THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: 8,296! — The Links looking to make another splash as one of the longest golf courses in the world

When it opened in 1999, The Links Golf Club in Post Falls created a buzz as a links-style golf course — far from the sea, where most links courses reside. 

No trees or water, but plenty of fescue, sand and, of course, wind to protect the course built on 160 acres on the Rathdrum Prairie. 

A few years ago, course owner Richard Baiter approached Darrell Hull, director of golf at The Links, with an idea. 

“What if we were to become the longest public golf course in America?” Baiter asked Hull. 

Hull, in his 12th year as director of golf at The Links, did some research, and found the longest public golf course was a little bit over 8,000 yards.  

(The Links, from its back (blue) tees, measures 7,377 yards.) 

“Can we stretch this out and get to that yardage?” Baiter asked. 

“So we went looking, and we found a lot of places where we could extend holes and put in new tees,” Hull said. “And when we were done, it was roughly 8,300 yards, but we cut one of the holes shorter, because you couldn’t even reach the fairway (with a tee shot).” 

Hull said he called a couple of prominent golf organizations, but neither could — or would — tell him how long the longest course in America was. 

“So I went online and found if we went to 8,296 (yards), it made us the longest public facility in the nation,” Hull said. 

They could have made The Links even longer — they certainly had the land to do so. 

“But there would have been some problems with as far as people hitting it into another fairway, and putting people in danger, and we didn’t want that,” Hull said. 

So on Monday, The Links will officially open its new back tees — the black tees — and the course will play at 8,296 yards. 

A 25th birthday bash at The Links is scheduled for July 19, with reduced greens fees, which includes cart fees, range balls, lunch and a commemorative polo shirt. A black tee scramble, inviting the inviting the area’s top pros and amateurs, is in the works for the fall. 

The longest hole will remain the unique par-6 ninth hole, currently playing at 740 yards. From the blacks, it will play at a listed 888 yards. 

Yes, 888 yards. Or slightly more than half a mile. 

BAITER AND Emmett Burley were the original owners of The Links. Burley and Mike Grilley, who has been the course superintendent since it opened, designed the course. When Burley passed away a few years ago, Baiter became the sole owner. 

“He's 86, doesn’t play as much now, but loves his golf, and loves his golf course,” Hull said. “He's so proud that we can be this niche. It’s just been his passion since he found out we can do it, and get recognized for it.” 

Before the black tees officially open on Monday, a few of the better golfers in the area got together recently for a two-man scramble from the blacks. 

The winning score was 3-under par. Second place was even par, and the others all finished over par. 

In a scramble. 

“The team under par said they made three 35-foot putts, and chipped one in, or else they would have been even par, or higher,” Hull said. 

Par remains 73 (37-36). The Washington Golf Association gave the course a rating of 79.7, and a slope of 147. From the white tees, where most play from, it’s rated around 68. 

“They’re saying its 12 shots harder from back there, (compared to) our normal white tees,” Hull said. 

Workers started building a few new black tees two years ago, and the rest went in last year — but the tees were closed to the public. 

Until Monday. 

“It'll be fun,” Hull said. “There will be some people that won’t enjoy it once they get back there, because it’s too long for them. But it’s going to give us a niche; maybe we’ll draw some people in from all across the United States to play. And give Post Falls a little bit more notoriety, which will be nice.” 

The par-6 ninth hole has long been the course’s signature hole. 

"My personal opinion is our signature hole will become No. 15, our par-3 up the hill that has the pot bunker in front,” Hull said. “From the new black tee that will play 258 (compared to 168 from the white tees, 177 from the blues) ... uphill, pot bunker in front, bunker on the left, and if the wind’s blowing the wrong direction, that’ll play close to 300 yards.”

Sounds like fun. 

“It brought the pure challenge of golf back into play for me at The Links,” said Joseph Glenn, who played at Post Falls High, the University of Idaho and Utah Valley University. He’s still active in golf, giving lessons, selling life and health insurance on the side, and practicing for a shot at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Q-school. 

“It definitely made me have to be more creative,” added Glenn, 26. “I’m hitting woods and long irons into greens, where typically I’m hitting wedges and short irons. But I really enjoyed the challenge, because it felt like you were playing the U.S. Open. It’s a hard challenge, but a fair challenge.” 

On nine, from the blacks, Glenn reached the green in three with driver, driver and 5-wood, and was putting for eagle. 

Derek Bayley, the former Lakeland High and Washington State star who has played on PGA Tour Latinoamerica as well as the PGA Tour Canada (McKenzie Tour), reached No. 9 with driver, 3-wood and hybrid. 

“It’s long, for sure,” Bayley said of The Links. “The first time we played it into a 20 mph wind, and there were a couple of holes you couldn’t even get it to the fairway. 

“It’s a different beast.” 

He said it’s good to have a course here that requires long irons into the greens, to help prepare him for some of the longer, more difficult courses he’ll play elsewhere in the country. 

The first time Bayley played the 258-yard par-3 15th, uphill with the pot bunker in front, it was downwind so he hit a hybrid.  

If there’s no wind ... 3-wood. 

“Not too often you’re taking head covers off on par-3s,” said Bayley, who usually plays The Links from the blues. 

FROM THE blacks, The Links measures a bit over 4,100 yards on both nines. 

