioning is rock solid without being fussy. Fairways are generous but honest. Greens are smooth, quick, and true, the kind that reward commitment and absolutely roast hesitation. Nothing feels tricked up. Every bad shot feels earned, which somehow makes it easier to swallow.

Circling Raven has that rare, slightly unhinged confidence of a course that knows it’s special and doesn’t need to explain why. You finish the round a little sunburned, a little humbled, and very aware that you just played something real. The kind of place that sticks in your head long after the scorecard has been quietly folded and buried.

Have played Circling Raven roughly two dozen times and it gets better with each round. Great conditions. Diverse, memorable holes with a perfect mix of risk and reward holes. The setting is unbeatable with no surrounding development and hundreds of acres of unspoiled nature. The Epson #Road2LPGA Tour played here for three years and competitors like Lilia Vu, who went on to become the World No. 1 ranked player, raved about its design and conditions. That said it all for me.

The Palouse is a distinct geographical region only found in parts of north central Idaho and southeastern Washington. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat. It also produces one of the starkest contrasts on a golf course I’ve ever seen. The lush green fairways, bordered by amber waves, melting into a big, blue Pacific Northwest sky is majestic.

Incredible course. Tees, fairways, bunkers, and greens were all in very good condition. Weather was perfect the day we played. Connie in the bar was very helpful and incredible nice!! It is a tough course if you've never played it before. My brother and I are 5 handicaps and the par 3's at this course are tough! Bring your "A" game. We loved the course so much we decided to play 54 holes in one day.

My only complaint was the lack of interest in the staff to allow us to try and play 54 holes. We were told by 3 different people that there was NO WAY we could play 54 holes. The pro shop guy who took my reservation 45 days ago said NO. Larry, the starter, who was an awesome guy and very, very helpful on the first tee also said NO. The pro shop guy at the end of the day seemed annoyed, irritated, and bothered that we would even attempt 54 holes. We tee'd off at 4:22 pm and finished at 7:12 pm. That's 2 hours and 50 minutes and we got stuck behind a single starting on the 10th hole.

I most recently played the course in April 2024, on a chilly, windy day with temps in the 40s. Even the challenging weather couldn't keep Circling Raven down. The conditions were spectacular for shoulder season with greens running smooth and true. Each hole is different from any other on the course. And with no surrounding development the feeling is one of serene satisfaction. Coupling the excellent design with the beautiful Inland NW landscape makes for a memorable golf experience. This was approximately the 25th time I've played it and it never gets old / always leaves me wanting more. The service and attention to detail at the golf club are impressive. And the pro shop is amazing, filled with great products and displays. 10 out of 10 place.

Would have given 5 stars for conditions, but greens had been punched week before. Wish course had given notification of this when booking. With that said, the greens were still rolling fairly well. Fairways and tee boxes were in excellent condition. Overall, great layout, great practice and club house, great value, and all around great experience. Would definitely golf here again.

This course was one of the best we have played.We were at Coure d alene for the week, then on the way home stopped here. Course cart paths take you on a scenic ride that we really enjoyed…some parts were challenging, but overall great. even got a great pic of a moose…:) on the last hole…hope to go again next year.

This is an excellent golf course, that is well maintained. Great mix of holes with doglegs and unique challenges. Lots of wetlands where there is no chance of finding your ball. The cart gives excellent directions on how to play each hole, so if you can follow them you will score well. The greens were difficult for me to read, breaks seemed subtle (or perhaps just incompetence on my part). I really enjoyed it, and at 1/2 the price (or less) of Coeur d’Alene, its a bargain.

Having said Al, that, it is nowhere near as scenic as the Coeur d’Alene resort course., but it’s probably a better golf course overall.

An excellent course well designed and well maintained. Greens are true and consistent The tips provided by the GPS system were helpful to the men, I wonder why tips are not offered for the ladies. We played two consecutive days. I wished they trained their starters better. Wed. we arrived to the first tee about two minutes before our scheduled time. We had to fight our way through the carts of the large group following us. Prior to our arrival, Larry the starter "lectured" our wives about arriving to the first tee on time. His concern was the large group to play behind us, to whom he talked during our tee shots. Thursday's starter could not keep quiet. I stepped back from my tee shot three times in the hopes he would stop talking to the members of the groups behind us. He never stopped talking. After I hit my tee shot, I told him " Michael, I hope my golf game did not interrupt your conversations" Instead of apologizing for his rudeness he laughed. I have been the starter at college events, high school events, Junior events and high-level amateur events. I always ensure the tee box is quiet.

I'd rank this #2 in Idaho behind Coeur d'Alene Resort. The turf was in perfect shape, and the practice facility is unmatched (an entire separate section just for wedges!). Love how there's nothing else out there around the course, it's just you and nature. Could have used a "signature" hole if I'm docking points.

