CARLSBAD, California – Little-promoted fact: one of golf’s iconic tournament venues celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015.

La Costa, the Southern California site for 35 PGA Tour events and two LPGA tourneys, reached that milestone with the admitted realization that “things ain’t what these used to be.’’

The Mercedes Championship, also known as the Tournament of Champions, put La Costa in the world golf spotlight from 1969 to 1998 before relocating to Hawaii.

In its La Costa years the tourney was played on nine holes of the resort’s Champions course and nine on the Legends course. It became one of the most popular events on the PGA Tour every year, with a great list of champions that included Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Lanny Wadkins, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

La Costa wasn’t without a big event for long after the Mercedes left. A year later the World Golf Championship’s Accenture Match Play Championship moved in. It stayed until 2006 (with the exception of a visit to Australia in 2001). Then that event moved to Arizona.

Losing those big ones was a blow to owners of the resort, which was immediately well received after original architects Dick Wilson and Joe Lee completed their work in in time for the facility’s opening in 1965. Wilson and Lee, who also created Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course in the Chicago area during that time period, had a long run as successful designers but updating was clearly needed.

The courses were shut down for more than a year after the two PGA Tour events left. Architect Damian Pascuzzo, working with PGA Tour player and 1988 Tournament of Champions winner Steve Pate and consultant Jeff Brauer, eventually completed a major renovation in 2011.

Even before that renovation was completed La Costa had 18 holes ready for the debut of the LPGA’s Kia Classic. After being played at another California course, Industry Hills, in 2011, the Kia Classic was back in 2012 – but for the last three years it has been played at Aviara, another course in Carlsbad. Not only that, but the Women’s Tennis Association held one of its tournament at La Costa, but it’s gone now, too.

The biggest competition of the year at La Costa is a college tournament, hosted by the UCLA men’s team, but don’t be deceived by that. It may seem like La Costa’s days in the spotlight are over, but don’t believe it. I’m told a big tournament will be coming soon.

Things are happening behind the scenes.. That was evident during our visit. The shops, restaurants, tennis facilities and spa were busy and everyone – guests and staff – was in an upbeat mood. Interesting, lots of families – with children of all ages – were clearly having a good time. All that speaks well for La Costa’s future.

The return of a big tournament shouldn’t surprise anyone. The resort still has all the facilities necessary to take on such an event. In fact, it’s better equipped to hold a big one than some of the facilities hosting them now.

And, don’t ever forget that equipment giants TaylorMade, Titleist, Cobra and Callaway are all based in the area. That should play into the course selection process for big tournaments.

As for the courses, the Champions layout is more tournament appropriate. In the redesign the Pascuzzo-Pate team put in 78 bunkers. They’re very steep, with many having fingers that make them look even bigger than they are. And, at 7,172 yards from the back tees, Champions is about 200 yards longer than the still respectable Legends layout. Legends was cart path only when we played it, having been re-opened for only two weeks after being closed four weeks to facilitate an overseeding project.

La Costa’s membership appreciates the value of being a tournament site and the resort’s new owner, Omni, is taking an aggressive approach, too. The hotel chain assumed ownership two years ago. In October it announced a golf-for-free birthday promotion at its 11 golf destinations. In November it will bring in a new line of power carts that will have GPS capabilities at La Costa.

Dallas-based Omni has 60 hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico but all of its 360 golf holes are inside the U.S. border. California has another Omni golf facility,s at Rancho Las Palma. Florida also has two Omni golf resorts – Amelia Island Plantation and Orlando at Championsgate.

The others are Tucson National in Arizona, Grove Park Inn in North Carolina, Hilton Head Oceanfront in South Carolina, Interlocken Hotel in Colorado, Mount Washington in New Hampshire, Bedford Springs in Pennsylvania, Barton Creek in Texas and Homestead in Virginia.

Tournaments may have left La Costa for the time being, but golfers never did. It won’t be long before this long-popular resort is hosting the world’s best players again. Count on it.

DANA POINT, Calif. – Robert Trent Jones II has long been one of my favorite golf architects and our far-reaching tour of the Pacific Northwest already included rounds at two of his courses – Chambers Bay and Poppy Hills — that have been especially newsworthy lately.

For that reason I suspected a round at Monarch Beach Golf Links might be a letdown. After all, it was one of Jones’ first courses and came shortly after the annual fall overseeding program had begun.

There was no letdown, though. Jones has designed over 270 courses in over 40 countries and this early one – located roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Diego – is a testament to how well his courses have stood up over time.

Jones’ headquarters are in California (Palo Alto) and his design portfolio lists 31 courses created in his home state. Some are more decorated than Monarch Beach, but that shouldn’t detract from the longstanding popularity the course has attained.

