Let’s get this out of the way, right away: Reno is not Las Vegas. Far from it — 425 miles’ worth of far. And though the Biggest Little City is technically located in high desert (4,500 feet above sea level), it bears no resemblance to its southern Nevada sibling’s sere setting. It’s more mountain in flavor, nudged up against the Carson Range to the west and the Pah Rah range to the east, with more peaks guarding its southern and northern flanks. Its convenient airport welcomes millions of visitors each year, including intrepid golfers. Reno and its neighbor Sparks are enjoying a growth spurt, with plenty of great food, beer and culture to back up all the “traditional” gaming and entertainment. It’s a bright and fun gateway to the Tahoe-Reno Golf Trail.
The 18th hole at Montrêux Golf & Country Club
A PGA TOUR SLEEPER
When Jack Nicklaus designed private Montrêux Golf & Country Club in the late 1990s, its developers had their own designs — on landing a PGA Tour event. By 1999 their dream was realized with the inaugural Reno-Tahoe Open, and nearly 20 years later it returns July 31-Aug. 6 as the Barracuda Championship. Set on the lower, pine-carpeted slopes of Mt. Rose and bisected by Galena Creek, Montrêux has become a tour player favorite for its flawless conditioning and flat-out beauty; for the rest of us it’s a great place to get up close to some of the world’s best players while planning your own rounds at nearby favorites such as LakeRidge (a Robert Trent Jones II classic near downtown Reno), the Resort at Red Hawk in Sparks (another Trent winner, the Lakes Course, shares public rounds with Hale Irwin’s Hills Course), Wolf Run and affordable munis Washoe County Golf Course, Wildcreek and Sierra Sage. Of course, walking Montrêux will have you jonesing for a guest round — or, perhaps look into a second home at Parc Foret, the surrounding development’s newest collection of custom homes.
Old Greenwood’s 17th hole
TRUCKEE TIME
A half hour’s drive west on I-80 from Reno, through the Truckee River canyon, takes you to its scenic, historic namesake town — a former railroad burg turned all-season recreation mecca. Over the past 20 years Truckee has brought some of the region’s best golf courses online to augment the original resort layout at Northstar California. Several are private — Lahontan started that trend, followed by the equally spectacular Schaffer’s Mill and Martis Camp — but a trio of upscale daily fee resort tracks are absolute musts — Coyote Moon, perched in dense, pristine forest above the city (not a power line or fairway home in sight, but plenty of wildlife in their place), and the twin challenges of Old Greenwood (Jack Nicklaus) and Gray’s Crossing (Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy), which occupy handsome stretches of mountain valley real estate just south and north of the interstate, respectively. They are sister properties with incredible homesites and unforgettable golf holes — the finishing stretches on both are among the region’s best, with high-end amenities greeting you after the final putt. Then head into town for a wealth of shopping, dining and “chilling” opportunities.
The 9th hole at Grizzly Ranch
GROOVIN’ & BREWIN’ IN PLUMAS COUNTY
Head north from Truckee up lovely Highway 89 for an hour and you’ll arrive at one of the West’s prettiest and friendliest under-the-radar golf destinations. Northeastern California’s Plumas County also got its start as a railroad crossroads and crucial water provider for the Sacramento Valley to the west, thanks to its multi-forked Feather River, which also winds through several golf courses, among them the sublime Whitehawk Ranch, as delightfully bucolic a meadow-meets-forest routing as you’ll find in the West. The river also accompanies golfers at the area’s two oldest tracks, Graeagle Meadows and Plumas Pines, the latter of which also boasts a popular dining and watering hole called Longboard’s. But wait, there’s more, a couple outstanding mountain courses a few miles east — the late Bob Cupp masterpiece at Grizzly Ranch, home to a couple memorable par 5s (and plenty of great par 4s and 3s, too) and the Dragon at Nakoma Resort, which is strung seductively along sheer ridges and ravines and playing better than ever after some recent design tweaks. It’s also home to the area’s newest lodge, with a full-service spa/recreation center under construction. No matter where you nab a tee time up in these parts — we recommend playing all of them — make sure to swing by The Brewing Lair, one of the most unique brew pubs in the world. It’s outdoors, is dog-friendly, offers first-come-first-served barbecue sites and pretty much nails the ruling Plumas vibe: Live and let live, and pick up a few birdies and beers along the way.
Silvies Valley Ranch, a new frontier boutique resort in the pure West — otherwise known as Eastern Oregon — is merging luxury and relaxation with an authentic Western ranch experience that is now open to guests and travelers. Located along historic U.S. Route 395 between Bend, Oregon and Boise, Idaho, and created by the Campbell family, who have roots in the area dating back to 1863, The Retreat at Silvies Valley Ranch will bring the Western mystique of the region to an intimate scale. The full-service eco-resort features lodging, a gourmet restaurant featuring ranch-raised, grass finished, organic beef and chevon, two reversible 18-hole golf courses, multiple exclusive outdoor experiences, a spa (to open in 2018), and a private airstrip for guests looking to fly directly onto the property.
“We are excited to share Silvies Valley Ranch, our home which is so near and dear to our hearts, with the rest of the world,” said Dr. Scott Campbell. “With an incredible setting, luxurious, Western-styled accommodations, and activities for every type of guest, our hope is that visitors from far and wide will enjoy their travels to the ranch and continue to visit for generations to come.”
