Circling Raven Named No. 1 Public Golf Course in Idaho by GOLF Magazine By Brian Weis

Circling Raven Named No. 1 Public Golf Course in Idaho by GOLF Magazine

GOLF Magazine's 2024-25 Ranking Places Coeur d'Alene Casino's Championship Course at the Top Among Idaho's Public Access Venues

By Brian Weis

The ratings are in and expert panelists for GOLF Magazine (golf.com) rank Circling Raven Golf Club as Idaho's top public course. The best-in-kind accolade comes via the recently released "Best Golf Courses by State, 2024-25" compilation. Of the five Idaho courses cited for this distinction, Circling Raven was the only public-access venue to be included.

As part of GOLF's rigorous ratings process, its cadre of 100-plus expert panelists identified the best golf courses in every state. According to GOLF, "The key to the process is the experience and expertise of our panel. Hailing from 15 nations and all the worldwide golf meccas, each of our 127 handpicked panelists has a keen eye for architecture, both regionally and globally. Many of our panelists have played more than 1,000 courses in 20-plus countries, some over 2,000. Their handicaps range from +5 to 15."

GOLF's choice of Circling Raven means that the Gene Bates-designed course holds the No. 1 public course distinction in the game's top three U.S. golf publications (GOLF, Golfweek, Golf Digest).

"We work tirelessly to ensure that Circling Raven is an exceptional amenity of Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel, and we are constantly enhancing the course and golf club," said resort CEO Laura Penney, MBA. "This honor from GOLF Magazine reinforces that our efforts to present a premier golf club and experience to our guests are on point, something we are committed to maintaining."

Like the casino resort, the championship golf course is owned by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Located in the lush, scenic Idaho panhandle, Circling Raven is ingeniously routed across 620 stunning acres of Palouse Region terrain. Named for a seminal tribal chief, the course sits amid woodlands, wetlands, and wildlife, including eagles and moose. Nature and reverence for the land are essential to the course and Tribal custom.
Located approximately 55 minutes from Spokane International Airport (GEG), Circling Raven measures 7,189 yards from the rear tees. 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.

For more information about Circling Raven and Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel, including stay-and-play packages, value-laden Raven Cards, and instructional programs, visit www.cdacasino.com or 800-523-2464.

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Revised: 05/10/2025 - Article Viewed 1,171 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.