We Know Boise Real Estate

Boise Golf Courses: Where To Tee Off in the Treasure Valley

Posted by Lisa Kohl on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022 at 10:06am

View from above a top golf course in Boise, Idaho

With our abundantly sunny skies, temperate spring and autumn seasons, and impossibly long summer days, it’s no surprise that the Treasure Valley has become a golfing oasis. But with more than 20 emerald-toned golf courses across the valley, choosing where to play can set your whole game up for success – or failure.

Which is why we’ve profiled the best public and private courses in the Treasure Valley. Whether you’re a newbie, a scratch golfer or a twice-a-year duffer, here’s what you need to know about the Boise area’s most popular golf courses – and what makes each of them unique.

The Club at SpurWing

6800 N Spurwing Way, Meridian, ID 83646
(208) 887-1800 | Website
Course: Private and includes the Championship Course (par 72) and Challenge Course (par 27)
Highlights: Features The Studio, which offers club fittings and can assess your swing with video and 3D Doppler tracking radar.

Members who join SpurWing rave about its inviting atmosphere and engaged community – it’s also one of the most sought-after private clubs for homebuyers looking to live near a course. The Club’s Championship Course boasts of being the longest private course in the Treasure Valley, and tips out at 7,300 yards. Moderately difficult and open throughout most of the course, you’ll encounter plenty of sand with long holes (including par 3s).

But if you’re looking for relaxed fun, head to the Challenge Course, a nine-hole course that features two tee boxes posted at different yardages on every hole. Every green also has two separate hole locations (one an easier putt on a flatter portion; another with more of a slope). This is a course popular with beginners, families and groups with mixed skill sets. It’s also home to a very active senior men’s league.

Warm Springs Golf Course

2495 E Warm Springs Ave, Boise, ID 83712
(208) 972-8600 | Website
Course: Public par 72 course
Highlights: Weekend family pricing.

If you want to experience the soul of East Boise, head over to Warm Springs Golf Course. Located just minutes from downtown, this public course boasts views of the tree-lined Boise River and popular Greenbelt trail on one side and views of the foothills on the other. It’s not uncommon to see deer on the course, baby geese, even the occasional elk.

This Boise golf course is flat and wide open, allowing players with high handicaps to have fun, but has enough water and sand hazards to keep a game interesting. It’s also a very family-friendly course, with special pricing for families on weekend evenings.

Falcon Crest Golf Club

11102 S Cloverdale Rd, Kuna, ID 83634
(208) 362-8897 | Website
Courses: Public and includes the Robin Hood Course (par 31), Freedom Course (par 36) and Championship Course (par 72)
Highlights: Courses that cater to all playing levels.

If you’re looking for a golfer’s paradise, Falcon Crest Golf Club is it. The 36-hole complex features something for every golfer – the Championship course is moderate to difficult, and features more elevation gains and drops than you’d expect to find in the middle of farm country. The Freedom course is long and flat, with fast greens. It’s a fun one for players still learning the game, or for mixed groups, as the open layout means a mistake likely won’t cost you more than a stroke. Robin Hood is the easiest course, with few hazards; it’s a great one for beginners.

While it can be more of a commute to get to Falcon Crest for many Treasure Valley golfers, those who’ve played the courses swear it’s worth it. The greens tend to be very fast and the club also features a two-sized driving range with a 1,700 square-foot putting green (along with chipping green and bunker), making it a great place to practice.

BanBury Golf Course

2626 S Marypost Pl, Eagle, ID 83616
(208) 939-3600 | Website
Course: Public par 71 course
Highlights: Automated driving range and large practice putting green.

BanBury Golf Course was once the darling of the Treasure Valley, what many consider Boise’s first luxury course, earning a spot in Golf Digest’s Top 10 courses in Idaho many years running. Now, it’s considered a classic. The mostly flat course features well-placed water and out-of-bound hazards and a few tricky attack angles. That said, it’s accessible enough for all skill levels.

The public course is also beloved for its scenic views – it runs next to the south fork of the Boise River and is nestled among many stunning Eagle homes in the surrounding neighborhood, Banbury Meadows.

Crane Creek Country Club

500 W Curling Dr, Boise, ID 83702
(208) 514-4340 | Website
Course: Private par 72 course
Highlights: Great course for walking.

Founded in the 1960s by a small group of golf enthusiasts, Crane Creek features an exclusive course tucked into the valleys of Boise’s foothills, minutes from downtown. Golfers can play any of eight sets of tees, which makes it great for players of all ages and abilities.

While many Boise golf courses showcase the area’s natural beauty, Crane Creek takes it one step further: the course is designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, which means the club follows an environmental management meant to protect and preserve the area’s wildlife (something only four courses in the state and 10% of clubs nationally have achieved). For this reason, many golfers choose to forgo carts and walk the course instead.