Silvies Valley Ranch provides visitors with a one-of-a-kind golf experience, featuring two reversible 18-hole courses — the Hankins course and Craddock course. The direction of the routing is reversed each day to create an alternate layout with a variety of setups for players.
One memorable element to the golf experience at Silvies Valley Ranch takes place on No. 18 on the Hankins course. Named the “Hixson Hole,” this hole presents the 12 legal advantages in golf to guarantee players will “nail it” off the tee and reach their longest recorded drive. Players will be rewarded with a “Silvies Horseshoe Nail,” the signature drink of the ranch, after hitting their longest drive.
Silvies Valley Ranch also features a par-3 course, Chief Egan, named for the last Paiute War Chief. Chief Egan highlights the beauty of the region and offers a fun playing experience with water features on every hole.
In July 2018, a stunning 7-hole fun course, McVeigh’s Gauntlet, will be added to the golf experience at the ranch. McVeigh’s Gauntlet will bring players to the edge of a razor back mountain and showcase the property’s dramatic elevation changes and breathtaking scenery.
Off the course, visitors have the chance to explore the resort grounds that only a few years ago were inhabited by Native Americans and worked by hearty Pioneers. Guests are able to learn the innovative practices of a working ranch from Silvies Valley Ranch team members. Outdoor activities such as cattle drives, American Range Goat herding, shooting ranges, fishing, and more are offered at the Ranch, bringing out the inner-cowboy in all those who visit.
Culinary options on the property include The Lodge and Egan’s Hideout clubhouse which is completely aligned with the ranch’s standards of sustainability. Limited in-suite dining and outside catering are also available, as well as numerous entertaining spaces for rustic, gourmet picnics and gatherings for group outings and events. Perhaps the most unique dining option is the full-service chuck wagon, available both day and night for special occasions. All on-site restaurants serve western-inspired fare, including ranch-raised Silvies Valley Ranch Certified Organic grass finished beef and chevon.
For those looking to wake up at the crack of dawn, get their hands dirty and “dine” from an authentic chuck-wagon at the end of a hard day’s work in the Wild West, look no further than this Western retreat. With endless accommodation styles, an unending list of activities, and a variety of golf and travel packages available online, Silvies Valley Ranch is simply amazing.
While watching the likes of Tony Romo and Steph Curry go for the trophy at the American Century Celebrity Championship — which takes place for the 28th straight year at Edgewood Tahoe through July 16 — you should also be planning your own journey to what we’ll call the Tahoe-Reno Golf Trail.
Charles Barkley, he of the big heart, sometimes big mouth and godawful golf swing, certainly loves this part of the world; he hasn’t missed a single ACC since its inception in 1989. “I just love coming back to Tahoe, I have so many friends there and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world,” he’s said in past years, and he’s not alone. Among the 80-odd celebs who tee it up at Edgewood every July, not one would say an invitation to play is less than on a par with a ticket to, say, the Oscars.
Yes, Edgewood is truly great, a 50-year-old track that’s been updated over the years but from day one has boasted one of the finest views in the game. And now it’s even better with the brand new Edgewood Lodge just a few yards from both the lake and the first tee. But the George Fazio design is just one of nearly 50 courses within an hour’s drive of the air hub of Reno, ranging from uber-affordable munis to high-end resort and private clubs, laid out on a variety of terrain that no other West Coast destination can touch — high desert, parkland, mountain, even pseudo-links. In other words, step foot onto just a handful of these beautiful layouts while basking in the region’s outdoor and indoor recreational wealth, and you’ve hit the jackpot without pulling one lever or risking one pass line wager.
Let’s go beyond Edgewood and around the Northern Sierra/Northern Nevada horn for a two-course taste of several “ingredients” in what should be your next great summer golf feast. We’ll start in the region’s southern section, then move north in part two.
FUN ON AN INCLINE
About a 40-minute drive north from Edgewood, perched above Tahoe’s more laconic north shore, Incline Village’s Championship and Mountain courses comprise one of the area’s most potent one-two punches. Originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., in the 1960s with a big spruce-up by Kyle Phillips four decades later, the Championship Course climbs and swoops along the lower flanks of Mount Rose with plenty of on-high, pine-framed views of the lake along the way. A little further up the hill is the sneaky tough Mountain course — 14 par 3s, four par 4s and more than enough short game degree of difficulty to keep anyone’s wedge sharp.
Extra Holes: PGA teaching pro Robyn Bradford’s “Get Golf Ready” summertime teaching series is geared for beginners or coming-back-to-the-gamers. She covers swing basics, etiquette, rules and more in five lessons, offered select weeks through mid-August.
The 18th hole at Genoa Lakes
CARSON VALLEY SPIRIT
Head east from Edgewood over Kingsbury Grade and you’ll wind your way to scenic Carson Valley and its twin towns of Minden and Gardnerville, with the village of Genoa (dubbed Nevada’s first permanent settlement) a quaint kicker — and home to the Lakes and Ranch courses at Genoa Lakes; the latter, designed by the late Jim Harbottle with an assist from Peter Jacobsen, is the one to play, laced along the Carson River and winding through wetlands and stands of cottonwood. There’s also Carson Valley Golf Course, an old-school collection of tight fairways and tiny push-up greens nestled among even bigger cottonwoods (and right on site is a can’t-miss Basque eatery serving hearty sheepherder’s meals.