Monarch Beach Golf Links is now part of the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort. The first nine holes of the course were built in 1983, the second in 1985. The resort didn’t open until 2001. After undergoing a $30 million renovation recently it’s certainly a luxury destination with its 400 rooms and assorted other amenities that are spread over 172 acres.

The course, though, is more than a major part of the resort. It’s a major part of the community as well. We played with two 30-somethings, both avid local players. They reported that — factoring in the cost, conditioning and other amenities — Monarch Beach may be the best golf value in Orange County.

Assistant golf professional Jackie Kazarian said about 45,000 rounds are played at Monarch Beach annually, and they’re about one-third resort guests, one-third members and one-third community and tournaments. Only notable shortcoming is the absence of a practice range (there are some hitting bays with nets next to the putting green).

Jones’ task was to build an oceanfront course in the mid-1980s and he succeeded in creating what is now one of just 11 oceanfront courses on the West Coast. The dogleg left par-4 third hole provides the best view of the water, and that’s underscored by the fact that the course operators have posted a sign to encourage selfie picture-taking.

The par-70 layout is a bit on the quirky side, with back-to-back par-3s on the front nine and three par-3s coming after the third and last par-5 on the back side. The course is unofficially broken down into three segments. Holes 1-5 comprise the Ocean Loop, Nos. 6-9 are the Canyon area and Nos. 10-18 are the Home Stretch.

Golfers must contend with about strategically-placed 105 bunkers with lots of doglegs and elevation changes. Residential homes looming high above the course don’t come into play but do create a pleasant setting. Hiking trails intertwine with the cart paths in a few spots, but aren’t a distraction to the golfers.

Monarch Beach has had its moments in the spotlight. It hosted the Hyundai Team Matches in 2001 and 2002 and The Golf Channel’s Matt Ginella declared Monarch Beach “Best Ladies Golf Destination’’ in 2013. It was also listed among the Top 50 Women Friendly Courses, but don’t get the idea this is a layout that caters just to the ladies.

At 6,645 yards (with a rating of 72.5 and slope of 135) from the tips it’s not a long course, but it presents a fun challenge for players of all ability levels. There are four tee placements, the shortest being at 5,050 yards.

The third may be the prettiest (and no doubt the signature hole), but the seventh – a par-5 that stretches to 612 yards from the back tees – is a true No. 1 handicap hole. Not only is this dogleg left the longest hole on the course, it’s a strategic and mental challenge as well.

Best of the five quite good par-3s is the shortest one. No. 13, ranging from 90 to 155 yards, has water guarding the front, back and right side of the green.

CARMEL, Calif. – This was going to be just a short trip triggered by a relatively new development in a legendary golf area with, perhaps, a little nostalgia mixed in. Instead it turned out a lot more than that.

The Pebble Beach-Carmel area is well known in golf circles. Pebble Beach Golf Links may be the nation’s most famous course, thanks to its being the site of Bing Crosby’s longstanding pro-am – a fixture on the PGA Tour schedule. I was there twice to report on U.S. Opens, the last of which in 2010 was the last assignment in my most satisfying 41-year career covering sports for the Chicago Sun-Times.

But my visits in the past didn’t compare to this one, when the plan was largely to check out the renovation at Poppy Hills, one of the many golf options in the Pebble Beach area. The course – within a short distance of Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Cypress Point and Spanish Bay on the spectacular 17-Mile Drive along the coast of the Pacific Ocean – had been closed for over a year to accommodate an extensive renovation supervised by course designer Robert Trent Jones II.

Poppy Hills, though not as well known outside of California as its golfing neighbors, deserves its own recognition. It was the first course owned and operated by a golf association in the U.S. when it opened in 1986. The Northern California Golf Association is headquartered there and uses Poppy Hills as its home tournament course.

Jones designed the course and it’s been a staple of golf in that area ever since. In pre-renovation times it co-hosted the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am from 1991-2009. Now it’s a site for the Nature Valley First Tee Open on the Champions Tour.

While the Jones 13-month renovation project centered on water conservation and improving irrigation and drainage, the finished product was a completely different course than what it had been. The present version is more wide-open with no rough. The rating and slope have also gone down (from 74.4 to 73.5 and from 140 to 135 from the back tees). Such reductions are a rarity in a renovation. Usually the numbers go up.

In this one, though, Jones created a firm, fast, fun course with great greens. We found it a delightful playing experience.

The renovation was significant but didn’t turn out the overwhelming focus of this visit. We didn’t opt for a golf-focused lodging destination, and what a smart move that was!

