Proactive and inspired - Circling Raven continues to impress

What does a resort golf course do for an encore when it continues to rack up awards like Tiger Woods collects tournament victories? At Circling Raven Golf Club – the much-decorated course at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel, Idaho – the answer is to remain creative and reward guests with value-laden services and bang for their hard-earned buck.

Two recent guest-friendly efforts from the golf course – which is listed No. 4 in Golf Digest’s “Top-40 Casino Courses” nationally and a “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” in GOLF Magazine’s 2008-09 biennial list – demonstrate well Circling Raven’s exemplary customer service and value.

As a thank you to golfers and to continue its history of exceeding player expectations, Circling Raven offered a free sleeve of high-end Titleist Pro V1 golf balls to guests who purchase a round of golf on Tuesdays or Wednesdays during the month of August. These top-line golf balls include the Circling Raven logo on them. They are packaged in a glossy, embossed sleeve with an image of the course’s signature eighth hole on it.

The second customer friendly effort the course recently implemented to great reception is a shuttle service to the course from Lake Coeur d’Alene. The lake is a majestic body of water to which Circling Raven’s owner and operator, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, owns rights to one-third

The Gene Bates-designed Circling Raven is picking up golfers-homeowners who live on the lake and who boat to the end nearest Circling Raven. Many of these homeowners are avid golfers who live in the acclaimed golf residential communities of Black Rock and Gozzer Ranch.

“The shuttle service is very popular,” said Circling Raven Director of Golf Tom Davidson. “Instead of taking as long as 90 minutes to drive around the lake golfers can get here in 20 minutes.”

Circling Raven’s quality and customer-service commitment to excellence generates positive results. For instance, the free sleeve of Pro V1 balls promotion drove substantially more rounds to Tuesdays and Wednesdays than customary. And this helped lead to a sizeable increase in the number of average dollars spent per round at the course in August.

On another, positive note the number of stay-and-play packages at Circling Raven and its Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel increased 9 percent from August 2007 to August 2008.

Circling Raven’s performance is particularly noteworthy given the month was marked by a down economy nationally which included higher gas prices and an overall increased cost of living.

“We understand the challenge of today’s economy and appreciate the need to re-earn our customers’ loyalty,” said Director of Golf Tom Davidson. “We are committed to providing them with value and memorable experiences at Circling Raven.”

For more information about Circling Raven Golf Club or Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel, log on to Circlingraven.com.