Extra Holes: Stay at the friendly Carson Valley Inn in Minden to scratch that gambling itch, hang by the pool and perhaps catch a show during its outdoor concert series. And if you return next year, check out Bently Heritage Distillery set to open right next door — a converted flour mill and creamery that will brew white spirits to start with bourbon and single malt soon to follow.
No. 7 at Clear Creek Tahoe
CLEAR AND PRESENT MASTERPIECE
Halfway up U.S. Highway 50 between Carson City and Lake Tahoe, hidden in its own mountain valley, is Clear Creek Tahoe, the Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore-authored centerpiece of a masterplanned community of high-end homes that originally opened in 2010 and has gone through a couple ownership changes since, finally finding the team it needed to make it a long-term success. The golf course itself is, as you’d expect, magnificent: Somehow Coore and Crenshaw translated their naturalist, go-with-the-land ethic that has worked so well on coastlines and sandhills for years into a singular mountain experience that, if you’re fortunate enough to snag a guest tee time (with designs on building a home there, of course), will sear into your soul for good. Just bring your best putting stroke and most accurate tee shot.
Standing in the sun-kissed lobby of the spanking-new Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe, which opened June 14 after two years of construction and many more seasons of planning, I suddenly realized that this was the very spot from which I’d hit more than a few approach shots from the old ninth hole. To me it was the weakest of Edgewood’s pine-lined par 4s, flat and uninspiring, with next to no views of the colossal alpine lake just to its west.
The lobby at the Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe
Of course, when you’re talking about Edgewood, “weakest” is relative, because as a whole it’s one of the most spectacular layouts in America. I first laid eyes and club on its George Fazio-authored flanks back in 1985, at the media day for the U.S. Senior Open (won by Miller Barber), and have done my best to play it at least once every year since, marveling at the fact that you can feel so secluded and connected at the same time, with the high-rise hotels of South Lake Tahoe hovering over the course’s southern stretch and nothing but a brand of manicured calm on many more spots — like the cozy third, thirteenth and 15th greens, for instance. Edgewood’s final three holes, which skirt Tahoe itself and make for such a dramatic denouement to the American Century Celebrity Championship every July, get most of the kudos, and rightly so, but as with so many classic American tracks, fresh joys are revealed with each round.
A Tahoe view room at Edgewood’s new lodge.
I get the feeling the new 156-room Lodge will surprise its guests in the same way over the coming decades. Designed to blend in with the surrounding mountain-meets-water landscape yet already casting a subdued glow of laid-back luxury, it’s one of the Tahoe region’s most anticipated new hotels in many years, with finishing details that put it on par with the iconic golf course that surrounds it.
A quick media tour revealed its considerable charms, from a soaring “great room” accented with a tall hand-carved stone wall, to its four room and suite models ranging from 500 to 1,500 square feet, indoor and outdoor lounges, Bistro Restaurant, infinity pool and full-service spa. A small boutique and “adventure center” reside just off the lobby, outfitted with just about every outdoor pursuit in mind, and kids 5 to 12 are welcome to join the high-altitude fun at Camp Edgewood, with games, activities (and perhaps golf lessons?) on the menu.
Plans to build The Lodge at Edgewood have long been tossed around among the Park family —who developed this slice of ranch land back in the 1960s — and its partners. Now that it’s become a reality, no doubt a new wave of Edgewood pilgrims will make their way to the only public resort and golf course directly on Lake Tahoe, with some of the nation’s top ski slopes a short drive away for winter visitors, including Heavenly Resort just a couple blocks down Highway 50.
So what about the ninth hole? The new version, which opened in 2016, is still a dogleg-right par 4, a touch shorter and even closer to the cold, clear waters of the lake, with stunning views at every step. Edgewood is better than ever, a fully formed high-end destination with five decades of golf history behind it — and a future that just won’t wait.
Tetherow Golf Club, Bend, Oregon. Photo by Brian Oar
It’s both what you think — anticipation of what awaits — and what you might not think of a place that will deliver on that anticipation, many times over.
Welcome to Central Oregon. Bend to be exact.
The watchword for a Bend-area golf getaway — and let’s stress that getaway aspect — is diversity. Bend has its toes in pines and Cascade foothills, its fanny in “Gunsmoke” territory. Off the front porch lunker trout abound, out the back antelope most literally play. And it carries over to the golf.
“From a pure golf perspective, all the courses are so unique, so different from each other,” says former NFL quarterback and decade-plus resident Drew Bledsoe. “Look at Scottsdale, there’s great golf but it all looks the same. The same with mountain golf, the pines are beautiful but that is all you get. Most places you change courses it doesn’t really change. Here you go from one style of golf to another style of golf. All are spectacular, all are unique.”
Crosswater Golf Club
Two rivers and a meadow: Crosswater Club is the late designer Bob Cupp’s cuddly, raucous 7,700-yard romp across 600 (yes, 600) acres of seasonal wetlands and meadows at Sunriver Resort 20 miles south of town. For those who ingest a steady diet of cactus-and-rock or swamp-and-gator or most whatever kind of golf elsewhere, pegging it below snow-capped volcanoes and cavorting with two rivers and multiple water hazards that exist because that’s where nature damn well sought to put them is like, well, closing out your best bud 8-and-7. A top-10er on my personal list for the simple reason, as Cupp told me years ago, “The design is what the land tells you.”