Staying off-course on road trips isn’t unusual for any golf aficionado. There are usually other options around the popular golf destinations, but the Carmel area offers so much more than other places.

In Carmel we opted for a bed-and-breakfast, and the Carmel Country Inn was a charming place with a most helpful staff. We learned about the best restaurants (here it was the Flying Fish Grill and Grasing’s), the wine-tastings (there were many options in a package deal), the shopping options, the art galleries, the beach and the other attractions.

In addition to Poppy Hills and all the downtown shops we made visits to Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch and the nearby Carmel Mission that has artifacts dating to the 1700s.
In a three-day stay, that isn’t usually possible. It was here, though.

Carmel is unusual with its Cotswold style of architecture. This community has a lot to offer in a very condensed area . We walked almost everywhere. Mission Ranch was about a 10-minute drive and Poppy Hills about 15-20-minutes from the bed and breakfast.

The 17-Mile Drive is also an auto jaunt always worth taking. You get the beautiful views enjoyed by so many for so long with the golf connection still prevalent.

Make no mistake, though. Golf is important here. That became immediately evident as soon as we checked in at Poppy Hills. We couldn’t get an earlier tee time because a big outing had been previously scheduled. No problem. We teed off at 2:10 p.m. with the understanding that getting in all 18 holes might be a problem.

We got through 16 holes with plenty of daylight. No. 17 was a par-3, so that wasn’t much of a problem, either. No. 18 – a par-5 – was another matter but by this time there was no option. The course was good enough where we had to finish it all. We did, sort of. It was hard to find our balls on around the No. 18 green, but we did get in. And then the restaurant stayed open until 8 p.m. – another big plus – and the service was friendly and the food good – another plus.

Staying off course on a golf trip isn’t always a good idea – and we rarely do it – but at this location it was exactly the right thing to do. Very, very few destinations offer as much golf as the Pebble Beach-Carmel area, but you can get much more than golf there as well.

BANDON, Oregon – There’s definitely a lot to say about Bandon Dunes, the very unique multi-course facility on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. In short, though, it has most everything.

There’s four quality walking-only 18-holers, a 55-acre practice range, the 100,000-square foot Punchbowl putting course, a 13-hole par-3 layout called Bandon Preserve that was chosen as Best U.S. Short Course by Golf Digest magazine, one of the biggest caddie programs in the United States, dining at six restaurants and lounges, a variety of comfortable lodging and – one of the many factors that separates Bandon Dunes from other American resorts – everything is so close together.

You could easily drive your car from one place to another (as we did), but if you don’t want to do that there’s a shuttle system that works just fine.

Bandon Dunes was created by Chicago’s Mike Keiser, who took it on after his unique but much more modest Dunes Club in Michigan emerged a success. Now Keiser is planning another Bandon-type facility, Sand Valley in Wisconsin, but that’s a topic for another day.

For now we’ll delve into Bandon and its variety of offerings. This resort is well-conceived, well-run, well-presented and well-received. In fact, none may do it better. The resort’s logo — “Golf As It Was Meant To Be’’ – fits to a tee.

There’s one touchy subject for those who run the place, though. They shy away from citing one of its courses as better than another. Most such multi-course facilities have a designated championship course and then one (or a few) others.

Bandon considers its four courses as equals, and prices them that way. The equality contention was underscored when the U.S. Golf Association recently awarded the resort the 2020 U.S. Amateur. The resort got the prestigious tournament – its sixth USGA championship — but the two 18-holers necessary to its staging have yet to be designated. Any of the four could be chosen, since they’ve all hosted at least one previous USGA event.

Maybe favoritism should be avoided, but golfers aren’t that way. They don’t see all courses as equal, and one of the fun parts of the game is discussing the strong points and shortcomings of each one. I’d be remiss to not do that here, after a five-night four-course fall visit.

I don’t give much credibility to the various course rankings put out annually by the golf industry publications, but many do. So, for the record, here’s what happened in 2014:

Golf Magazine had all four Bandon courses ranked in its top 49 U.S. courses. Golf Digest had all four in the top 74 of its Top 100 in the U.S. and all in the top 14 of its Top 100 U.S. Public Courses. Golfweek had all four in the top 22 of its Best Modern Courses. Pacific Dunes was the top-ranked Bandon course in all those polls.

I’m entitled to my opinion as well, and I’ll give it to you – but you’ll have to wait. Here’s my thoughts on the courses – given in the order in which they were played.

PACIFIC DUNES: Our first tee time was on what we were told was the best, most beautiful and toughest of the layouts. We caught it on an extremely windy day, but it was certainly playable and lots of fun. The views of the Pacific were plentiful and stunning.

