Northern Quest Resort & Casino, owned by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, has started more actively promoting the Kalispel Golf & Country Club to its casino patrons, says Jake Patterson, marketing manager for the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority.

“Last year, we were new to the business,” Patterson says of the Kalispel’s $3 million acquisition of the former, private Spokane Country Club in December 2015.

He says even though the club was open to the public on a limited basis last year and marketing was directed to its Camas Rewards members, the organization’s main focus was to build a relationship with members of the golf and country club.

“There was a comfort level that needed to be reached on both sides,” Patterson says. “It was all new for everyone, and our goal was, and still is, to reassure them that it’s our desire to be the premier course in the region.

“We believe we’ve found the sweet spot between maintaining exclusivity, appealing to our casino customers, and the general public,” he says.

As of last week, the Kalispel Golf & Country Club, located at 2010 W. Waikiki Road north of Spokane, had 226 members, according to Patterson.

Northern Quest Resort & Casino customers are being offered a “Golfer’s Getaway Package” starting at $135 per person for a one night’s stay, an 18-hole round, unlimited access to the practice facility, complimentary shuttle service between the resort casino and the course, a $25 dining credit at the 1898 Public House restaurant at the course, and 10 percent off items at the golf shop.

A round includes use of a GPS-enabled cart, which serves as an aid for players in helping to identify hazards and pin placements along the course. Carts in a new fleet there have the ability to slow down automatically at declines or increase speeds at inclines along the 6,600-yard-course, Patterson says.

Four women, who were former club members, prevailed over the Spokane Country Club in court in 2013 when they alleged the club discriminated against them by saving the best tee times for men and not allowing women in certain areas of its restaurant.

After four years of litigation, the Spokane Country Club had to reorganize its debts through Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.  The Kalispel Tribe’s $3 million purchase of the course also included paying off nearly $2 million in legal fees and judgments owed to the women and their attorney, Mary Schultz, court records say.