Lava links: Tetherow Golf Club, just west of town, is a Spinal Tap moment, the type of course where the difficulty scale deigns to stop at 10 only because this dial doesn’t come with an 11, and so be it — they’ve even backed it down a few times over the years. Golf isn’t inherently fair, and the beauty of the place is a perfect palliative. A few region-signature pines dot the course but most left some time back during a burn, and the land exposed — lava, clumpgrass, accretions of sand and, when compared to Crosswater’s pancake-ness, elevation leaps that mirror in scale the Cascade backdrop — put a linksy moonscape into the hands of designer David McLay Kidd.
Open range and a range full: Brasada Ranch Resort northeast of town does “Western” with all the flair and trappings of a John Ford movie set, from near limitless panorama to clapboard and iron on the bunkhouse and mess, except no mess nor bunkhouse of the Old West ever came with this level of quality and refinement. The Canyons Course staked a claim to an ancient volcanic prow robed in the juniper and sage of the Great Basin. Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy took full advantage of the rifts and ridges to etch a massive-scale — Big Sky, Big Land, Big Corridors — layout with a freshly friendly disposition.
Brasada Ranch near Bend, Oregon. Photo by Brian Oar
“What’s really cool about Central Oregon is that it is so diverse in the way of activities,” adds Bledsoe, whose post-NFL pursuits also include a rather acclaimed winery in Walla Walla, Washington. “Biking, the Deschutes
[River], mountain lakes, golf, skiing — everything you want to do outdoors is at your fingertips.”
A river does run through it: The Deschutes most literally is the town’s aorta, flowing through the middle, placid here, tumbled there, a civic asset that on the importance-to-the-local-psyche scale is up there with Central Park and the Golden Gate. The Deschutes simply cannot be ignored and during the warm-weather months it almost seems you can step from canoe to kayak to raft to stand-up paddleboard to reach the other side; don’t smoosh any of the pooches hitching rides.
Higher up: Hop in your rental car, drive 20 minutes west of town and you are in the mountains. These are the Cascades, not the Rockies, not the Sierra. Most peaks around here reach to 9,000 or 10,000 feet, but some in the chain rock past 14,000. That’s tall, like we grow ’em out West. But they’re volcanoes, so they pop up like so many lava snow cones from an otherwise mid-height backdrop of hills. Anywhere you turn you’ll find a lake or a stream, harboring some of the nation’s best trout fishing. Experienced day hikers can summit a peak. Regular hikers can find misty falls or emerald-tinted lakes fed by permanent snowfields. The moral of the story is to get out, you’re not in Kansas, Toto.
“The thing to me that is most unique about Bend is that most everyone who moved here make a conscious decision to move here,” adds Bledsoe, rather wisely. “They want to live the lifestyle. And when you have people who have chosen to live someplace they are happy about that choice because they picked it. They are happy and it gives this town its fantastic vibe.”
Hop(s) on it: Beer Town USA, they call themselves. Deschutes Brewery put Bend on the map years ago with its still signature Black Butte Porter and Mirror Pond Pale Ale, plus a kajillion other regular and seasonal and experimental offerings since. At the other end of the spectrum there are true garagistes in the mix. The total right now is 23 breweries. Size doesn’t matter; beer fuels Bend.
Plate it: For its decades of acclaim as a skiing and outdoor haven, when it came to food, Bend didn’t exactly stand tall. But as happens, over time the food scene morphed, and it now resonates commendable and diverse. There’s all the pub-grub, of course, sushi, Thai and southeast Asian, Italian, coffee shops, Middle Eastern, bakeries, something called vegan, beef — remember all those ranches and cattle? Our go-to spot is Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails, where Pacific Northwest producer-to-plate freshness meets NOLA attitude.
“We saw a lot of the U.S. while I was playing football, and for us we really felt like Bend was the best spot to be,” says Bledsoe, the Washington State University alum. “And that remains true.”
Getting there: Bend-Redmond airport is served by several major carriers, with seasonal flights from Portland, San Francisco and other points around the West. If you have the time to drive, however, do it — the vistas coming in from the south via Highway 97, from the west over the Cascades (Eugene is about a two-hour trek) and from the north (about three hours to Portland with a close-up of Mt. Hood along the way) are rife with stop-and-snap moments.
Holes 9 and 18 share a double green at Salish Cliffs in Shelton, Wash.
Back in January 2011, David Kass knew instinctively that his new gig as Head Golf Professional at Salish Cliffs was more than worth the cross-country drive from his previous job in South Florida. The holidays were in his rear-view mirror and it was time for a fresh adventure in the heaving hills and dense conifer forest of western Washington, just a few minutes from downtown Olympia and a scant 45 from 2015 U.S. Open site Chambers Bay. He fell in love with architect Gene Bates’ lovely creation from the get-go.
“I was in on the ground floor, and I knew right away this course and place were special,” Kass said as he sent yet another laser 3-wood down the middle of one of Salish’s perfectly coiffed fairways. “I watched the course grow in and get ready for our opening that summer. It’s just gotten better and better from there.”
Not only is Kass one heck of a player, he’s as friendly and accommodating as his course is a blast to play, day after day. As the de facto golf ambassador for Little Creek Casino Resort and the Squaxin Island Tribe, Kass knows how to provide visiting golfers the authentic Pacific Northwest experience they’re looking for, rain or shine. And there’s more shine that one would think, especially in the peak season of July through September.