One thing that set this round apart from all others that we’ve played was that we were told it was permissible to use your push/pull carts on the greens – something that can be done on all the Bandon courses. We didn’t really feel comfortable doing that at first, but the greens were hard and we couldn’t discern any damage being done to the putting surfaces. It was also certainly a convenience in getting around the courses.

The layout, designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2001 as the resort’s second course, was unusual in that there were four par-3s on the back nine. (The layout is still a par-71). Interestingly, the most memorable of the short holes on the course didn’t offer an ocean view. On No. 17 you hit towards a stunning background of gold wildflowers.

BANDON TRAILS: The creation by the design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw opened in 2005 – a par-71 that measures only 6,765 yards from the back tees. It’s much different than Pacific Dunes in that there are no striking ocean views. The most notable features are the liberal use of manzanita, particularly at the par-3 fifth hole, and the abundance of elevated tees. They gave lots of holes a special look from the outset.

Bandon Preserve, the par-3 course, adjoins this layout and offers the best opportunity to play extra holes on the same day.

Most notable spot on the course, though, is the long passageway to the No. 14 tee. Behind the back tee on that hole is a bench where Keiser got his first dramatic view of the property that would become the Bandon Dunes Resort. It was also the spot where Keiser had his epiphany: this would be where he’d build his next golf facility. Given developments of subsequent years, this spot should be looked on as hallowed ground in the golf world.

BANDON DUNES: This was the first course built on the property, in 1999. Scotland’s David McLay Kidd, still shy of his 30th birthday, was the architect, and our first thought was that it didn’t quite measure up to the first two layouts we played. Then again, we really didn’t see it all because fog had set in just before teeoff and we had trouble seeing the holes we were playing for quite awhile.

Anyway, this one had its charms. There was more animal interaction on this layout than the others. Three deer greeted us at No. 3, getting close enough to startle us. They weren’t afraid of golfers, that’s for sure. Later a squirrel seemed on the brink of jumping on my shoe.

A couple footnotes: No. 12 – a par-3 – was the first hole built on the property and No. 13 is the only hole on any of the courses without a bunker. And No. 16, a short par-4 requiring a tee shot over a ravine and an uphill approach with one of the best ocean views, wound up my most memorable hole of the 72 we played.

And then there was “the Whammer.’’ The caddie in our group alerted me that a “secret’’ hole had been dug long ago near a tree to the right of the No. 10 fairway. Though it was covered, it stirred my curiosity. So, over I went, lifted the cover and found an assortment of odds and ends including a bottle of scotch. Some Bandon devotees apparently created the hole during an early outing and it has grown into the stuff of legends.

OLD MACDONALD: The resort’s newest course – Old MacDonald opened in 2010 – is much different than the others. It came off a joint design effort by Doak and Jim Urbina and the name came from Charles Blair MacDonald, creator of America’s first 18-hole course at the Chicago Golf Club in 1892. MacDonald was the first man to describe himself as a golf course architect, and he did plenty of other courses.

Old MacDonald is no replica of any of his other courses but more a tribute to his design work overall. The fairways are huge and so are the greens. In fact, at 250,000 square feet, Old MacDonald has the largest greens complex in the world.

Funny thing about Old MacDonald – or maybe it’s just me. I had easily my best shot-making round on this layout, but also had my highest score on the four Bandon layouts.

The greens are the thing here. Sometimes it feels like you’re too much at the mercy of the fickle slopes that are all over the course. That’s when things aren’t going your way. When the ball is bouncing right you get the most exhilarating feeling possible on any of the four layouts.

Experienced caddies are a nice amenity most anywhere but they are a borderline necessity here for first-time players. We didn’t use them, and they would have definitely come in handy in determining the proper target lines – especially on some of the blind shots that were more prevalent on this course than on any of the others.

FINALLY, OUR RANKINGS: No. 1 – Pacific Dunes, because you can’t beat the views; No. 2 – Old MacDonald, because it was so different (though I’m no fan of the blind shots presented there); No. 3 – Bandon Trails, at least in part because there were more holes to play at this stop with the adjoining par-3 also available; and No. 4 – Bandon Dunes, because it’s hard to judge something you can’t see. Fog ruled the day when we played there.

Does it really matter if one course is “better’’ than another? Certainly not if you’re at Bandon Dunes. This resort has an abundance of riches.

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – At the start of 2015 Chambers Bay was viewed as an exciting new venue for June’s U.S. Open. Four months after Jordan Spieth’s victory in one of the most dramatic finishes to that championship the course is viewed differently.

