Wolf Creek 4th Hole

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the best course you've ever played?  The Gurus don't agree on everything, but this one is a no brainer. Cypress Point on Monterey's rocky coast offers the most phenomal golf experience one could hope for. From the club-carrying caddy, to rich history, to the unequaled 15th-17th hole stretch; Cypress Point takes the cake.
  • How often do you update the website?  I used to focus on the website more during the off-season (November - February), however now that my brother Rick has the server setup on my home computer I update the site monthly with new pictures, blogs, reviews, rankings, etc. Below you will find a list of the most recent updates to the website, so check back here often to see the latest happenings.

    • Posted several new clips, in the Videos section, of the Gurus and their associates golfing at various places across the country. You can chuckle at our "Where are the Gurus?" video, see how we fared at various course's most difficult hole, or click on a particular golfer's video to see a collection of swings.
    • Posted a blog, A Break From the Norm, about the Gurus' 2010 winter jaunt to Arizona that was quite a bit different than most trips we take.
    • Posted a blog, March Madness, about Bill, RJay, Tom, and Spence heading down to Las Vegas to watch the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament and play some golf.
    • Posted a blog, California Love, about Bill taking his family down to Southern California for vacation with my Mom, Dad, and Rick joining for part of it.
    • Posted a blog, Life at the Mansion, about our families going down to Provo for a Satterfield family retreat.
    • Posted a blog, Bay Area Bliss, about Bill and Stac's vacation to San Francisco and Monterey where we took in the sights and great golf the coastline offers.
    • Posted a blog, A Tribute to the Past, about Bill taking his his Dad (Steve) back to Minnesota where Steve lived for a summer and where we could enjoy our first taste of Donald Ross golf.
    • Posted a mega blog, The Mother of all Golf Trips, about Mike and Bill heading back east for 18 rounds of golf in 9 days, driving 2200 miles, playing several U.S. Open courses, and doing it all while Bill's wife is over 8 months pregnant!

  • I'm a die-hard golfer and love to take golf trips. What is a typical golf trip like for the Gurus?  The Gurus often mock others golfers definition of a golf trip. We laugh when reading about "Ultimate Trips" and "Amazing Retreats" that consist of a three day trip with two rounds of golf, upscale accomodations, and expensive food. When the Gurus hit the road it is with one goal; get the highest quality and quantity of golf in as daylight allows. In 2009, the Gurus embarked on a trip that became legendary right off the bat; 18 courses (13 of which are on Golf Digest's Top 100, 4 others that were previously on the list), 9 days, 7300 miles (4800 by plane and 2500 in a rental car), walked 75 miles in our golf shoes, and more - all while Bill's wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant. If you can't handle that, you can't handle golf trippin' with the Gurus! Read about some of our other trips by visiting the Blogs section.
  • Do you guys play in a lot of golf tournaments?  The Gurus don't compete in a ton of tournaments for a couple of reasons. First, it is tough to justify dropping cash to play the mediocre courses near our homes when you can spend that money on a sweet golf trip that will often include teeing it up at a Top 100 course. Second, there are enough handicap sandbaggers out there that it is pretty unmotivating to play in tournaments when you see a guy that is supposed to be a "15 handicap" post 75-71 and a "7 handicap" post 67-69. Plus, the Gurus play in our own summer league that was developed as a result of not being thrilled with our local Men's Association setup. There are a pair of "Majors" that are part of the league and allow us to compete is 36 hole events without sandbaggers.
  • Where is the best place you've ever eaten on a golf trip?  The Gurus LOVE to eat and after playing 36 holes there is nothing we look forward to more than pounding some good grub. But never have we received a better recommendation that the day we played at Coeur d'Alene Resort with a traveling preacher. As we made the turn onto the back nine the preacher gave us this advice, "I travel the country playing golf courses and eating at steak houses. As amazing as this golf course is, you will tell twice as many people about your experience at Wolf Lodge then you will about this place if you go." Better than pristine conditioning, caddy service, and the floating green? He was on.

    So on the Gurus way out of Coeur d'Alene heading to Kalispell we took the preacher up on his advice and stopped at Wolf Lodge steak house located right off of I-90 at the eastern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Our caddy instructed us to order The Rancher; a 24 oz. Porterhouse AND a 20 oz. Sirloin. After engulfing the salad, potato logs, and baked beans that come as teasers before the real meal starts, a most glorious sight arrived at the table as our cowboy hat wearing waitress handed each of us an order of The Rancher. Now, most people wonder how in the world we could EACH eat nearly three pounds of meat. First off, if you had seen the Gurus at Tony Roma's during the all-u-can-eat ribs feast where we pounded 100 ribs between us, you wouldn't question us. Beyond that though, those steaks were the softest, juiciest and most succulent pieces of meat we'd ever encountered. We each polished off our plates and would have eaten more if there was anything left. If you are ever up in Northen Idaho, DON'T MISS IT!