“We do around 20,000 arounds a year, most of them in the summer months,” he says. “It’s just the right number for us — the course stays in great condition, tee times are spaced out so our guests can experience it the right way, and the locals have really become attached to it, too.”
That’s not difficult to understand. In a state with so many great, award-winning tracks, from Wine Valley in the eastern agricultural belt to the handful of Top 100 layouts in the Puget Sound area, Salish Cliffs quickly distinguished itself as one of Washington’s best. Some of it is God’s doing, some Bates’s. Some is the dedication of Kass and his main man, Superintendent Robert Pearsall, who keeps things fairly fast and firm even in the region’s damp and cool climate. Play these 18 handsome holes once and you quickly pick up the rhythm and visual balance that distinguishes all great courses; play them again, when you’ve figured out where to place the ball off the tee and embraced Bates’ challenging but fair way with a green complex, and you’ll be asking yourself, “Why didn’t I get up here before?”
It’s truly one of those “no weak holes” affairs, starting right from a first tee carved high on a bluff. You look across a ravine to the landing area guarded by another slope to the left and a big madrone tree to the right. Nudge a gentle cut up the left side, catch a bounce to the landing tier and you’re looking at getting home in two on the par 5; anywhere else and you’ll be lucky to find the surface in three.
Right on the opener’s heels is a delightful, drivable par 4, and the thrills spool out from there, winding and climbing and tumbling through the forest at just the right angles. Doglegs right and left and doled out in fairly equal measure, and landing areas always end up wider than they appear from the box — clearly Bates is a fan of guys like Tom Fazio and even Pete Dye, both of whom made their bones by tricking the eye yet opening a clear path to the pin. At 601 yards from the tips, No. 8 is ranked Salish’s toughest, but play it judiciously — tee shot over the left bunker, second shot cheating right, final pitch right-center — and you’ll find par within easy reach.
The back nine play a couple strokes tougher thanks to an uphill, into-the-wind middle section, starting with No. 12, with a downhill par 3 giving some relief before the one-two punch of 14 and 15. Both hover around 400 yards from the second set but play much longer; the latter’s second, shot, from well below the putting surface, is probably the toughest approach out there. Eek out a par there and you’re set for a flat-out phenomenal final trio. No. 16 is as fun a downhill, right-swooping par 4 as you’ll find, No. 17 is little more than a wedge over a cliff to a subtly canted green, and the finisher is a tasty par 5 with water guarding the green on the right. Blast your drive down the hill and eagle enters the conversation. Make that happen and the beer and burger (or wings, fish and chips, salad or sandwich, all a cut above “normal” clubhouse fare) will taste even better.
Then again, even a bogey on the final hole won’t wipe the smile from your face. Salish Cliffs gets under your skin like a cool Pacific breeze. To stir in some vacation heat, add in a night or two at the resort just down the hill. Hit the casino (they even offer full-on craps!), sample more great food (The Island Bar is an underrated winner). Block out a couple hours in the spa, lounge around the indoor pool, head upstairs for a few hands of poker, knock down some sushi in the oyster bar — Little Creek runs the gamut of big-league fun.
And if your trip is all about the golf (of course it is), make sure to include a pilgrimage to Chambers Bay for a round among newly-minted major championship memories. The 2015 Open left its mark here in many ways, mostly in how the course has changed from its early days in 2007-2008. The fescue off the fairway is deeper and denser, though in keeping with the Robert Trent Jones II design crew’s vision, the place still keeps to its modern links roots — firm and run-into-the-bunker fast, with bump-up shots to the huge greens the rule rather than the exception. Yeah, it’s a tough round, a seven-plus-mile walk up and down those big manmade dunescapes, but your caddy, should you get one, has the local knowledge to kick the wow factor up a few notches.
In fact, Salish Cliffs and Chambers Bay make for a stirring, starkly different duo that’s available nowhere else in the West. Kass found that out when he showed up. Now it’s your turn.
Mention the word “Reno” to many folks over the past decades, and they might have raised an eyebrow with thoughts of gambling, drinking and other such pursuits. Those still exist, but these days, Reno is undergoing an impressive at-large metamorphosis into the city its residents have always treasured, with a buzzing arts scene, great restaurants, incredible special events, world-class brew pubs and distilleries and a diversifying economy. And yes — very, very good golf courses.
Mention “Lake Tahoe” and their eyes would glass over with thoughts of lounging on high-altitude beaches, hiking among the pines or schussing down one of the area’s myriad ski slopes. Or all three — perhaps in the same day, at certain times of year.
Reno-Tahoe is truly America’s Adventure Place as a recent slogan put it, with a mix of high desert and alpine terrain, some of the West’s best weather (around 320 days of sunshine each year), every kind of lodging imaginable, big-city cuisine and, within an hour’s drive, more than 40 public-access golf courses, from wide-open and affordable munis to save-up-your-shekels resort wonders to an impressive lineup of private residential-based clubs that have attracted thousands of retirees and relocation-minded over the years. And while it’s maturing as a destination with no new courses on the horizon — the most recent is Clear Creek Tahoe, a stunning private layout that came on board in 2011 — there’s plenty going on.
GOODBYE THUNDER CANYON, HELLO TOIYABE
When the news came that longtime private favorite Thunder Canyon — a Robert Muir Graves gem located in Washoe Valley, just north of Carson City and 20 minutes from Reno — was opening to the public as Toiyabe Golf Club, the region rejoiced, including one Golf Tips editor who lives in Reno. The course is a true treat to play, winding among ponds and wetlands through much of its front nine, then dipping into the pines for several holes on the back — with 50-mile views of the valley and mountains on every hole.
