Floating green's invention praised by 'Golf in America'

COEUR d'ALENE - Build a better mousetrap, the saying goes, and the world will beat a path to your door.

Coeur d'Alene's version of that mousetrap may very well be the floating green on the 14th hole of The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course. One of the most recognized icons in golf, the famous 14th is the subject of a feature airing tonight from 6-6:30 Pacific Time on The Golf Channel's "Golf in America" program.

The program was filmed on location two weeks ago at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, and includes interviews with Kevin Hicks, superintendent of golf, and Duane Hagadone, founder and owner of Hagadone Hospitality.

Producers said they were particularly interested in how the floating green, built on the site of a dilapidated former sawmill, was invented in the first place.

It turns out that Hagadone, an avid golfer, hatched the idea in a sudden brainstorm one November day. Just the day before, he had watched on television as Lee Trevino made a hole-in-one on the island green at PGA West in Palm Springs. "It stuck in my mind," Hagadone said. "An island green in the desert."

The next morning, as was his habit, he drove around to check on his properties, his faithful dog by his side. As Hagadone drove onto the mill site, which was still being operated, he envisioned what this might look like when the golf course was developed.

"As I sat there with the dog, I looked out on the lake and saw a perfectly round log boom that had been brought in the night before," Hagadone recalled. "A light came on. If they can have an island green in the desert, why can't we have a floating green on Lake Coeur d'Alene?"

Twenty years later, the manmade island continues to be the world's only floating, moveable green, and is recognized by golf fans everywhere.

"I was wearing my floating green shirt on a visit to Russia's Red Square, and had people coming up to ask me if I'd played it," Hagadone said.

When The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course replaced the former Potlatch mill, the process involved removal of hundreds of old pilings, a cleanup of the lakeshore and lakebed, and demolition of a large number of buildings. Today, the spectacular waterfront course wins awards from top golf publications annually.

"This is our 20th anniversary season," said Andy MacKimmie, head golf professional. "And the floating green through those years has put us not only on the Northwest map, but on the international golf map. It is certainly an icon in the world of golf, and truly something for our entire community to be proud of."

"Golf in America" is an original series that takes the viewer from coast to coast to chronicle the spirit of the game and the people who play it.

"Each week, we travel with award-winning host Anthony Anderson to meet incredible people and hear how their unique and fascinating stories are linked by the game of golf," the producers stated.