Played here, first time, 8/12/20. After playing at the very green, lush, tree-lined, lake view Coeur d'Alene, I made the 3 hour drive, west, on mostly 2-lane highway, to Gamble Sands. I knew going in... Continue »

Played here, first time, 8/12/20. After playing at the very green, lush, tree-lined, lake view Coeur d'Alene, I made the 3 hour drive, west, on mostly 2-lane highway, to Gamble Sands. I knew going in, what to expect here. A links style David McLay Kidd design, which would be a completely different experience than the day before. As expected, it was, in many ways. I still can't quite figure out if I enjoyed this course or not. Mixed with some elevation changes, blind shots, and fast, super firm turf (and more left to right winding holes than any other), I left somewhat puzzled and somewhat disappointed, but also had an eagerness to play again, armed with more intelligence and strategy. I chose the Sands combo tee set (Back and Regular combination) at about 6400 yards. I think course will always play shorter than yardage with the firmness of the fairways. Course stretches to 7227 at the tips. I had excellent weather, warm, and breezy as the day went along. Started at 840am. Conditions: Tee Boxes were excellent, and many tee options to choose from. As with every other part of this course, tee boxes are firm and firmer. (I bought the yardage book in Pro Shop and recommend for first time out, although fairways have a good number of easily located markers.) Even with fairway markers, you'll benefit from the book and the slope / hill indicators. Fairways were the fastest and firmest I've ever played. Great for runout and extra distance, however, that extra distance can sometimes lead you directly into a very difficult fairway bunker. I saw a few dead straight, down the middle drives from my group, that ran and ran and ran, right into trouble. (One frustrating aspect). One the other hand, it lend to a nearly 380 yard drive on #18. So some give and take. Greens were again, as firm as I've ever played. Starter warned all of us to play 20-30 yards short and don't attempt to fly shots to the pin. He was right. Green complexes are gigantic, and in a lot of cases, you could putt from 30-50 yards out or even more. Easy to get GIR, but difficult to 2 putt, as you are likely to have many 100 footers for birdie, and many 8-10 footers for par. Bunkers were difficult and some had many small stones in them. Conditions of sand varied a lot. First greenside bunker at #2, was deep (as most are) with wet dark dirt. Others were much lighter and drier. Avoid if you can. The layout is the tricky part to assess fairly. As mentioned above, I'd like to play a second round, the day after the first time here, as it'll get you to thinking your way around better. I arrived the night before my round, and played the next morning, however, I'd suggest staying at the resort guest rooms 2 nights, and play the course, at least twice. Lots of twists and turns, a few odd blind approach shots, sometimes from the middle of the fairway, and a 160 yard par 3, 4th, which if you follow the Pro Tips in the yardage book, requires a firmly struck PUTT (?!). I didn't notice the recommendation when I teed up an 8 iron, and now wish I could go back, just to try the putter off the tee. Very low rating and slope from the Sands tee (69.4 / 111) and I'm guessing next time I'll be more efficient, but I did not find the course to be that easy. There are very nice rooms available on site, right next to a huge, and fun 18 hole putting course which offer a west facing view of the Columbia River, and great sunsets. I stayed in one of the 37 available, very well appointed rooms. There is another 14 hole short course to be opened soon (Quick Sand), and from what I understand, would have already been completed if not for the C19 annoyance. As I write this review, I've now decided, I'll certainly give it another try, stay a couple of nights, and play twice. Great food at the Danny Boy Grill near 18th hole. Get a group of (4) and enjoy. Not a particularly easy location to get to, but I recommend for all, and especially for those that enjoy treeless, link-style, close to ground play.