Originally opened in 1994 as Lighting W Ranch, then purchased and renamed in 1999 by founding members Roger and Gayle Block, the course and club were recently sold to Reno developer, Stan Jaksick, who began his career in golf with his father, Sam, at LakeRidge — still a popular daily feel course in Reno — in the early 1970s. In 1997 the Jaksicks opened Montrêux Golf and Country Club in Reno (host of the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship since 1999), whose members took over ownership in early 2016. Jacksick’s first move is to open Toiyabe to the public while continuing to take care of its 235 members. “I love the golf business. When the opportunity arose to purchase Thunder Canyon, the timing was perfect,” Jaksick said. “I’ve known Gayle and her late husband Roger for years and they had a great facility with the potential to be a premier golf course.”
The word “Toiyabe” pays tribute to the course and club’s picturesque location in the foothills of the Toiyabe National Forest and the Sierra Nevada. To help make its public debut a complete success, Jaksick brings in a senior leadership team with a combined 60 years of golf industry experience, most recently at Montrêux, to oversee operations, finances and human resources. They’ll join the existing on-site management team led by General Manager Bill Gibson, Jr., and Director of Golf Dave LaFata.
Public tee times are now available with hotel stay-play packages on the way.
PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ IN TRUCKEE
A half hour west of Reno on I-80 and just 15 minutes from Lake Tahoe’s north shore is the lovely former railroad burg of Truckee, which, over the past 20 years, has turned into a Northern California second home hot spot — with stellar golf development to match, including five public and resort courses and three private enclaves.
Two of Truckee’s most popular resort tracks, Old Greenwood (a Jack Nicklaus Signature design) and Gray’s Crossing (a Peter Jacobsen and Jim Hardy product that’s Audubon Certified) are part of a new summer golf package offered by the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, which sits majestically on a wooded ridge above the Martis Valley near the sprawling Northstar California resort complex. Available through Sept. 30, the “High Sierra Golf Experience” includes enjoy two 18-hole rounds either Gray’s Crossing or Old Greenwood, as well as deluxe accommodations at the resort. The Ritz’s Mountain Concierge handles all the details, from club storage, to booking tee times, to sharing insights about the region’s various other golfing opportunities (we recommend Coyote Moon, where nary a house is seen and the course unfolds like a mountain dream among woods, rock outcroppings, meadows and streams).
The Ritz-Carlton is the only AAA Five Diamond award-winning hotel in Lake Tahoe. Guest rooms incorporate gas fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling windows. Five dining venues range from elegant private dining options at Manzanita to “blues, brews and BBQ” at The Backyard Bar & BBQ. And the renowned spa serves as a destination unto itself. Visitors also get the full gamut of outdoor activities — hiking, mountain biking, fishing, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding — plus resort offerings like Lawn Games, Happy Hour events, Mountainside Yoga, new Cabana packages and a Summer Winemaker Dinner Series, and more.
The package starts at $599 USD per night and is subject to availability.
EDGEWOOD JUST GETS BETTER
Say what? Perhaps the region’s most well-known public course and the only one right on the shore of Lake Tahoe, Edgewood Tahoe — host for the American Century Celebrity Championship every July — is undergoing its biggest overhaul of the past 15 years, and most of it isn’t even on the course itself. The sparkling new par-4 9th hole opened last year as its predecessor — generally considered the course’s weakest hole — was sacrificed to free up space for the long-awaited 154-room luxury Lodge that’s slated to open in June 2017. The new No. 9 is still a dogleg-right, but now it sits hard by the water, as do parts of the course’s famed finishing trio, including each of their greens. The inland holes are just as beguiling with ponds, elevation changes, tall-tree corridors, gentle meadows and solid but not overwhelming bunkering. The green on No. 7, another fine par 3, has been tweaked a bit to allow for more pin positions and better visibility from the tee. One Edgewood quirk: there are no doglegs to the left, so if you cut the ball as a righty, this is the Sierra circuit for you. And when you’re all done, Brooks’Bar is one of America’s best 19th holes, with a killer beer selection. The course beds down for winter around mid-October, so now is the time to nail down that tee time.
Martis Camp, Truckee, California
MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES
So we’ve established Reno-Tahoe’s public/resort golf course buffet as rich and varied as any in the United States. But for folks looking to join a club at any life stage, the array of private options is impressive indeed.
We’ve mentioned Clear Creek Tahoe, whose centerpiece is a truly towering design achievement from Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore — 18 holes of sweeping and soaring mountain golf featuring their trademark “minimalist” elements including hew-to-the-land fairway contouring, ragged-edge bunkers and huge, humped greens. A limited number of residential lots are tucked into the trees around the course, and a clubhouse/pool/spa complex is planned for the near future.
Up the road in Reno, Montrêux is the obvious high-end standard-setter, but several other family-friendly membership choices are in the mix including Somersett, a scenic desert course in the northwest foothills co-designed by Tom Kite; Red Hawk in Sparks, whose 36 holes (18 by Robert Trent Jones Jr., 18 by Hale Irwin) alternate daily between members and public play; ArrowCreek, another 36-hole collection (the Arnold Palmer/Ed Seay “Legend” and John Harbottle/Fuzzy Zoeller “Challenge”) at the base of Mt. Rose in south Reno; and Hidden Valley, a classic old-school track on the east side of town that boasts some of the area’s best greens. Initiation fees and monthly dues vary widely and there’s a price point for just about everybody.
