Is Falcon Crest Golf Club’s future private? Here’s what we know so far

The Treasure Valley’s growth will change access to a popular golf course southwest of Boise.

How big that change will be remains uncertain.

Falcon Crest Golf Club in Kuna — along with its management company, Century Golf Partners — is weighing the facility’s transition from public to private. It hasn’t been decided whether the entire club will become private, but one of Century Golf’s executive vice presidents, Ken Hultz, told the Idaho Statesman that at least a portion of the three-course facility is certainly going to make the switch.

Falcon Crest includes an 18-hole championship course, which opened in 2001; the nine-hole Freedom Course, which opened in 2010 and got a refresh just two years ago; and a nine-hole par-3 course.

“We haven’t settled on the entire facility being private,” Hultz said. “Because it’s 36 holes, we are still in conversations about which nines may remain open to the public. … But a part of the club and property will be private.”

This decision comes as Valor, a new master-planned community, is being constructed around the golf courses. Membership in the portions of Falcon Crest that become private will be dependent on the individual’s residency in the Valor community, said Leonard Matsumoto, Falcon Crest’s general manager. If golf club memberships do not sell out to those living within Valor, the public may then also request membership.

“We absolutely felt that 18 holes could be supported by a private club,” Hultz said. “… The private club membership is something that is offered to residents within the Falcon Crest community, the Valor community. Those who are current customers right now to the 36 holes of public golf, there is a chance they’ll still have some options from a public perspective.”

As it makes decisions on how much of Falcon Crest to privatize, the club is making various “top-notch investments,” according to Scot Solomonson, a golfer who lives in the community. The inclusion of paved cart paths and the renovation of the bunkers are part of that, he said.

“I think it’s all for the good, particularly for the homeowners and the community,” Solomonson told the Statesman.

Solomonson said he knows some golfers already view the privatization negatively. Some players who have been playing at Falcon Crest since it first opened nearly 25 years ago see this transition as a hindrance to the local golfing community.

“Some are not too keen about it because … they don’t want to be a member. They just like to come out here and pay as they play,” Solomonson said.

Matsumoto said some people will be unhappy with “the public play of the golf course” being taken away, “but I think it’s a good impact in the sense that we are going to be hiring and bringing in people who live in the area to work at the club, and also the chance for people who aren’t in the community to join the community.”

The Valor community is set to have various high-end amenities. The addition of several pickleball and tennis courts, fitness centers, event spaces, indoor and outdoor dining options, and golf simulators is anticipated throughout the next couple of years, Hultz said.

The renovations to the golf course as well as the additional amenities being constructed in the community will total around $30 million, Matsumoto said. Membership for the privatized golf club will cost $17,500, but membership to the social aspect of the private community only, including the pickleball and tennis courts as well as the fitness centers, costs $5,000.

As a public course, Falcon Crest charges $60 for 18 holes Monday-Thursday and $70 Friday-Sunday for its flagship course, plus $20 per rider for a cart.

Despite Falcon Crest expecting to complete its renovations by early next year, a completion date for Valor is not yet set.

Falcon Crest would join Hillcrest Country Club, Crane Creek Country Club, The River Club and The Club at SpurWing as private golf courses in Ada County.

“If people are golfers, it’s a really good opportunity for them to get into a private club setting where they feel like they have everything in one place as a club,” Matsumoto said.

Solomonson said Falcon Crest’s decision is understandable given the Boise area’s growth.

“I guess it’s kind of like some of the restaurants or some of the parks or open areas in Boise. They get bought up, and maybe it’s a little more commercialized. … It’s kind of (part of) progress or becoming a bigger city,” Solomonson said.

“I think this is going to be a diamond in the rough. … We are just thrilled to see this happen, and we’re excited for the future.”

If Falcon Crest does decide to become fully private, it won’t happen for a while.

“Even a full private transition is a couple of years out,” Hultz said.