Beldin

The short drive from the ninth green to the 10th tee box at Prairie Falls Golf Course covers 500 feet, max.

But it might as well be 26 million miles - the approximate distance between here and Venus.

Because the front and back nines on this interesting 6,283-yard Post Falls layout play like they've been carved out of terrain on two different planets.

The front nine, which opened in July of 1998, stretches to 3,355 yards from the back tees and plays along flat, wide and inviting fairways to large, receptive greens that feature subtle, hard-to- read breaks. The character of the par-36 design is essentially what- you-see-is-what-you-get, with most landing areas and trouble spots well-defined off the tee.

The back nine, as I learned earlier this week, is a whole different animal.

Opened in May, it plays much shorter, but much tougher, than the front. And it requires two main elements that have never been a big part of my game - shot-making and thinking. "We did that pretty much on purpose," explained co-owner Tim Morton, who also serves as director of golf at the par-70 public course that winds through a housing development just a few miles north of Interstate 90 on Spokane Street.

"We don't have a lot of distance on the back, so we wanted you to have to hit good shots if you're going to score. And we made the greens a little bigger with more undulation in them, so that if you are just a hundred yards out after your drive, you still have to hit it to the right spot on the green."

The yardage on the back nine, which plays to a par of 34, is a mere 2,928 yards. But the fairways, which bend hard - both right and left - are, maybe, half as wide as those on the front. And they lead to massive, wildly rolling greens with unlimited three-putt potential. Surprisingly, the infant backside is in fantastic condition. The fairways, with the exception of a few slow-growing spots, are green and plush with very few divots - presumably because they are so difficult to hit.

And the putting surfaces, although tough to hold, are fast, smooth and true.

Morton, who is one of four area residents who purchased the course from developers Bill Radobenko and Tomlinson Realty a couple of years ago, credits the back nine's remarkably quick maturation process to course superintendent Marcus Curry.

"The last hole was planted in August of last year," Morton explained, "so it's really come along nicely. We have a great superintendent, who done a great job."

It helps, too, that the course sits on 285 acres of land that was previously used as a bluegrass seed farm.

The back nine was in the original owners' plan, but Morton and his partners - Jim Beldin, Rob Robb, Warren Brown and Keith Coultrap - weren't too keen on the original design. So they hired Denver-based architect Mark Rathert to come up with a new layout.. At a "ballpark" cost of $1.2 million, which included a new clubhouse, Rathert designed nine distinctive holes, each defined by large mounds that run the entire length of almost every fairway.

According to Morton, nearly 24,000 square yards of topsoil were moved to form the mounds that give each hole an air of solitude.

"What I like about it back there is that when you're on a hole, you're all by yourself," Morton said. "You don't see people coming at you down an adjoining fairway, and you don't see all the homes."

Morton added that nearly all of the feedback about the new back nine has been positive. "Everybody loves the backside," he said. "They all talk about getting lulled to sleep on the front and the, all of a sudden, wow, we've got to make some shots here.

"We get a lot of calls from people who want to see if they can just play the backside only."

The only gripes I had with the new nine were the greens - which were much harder than those on the front - and the fact that you have to drive out on a public street and cross railroad tracks to get to two of the tee boxes. But Morton insisted that both problems will be short-lived.

"That's just because they're so new," he explained of the mixed bentgrass greens. "They'll probably be that way for another season and then, as they mature, they'll start holding shots as the grass kind of mats up and the roots grow. "They'll get a little better next year and then, the year after that, they'll probably play pretty much like the greens on the front."

The street driving, if all goes as planned, will be eliminated by the end of the summer.

"The (Burlington Northern) railroad is getting decking ready so we can cross on our own property," Morton said. "We hope that by the end of October, we'll have the decking down and we won't have to use the street any more."

Other than that, there isn't much more for Morton and his partners to do other than watch Prairie Falls grown. The pro shop is well stocked and the grass-stall driving range is as good as any in the region. Individual season passes can be purchased for $625 ($225 for juniors), and a ten-play card is available for $190. Greens fees are $22 on weekdays and $24 on weekends. Riding carts cost $23.50 for 18 holes and $13 for nine.

The course is running a special for the rest of the summer that allows golfers to purchase their greens fees and half a cart for $25 after 1 p.m. "We don't have any other big plans, other than to keep the course affordable, accessible and in top condition," Morton added.

That should keep golfers who are looking for a solid value - and a chance to play two dramatically different nines - flocking to Prairie Fall Golf Course for a long time.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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