Finally we head back to Truckee, where a “golden triangle” of modern private clubs occupy a mix of meadows and wooded hills in the southwest corner of the Martis Valley, giving north Tahoe four clubs in all (Tahoe Donner, a semi-private offering just north of town, had the region to itself since the 1970s). Lahontan was the first on the scene of the new second-home wave, opening in the late 1990s with a flawlessly conditioned Tom Weiskopf-authored course and low-profile clubhouse/cabin residential configuration. Over the past decade and right next door to Lahontan came two more rarefied membership options — Schaffer’s Mill (formerly Timilick Tahoe), which has a fine new clubhouse/pool complex to bolster a fine Harbottle/Johnny Miller course with one of the best back nines in the area; and Martis Camp, which quickly became the choice for the money-is-no-object crowd thanks to a staggeringly beautiful and challenging “blank check” Tom Fazio golf course, followed by a massive clubhouse/member lodge. An impressive list of Silicon Valley moguls and professional athletes are among its members, and it has already hosted several high-profile USGA events including the U.S. Junior Amateur.
THE HEAT IS ON
Well, not really — summer temperatures in Reno-Tahoe, especially Tahoe, are downright perfect — but it’s clear that this sweet sliver of the West should be on your next getaway itinerary. You might just decide to stick around. For a great overview of the region’s attractions, events and recreation options including golf, visit www.visitrenotahoe.com
Sitting at 9,280-feet elevation in Summit County, Colo., and easily accessible from Denver, Keystone Resort is the ultimate location to beat the summer heat and enjoy the allure of the high country. Named one of the five best golf resorts in the Rockies/Great Plains, Keystone boasts a beautiful 36-hole golf facility with two authentic and distinct courses.
Located in one idyllic Rocky Mountain resort setting, Keystone’s golf courses provide an ideal location to hit the links this summer. The Hurdzan-Fry designed River Course offers impressive elevation changes among a modern course design that has been built into the surrounding landscape. The Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed Keystone Ranch Course is set on historic ranch land where original structures and old western heritage remain throughout the course, providing a nostalgic feel amongst the breathtaking panoramic scenery.
Keystone offers a variety of lodging options, including hotels, condos and townhomes ranging in size from studio to four-bedroom, and four- and five-bedroom private homes, that are conveniently located within minutes of The River Course and Keystone Ranch Course. Keystone’s Stay, Play & Save packages begin at $153 per person, per night and offer exclusive savings on lodging and golf rates, and include green fees, practice facility access and free nine holes of golf on the afternoon of arrival. Additionally, resort amenities, activities and dining options are all located on-site at Keystone, providing a variety of easily accessible mountain adventures when not golfing.
Keystone is known as a place where families rule, and the resort’s golf professionals and staff are dedicated to the family guest experience. The River Course and Keystone Rach Course both offer up to six sets of tees on each hole to accommodate golfers of all abilities and allow everyone in the family to enjoy the game. Both courses offer a Kids Swing Free program, inviting anyone 17 and younger to play for free after 5 p.m. with a paying adult. Families can also take advantage of Time for Nine rates as well as Starting New at Golf (SNAG), a fun and easy program that begins at just $5 per round, including equipment.
The recently introduced Keystone Golf mobile app allows golfers to keep score, access hole descriptions and pictures and utilize the GPS component to know the exact yardage from ball to green. Guests can also book tee times, compare scores to other players, share accomplishments socially, customize a tournament and receive news, updates and pricing specials. The Keystone Golf app is free and available at both The River Course and Keystone Ranch Course. New golf carts are even equipped with USB plug-ins.
Both The River Course and Keystone Ranch Course offer a variety of private lessons, clinics and programs designed for golfers of all abilities and ages. With instruction via Keystone’s PGA teaching professionals, enjoying the links through private lessons and weekly offerings designed specifically for women, men, juniors, seniors and group golfers is easier than a hole-in-one. There are programs offered each day of the week except Sunday, including short-game clinics, Birdies and Bettys ladies’ play days, junior golf clinics and new this summer, men’s play days.
Golf rates begin at $55 with a variety of options available, including 9-, 18- and 36-hole rates, numerous season passes, and junior rates.
The Hell 2 Heaven golf challenge finishes its desert-to-mountain journey at Sierra Star in Mammoth Lakes, California.
It sounds like golf’s version of mood swings, with the lowest of lows and highest of highs over the course of a single day. But where mood swings aren’t your friend, the Hell 2 Heaven Golf Challenge, scheduled for June-12-14, 2016, is a first-of-its-kind event destined to be a marriage made in, ahem, Heaven.
The adventure commences with a splash of Sin City (a.k.a. Las Vegas) followed by a deluxe motor coach (or self-drive) transporting daring participants on a journey guaranteeing a bag full of lowlights and highlights during a one-day, 36-hole competition on two of the most contrasting courses imaginable on the planet.
“My golf getaways have taken me around the world playing bucket-list courses but my adventurous alter ego seeking an out-of-the-box golf experience, discovered one here in my home state of California,” said tournament’s chief architect, Robert Kaufman, a longtime golf and travel writer/photographer and owner of Picture PARfect. “After accomplishing the feat with several buddies playing the state’s lowest and highest elevated golf courses in one day, I concluded Mother Nature created an unbelievable backdrop for a tournament that cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world.”