Now, four months later, it still has the historical benefits from being a major championship site, but it’s even more a travel destination than it was before Dustin Johnson three-putted the last green from 12 feet to give Spieth his second major title.

Chambers looks a lot different than it did during the U.S. Open, the first ever held in the Pacific Northwest. The corporate hospitality tents are gone, of course, but the beating the course took from welcoming 280,000 visitors in that one week is still evident. The visitors are still coming, though. They’re coming strictly to play now.

There’s a different perception of Chambers in the aftermath of the big event. There was an aura of mystery about it before the Open. Now that the game’s best players have dealt with it there’s more an anticipation to learn what this place is all about. Chambers Bay was a good story to tell before the Open; it’s an even better one now.

This is a county-owned walking-only golf course. Caddies aren’t mandatory (though they’d be helpful on the 7 ½-mile jaunt that includes the equivalent of 13 floors in elevation). Staffers are assigned to various spots on the course to help the players in various ways and facilitate play, but there’s much more to the Chambers Bay experience.

For one thing, there’s no definition between the greens and the fairways — an extreme rarity in the U.S. courses. A train regularly runs along the outskirts of the course, which offers stunning water views of Puget Sound.

For historical perspective there’s the remnants of the sand and gravel storage bins that dominated the property a couple decades before it became a golf course. Now they give the course a Stonehenge look. A three-mile walking/biking trails winds through the course, much like Scotland’s storied St. Andrews, but golfers aren’t impacted by it at all. The same for a dog park. Chambers Bay is a benefit to its community, not just to the golfers.

Unlike most every other U.S. Open venue, there’s no big clubhouse. The pro shop is relatively small (but certainly adequate). Players are taken from it to the range and first tee via a shuttle, and a trailer houses the snack shop, where you claim your push cart or hook up with your caddie. It’s a friendly setting that becomes even more enjoyable as you meander through the course.

It’s a course like no other – at least in the United States — and we enjoyed exploring those differences. You frequently putt from great distances. To play well you have to cope with the many undulations, on the fairways as well as the greens. The fairways are huge – No. 13 was the widest ever at a U.S. Open – and the rough isn’t so penal that it scares you. The two of us, both very avid but ordinary recreational players, lost only one ball between us while playing with two Chambers veterans – general manager Matt Allen and assistant professional Ryan Young.

The U.S. Open didn’t always present Chambers Bay in a favorable light, which created a mind-boggling dilemma for Allen.

“As time passes you reflect on the good and the bad, and you see that globally it was an unqualified success,’’ said Allen. “But in the moment you would see the energy and the excitement at the same time when players in the media center were losing their minds about the putting greens.’’

The conditioning of the greens were a problem, no doubt about it. Allen attributes it to record heat in May and June, and it continued for two months after the tournament. That made recovery from the Open more difficult. Still, recreational play resumed the Friday after the last putt dropped and Chambers Bay returned to being a great asset to its community but with a higher profile.

“You’ve got to go back to Hazeltine (the Minnesota club that hosted the 1970 U.S. Open, won by Britain’s Tony Jacklin) as the last time the U.S. Open was played on a new course,’’ said Allen. “Players didn’t universally accept Hazeltine, either.’’

But Hazeltine survived to host another U.S. Open and as well as a PGA Championship, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. It will also be the site of next year’s Ryder Cup matches.

Chamber Bays’ story is a bit different. The course was built by Pierce County with the intention of landing a U.S. Open. That was an extraordinary mission, with lots of parties involved. Among the key ones were John Landenburg, a Pierce County executive who convinced local politicians to to spend $20 million on the project; Robert Trent Jones Jr., the architect; Chicago-based KemperSports, which manages the facility; and the U.S. Golf Assn.

They worked together to get the course open in 2007, the accolades poured in immediately and by 2010 Chambers was hosting a U.S. Amateur. The 2015 U.S. Open made Chambers the only course built in the last 50 years and the first with links-style architecture to host the tournament.

Add to it the fact that Chambers’ No. 12 hole yielded the most eagles in U.S. Open history, and you have a lot of golf history made in a very short time frame. Allen has been at Chambers almost from the beginning so his perspective is noteworthy.

After completing his studies at Oregon he was – at age 21 — named the tournament and course rating director for the Oregon Golf Assn. Now a 17-year employee of KemperSports, he moved to Oregon’s then up-and-coming Bandon Dunes Resort in 1999 as assistant general manager and has been GM at Chambers for seven years. He recorded every Open-related telecast, but hasn’t gotten through Day 1 in viewing it all yet.

“For those of us on the grounds it certainly exceeded expectations,’’ he said. “The feedback we’ve gotten from others is how much more enjoyable it was watching a U.S. Open where you see (the world’s top players) having to think their way around the golf course the way everyone else does.’’

