Hillcrest Country Club - Idaho

The Hillcrest Country Club of Boise has been touched by a trio of American architects, all of whom were relevant and have fallen slightly below the radar today. The first nine came from the hand of George H. Otten, who created a spare few courses outside of his native Portland. An additional nine were added by A.V. Macan, a regional champion to the Pacific Northwest. Finally, the course received a dramatic renovation under the eye of Robert Muir Graves, another designer who made his name on the West coast.

The property is a unique one, with two halves separated by a populated four-way intersection. Once players reach the back side, which holds the majority of the back nine, they’ll play a number of holes that play either across or along the New York Canal, a concrete waterway that edges that end of the property.

More daunting than that are nos. 11 and 12, the two-longest holes at Hillcrest, played back-to-back. Regardless of distance, No. 8 — the shortest hole at the club — is a favorite for the annual Boise Open, where viewers watch from grandstands as competitors launch over a pond to the green.