Clubhouse at Edgewood Tahoe. Photo courtesy of Golf the High Sierra.
I may have been hypnotized for my week of High Sierra golf. It seemed surreal as I looked out the window during my flight into Reno and saw the Sierra Nevada below me. Flying along in the wisps of clouds in brilliant sunshine above such grandeur takes one into a new state of awareness. My mesmerizing meditation became focused as I saw the magnetic magnificence of Lake Tahoe. Below, I could see where the golfing gods had walked through one day and left behind golf courses in their green footprints. I knew I would be playing many of those courses during a weeklong golf journey. I couldn’t wait for the plane to land so I could get to the first tee.
Like any spinning wheel in a Nevada casino, my golfing journey went clockwise from Reno to Dayton to Lake Tahoe to Truckee to Graeagle. The terrain went from the mountain to the valley to the lake to the meadows to the really high mountains. Going around the High Sierra golfing wheel in seven days seemed like a magical and heavenly opportunity. With unlimited tee times at 40 courses how many could I play in seven days—maybe I could roll that lucky 7-11: seven days, 11 courses?
With Vince Mastracco, Matt McKay, and Steve Habel at Montreux!
My first round of golf was at Montreux CC, a private real-estate enclave and superb Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. You know it as the scenic course that hosts the annual Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA TOUR, the tournament J.J. Henry won this year. Nestled in the Ponderosa pine trees on the gentle eastern slopes of snow-capped Mt. Rose, Montreux was a good first experience of High Sierra golf. With pine trees are taller than Jack’s beanstalk and dramatic views all around, Montreux offers a very different golfing experience. In this part of the country it is all about the altitude. I figured it out on the fourth hole after flying a wedge 20 yards over the green. I thought it was my superb and powerful ball-striking abilities. That it was not; it was high-altitude golf, a plus for anyone’s game and attitude!
After eagling the 15th at Dayton Valley!
The next day we golfed at Dayton Valley, a solid Arnold Palmer-designed facility. As a prequalifying site for the Reno-Tahoe Open, Frys.com Open and Q-School, this golf course provides all the challenge one golfer needs. If the wind kicks up, as it did for us, it becomes more of a challenge than a foursome of golfers needs. The rain never came but a rainbow did appear in the distant cloud-enshrouded mountain tops. My playing partner and I persevered through the weather to post an 8-under par 64 scramble score. Needless to say it was one of the best ball-striking days of my life as evidenced by the driver to five feet for eagle on the 323-yard 15th hole. Okay, so it was downwind and from the whites, but the putt was no gimme!
On the third day (and you know where I am going with this seven-day odyssey) the drive up to golfing heaven was spectacular via the NV 207 Kingsbury Grade Road from Minden. Once we rose to the elevation of Lake Tahoe, we played along its shore and in a nearby forest at Edgewood Tahoe, home to the American Century Celebrity Classic. This is the “Major,” where sports and entertainment celebrities compete for the right to be called the best nonprofessional golfer in America. This year, that honor went to Dan Quinn, a former NHL center.
Mr. Hickory Golf at the par-3 17th at Edgewood Tahoe.
The course design is really a Fazio Plus with Uncle George doing the original design that opened in 1968, and nephew Tom renovating the course for the 1998 season. The first nine leads the golfer up a gentle slope through towering pine trees while the second nine brings you quietly down to the lake. In a tranquil state one plays the par-3 16th with lake right and putts out on the final green as gentle waves slap along the shoreline.
To complete your experience at Edgewood Tahoe find the hidden hallway down the stairs behind the bar in the Brooks dining area. Check out the fascinating golf pictures of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and John Daly when they played junior events at Edgewood Tahoe.
When one is on a golfing pilgrimage to the High Sierra one must drive along the edge of Lake Tahoe. From south to north on the east side of the lake, it is spectacular. Like a tap-in birdie, one must stop to pause, take in the view and remember the feeling of awe and satiation.
After Montreux, Dayton Valley and Edgewood Tahoe, it was time to experience a unique combination of golf near Truckee—the closely mated twosome of Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing. The terrain is gradual, meadows abound and the land well-suited for parkland golf courses.
On the 18th green at Old Greenwood!
I walked Old Greenwood, saw some deer and tried to stay out of the chaparral. Taking notice of Old Greenwood’s logo, which depicts a golfer in knickers, and the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, a golfer knows playing here will be a memorable experience, and it was.
On the fifth day I played Gray’s Crossing (Peter Jacobsen/Jim Hardy design) with Ed Leinenkugel, a grandson of the brewery founder, and Joe Starkey, the voice of the 49ers. If Peter Jacobsen can have “Jake’s Takes” on NBC golf broadcasts, I can have an “Andy Dandy” on one of his golf courses. After I hit a great tee shot on No. 3, Joe makes the call “what a bonanza,” and after the round Ed gives me a bottle of the family’s best Summer Shandy. Does it get any better than that for a golf travel writer of average golfing skill? Did I tell you this is a great golf course? And I haven’t even mentioned PJ’s casual indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar (yet).
Are you counting? That was five golf courses in five days. I was definitely the “slacker” of the group. I picked up the pace on the sixth day driving up to the Graeagle area to play The Dragon and Plumas Pines.
First tee at the Dragon!
Playing the Dragon was a good and unique experience. I loved it! When you drive up to the clubhouse and it is a Frank Lloyd Wright design, you know it is going to be a special day. I played with a guy that last played it when the course opened and he said it is much more playable now. That is how I found it to be. Fairways and greens is good course management. Spray it a bit and you will pay the price though it will be lots of fun!
With Brandon Bowling, Head Golf Professional at Plumas Pines!
What can I say about Plumas Pines? There is no nicer Golf Professional (Brandon Bowling) in the world. The Superintendent (Mark Callahan) rides around with his dog in the golf cart. You feel like family the moment you step onto the property. The golf course is a good test of golf and a fun time if your girlfriend or wife can play along too! Have time to stay for dinner at Longboards as the slow-roasted baby back ribs are outstanding!
The seventh and final day of my High Sierra golfing trip came, and I saved the best for last—Whitehawk Ranch Golf Club! Now how can I say that after sharing the previous seven courses with you? Well I shot a two-birdie 73 from the 6,500 yard three-hawk tees. This is no cream puff of a golf course, but it is so picturesque that you are totally relaxed. In that state I believe you play some of your best golf, at least I do. I guess the 126 holes I played the previous six days helped a little too.
The 14th green at Whitehawk- tranquiity!
High Sierra Golf is not an ordinary golf trip. Perhaps it is the refreshing mountain air, the scenery or the elevation. Altitude maybe but attitude for sure—there is a certain personality and camaraderie to the area that makes the trip a lot of fun on and off the golf course!
While I did not play that lucky 7-11—I only played eight golf courses in seven days—I hope to return next year and play eleven!
