If golf is your game, you’ll be delighted to know that the Reno/Tahoe area has enough luscious layouts to last you your golfing lifetime. With the increase in population over the past decade or so, the demand for more golf courses has been intense. The result has been a plethora of links to keep even the most hard-core players swinging. The variety of terrain can be mind-boggling, from ribbons of green snaking through enormous stands of Jeffrey pines to wide-open fairways laid flat along the desert sands. Whatever best matches your game, you’re sure to find it somewhere in the area.
Most courses in the flatlands (Reno, Sparks, and surrounding rural areas) are open year-round, weather depending. So if you’ve got the stamina, it’s possible to ski and golf all in the same day. The mountain courses, however, are seasonal from about April to November. Call or consult Web sites to check if you’re in doubt. I’ll tell you about the public and semiprivate courses that are open for play, but if you’re looking for a private course to join, you can choose from the following: Arrowcreek Country Club, Reno, (775) 850-4653; Hidden Valley Country Club, Reno, (775) 857-4742; Montreux Golf Club Ltd., Reno, (775) 849-1090; the Private Club at Red Hawk, Sparks (775) 626-6000; Somersett Country Club, Reno, (775) 787-1800; and Thunder Canyon Golf & Country Club, Washoe Valley, (775) 884-4597.
Nearby Truckee, California, has become a destination for affluent golfers. Three posh courses have recently opened with all the bells and whistles of luxury living and golfing: Lahontan Golf Club, (530) 550-2400, www.lahontan.com; Old Greenwood, (800) 754-3070, www.old greenwood.com; and The Golf Club at Gray’s Crossing, www.grayscrossing.com. If you’re interested in golf course living, keep in mind that you don’t have to be on a private course. Most public courses have homes lining the fairways, and the most recently built courses are still selling lots for new construction.
In acquainting you with the public courses, I’ve included the kinds of information that’ll help you choose the one to fit your game and style: the yardage (from the men’s white tees), pars, U.S. Golfing Association (USGA) ratings and slopes, 18-hole greens fees with cart included (summer rates), reservation policy, and a brief description of each course. Unless stated otherwise, each course has a driving range, putting green, pro shop, and restaurant.
To help orient you to the location of the courses, the chapter is divided into the four standard geographical areas—Reno, Sparks, North Shore Lake Tahoe, and South Shore Lake Tahoe. Some of the courses I mentioned fall outside these areas, but I think they are close enough and worth the drive to play. Consequently, these courses are designated “Worth the Drive” (big pun intended) and are included at the end of the geographical section closest to the course.
So let’s tee it up and get started. But remember one other thing: The views from all of the golf courses in the area are so magnificent that you won’t mind hooking the occasional ball into the sagebrush or slicing one into that sapphire-blue lake crowned with Canada geese. Honest.