Welcome to Hell: The first 18 holes will be contested at Furnace Creek Golf Course, the world’s lowest elevated course situated at 214 feet below sea level in Death Valley National Park, a destination ruthlessly scorched year-round by sunrays with summer temperatures routinely reach 115-plus degrees (F). For us mere mortals, that qualifies this region as Hell, as well as deserving its own ring in Dante’s Inferno.
Redemption: Feeling heated over your morning round? Prepare to atone during the afternoon round at Sierra Star Golf Course based within the four-season wonderland of Mammoth Lakes. Following a 4-5 hour drive from the desert inferno, enter another universe high in the Eastern Sierra with ideal summertime temperatures and swing around the highest elevated course in the Golden State at 8,000 feet. Don’t forget to shift club selection strategy due to the altitude change. After playing in the valley of death, this mountain playground is a heaven to die for.
Ready For The Challenge? The Hell 2 Heaven Golf Challenge, a two-person team scramble, is a benefit for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and open to all golfers of any skill level. The all-inclusive package fee of $1,350 for individual entry and $2,500 for a two-person team also includes scores of prizes and surprises.
Osprey Meadows is a tough Robert Trent Jones, Jr. layout.
In recent years, new golf courses have sprung up in non-traditional destinations. Consider Bandon Dunes in Oregon, which opened in 1999. It (and its sister courses, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails) turned an otherwise sleepy Oregon coastal town into a golfing mecca.
Inspired by the same “If you build it, they will come” philosophy, new courses have opened in other four-season areas like Maine, Colorado and North Dakota. Perhaps golfers want an alternative to palm trees and cacti, or maybe it’s just that really good courses are springing up in the most unlikely of places. Whatever the reason, we’re no longer surprised to hear golfers get jazzed about visiting remote areas.
Recently the Gem State of Idaho has emerged as golf’s newest hot spot. Despite being better known for its skiing and wintertime activities, its undulating, unspoiled terrain and dramatic backdrops have presented architects with an opportunity to shape land into some of the country’s best new courses.
Play at one of the following standouts, and you’ll understand why they’re worth the trip.
Circling Raven Golf Club Worley, Idahowww.circlingraven.com The Golf: With unspoiled views and plenty of land (it’s built on 620 acres), it’s not unusual for golfers to go 18 holes without seeing another foursome. Diversions: Go fly-fishing up the St. Joe River, America’s highest navigable river. Empty your pockets into one of the 1,800 gaming machines at Coeur d’Alene Casino. How To Get There: Nine major airlines fly into the Spokane, Wash., airport, including Delta, Southwest and United. The airport is 45 minutes from the course.
Coeur D’Alene is home of the famous floating green.
Coeur D’Alene Golf Club Coeur D’Alene, Idahowww.cdaresort.com The Golf: Expertly manicured with the famous floating green, what Coeur d’Alene lacks in size it makes up for in conditioning. (Although two recent visits by GT staff revealed lackluster green conditions.) Diversions: Take a boat ride around the pristine Coeur d’Alene lake, fly-fish on the Clark Fork River or go whitewater rafting. How To Get There: Like Circling Raven, Coeur D’Alene is less than an hour from Spokane International Airport.
The Idaho Club Sandpoint, Idahowww.theidahoclub.com The Golf: Home of Idaho’s first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, this new, private community sits on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest lake. (Opens April 2008) Diversions: Plans call for a Club Spa and Fitness Center, Lake Club & Marina and “Kids Camp.” How To Get There: The Idaho Club is located in Sandpoint between Coeur D’Alene and the Canadian border. The nearest major airport is Spokane International, roughly 75 miles away.
Osprey Meadows at Tamarack Resort Donnelly, Idahowww.tamarackidaho.com The Golf: This tough Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course demands careful placement off the tee and pinpoint accuracy on approach shots. Diversions: Take a boat ride on Lake Cascade. How To Get There: Eight major airlines serve Boise International Airport. Chartered car service or shuttle service is highly recommended, as Tamarack is two hours north of the airport.
Whitetail Club and Resort McCall, Idahowww.whitetailclub.com The Golf: A pristinely manicured, private course featuring many holes routed through dense forests of pines. Reciprocal deals are available with the nearby Osprey Meadows. Diversions: Raft, fish and hike down the Salmon River. How To Get There: Like its neighbor, Osprey Meadows, one of Whitetail’s charms is its remoteness. It’s about two-and-a-half hours from Boise.
When you play Circling Raven there isn’t a house in sight.
Off The Fairway Want to get away from it all? Try one of these remote beauties. Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Bandon, Ore. Play here, and you’ll swear you were in Ireland. Visitors fly into the tiny (but expanding) Southwest Oregon Regional Airport. www.bandondunesgolf.com _Ê
Hawktree Golf Club Bismarck, N.D. Designed by Jim Engh, this course debuted in 2000 to great acclaim. Be on the lookout for black coal slag in the bunkers, native grass and mounds on the 7,085-yard layout. www.hawktree.com
Predator Ridge Golf Club Vernon, British Columbia 27 challenging holes designed by Canadian Les Furber, Predator Ridge is located in British Columbia’s central plateau just minutes from the Kelowna Airport. www.predatorridge.com
FUN ON AN INCLINE
