NORTHWEST NOTES: Friday, April 15, 2016

With added niceties, Coeur d’Alene

Resort Golf Course opens today

COEUR d’ALENE — The Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course is scheduled to open for play today on 18 all-new bentgrass greens.

Also, this will be the first full season that golf carts at the Resort Course are equipped with interactive touchscreen GPS units, allowing golfers to drive to their golf balls in the fairways. In past years, golf carts had to be kept on the cart paths.

In addition to giving golfers exact yardage to the green, the touchscreen will allow golfers to also gauge the distance to, say, a sand trap protecting the green, as well as measure the distance of their tee shot.

The GPS units were installed in golf carts at the Resort Course early last season.

“We feel it did mildly add to the pace of play,” said Andy Mackimmie, head pro at the Resort Course, “but more than anything else, it made it a convenience to be able to drive to the ball.”