(Hull said the holes from the blacks were measured by The Links folks after the most recent scorecard was printed, so the yardage on the scorecard is not exact. The official yardage will be determined when the Washington Golf Association measures the course. 

There was enough room on the property to push the tees back — or on 16, over — on most holes, after moving some brush and a few rocks out of the way. The first and 10th tees are just outside the pro shop and clubhouse, so there wasn’t much room to push them back. And the sixth tee is up against the edge of the property. 

All four par-3s all measure over 200 yards from the blacks — roughly 237 on No. 4 (185 from the white tees), 266 on No. 8 (153 from the whites), 258 on 15 (168 from the whites) and 203 on 17 (173 from the whites).  

Because of the aforementioned constraints, No. 1 is the shortest par-4, at 382 yards.  

The par-5 seventh hole is now roughly 613 yards (462 from the whites, 539 from the blues). The par-4s on the back measure roughly 447, 480, 499, 520 and 514 yards. 

The par-5 18th hole, 489 yards from the whites and 556 from the blues, is roughly 650 from the blacks. 

“There’s some holes that are going to be non-reachable in two, or some par-5s that are non-reachable in three if the wind’s blowing the wrong way,” Hull said. 

No. 16, at 372 from the whites (roughly 426 from the blues), is a short, dogleg left par-4, where a long hitter can hit his tee shot within 15 yards from the green. 

With the new black tee, moved some 170 yards to the right, the hole becomes a fairly straight par-4, but slightly uphill and now measuring roughly 514 yards. The same player who is chipping onto the green from the whites now might face an approach shot of 170 yards — provided he reaches the fairway, on the left side. The first part of the fairway slopes to the right, so tee shots landing there could roll into the fescue. 

It’s 248 yards to the fairway on 16 from the blacks, Hull said. On 9, it’s 256 to the bench next to the forward tees. Left is out of bounds. 

“It’s still going to be a links course,” Hull said. “The wind is going to be our protector. The fescue’s going to be our protector. But at the same time, it’s going to be long ... the golf course is going to be a little bit more of a challenge, so to speak.” 

Partly because of the novelty, partly because it added another golf course to the menu for local golfers, The Links was a hit when it opened. And it keeps getting better. In recent years, the driving range, where you hit off grass, not mats, has expanded. And a practice green, with bunker, was added near the putting green. 

“I remember playing here around 2002, and you just didn’t know where to hit it,” said Hull, who before coming to The Links spent the previous 12 years at Prairie Falls Golf Club in Post Falls. “It was such a rockpile, and the fairways were terrible ... I don’t even know where to go. I complained that I would never come back here again, because it was just so bad.” 

And now? 

“And now, it is unbelievably good,” said Hull, who coached the Coeur d’Alene High boys golf team to three state titles and three runner-up finishes in eight seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and still helps high school and junior players when he can. “The fairways, the ball sits up, the fairways are well-defined, the rocks have basically gone away ... it’s a good golf course, and we try to do something to improve it every year.” 

Hull said a handful of greens at The Links are patterned after greens seen on some famous courses nationwide. 

The No. 6 green at The Links is like the ninth green at Augusta National. No. 12 at The Links is similar to 11 at Augusta, and No. 13 at The Links is like No. 8 at the home of The Masters. 

The fifth green at The Links was inspired by the green on the second hole at Pinehurst No. 2, which hosted the U.S. Open two weeks ago. 

ASIDE FROM hopefully attracting more players from throughout the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the country, Hull said they’re hoping a lengthened Links Golf Club could someday host a college tournament, or perhaps a Mid-Amateur (age 25 and older). 

Since some of that yardage information is apparently unavailable, where The Links ends up ranking on the list of longest courses might depend on the internet search. 

According to Golf.com, RainDance National in Windsor, Colo., which opened in 2022, is the longest course in North America at 8,463 yards. The longest in the world is a course in China which measures 8,548 yards, and sits some 10,000 feet above sea level. 

When Hull saw that RainDance was slightly longer than The Links, he said, “We may actually have to go further back on a few holes.” 

After all, The Links wants to be the longest public golf course in the country. Just have to move some more rocks and dirt. 

In any event ... the new Links Golf Club is lonnnnnnnnnng as well. 

“It’s something everyone has to try at least once,” said Glenn, who Hull said owns the “unofficial” course record of 70 from the blacks. “You’d better pray the wind’s not blowing, and accepting that you’re going to be chipping a lot.” 

Bayley’s advice? 

“Buckle up,” he said. “If you’re capable, it’s awesome to say you did it once.” 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports. 

    MARK NELKE/Press A look from the new black tees at the ninth hole at The Links Golf Club in Post Falls — an 888-yard par-6 which previously played at "only" 740 yards from the tips, where golfers are preparing to hit. From the blacks, it takes a poke of some 256 yards to clear the front tees. To the left is out of bounds.
  

    MARK NELKE/Press Director of Golf Darrell Hull stands on the new black tees on the 16th hole at The Links Golf Club in Post Falls. To his left is the aiming point for the tee shot, which requires a carry of 256 yards to reach the fairway. From the blacks, 16 is a slight dogleg left. The white tees, which are 372 yards from the hole, are behind him and well uphill, just to the right of the golf carts.