It’s not glitzy. Reno makes no pretensions. No glimmering strip assaults the senses. The main drag, honest to god, features an enormous bowling alley. Over in Carson City, grandmas diligently work the nickel and penny slots. Unlike the Vegas ice queens who want nothing more than to grind you into the smoky carpet with a spiked heel, the dealers here will talk to you and are genuinely friendly.

In Vegas, renaissance means knocking things down. Reno is enthusiastically spending that state casino-generated revenue preserving and enhancing its colorful art deco past. The Old West feel is unmistakable here, never more so than at the period piece Genoa (pronounced Gen-OA) “thirst parlor,” the oldest drinking establishment in Nevada, definitely worth the detour (and 19th hole range from two fine courses at Genoa Lakes).
The acts in town, and playing up in Tahoe, less than an hour away, highlight the difference. Pablo Cruise, Greg Allman, Earth Wind & Fire, play to an aging, if appreciative, demographic. Las Vegas it’s not, which is fine because Reno feels like a real place. Locals contrast it with the soulless chasm of Vegas this way: Reno, one said, is “a community.”

It also has 45 courses within 90 minutes from $20 to $200 and a couple of other notable attributes even Steve Wynn or David Copperfield can never manufacture. Start with an exhilarating natural environment, highlighted by the beauty of Lake Tahoe. Nature provides the AC. The lows at home are the highs here; and, yes, the occasional flurry of white stuff can arrive at any time, any month. Sprucing up the peaks, it never lasts long though it sufficiently startles visitors, leaving them absolutely giddy. They kayak now through a thriving arts district in downtown Reno, amidst restaurants and brew pubs. There’s Dayton Valley, which has hosted first stage Q School for years, and Carson Valley C.C., the oldest course in the valley. It’s the sort of hometown, family-run operation, now nationally decorated for its efforts in promoting family golf, the sort of course that every town once had.
The real thrill, though, is in driving up over 7,000 feet to Tahoe, and from just being in the Sierra Nevadas. (Be forewarned of the old maxim attributed to 60’s long knocker George Bayer: the altitude can make two drinks feel like four and four feel like eight. It also adds about 10 percent, a club, club-and-a-half in distance.)

The exciting drive carves through steep crags and the Tahoe National Forest, very near to the fateful Donner pass. Coyote pups frolicked near a culvert at one course, and unless they’re animatronic you won’t see that in Vegas. Residents regularly hear bears howl and tell of bobcats pouncing on voles through the snow. The air is crisp enough to bottle, the serenity palpable. “It’s like waking up to a postcard,” one bay area exile described his retreat.

The woods surrounding small towns like Truckee, Clio and Graeagle are dotted with luxury resorts and second homes. The lure remains the majestic setting, and increasingly the caliber of golf, despite the short season, set amidst stands of ponderosa pines and aspens flickering as if applauding in the sunlight. Less than 200 miles from San Francisco, the creeping influence of civilization appears in glimpses, the Truckee Bagel & Juice Bar, for instance, but the encroachment has thus far been successfully stemmed. This is a place, as rural Plumas County officials like to point out, where trout outnumber humans, where over 80 percent of the county is located inside national forest, and there are but three traffic lights. The nearest 7-11 is back in Reno. No less a world traveler than Ben Wright, the well-versed former announcer, said after a round in which he nearly holed out for an ace that, “All of the courses are spectacularly good.”

Edgewood Golf Course will be familiar to those who annually tune in to watch the celebrities and sports stars hack their way around in the American Century Championship. Harrah’s offers 500/1 odds on Charles Barkley, but the golf course, especially the sublime closing holes, is an even money bet for inclusion among the nation’s very best.

Originally a George Fazio design, later enhanced by his acclaimed nephew, Edgewood bends its way through ancient stands, first away then spectacularly back to and along Lake Tahoe. The lake views are mesmerizing, and the setting sufficient to draw as many as four weddings a day on the weekends in season to the chalet clubhouse. Assistants will tell you white caps lapping along the shore means at least 20 mph winds. This is a place, as in Scotland, where turns of the four seasons can come in as many holes. And, as in Scotland, it doesn’t much matter. The course is that good.

Annika Sorenstam has a home at Incline Village, a nearby upscale community, with two venerable and meticulously cared for Robert Trent Jones Sr. courses. She likes the skiing at Diamond Peak, though Squaw Valley, host of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, is not far. Variously known as “Income” Village, or the Beverly Hills of South Shore, the courses, $185 after July 1, perennially and deservedly rank among the state’s best, as does Edgewood at $200 a round.

Edgewood aside, it’s the courses further up and away, though still easily in reach, that remain the most memorable. There are very good courses, one discovers if one plays long enough, where the course is in nature. And then there are those truly spectacular courses where you find yourself in nature but on a golf course. This is not the same thing and we should all live long enough to appreciate the difference.

Coyote Moon is one such special place, an alpine course with exhilarating, if occasionally visually daunting carries. No homes, no garages, just your group, some bucks pausing behind a green, the ever-present peaks, deep woods, and golf. This is not a course for the meek but it will enthrall the better player, especially the drives (though a long iron or hybrid will often be the smarter play over the driver). After a testing uphill par five, the green framed by enormous boulders that can and do come into play, the reward is the par-three, 207-yard 13th. A stern test of faith, the elevation drop from tee to green measures over 100 feet. Hang time for a well-struck iron (suck up and club down two no matter the illusion) can run as long as seven seconds.

Seasonal visitors dominate the region. The top end of the real estate market subsequently soars as high as Mt. Rose. A 17th share of a cottage along Old Greenwood, good for three weeks annually, with its typically outstanding Nicklaus signature design, runs around $150,000. (It does sleep 10-12 with three or four bedrooms and comfortable accommodations for the rest.) A four-bedroom, 5.5 bath, 3-car garage off the 14th fairway, approximately 4,662 sq. ft., two patios, three fireplaces, wine cellar, and tasting room, currently lists for $2.75M.

With mountains there are valleys, broad, sweeping former ancient bodies of water that have receded and extend for miles. How inviting these must’ve been to the pioneers who braved the crossing. Angus now graze and amble by weather-beaten barns along yet another scenic drive. A perfect complement to Coyote Moon or Grizzly Ranch, a Bob Cupp production that is a perfect blend of the best of the mountain designs with an allowance for creativity – and prudence – would be Whitehawk Ranch, a strategic valley oasis with water in play on eight holes. It also offers a variety of stay-and-play packages and lovely rustic though modern-appointed cabins. This course, like one’s favorites, never stales and when you’re done, your first thought, if daylight permits, is if there isn’t time enough to go around again.

Note: Southwest flies routinely to Reno, typically through Phoenix or, if the weather in the Metroplex intervenes, through LAX or San Jose. It is in the Pacific Time Zone. More information on these courses, and others, including various packages and discounts, can be found at: http://www.golfthehighsierra.com.

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