He expects Chambers Bay to return to as a major tournament venue at some point, but it’ll be tough to top what’s happened there already.

“We can top it by bringing the Open back in 10-12 years and doing it better,’’ Allen said. “Meanwhile, we’ll just continue to cement our championship pedigree.’’

And accommodate curious players. There’s a lot more of them now. Allen said Chambers drew players from only 12 states in the late summer months of 2014 as the Open was closing in. In the three months after this Open, though, players from 57 different states or countries have teed off there. One from France was playing during our visit.

“We’ll see that traffic for a long time to come,’’ Allen predicted.

Chambers is now even offering a unique golf package in conjunction with Tacoma’s Hotel Murano and two nearby facilities – The Home Course in DuPont and Gold Mountain in Bremerton. The Home Course was Chambers’ alternate course in the 2010 U.S. Amateur and hosted the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. Gold Mountain hosted the 2006 U.S. Public Links and 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur.

BOZEMAN, Montana — Based on our driving the last two days Montana is the most beautiful state in the U.S. and its town of Bozeman merits a more long-term stay ASAP. We took a side trip there to check out Big Sky Resort, even though we were aware its golf course had closed for the season on Oct. 4.

We wanted to see Big Sky because it is Montana’s version of Michigan’s Boyne Resorts – long one of our favorite golf destinations. Big Sky’s welcome sign was getting a facelift when we arrived, the clubhouse was closed but the course looked great.

I guess I can’t identify with the snow-skiing set and I do accept that October weather in Montana is unpredictable. Still, it was difficult to find a beautiful course empty on a perfect day weather-wise in early October. Oh, well….

Anyway, though I consider myself well-travelled within the U.S. and Canada due to all the work-related trips I made over the years, this week has been in largely uncharted territory. Earlier we made our first visit to South Dakota. Now we’re in Montana for the first time and later today it’ll be our first time ever in Idaho. All very interesting.

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The Floating Green is a gimmicky thing, but it brought the desired attention to Lake Coeur d’Alene Resort.

It was envisioned by Duane Hagadone in 1991, when the first ball was struck toward this movable putting surface. The 6,803-yard course was designed by Scott Miller but No. 14 is the hole that put the course on the global map.

The tee doesn’t move – there are five tee placements, allowing the hole to play anywhere from 95 to 218 yards –but the green does. It’s a man-made, 15,000-square foot island green that changes location. It gets further from the tee as the season goes on because the depth of the water changes. The “putter’’ boat takes golfers from the tee to the green and back. Wish I could have played this famous hole, but time constraints prevented that.

Still, checking it out was well worth the visit. Arguably the most unusual hole in all of golf will celebrate its 25th year in 2016 by getting a re-grassing. The course had its conditioning problems recently, with a staff member informing me that six of the greens were lost during the season. He said that No. 14 is likely the best on the course, but all 18 will be re-grassed shortly after the course is closed on Oct. 17 – two weeks earlier than usual.

It’s hard to look past the Floating Green – after all, the road leading past the gate house to the clubhouse is Floating Green Drive – but the course has more attractions than that. It has lake views on every hole and 1,500 wild flowers also spice up the viewing experience.

VALENTINE, Neb. – The first thing you notice as you approach the Prairie Club in the sandhills of Nebraska is what’s not there.

You cruise through the “big’’ town of Valentine (population 2,830) and 17 miles later you see the first indication that a big-time golf resort is nearby. It’s just a small sign saying the entrance is a half-mile away.

Then you hit the entrance – just a small sign as well – and face a two-mile drive down a winding dirt road to the clubhouse that, most notably, takes you by some mean-looking cattle. Then the fun begins.

At the Prairie Club the accommodations are more than comfortable. The décor has a rustic elegance that includes leopard carpeting on the stairs. The food is good, the atmosphere memorable, the staff extremely friendly and helpful. But at the Prairie Club it’s all about golf . You can have your fun on its two 18-hole courses as well as its unique 10-hole Horse Course, a par-3 layout that has no tee markers.

An interesting place, this Prairie Club. There’s not many golf options around it, but plenty inside its ample borders. This place is pure golf, just what founder Paul Schock wanted when he got the place up and running on June 11, 2010.

“We want our guests to have fun. That’s the object of our Horse Course,’’ said head professional Loudan Steffes. “It gives you as many options, and as many players in a group, as you like. And a round there doesn’t take four-five hours.’’

