The Northwest golf map does not stop at Puget Sound or the Oregon Coast.
Go inland and north, and the scenery changes again. Lakes replace ocean cliffs. Mountains replace dunes. High desert gives way to alpine golf, and classic Canadian architecture adds another kind of history.
This final part of the series looks at famous holes and courses across the greater Northwest: Idaho, British Columbia, and Central Oregon.
1. Coeur d’Alene Resort No. 14 — The Floating Green
Photo: Blenihan, public domain.
The 14th at The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course is one of the most recognizable resort holes in golf. The course’s official site calls it the famous Floating Green, set off the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene, and the resort describes it as an iconic feat of engineering and design recognized around the globe.
Why it belongs: It is instantly understandable: hit the green or take the boat ride with regret.
2. Greywolf No. 6 — “Cliffhanger”
Photo: Panorama Mountain Resort. Course view, not the exact hole.
Greywolf Golf Course in Panorama, British Columbia, calls its par-3 collection one of the best in the world and says it is capped by the spectacular “Cliffhanger” hole.
Why it belongs: The name does half the work. The tee shot does the rest.
3. Tobiano No. 7 — Canyon Carry Above Kamloops Lake
Photo: Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Course view, not the exact hole.
Tobiano sits above Kamloops Lake, and the course’s own site says Kamloops Lake is visible from some point on every hole. Local golf coverage describes the seventh as a demanding par 3 that requires a tee shot over a canyon.
Why it belongs: It is a mountain-and-lake version of target golf: beautiful, exposed, and intimidating.
4. Capilano No. 14 — Classic Stanley Thompson Design
Photo: Capilano Golf & Country Club. Course view, not the exact hole.
Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver is one of Canada’s great classic courses. The club says it was designed by Stanley Thompson, with generous tree-lined fairways, artistic bunkers, and dramatic greensites carved through the rainforest.
Why it belongs: Not every famous hole needs a gimmick. Some are famous because the architecture has lasted.
5. Capilano No. 18 — A Classic Finish in the Trees
Photo: Capilano Golf & Country Club. Course view, not the exact hole.
Capilano’s finishing hole belongs in any Northwest conversation because the property combines mountain setting, rainforest, and classic design. The Stanley Thompson Society describes Capilano as a rare combination of spectacular mountainside setting and historic layout.
Why it belongs: It is old-school Northwest golf at its most refined.
6. Pronghorn Nicklaus Course No. 8 — Desert Golf with Cascade Views
Photo: Juniper Preserve. Nicklaus Course, hole 3 — not the exact hole.
Pronghorn’s Jack Nicklaus Signature Course sits in Bend, Oregon, against a Cascade Mountain backdrop. Juniper Preserve describes the Nicklaus Course as Oregon’s only Jack Nicklaus master-golfer-designed course and an original desert-style golf experience in the Northwest.
Why it belongs: It brings a different visual language to Northwest golf: juniper, lava, mountain light, and desert air.
7. Pronghorn Fazio Course No. 8 — Lava-Rock Drama
Photo: Juniper Preserve.
The Pronghorn Fazio Course is described by the resort as a 7,400-yard par-72 layout and Tom Fazio’s first Oregon masterpiece. Central Oregon Golf highlights the Fazio eighth as a par 3 featuring a canyon and exposed lava tube.
Why it belongs: Lava rock gives Central Oregon golf a signature that is completely different from coastal dunes or fir-lined fairways.
8. Crosswater No. 18 — Rivers, Wetlands, and a Demanding Finish
Photo: Ryan Harvey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Sunriver Resort, not the exact hole.
Crosswater in Sunriver threads through the Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers, according to the club. The course’s finishing hole asks players to negotiate a second shot across the Little Deschutes River to a demanding green complex.
Why it belongs: It is a classic closing-hole formula: water, decision-making, and one last chance to make or lose the round.
9. Predator Ridge Ridge Course No. 6 — Okanagan Signature Test
Photo: Jack Borno, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Course view, not the exact hole.
Predator Ridge’s Ridge Course sixth has been described by the resort’s own video channel as a signature hole and one of the hardest par 4s on the course, set against the Okanagan’s rugged terrain.
Why it belongs: It brings wine-country golf into the Northwest conversation, with scenery and strategy in equal measure.
10. Tobiano No. 18 — The Last Look at the Lake
Photo: Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Course view, not the exact hole.
Tobiano is built on bluffs above Kamloops Lake, and the course markets itself around sweeping lake, canyon, and mountain views. The 18th works as the final reminder of what makes the property memorable: space, scale, and scenery.
Why it belongs: Some finishing holes are famous because of tournament history. Others are famous because they leave one last image in your mind.
Final Thought
The greater Northwest is not easy to define, and that is part of the appeal.
It includes floating greens in Idaho, mountain par 3s in British Columbia, classic architecture in West Vancouver, and high-desert golf in Central Oregon. The common thread is setting. These are holes where the landscape is not just around the course. It is the course.
That is what makes Northwest golf so memorable: every region gives the game a different backdrop, and every famous hole tells a different kind of story.