THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Sunday, June 5, 2016

The good folks in the Sandpoint area know full well the transformation their 18-hole course has made over the past three decades.

It’s gone from Hidden Lakes to Hidden Lakes II, where a few holes were changed/added, to The Idaho Club to now, the Rebirth of the Idaho Club.

Those that have played the next-to-nature layout a few miles east of Sandpoint remember the course they played as they enjoy the course they are now playing.

They play one hole in this direction, when they used to play it in that direction. Some of the holes remain the same, with a few tweaks. One hole began as a 160-yard par-3 way back when, was eventually remade into a dogleg right par-4, and now is nowhere to be found.

But now many of the holes, since Jack Nicklaus came in roughly a decade ago and did his redesign on what has become the only Nicklaus signature course in Idaho, are brand new.

The recession of 2008 wasn’t kind to The Idaho Club, which for a time unfortunately made more news off the course than on it.

However, with new ownership, new management and a new head pro, the hope is that’s going to change.

“We’re just getting the word out there that we’re open,” said Randi Fischer, in her second season as head pro at The Idaho Club.

ON THE course, there’s a lot to like about The Idaho Club.

The nine-hole stretch on the other side of Highway 200 (all designed by Nicklaus; previously, the only thing across the street was a driving range) is reminiscent of the back-nine stretch at Circling Raven — there’s a feeling of solitude as you’re off by yourself. You don’t really see the other holes, and there’s only a house or two visible on that side of the road.

Holes 3 through 11 — a nice escape in the middle of the round.

That stretch is also sort of like the early days of StoneRidge.

Then again, I don’t think either of those courses had toads in the water, trying to badger you as you teed off on a par-3. The other day, I withstood the pressure and hit my tee shot on the green.

Take that, toad!

For the rest of the round, however, the toads got their revenge.

Much like the move from Sandpoint to Coeur d’Alene some 18 years ago, my golf game has gone south as well. The occasional well-hit drive was countered by a few wild pulls, and some ground balls.

But it’s OK — hard to argue with a beautiful late-spring day spent hitting a golf ball, chasing after it and hitting it again — no matter where your ball ends up heading. And on this course, any ball that strays off the fairway is a tough one to retrieve.

FISCHER, 27, played on four state 5A championship while a member of the girls golf team at Twin Falls High. She went on to play at McNeese State in Lake Charles, La., then worked for Shell Oil in New Orleans before moving back to southern Idaho. She was an assistant pro at BanBury Golf Course in Eagle for a couple of months, then was asked if she was interested in taking over at The Idaho Club. She came up here last season, when the course was open only to members and guests. This year, play is limited to members from 8 to 10 a.m. each day; any other time before or after that, the public can play.

The Idaho Club is owned by Valliant LLC, and managed by Raven Golf Services, which runs five courses in Idaho, including BanBury.

As you might expect at a golf course, there are homes scattered through the property. One of them, near the first tee, was bought by the course owners to use as a clubhouse. The magnificent log clubhouse burned down in 2008, and this is the second home on the property to serve as a de facto clubhouse. Fischer said they hope to begin construction on a new clubhouse next year, perhaps on the site of the old one.

In any event, you hope they can make it work at The Idaho Club — satisfy the members, but also appease the locals looking for a championship golf course to play without leaving the county.

On a recent afternoon, sitting on the deck of the current “clubhouse,” you could look across the Pack River and see a young moose testing out the water, with mom up in the brush nearby.

What makes Sandpoint attractive as a destination — its isolated beauty — makes it a tougher draw for those looking to play several courses in an area, like they do in, say, Kootenai County. However, Fischer said she’s talked to several visitors to her course who made the trek north after playing The Coeur d’Alene Resort Course and Circling Raven, so it is doable.

Besides, we can’t let the toads get the last laugh.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.