The Horse Course is unique. Gil Hanse, now famous as the designer of the Brazil course that will host next year’s first Olympics golf competition since 1904, created it. You play the Horse Course like you would play that popular game in backyard basketball, hence the name. The Horse Course spurs creativity as well as fun competition. Too bad more golf facilities don’t offer such a course. Golf, as played on the Horse Course, would bring more players into the game.

But I digress. The Prairie Club is a lot more than the Horse Course. The Dunes Course, designed by former British Open champion Tom Lehman with guidance from Chris Brand, is long – a par-73 that can play at over 8,000 yards from the very back tees. This is one of those courses where it’s imperative you play from the right set of tees. If you don’t you could well be in for a long day.

The length shouldn’t dissuade you, though. Neither should all the weird-shaped bunkers, some of which have “blowouts’’ in them and some of which feature what look like Pete Dye railroad ties placed in a much-less-random order. They’re more like fence posts.

“Those are posts, for aesthetic purposes, just to give a different look,’’ explained Steffes. “You don’t see them everywhere.’’

No, you don’t, and if you get behind one you’re dead.

The “blowouts,’’ native to the sandhills so prevalent in the area, are featured in the wide area of waste bunkers throughout the layout. You never know what you’re going to get when you go into those bunkers.

“The wind creates them, and they’re constantly changing over time as well,’’ said Steffes. “The wind changes the shape of the sand.’’

The other 18, called the Pines, is also a par-73 but much different than the Dunes. The Australian star, Graham Marsh, designed that 18, which is more playable for the average player and perhaps easier than the Dunes — even though the greens are more severe. Regardless of how you compare the courses, the views of the Snake River Canyon offered on the Pines are stunning from the Points of Solitude viewing spot behind the No. 16 green.

There’s one thing about the Prairie Club that’s historically amazing. It was built in just over five months. That seems astounding, given the time it takes to build or renovate courses everywhere else these days.

Prairie Club was spawned as the third big-time course in the sandhills. Shock had been a member of one, the 18-hole Sand Hills Country Club, designed by the noted design team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. The other, Dismal River, has 36 holes. Both of those are private clubs while at Prairie Club play is about half and half between its members (about 400 of them) and the public.

The two private clubs had closed for the season by early October, when we visited Prairie Club. Nebraska has a surprisingly short golf season thanks to the unpredictability of fall weather. The sandhills area has been known to have snow in October, so the Prairie Club will close for golf on Oct. 18 and won’t re-open until next May 13. There will, however, be some winter activities there, primarily to accommodate hunters and weddings.

NIOBRARA, Neb. – Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen much anymore. New courses are rare, and most of those are created as renovations. They’re not really built from scratch; they’re built over existing golf courses.

It’s great that there are more renovations now than there were the last few, economically difficult, years. Some are good-looking courses, like Tom Doak’s creation of a new No. 1 Course at Medinah Country Club.

Tatanka Golf Club, is no renovation, though. It opened in mid-September after nearly three years in the construction process on land that had most recently been a homestead. Michigan architect Paul Albanese created a full-fledged, championship golf course — priced in the $5 million range – on fresh land in northeastern Nebraska, which is hardly a hotbed for golf courses.

What exists golf-wise in a 20-mile radius of Tatanka are only about five community-owned nine-hole courses. No disrespect intended, but Tatanka is certainly not one of those.

“It’s not just some little golf development, but a dramatic 18-hole championship course,’’ said Brian Bursheim, the facility’s general manager. “This will be something you can’t find for miles. You give people a real nice layout, and they will travel.’’

At least that’s what the Santee Sioux Nation is counting on when it decided to add a golf course to its Ohiya Casino and turn it into a resort on the outskirts of a town with just 375 residents.

Ohiya, which opened 17 years ago, is the oldest casino in Nebraska. It’s now in its third location and has an accompanying 48-room hotel. Though still small, it’s growing and the golf course figures to keep the momentum going among the residents of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and even Minnesota. They can all benefit from having a new upscale golf course nearby.

Albanese created the course on 300 acres, but there’s about 700 available around the casino. The course won’t hold its grand opening until next May, but golfers are already discovering the place. Several came three times from Omaha in the first month the course was open.

The layout has barely a flat spot. It’s surrounded by stunning, all-natural views and has some special touches. Albanese included two double-greens in his design (on holes 3 and 16 and No. 9 and 18). He also made it possible for buffalo to factor into the rounds played there. Tatanka is the Indian word for buffalo.

The buffalo are fenced in, but clearly evident – especially off the 13th hole. Given the mood of the herd, buffalo can get as close to 10-15 yards of the golfers.

“Nothing is forced,’’ said Albanese. “Nature has been respected in the design process, which is very important to the Sioux and appreciated.’’

