Seeing is believing at CDA National Reserve

Having spent most of his golf career as a pro and general manager at various venues across the California desert, John Cochrane wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when he went on a job interview in northern Idaho. 

It was certainly out of Cochrane’s heat element — and out of the way. He believed, though, that he owed it to longtime friend Dave Stockton Jr., who called and asked Cochrane if he would come and take a peek at CDA National Reserve, a private club that was purchased in 2021 by Frank Suryan Jr., the CEO of Lyon Living Development Company. 

Stockton, whose father won two majors in the 1970s and captained the 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup team, moved into a career in real estate after his own professional golf aspirations fizzled. He was now selling property at CDA National Reserve in Coeur d’Alene — less than 100 miles from the Canadian border — when he thought Cochrane might be a fit for the new club’s chief operating officer. 

CDA National Reserve :: Photo: CDA National Reserve

“I have worked mostly in California, but I grew up in Colorado and when I first got here I couldn’t believe the beauty,” Cochrane says of the sprawling nature preserve nestled along the banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene that features a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course. “My wife came up with me and our jaws just dropped. If we would have known how much we were going to love it up here I probably would had been too nervous to interview.” 

Cochrane got the dream job and is beginning his second golf season at the Idaho Pandhandle property that features a lakeside sporting club set amidst untamed forests, rushing rivers, lakes, granite cliffs and the vision of Suryan. Suryan recently spearheaded several amenities to include a new clubhouse, floating waterpark, fitness center, private jet hangar, along with the launch of homes featuring dramatic lake views. 

“Ultimately he wants this to be a legacy, something that his family will keep and enjoy,” Cochrane says. “And since Frank’s been here he has put quite a bit of money into the property.” 

The more than 1,000-acre location less than an hour from Spokane, Washington, has an elevation at just over 2,000 feet above sea level, offering a stunning golf design that flows with the land. There are also 11 miles of hiking and biking trails that weave their way through the property. 

“When you come here, right away you feel like you’re in the mountains or in the forest, and there is nature everywhere,” Cochrane says. “This place is so big, so vast. Hundreds of elk come onto the golf course, the same with deer, moose and eagles. If you don’t see an eagle flying every day you know something went wrong.”

CDA National Reserve :: Photo: CDA National Reserve

The golf course was originally built as a second 18 holes for The Golf Club at Black Rock, a top 100 course in the Unites States, which is nearly across the street, Cochrane says. 

“Then in 2008 (when the Weiskopf course was finished) everybody knows what happen to the financial markets and housing,” Cochrane says. “The course went back to the bank and always kind of sat on the back burner and not a lot was done when it opened.” 

That has all changed now since Suryan purchased the property, attempting to transform CDA National Reserve into an elite private club with homesites starting at $535,000 and homes starting at $2 million. Most are second or vacation homes from residents of Arizona, California and Texas, with only 40 or so members who remain year round. 

Any prospects who qualify through the CDA National Reserve real estate team can visit and enjoy a round or two and all the top-notch experiences that arguably can’t be matched anywhere in the United States. 

“Someone who is a viable candidate we want them to come up and really experience it because on a property like this you really need to see it to believe it,” Cochrane says of potential real estate buyers. 

Weiskopf, a 16-time winner on the PGA Tour and the 1973 British Open champion, who designed or co-designed more than 70 courses before passing away in 2022, often called CDA National Reserve one of his favorites in the United States.   

CDA National Reserve’s 15th hole is truly unique as the first player in the group gets to select which of the two greens the foursome will play that day on the downhill par-3 challenge. 

Golf season begins in May and runs through late October, and while the rest of Idaho is on Mountain Time, this distinct Panhandle region bordering Washington, Montana and Canada, is on Pacific Time, affording a bonus when it comes to playing golf.

“I spent a lot of time in the California desert and it got dark at like five o’clock in the afternoon,” Cochrane says. “Here, it is light literally by five o’clock in the morning and it’ll stay light until 9:30, 10 o’clock at night. So someone can easily play 18 holes after dinner, and it’s like a round of golf doesn’t take up your entire day here, which is really neat.”

CDA National Reserve also sits at the southern portion of the 50- square-mile Lake Coeur d’Alene, about a 30-minute drive to the city. 

“The lake in the summer will warm up to over 70 degrees, so it actually is quite warm for wake surfing and swimming,” Cochrane says. “And we’re kind of on the other side of the lake from the city so there’s a lot less traffic here. You kind of get to have your own secluded private area.

“And, again, it’s so beautiful here. We have these wooden bridges on the golf course that take you across natural protected areas that are absolutely gorgeous. The other thing I love about this golf course is you don’t get tired of it. It’s very challenging, but if you’re having a bad day you can look off into the trees and see deer and an eagle flying and somehow that kind of makes it feel a little bit better.”