Course has a memorable routing, artistic bunkering and great conditions. I enjoyed this Gene Bates course that is highly rated. I enjoyed all of the par 3s and the greens are quite bold.

This course is so much fun to play. And it's gorgeous. The holes are different, so much so that it doesn't seem as if any two are remotely similar. The staff is sharp, the conditions great, and the 19th hole food and bev super. Have played the course about one dozen times (I travel to the area for business), and it never gets old. I only paid $50 for my round as it was an end of season special. But I believe it's about $100 in peak season for 18 holes.

It is one of my favorite courses to play, great layout and beautiful surroundings

If you are looking for the five star experience, this is it!. This course is not for beginners, which is what I consider myself. The carts have top notch-GPS showing your location, distance to the green and tee, a cooler, a ball and club washer-first class! The seven miles of paved trail winds-I don’t think there was straight section of cart path-through a tunnel, over several wooden paths through wetlands, and a bridge over the railroad tracks. The fairways are twisty with frequent choke points, but in excellent shape, as were the greens. The feeling of isolation and being away from it all is really relaxing. Saw a couple of deer at 17th hole too.

On almost every tee shot, you are hitting over tall rough or wetlands, so worm-burners with your driver won’t cut it. Add to that lots of bunkers and a fair amount of wind makes this course challenging for experience players. I was fortunate enough to be pair with two employees from the casino-Wil and Arnet-who were patient, helpful and made experience a very positive thing for me. I’ll be back when I have a little more consistency in my game!

Circling Raven is a strong representative of the "resort golf" sector. Golf carts are essentially mandatory due to the spread-out nature of the course, and the course itself leans heavily on some wonderful scenery as a way to linger in the mind of the visitor. The meadowgoing front nine is solid, but the back nine, where every hole is in its own expansive "room," is stronger, with holes like the gliding downhill 15th helping make it fun. It has one of the best pro shops you'll see anywhere, and at less than $100, it is a very good value. When the new nine is built in the coming years, it will feel more like a golf destination unto itself.

I've played the course about a dozen times and it never disappoints. In fact, it's one of my favorites of all time, and I've played hundreds of courses. The reasons I like Circling Raven so much are the design (Gene Bates was the golf course architect), the setting (hundreds of acres with no surrounding development), the price (value), and the vibe. It's laid back and full of nice amenities. The golf shop and restaurant bar at the course are excellent, and the casino resort hotel is nice. My wife had two spa treatments (massage and facial) and said the spa is very good. The price is unreal to play. We only payed $89 for our round, and courses not nearly as good charge double that all over the U.S. When friends ask where they should try new for a golf vacation, Circling Raven is always one of my recommendations. Also, it's not far from Coeur d'Alene Resort Course, which makes for a good one-two punch of courses, although the CDA Resort Course is very pricey compared to Circling Raven.

Circling Raven was a real pleasure to play. The design and layout of the course is fabulous. You see the clubhouse on hole 1, 9 and 10. The rest of the time you are of in a golf wonderland of hills and doglegs and just plain great golf holes.

Fortunately we were paired up with a single player who had played the course, was extremely helpful in course tips and an excellent player. He helped make our round a nice treat of a day as well...we stepped our game up instead of bring his down. Along with feeling like you are the only people on the course you also are challenged on every hole. The greens are well kept, roll true and not overly difficult but as usual be below the hole.

There are a few holes with some interesting risk/reward choices of split fairways and angles to the green. The par 3's are lengthy but usually elevated so that helps the distance.

The course also has a casino and hotel on the same property so make a day or even a full night of it and truly enjoy yourself. We are glad we did.

I was building this course up to be the best of my week long trip and it turned out to not be my favorite course. The course from Pro Shop to the practice facility to the first tee are in incredible shape. Lots of dedication and professionalism go into the day to day operation of this course.
The day I was there it rained off and on and was booked solid with foursomes. I played with 3 complete strangers who were nice enough but once I rediscovered my fade problem with my driver and 3 wood the on course lessons began. We all know how troubling that is when lessons are given by complete strangers. Well I was getting it from 2 different people. This just frustrated me more and thus soured my experience at Circling Raven.
The course is amazing though. The touch screen GPS in the carts was awesome and well needed. I found the course to be very difficult with narrow fairways, lots of bunkers and trees, and the greens were sloped in every way possible. The greens were recently sanded/fertilized and that had some putts rolling slower than they should, that was a drawback.
They could use some marshals out there, our round took 5 hours. It was brutal. Favorite holes were 3,7, & 12. The beverage cart girl who resembled Jessica Biel was also a welcome sight all 4 times she passed us.

I had played the Coeur D'Alene resort course with island green the day before and enjoyed Circling Raven a little more. Outstanding layout with interesting holes, challenging and perfect condition. Staff was super friendly and about half the price of the other course. Would definitely come back here. Well worth the 30 min. drive.