For example, the land for the course was purchased from a family that had a burial ground on it. The family wanted the burial ground, which includes at least three bodies, to remain and it’s prominently marked in the fairway leading to the No. 3 green.

Bursheim was hired after the course construction had begun. He had been a head professional for five years at the Sundance public course in Buckeye, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix. Bursheim was anxious to return to his family roots in South Dakota and took the job without seeing the property.

He believes Tatanka will stand on its own, independent of the casino, in due time. Initially he envisions greens fees no higher than $75 at prime time.

“The one thing that’s different about our course compared to others in the area is that the others are either links-style or tree-lined,’’ he said. “We are a little of both, and there are undulations on every hole.’’

Some of those undulations are extreme, suggesting that Tatanka will never lend itself to being a walking course. That’s no problem for a resort facility anyway. The fairways, though, are very generous and there’s plenty of length available. The course measures 7,450 yards from the tips with a rating of 75.7 and slope of 134 but it can play as short as 4,784 yards. The are six sets of tee placements.

Tatanka won’t be in full operation until the spring of 2016. Bursheim has installed three simulators to stir golf interest among casino visitors during the winter months. When the course opens in the spring it’ll likely have GPS on the carts and the look will be a bit different than it is this fall. It’ll have new, wooden flagsticks, a general wood theme in its on-course atmosphere and full valet service will be available.

Albanese had specific ideas on how the course should look. It’s reflected even in the Indian lore included on the scorecard.

“Paul’s idea was to have it look like just-planted grass,’’ said Bursheim. “He didn’t move much dirt. He wanted to keep it as natural as possible for the golfers – like they were just out on a nature walk.’’

With the golf season in the Midwest winding down, it’s a good time to check out what’s been happening at golf’s best travel destinations – and there’s been plenty. Our first golf/travel notebook of the fall begins at one of America’s most famous courses.

The famed Harbour Town course at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, S.C., re-opened this week after undergoing major renovation work that included the installation of a new irrigation system.

Harbour Town, a joint design effort by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus, closed in May after last year’s PGA Tour stop, the RBC Heritage Classic. All the greens were also resurfaced while the course was closed.

Keiser abandons Bandon Links project

Seven years ago Michael Keiser hired architect Gil Hanse to plan a destination golf course near his Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon. This week Keiser, citing issues with the Bureau of Land Management and disappointing results in recent well testing, announced he was abandoning the project.

“Termination of the Bandon Links project will have no effect on anything having to do with the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, where the public will continue to experience the first-class golf experiences which they have come to expect there,’’ said Keiser.

He also said he would seek another site where a project similar to Bandon Links “would be viable.’’

Kemper to manage Desert Rose

Chicago-based KemperSports has been selected to manage Desert Rose, a Las Vegas public course that has been closed for more than two years. When it re-opens sometime this fall it will have a new, still undisclosed, name.

Desert Rose was designed by Joe Lee and Dick Wilson – the architects who designed Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course that hosted Chicago’s PGA Tour stop for 20 years. Desert Rose opened in 1964 and was completely re-designed by Randy Heckenkemper during its closing.

Heckenkemper’s most recent design work includes the Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale and he also worked with Phil Mickelson on McDowell Mountain.

Salamander connects with Virginia course

Salamander Hotels and Resorts, which has 10 courses spanning Virginia and Florida, has added its Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Va. The facility will enable its guests to play at Creighton Farms, a nearby Jack Nicklaus design.

The Copperhead course at Salamander’s Innisbrook Resort in Florida is scheduled to re-open in November after a six-month restorative enhancement. It was the site of Jordan Spieth’s first victory of his storybook 2015 season in the Valspar Championship.

Another Salamander Florida resort, Reunion in Orlando, has begun work on a new clubhouse at its Nicklaus Course. Reunion is the only resort with signature designs by Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer and it also houses the Annika Academy, the creation of LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam.

New course in Nebraska

The Tatanka Golf Club has been added to the Ohiya Casino Resort of the Santee Sioux Nation in Niobrara, Nebraska. The course, a Paul Albanese design, opened in September.

Wild Dunes’ Links Course will re-open soon

Tom Fazio’s first-ever solo design was the Links Course at Wild Dunes Resort in Charleston, S.C. It’ll re-open in late October after getting a new irrigation system, concrete cart paths, a renovated halfway house, a 4,500-square foot putting green and new views of the Atlantic Ocean on holes 16-18.

New look for California’s Quail Lodge

Todd Eckenrode, a California-based architect, removed several lakes and introduced deep grass swales in his effort to freshen up Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Irvine, Calif. Swales are prominent on holes 1, 2, 14, 16 and 17, the last of which is now the course’s feature hole.