Shooting Upland Game Birds
Boise's Quail hollow offers the best of highland golf just a stone's throw from town.
By Jason Harris
For a city course, Quail Hollow in Boise, Idaho gives more of a country feel. It's located only five minutes from downtown and offers a beautiful backdrop of the Boise Valley.
This 18-hole, par 70 course is a test of target golf and short game. Some holes allow you to grip and rip the driver, but most require you to hit a certain target area and then rely on your mid and short game. The greens are very small with undulation, but receive a ball perfectly and have a very nice roll to them.
I didn't hit my driver until the 6th hole. Holes 1-5 were trouble clubs and a 3 wood off the tee, followed by short irons and wedges. I started with four straight pars, but double-bogeyed number 5 as my gap wedge came up a bit short … and wet. As I usually do, I followed that double with a bogey on 6, but then rallied to close out with pars for a 38.
I opened the back nine with a three-putt bogey, which considering the size of all the greens, should be hard to do. But I found myself on the wrong side of the green and missed a three-foot bender for par.
I would say the back nine is the more difficult side since there is more water to avoid. After my bogey at 10, I managed to string six pars in a row but closed my round with back-to-back three-putt bogeys on 17 and 18. Hole 18 was the only hole on the course that left me scratching my head. Tee boxes cross over another set and the green is shared with hole 5 and is massive, especially in comparison to how small the other 16 greens are. I hit my approach shot to the middle of the green and watched it roll all the way back to the front. With a blue pin, I was staring down a 130-foot birdie putt. Yes, I three-putt, but it was a hard-earned bogey.
I finished the round with matching 38s for a 76. It was a very enjoyable course, with beautiful scenery, and came at a reasonable price. It played very fair and tested my target ability. Getting a chance to play it a second, and third, and … would definitely be an advantage as you could better learn the spots. And that is just what I plan on doing.