Golf Course Review: The University of Idaho Golf Course

A quick insight into the world of golf courses and their ratings.  There are two ratings to note.  There is the Course Rating and the Slope.  The Course Rating tells you what a scratch golfer should shoot for a round of 18.  The Slope is a rating given to a course which represents the difficulty level of the course.  A slope of 120 is average.  Above 120 would be more difficult, under 120 less difficult.

I bring this up because though the University of Idaho Course is fairly short, 6,154 yards, it has a slope rating of 131 from the white tees, where I primarily play, and so it's a fairly tough course.  I'll walk you through a couple of examples and point out what makes this course play so tough.

The first hole is a good example of what makes this course tough for the average golfer.  Looking at it the hole seems so simple.  It's not too long at 355 yards, it's fairly open, and it's a steep downhill off the tee, so easy to get the distance needed off the tee.  But it's not as easy as it looks, because like so many holes on this course it rewards the precise and punishes the others.  The hole has a slight dogleg to the left and if you are too long and to the right off the tee, you'll find yourself in a line of trees that make getting to the green in two almost impossible.  If you go left you'll find yourself in the rough having to go over a water hazard to reach the green.  If you go way left, you will lose your ball in the waste high grass.  This pretty much defines what makes this course difficult.  This is the formula they use throughout.  Precision is favored to power and so if you are a struggling golfer like me the course can be quite frustrating.

Another good example of what you face can be found from my experience the other day on the 12th hole.  I had a solid tee shot which put me about 120yds from the middle of the green and in the fairway.  The hole runs downhill the entire 377 yards so it plays quite short, but like so many holes on this course just because you find yourself in the fairway doesn't mean your life is easier.  I was on the left side of the fairway which slopes steeply to the right and so the ball was far below my feet.  On this hole, like many there is a very narrow area of the fairway which will give you a level platform, otherwise you are constantly finding the ball either below or above your feet.  Because the ball was so far below my feet, I knew that the ball would tend to fade right, but if you go left on 12 going into the green you can find yourself in real trouble.  Also 120yds is an odd distance for me, in between clubs with the downhill play and you have to be careful because if you are a bit too long on 12 you will go out of bounds.  All this means I found myself standing in the fairway feeling very intimidated by my next shot.   

I enjoy this course, but it can feel quite unfair at times.  If you are not hitting the ball straight off of the tee you can have a very long day as you can lose your ball or go OB on almost every hole.  As I said the course rewards precision and punishes the not so precise so beware and be prepared for a very frustrating day if your game is slightly off.  It's how I could shoot 131 on Saturday only to be followed up by a 96 on Monday.