  • How do you guys get on all of those amazing courses?  That is classified information we aren't at liberty to divulge.
  • Which Guru is the best golfer?  It really depends on what day you catch us and which course we are playing. Some courses really fit Mike's eye while others appeal to Bill. By the end of a golf trip, it is amazing how often our scores total up to within a few strokes of each other; even after 10 courses! Some of the best golf we've played at the same time include our near scratch rounds at Yale Golf Club and Spanish Peaks; that was a lot of fun. Mike was in the zone during the back nine at the Olympic Club where he shot one over from the tips and another round where he shot in the 70s from the tips at Wolf Creek. Some of Bill's memorable rounds include a 76 from the tips at Shinnecock Hills, beating a college golfer at Monterey Penninsula Country Club (Shore), and near scratch golf at Circling Raven where an opening hole eagle kick started the round.
  • What is the best 36 hole day you've ever had?  Always trying to squeeze as much golf in a day as we can, the Gurus have had some pretty impressive 36 hole days. If push came to shove and we had to only pick one, it would probably be Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes. The Gurus talked their wives into letting them go up to Oregon's rocky coast over Thanksgiving so that we could play 36 holes a day for three straight days on Bandon's hollow ground. Here are some other stellar 36 hole days we've had:

    • Fishers Island and Yale University
    • The Club at Black Rock and Coeur d'Alene Resort
    • National Golf Links and Sebonack
    • Castle Pines and Cherry Hills
    • Sanctuary and Ballyneal (Two COMPLETELY opposite design styles)
    • Oakmont and Laurel Valley
    • Shinnecock Hills and Maidstone
    • Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes

    Oh we could go on and on, check out our Rankings/Lists section where we've posted a list of our best 36 hole experiences.

  • What is the best course you've played with less than a $30 green fee?  Not factoring in twilight rates, we gotta go with Spokane's municipal gem The Creek at Qualchan that charges $23/weekdays and $27/weekends. It is a beautiful course that features towering pines, meandering creek, and challenging elevation changes. In fact, Spokane is a great place to live for high quality, affordable golf. Finishing a close second place is Valley View in Layton, UT.

    • The reachable par five 16th hole at The Creek at Qualchan
    16th tee at The Creek at Qualchan

  • Is Pebble Beach worth the $495 green fee?  Yes and No; how is that for some help? After playing it in June of 2005, the Gurus walked off the 18th green with a feeling very few courses offer and felt Pebble was worth every dime. The unmatched history, the number of holes along the coastline, and the ability to relive the memory every year by watching the AT&T is something no other course can offer. That being said, I wouldn't suggest to my Dad (Steve) to go and drop the cash. True, he would be impressed by the stunning beauty; but my Dad is very money conscious and would struggle getting his mind off the money and focused on the round. Case in point; while my Dad was in Hawaii I paid for a package that gave him rounds at Princville, Poipu Bay, Kiele Lagoons, Mauna Kea, and Mauna Lani South. As much as he enjoyed the rounds, I think he enjoyed the bargain nine hole course he found on Kauai just as much because it was such a deal while hardly being able to get past the thought of what I must have paid for him to play Hawaii's best. In conclusion, the Pebble Beach experience is worth it at least once. Beyond that it depends on how die hard (and wealthy) you are.

    • The world famous 7th hole at Pebble Beach; amazingly, this hole was not apart of the original routing at Pebble
    7th Hole at Pebble Beach

  • How many rounds of golf do you play a year?  The Gurus try to squeeze in about 100-125 rounds a year with 25-40 of them being at new courses. During the winter months the amount of golf gets pretty limited so Tiger Woods' video game has to suffice, but we try to throw in a mini-golf trip here and there.
  • Have you ever had a hole-in-one?  The summer of 2006 was a magical year for Bill where he managed to get an ace on July 3rd at Glenwild Golf Club in Park City, UT. The shot came from the 11th tee box to a hole that was 227 yards away with the 4-iron being the right club that day. Mike was more excited about it then Bill was, but that wasn't the case 4 1/2 months later when Bill aced another hole; the 16th at the Oasis Golf Club (Canyons) in Mesquite, NV. This time Mike was still excited, but he was ready to rejoice for his own ace which has evaded him up to this point in his golfing career.
  • I'd like to hook up with you guys for a round of golf. Will you be in my area?  Check out our Where are the Gurus? section to see where our travels are bringing us next. If we are coming to your neck of the woods drop us an email and we'll try and get together.
  • I'd like to use/buy one of your pictures. What do you charge?  Just let us know which photos you are interested in along with the intended use of the photos (i.e. brochure, web site, size and score of run, etc.) and we'll quote you a price.
  • What equipment is in your bag?  RJay harasses Bill as playing for Team Mizuno since he carries the MP series wedges, woods, and hybrid, as well as the MP-30 irons all in a Mizuno carry bag. In fact, the only non-Mizuno clubs he plays are his book end clubs; an Odyssey 2-Ball blade putter and an 8.5* TaylorMade SuperQuad driver. Mike drifted away from Team Mizuno by trading in his MP-33 irons for a set of Bridgestone J33 combo irons. In 2009, Mike traded out his TaylorMade SuperQuad driver (9.5*) for a Ping G5 driver and also carries Adams hybrids and Cleveland wedges. As far as a putter, Mike played with a small mallet style knock-off for ten years and finally bailed on it in 2010 for a Odyssey White Hot XG #7 belly putter. By the way, RJay may harass Bill about being all Mr. Mizuno, but it's rubbed off on Mr. Henderson who plays the MP-32 irons and MP wedges.