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Both designed by the Arnold Palmer Design Company, the community’s golf amenities are set against a stunning mountain backdrop, fitting seamlessly into Balsam’s conservation ethos. The Signature Arnold Palmer Golf Course, which was recently named one of Palmer’s top 10 course designs by Golfweek, features some of the most incredible long-range views with elevations that reach up to 3,700 feet. Resting on Palmer’s belief that a course must be both beautiful and serve the game in an unrivaled experience, Balsam’s golf course rewards the senses with dramatic scenery in every direction. Members can also utilize the expertise of the community’s Head Golf Professional, Travis Wilson, who has over 20 years of club and teaching experience.

The Palmer Practice Park perfectly complements the community’s 18-hole course. Recently unveiled, the state-of-the-art Palmer Practice Park was designed to create a more flexible and accessible option for community golfers. Spanning five acres, the practice facility features six unique greens, three bunkers and multiple teeing grounds, creating an unlimited number of ways to set the course up day to day. This variety ensures that the course never plays the same way twice, while also promoting a low-pressure, smaller-scale game that will appeal to golfers of all abilities. Players have the option of a practice range with a full length of 260 yards, in addition to the par three and pitch and putt course options.

The Palmer Practice Park is located just steps away from the Doubletop Village, an upcoming mountain hamlet of 23 new residential cottages, dining and recreational amenities all currently under development and scheduled to open in spring 2020. Golfers will enjoy the Villages’ Golf House, where residents can shop a full selection of golf, fitness and hiking apparel. Doubletop Village will also feature multiple dining options for golfers and members alike in its new members’ grille and bar, the Summit House and Mine Tavern. The Summit House will overlook the Palmer Practice Park, the Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course, as well as the valleys and mountains beyond. Across the courtyard, the Mine Tavern will offer casual indoor and outdoor restaurant service. The Village will also include a General Store, as well as the organic Ruby City Farm and two great lawns for bocce, croquet, badminton and other sports.

To help golfers keep primed for their return to the course, Laird Small, director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy at Pebble Beach Resorts, has shared some simple tips that can be done from the comfort of home. But before getting started, set the scene by tuning into Pebble Beach’s live cam that captures the crashing surf and spectacular mountain backdrop surrounding the 18th hole – the most famous finishing hole in golf.

Maintain rotational flexibility – The tension created in this exercise opens up the chest and can help add much needed rotation to your swing.

1.     Face the doorway to your bathroom.

2.     With your shoulders back, extend your right arm out and place your right hand flat against the door frame. It should be at shoulder height.

3.     Hold your hand in place and turn your upper body to the left. Your trail arm will stay behind you.

For the left-handed golfer:

1.     Face the doorway to your bathroom.

2.     With your shoulders back, extend your left arm out and place your left hand flat against the door frame. It should be at shoulder height.

3.     Hold your hand in place and turn your upper body to the right. Your trail arm will stay behind you.

Keep your head down – This exercise will train you to keep your body in position throughout your swing and keep your head down from back swing to follow-through.

1.     Get a hand towel from the bathroom and fold it three to five times.

2.     Stand facing a wall in your hotel room and get into golf posture. You should be at least one foot from the wall.

3.     Lean forward and place your forehead against the wall, cushioned by the towel.

4.     Cross your arms over your chest, with the fingertips of each hand touching the opposite shoulder.

5.     Proceed to make turns back and forth, starting with your left shoulder down and your right shoulder up.

6.     Continue for 30 seconds to one minute while keeping the towel in place.

Add width to your swing – A simple exercise like this will assist in arm extension and position you for the top of your back swing.

1.     Stand in the middle of the door frame to the bathroom.

2.     Take your golf posture

3.     Reach for the top of the door jamb

Of course, stretching is key, too. Here are a few ways to stay nimble on the road, according to Small:

Joint Caps

1.     Place your left arm straight across your chest, pointing to your right.

2.     With your right arm, reach underneath the left elbow and pull into your chest

3.     Hold for five seconds.

4.     Be sure to keep the left shoulder down, preventing it from shrugging up toward the left ear.

5.     Repeat on the right arm.

Shoulder Blades – In golf, all the forces are pulling away from you. It’s therefore important to strengthen your back so it can support the stress exerted by the rest of the body.

1.     Extend arms outward on each side, creating a letter “T” with the body.

2.     Get into your golf posture, keeping your arms extended outward.

3.     Position your hands with your palms down and your thumbs pointed forward.

4.     Pull your shoulder blades together and down, as if you were trying to put them in your back pockets. This is called “scapular retraction.”

5.     In this position, do 30 to 40 arm circles.

6.     Once completed, rotate your hands with your palms up and thumbs pointed behind you.

7.     Do another 30 to 40 arm circles.

Hips and Lower Back

1.     Sitting on the floor, extend your left leg straight out in front of you and cross your right foot over your left knee, placing it on the floor next to your knee cap.

2.     Place your left elbow between your right knee and your chest and place your right hand flat on the ground directly behind you.

3.     Twist the body to the right, using your left arm to push against your right knee. Ideally, your left shoulder will be pointed in the same direction as your left leg, which is extended in front of you.

4.     Hold the position for five to 10 seconds.

5.     Complete the same stretch using the opposite leg and arm.

Laird Small, director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy at Pebble Beach Resorts

Originally scheduled for July 23-26, the Evian Championship, held in Evian-les-Bains, France, will now take place the week before the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, which is scheduled for Aug. 13-16 in North Berwick, Scotland.

“These awards are truly a celebration of the excellence we see all around us,” states an Inlander introduction to the awards. “Everyone has a personal favorite, and we have compiled the top vote getters in a variety of categories.”

Nothing makes the Coeur d’Alene Tribe happier. The Tribe built the course to celebrate its spectacular ancestral homelands through highlighting nature’s gifts, and to provide an exceptional resort amenity that reflects tribal heritage while providing jobs and drawing guests from near and far.

Scheduled to open March 27 and measuring 7,189 yards from the rear tees, the 18-hole layout sprawls magnificently through 620 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and Palouse grasses. Circling Raven’s gleaming white sand bunkers are large and strategically placed, and its variety of holes is tremendous. The Symetra “Road to the LPGA” Tour will compete in the Circling Raven Championship Aug. 24-30 this season, a worthy test for the world’s top aspiring professional women golfers.

Designed by Gene Bates, many who play Circling Raven equally enjoy the off-course accents. These include a vast, 25-acre driving range, a nationally honored golf shop, and the excellent Twisted Earth restaurant with bar at the clubhouse. Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort amenities and activities include the full-service Spa Ssakwa’q’n (SOCK-wah-kin); a variety of hotel rooms and suites; bars, restaurants, lounges, and eateries; cultural immersion options, and more. The casino completed a multi-million-dollar renovation nine month ago.

Circling Raven has garnered numerous best-in-kind honors since opening, including being rated as a Top 100 Resort Course, Best in State, and a Top U.S. Casino Course. Its golf shop has won national and regional awards for its excellence and its variety of products, displays, and performance.