Course Particulars

Pinecrest Golf Course, formerly known as Idaho Falls Municipal Golf Course, was acquired from the Idaho Falls Country Club by the City of Idaho Falls in 1934. At that time, the Country Club was a sand greens, dirt fairways type golf course.

At that time, the City desired a grass golf course. A transaction was made with the County Club and the property was turned over to the City.

The City, upon completion of the transaction with the Country Club, made application to the Federal Government to turn Pinecrest over for a WPA (Works Progress Administration) project, which meant turning Pinecrest into a completely new, all grass golf course.

The application was accepted and work was started in the summer of 1935.

After the work started, interest in golf grew rapidly, and by 1938, Pinecrest was an 18-hole golf course. It was the second 18-hole golf course in the state of Idaho.

Pinecrest can boast many firsts in golf. The first Idaho Open was played at Pinecrest in 1941.

Pinecrest became widely known as a very beautiful golf course. In a survey by Life Magazine of public courses throughout the Country, Pinecrest Golf Course was selected as one of the three best public courses west of the Mississippi.

There have been many golf professionals play our Pinecrest over the years. Many of them have been of great stature in golf, like Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Harold McSpaden, Patty Berg, and many others who have acclaimed Pinecrest as the best public course. At one time, Sam Snead wrote an article in one of the leading golf magazines that Pinecrest Golf Course, with a few alterations, could host the National USGA US Open.

In 1957, the National PGA selected Pinecrest Golf Course to be included on the regular PGA Tournament Schedule.

It is hard to image to those of us who know what a barren wasteland that Pinecrest once was, that it could turn into the beautiful place it is today.

Pinecrest was named by Mel Erickson. The City held a contest and asked its citizens to come up with a name for the newly constructed golf courses. Mr. Erickson’s choice, Pinecrest, was accepted by the Idaho Falls City Council.  The first PGA Head Golf Professional was George Orullian who served the City and the golf course for 40 years.

It can be said without any reservation, that Pinecrest is still recognized as one of the best and most beautiful golf courses in the Nation and we are very proud of it.

An interesting Fact:   Before the automated irrigation system became operational in the mid 1980′s, both Robert Wood & Larry Johnston were the duo who manually irrigated Pinecrest everyday.

Sand Creek golf course is an eighteen hole golf course, located one mile south of Sunnyside Road at the intersection of Hitt and Township Roads in Bonneville County, three miles south and two miles west from the Ammon City Hall and seven miles north and three miles east of the City of Shelley. The location of the course makes it accessible to over 100,000 people. The legal status of the land is owned by the City of Idaho Falls.

Due to the popularity of the game and the fact that Pinecrest was the only course in Idaho Falls, the need to build Sandcreek was made.   The City Council authorized William P. Bell and Son, Golf Course Architect, to design Sand Creek Golf Course on June 25, 1970. Charles Deming, Golf Course Superintendent/Manager, was appointed by the City Council as Construction Director.

The original estimated cost of construction of Sand Creek was $530,000. Mr. Ernie Craner, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Idaho Falls, submitted the Sand Creek Golf Course project to the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation for 50% matching funds. In May of 1972, the City of Idaho Falls received approval for the Federal Funding for construction.

Building Sand Creek as originally designed on the large sand dunes was determined to be too costly.  As a result, Chuck Deming re-designed the course so that that it was built away from the sand dunes.

Federal Construction Company was awarded the contract for construction. The Engineering and Public Works Division of the City of Idaho Falls contributed time and services continuously during construction.  The 116th Engineering Battalion (National Guard Unit), headquartered in Idaho Falls, donated time for the building of bridges, leveling and grading. Matching funds ($346,496.00) were paid by the City of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County. Private companies and golf association members donated services and equipment. The total cost of construction was $721,880.47.

Sand Creek Golf Course is truly a championship facility. Mr. William Bengevfield, Western Director of the United State Golf Association’s Green Section stated in 1975, “The rolling sand dunes, the abundance of water, the excellent soils and the proximity to town and tourists alike, make Sand Creek one of the potentially great golf courses in the west”.

The Sand Creek golf course official dedication was June 27, 1980. The course was named by Chuck Deming and Mel Erickson.  The first Superintendent was James Schwartzenberger followed by the current Superintendent Tim Lohse.  The first PGA Head Professional was Jack Elliott and was followed by the current PGA Head Professional John Graham.   We thank the following dignitaries for their vision and support in the building and implementation of Sand Creek golf course.

