The Great Truckee Golf Expansion

Truckee California, at the base of Donner Summit and 29 miles West of Reno has a population of around 14,000 with four private and four (five if you take in nearby Squaw Valley) public golf courses.

The existing courses before the boom were a 9-hole Ponderosa course loved by local and visitors for its simplicity (and price) and Tahoe Donner, loved by the surrounding home owners and a few visitors able to get a tee time. Then it began.

Northstar-at-Tahoe joined the melee. The first nine, now the back nine, wide open and treeless, made up for by the now front nine that is narrow and treed, REALLY treed. The Resort at Squaw Creek decided it needed one for the conventioneers at the luxury hotel there. RTJ Jr. did his best. Back to outside Truckee.

The first private course Lahontan started with 18, expanded to 27. Homeowners there disappointed the membership expectations. They bought home-sites in two’s and three’s which meant not enough people could join. I’m sure the real estate department sympathizes with the membership chairman.

Welcome the public Coyote Moon, its first name, the Pine or Pioneer or something else for a short time, then forced back to Coyote Moon by folks who like to hear the coyotes bay at the moon. It was a gem, a jewel, still is. That spurred East-West partners to have Jack Nicklaus do Old Greenwood to give a bed base to the area, as Coyote didn’t. The success of the public Old G begat Gray’s Crossing, the second private course and also a bed base community.

Are you ready? Johnny Miller and John Harbottle III had collaborated on a course in the Carson Valley. After six years of planning, environmental studies, re-grouping, re-planning and lots of hard work they hosted together the opening of their project, the Timilick Club June 20. It too is private but takes reciprocals. It meanders through the forest, around streams and lakes. Birds chirp, squirrels scatter around your cart, vistas everywhere. The view I liked the best was #18 looking down at the green and up at the runs on Northstar’s Lookout mountain. Home-sites are limited because this is North Lake Tahoe folks, and they like to keep things modest.

George Fazio was his uncle, Tom Fazio the nephew-in-training. That was before Tom did over 100 courses including his latest, Martis Camp Club, another private on the road leading to Lahontan and Timilick that begins at the Truckee-Tahoe airport. Fazio did the public/press opening June 29 although it had members playing there earlier. He explained how the seven year project ended up being considered one of his best ever. The course is finished, the clubhouse and all the trimming plus home-sites are being constructed. They have 2177 acres to play with.

Do you think there is any place in the WORLD that has three absolutely the finest of private golf courses on the same road, 10 minutes from a private airport and 10 minutes to a major ski resort. Like I said, is this FAIR?