Quail Hollow Golf Course

4720 N 36th St, Boise, ID 83703
(208) 972-8590 | Website
Course: Public par 70 course
Highlights: Challenging elevation gains and losses (and beautiful views).

If you’re looking for a challenge, look no further than Quail Hollow. With a slope rating of 129, those who forgo the golf cart on this course often live to regret it (at least their calves do). Carved into the Boise foothills, the course is short and tight, twisty and very hilly with sloped greens. It demands accuracy and is perfect for the advanced player.

Bring plenty of balls, because you’re likely to lose a few. The pace of play tends to be slower, too, thanks to all those lost balls. And the view from the 18th tee box is stunning – some golfers enjoy hitting an extra ball there just for the fun of it.

Hillcrest Country Club

4610 W Hillcrest Dr, Boise, ID 83705
(208) 343-5425 | Website
Course: Private par 71 course
Highlights: Host of the Boise Open for more than 30 years.

If you’re looking for private clubs to join, this one takes its golf game pretty seriously. Head PGA Professional Brett Kleinkopf oversees the course at Hillcrest Country Club. Originally designed in 1958, the course features a classic layout with tree-lined fairways and doglegs, a slope rating of 130 and a green speed between 10.0 and 11.0, making it difficult but fair. Because this is a private club, the fairways and greens are always impeccably groomed, and bunkering is strategic. Fortunately, experienced staff are available to offer you tips for playing your best round.

The club also features two practice putting greens and an 80-yard short game facility.

The River Club (Plantation Golf Course)

6515 W State St, Boise, ID 83703
(208) 853-4793 | Website
Course: Private par 71 course
Highlights: Fantastic par 3s, plus pro staff that golfers rave about.

The course at The River Club is Southern Idaho’s oldest – the original Plantation golf course was built in 1917. Set along the banks of the Boise River, it’s surrounded by mature cotton and spruce trees. The course itself is relatively short and flat, and plays at an excellent pace (a round usually takes 3.5 hours). Its five par 3s are demanding in the best of ways, and the overall course offers enough hazards for links-style golfers, along with a few challenging par 4s and 5s for long hitters.

The course is located next to State Street, so ambient traffic noise can be an issue. But all in all, it’s a course designed to have a great time – and that’s what most players do.

Shadow Valley Golf Course

15711 N Horseshoe Bend Rd, Boise, ID 83714
(208) 939-6699 | Website
Course: Public par 72 course
Highlights: Highly responsive, friendly staff that keep play moving.

A full round at Shadow Valley plays like two strikingly different courses: a rolling front nine that plays like links, with exposed greens and a healthy amount of fairway slope, and an almost entirely flat back nine that’s all angles, forcing golfers to move their balls in both directions, hit high and low, and have excellent distance control. Play a round and you’ll find that no two holes are alike.

The course itself is also stunning, with rock formations, blooming flowers and plenty of wildlife – like Crane Creek, it is one of a handful of golf courses in the state to be certified by the National Audubon Society.

Boise Ranch Golf Course

6501 S Cloverdale Rd, Boise ID, 83709
(208) 362-6501 | Website
Course: Public par 71 course
Highlights: Punch card pass makes it great for affordability.

If you’re new to Boise, or entertaining out-of-town guests, Boise Ranch is a fair and honest course to play a round. It plays the way it looks from the tees – there aren’t many elevation changes, hidden shortcuts or holes where local knowledge is going to give you an edge.

The course also has very few bunkers, and even the ones it does have seem more designed to stop long shots than thwart your approach to the greens. That said, there are eight lakes and ponds to keep scores from getting too low, along with a few uphill par 3s and an elevated tee into a par 4 that keeps things interesting. It also has one of the longest par 5s in Idaho.

If you live south of I-84, the location of this Boise golf course can’t be beat. In fact, you might just become a regular.

Redhawk Golf Course

12225 S Hunters Dr, Nampa, ID 83686
(208) 461-4295 | Website
Course: Public par 71 course
Highlights: On-site practice facility with a full driving range, a practice putting green, and short game/bunker facilities.

You might want to spring for a cart for this playful course overlooking Lake Lowell and the Owyhee Mountains. The first six holes are in what staff lovingly call “the pit,” (the course was built on an old gravel pit) followed by a steep climb out of “the pit.”

But the challenges don’t stop once you make your way out of the pit – the course is full of undulating fairways, fast greens, a 220-yard par 4, and the occasional uphill par 3. This is a fun course that is suitable for all skill levels yet doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Boise Real Estate Agent Lisa Kohl

Lisa Kohl

Lisa is a top Idaho Realtor and creator of WeKnowBoise.com. Whether buying or selling a home, we provide full-service real estate solutions dedicated to helping our clients achieve their goals. From Southeast Boise to the North End, up to Eagle and west to Meridian, or right in the middle of the Boise Bench and downtown - We Know Boise.

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