Mayor S. Eddie Pedersen 1964-1978 and Mayor Thomas Campbell 1978

Golf Course Council Chairman Melvin Erickson

Councilman Jim Freeman, Gordon Nelson, Dale Parrish, Paul Hovey, Ralph Wood, Sam Sakaguchi, Charles Clark, Lynn Smith, Jack Wood Jr., Gilbert Karst, and Norris Gesas.

County Commissioners Art Detrick, Leo Clawson, and Artel Suitter

The 6-hole short course was designed to help novice players gain a greater proficiency of the game before taking on the regulation size courses. Some general information about the course is as follows:

• The course is open to the public, adults, as well as juniors.
• There is a fee to play the short course – check in at the Sand Creek Golf Pro Shop for details or click on “prices” on this webpage.
• The estimated time to play 6 holes is approximately 1 hour.
• Each group of golfers should have an ADULT (someone 18 years of age or older) along with them in order to play.
• Individuals who average over 150 yards with a driver, IRONS ONLY – NO WOODS. If you are a divot taker, please use the mats.
• The short course is open to the public seven days a week, 8 am to dusk, EXCEPT Monday mornings during Junior Day. NOTE: These hours are subject to change without notice due to the time needed for course maintenance, etc. We recommend that you contact the Sandcreek Golf Shop at 612-8115 to confirm the short course hours of operation before you go out and play!
• The short course does not take tee times; play is on a first come, first served basis.
• Any further questions please contact John Graham, PGA Professional at Sandcreek golf course at 612-8115.

In the beginning, the site for Sage Lakes was very flat; 1/2 to 1 % grade with the Progressive Canal bisecting the property. Other irrigation ditches were also a factor in the design solution. With various water sources available to the site, it was vital to utilize each source and direct them to a central pumping lake.  The land was owned by Dale Mickelsen & Tim Jenkins who donated the entire parcel of land (128 acres) to the City of Idaho Falls.

There were several design goals. First, to design an eighteen hole golf course which would be a fair test for the good player yet forgiving for the less gifted player. Secondly, the course must serve the City’s needs as well as the developer’s needs since the developer contributed a large portion of the land for the golf course. Finally, the design must start and finish at a Tower Road location.

The Sage Lakes Golf Course incorporates several key features in its design

• The character of Sage Lakes is its Scottish Links appearance with a few water hazards added.
• Multiple tees provide each golfer a strategic test of their ability. The teeing surface area is large enough to accommodate the expected rounds per month without causing undue wear. Multiple tees varies the yardage from 5,000 yards to 6,800 yards, playing to a Par 70.
• Moderately sized greens are large enough to disperse the wear of heavy play.
• Greens are moderately contoured to help speed of play.
• The rotation of the golf holes are ideally oriented to the sun, again speeding up play.
• Clubhouse location splits traffic patterns, both incoming and outgoing.
• Practice Range faces south from the Regular Tee and north from the lesson tee which is ideal.
• Hazards and features, such as grass bunkers, are place to be a test for the scratch golfer and fair to the avid and beginning golfers.

Through the bidding process, Huppert Brothers Construction and Millcreek Gardens were the successful contractors. Huppert was in charge of rough grading, drainage and irrigation. Millcreek was assigned the finish grading and planting.

The greatest asset to this project was attitude. The City of Idaho Falls has, without a doubt, was a most enthusiastic, cooperative, and supportive group. The City was totally committed to this project and was eager to fulfill that obligation to completion.

The naming of Sage Lakes came about from an idea by City Councilman Melvin Erickson. Sage Elementary School, located on the northwestern part of the golf course property, along with the eleven lakes located on the course itself, gave him the idea to name this new course Sage Lakes. Through Golf Advisory Board approval, the Idaho Falls City Council approved the new name.  The first and current PGA Head Professional is Gaylen Denning.  The first and current Golf Course Superintendent is Daren Bowman.   The Director of Construction and a key motivator for the entire project was the Manager of the City of Idaho Falls Golf Courses, Chuck Deming.

We thank the following dignitaries for their vision and support in the building and implementation of Sage Lakes golf course.

Mayor Thomas Campbell 1978

Golf Course Council Chairman Melvin Erickson

Councilman Art Chandler, Ralph Wood, Gary Mills, Wes Deist, Joseph Groeberg, Larry Carlson, Sam Sakaguchi, and Linda Milam