Incline Village Championship Course – North Shore Lake Tahoe, NV
Designed by the renowned Robert Trent Jones Sr., Incline Village Championship Course offers breathtaking views and flawless playing surfaces. Renovated in 2003 and playing at 7,106 yards from the tips, this course will not beat you with incredibly long distance but with tight fairways and winding doglegs. Most amateurs play from the blue tees, measuring at 6,640 yards. Located on the north side of Lake Tahoe, Incline Village is on the Nevada side of the lake, only 45 minutes away from Reno. The property features an expansive golf shop, a top of the line restaurant in The Grille at the Chateau, chipping facility, putting facility, and driving range. This is a great place to enjoy north Lake Tahoe golf. So stop on by during your next lake visit and experience the alpine breeze between the trees!
As we pulled up to the course, it looked like quite a busy day based on the number of golfers on the range. It was a beautiful summer afternoon at Lake Tahoe and we were lucky to be playing such a beautiful course. So busy in fact that they ran out of carts! However, it didn’t take long to get one. A few of us needed to rent clubs, and I was excited to see what the course had to offer. The men’s set was a set of TaylorMade RSi 1s and the women’s set was a nice set of Adams Blues. Our carts included ball and club cleaners along with a GPS system to help us navigate the course.
Large Golf Shop at Incline Village featuring all your favorite brands
Once we were all set with the cart and clubs, we entered the clubhouse to pick out some gear. I was immediately impressed based purely on its size. Where this shop stood out was its impressive women’s section, something a lot of courses struggle with providing. The shop also had a good selection of clubs to buy, from putters to woods to wedges, it had it all. I browsed a bit more before picking out a hat and checked out.
Of course I asked my usual tips for the course to try and get an edge. The greens were rolling at about 10.5 on the stimpmeter and we were told that most putts break toward Lake Tahoe. The golf pro then asked if we would like to purchase range balls, 44 balls in the medium bucket and 66 in the large.
We also learned, that if you happen to be around the area during the winter time and want to get some golf in, Incline Village offers indoor virtual rounds and lessons. What a great way to stay in form during the snowy season. As for outdoor lessons, the FlightScope has been recently introduced. This technology uses 3D Doppler radar to track all aspects of the golf swing (ball flight, swing speed etc.).
The View From the Range is Breath Taking
The driving range was only a few seconds away from the clubhouse and featured turf mats instead of grass due to the heavy snow seasons. With Lake Tahoe at a rough altitude of 6,225 feet, we had to dial in our distances. It played about a club to club and a half shorter, so keep that in mind during club selection. The course also included a separate area for putting and chipping. Once the warm up was complete, it was time to have some fun moving the ball around the course.
The starter led us off to number 10 to make sure the pace of play was sufficient. Playing at 385 yards, we got started on my favorite type of hole, the short par-4. The hole is fairly straight, playing slightly left with trouble in front of the green. There are a lot of small creeks and lakes throughout this course, forcing you to carry the hazard from both the tee box and on approach.
Par-4, Hole 12
My favorite hole on the first nine was the par 4 12th hole. 389 yards is all it takes to make it home on this one. The 12th set up as a 90-degree dog-leg right, which required only about 230-240 yards off the tee. Any more puts you at risk of running out of room. The approach shot was slightly downhill with a creek running in front of the green. There is room off the backside to miss long, so if you are in-between clubs go with the longer option. It was hard to pick just one on the first nine. There were so many great holes, including honorable mention of the par-3 14th and par-3 17th.
The second nine was similar to the first, tight tree lines and sprinkled bunkers. The first nine had a bit more variety to the holes than the second did. There were a lot more straightforward holes, making it a bit more playable. One of my favorites on the second nine was the par-3 6th hole. A perched tee box looked down upon a cozy green, nestled at the base of towering pines.
This tee shot required us to carry over a large hazard and not much room to miss left, right, short, or long. Luckily I hit the back fringe, and had the pin not been in the front of the green I would have been happy with that shot. However, being on the green at all on this hole is a small victory. There are a few bunkers in front and back that can provide some room to miss and catch an errant shot.
Par-4, Hole 7. Lake Tahoe Comes into View
I normally only pick one favorite, but I had to talk about the par-4 7th hole as well. A lot of holes on second nine came back down the mountain, which allowed for more perched tee boxes, and this hole was no exception. Lake Tahoe came into view as we stood looking out on the fairway. This hole plays as a dog leg right, very similar to hole 12 from the first nine, but with more elevation off the tee. The lake in the background is what really made this hole special as there are few holes where the lake can be seen.
As we finished on 18, the lake came back into view. Evident by some of the later pictures, the sun was starting to set, and it radiated off of the lake’s stunningly blue surface (if you haven’t been to Lake Tahoe, it is incredibly blue).
I was upset to be finishing off the round. After so many days out on the lake, it was good to get a change of pace on dry land. Incline Village was an all around fun course to play. If you like challenging mountain golf with tight tee shots and fairways, this is the course for you. Just make sure to hit it straight! Packed with elevation changes, fresh alpine air, and a beautiful lake, Tahoe is an all around great vacation spot.
Incline Village Championship Course Rating 4 out of 5 Stars
Incline Village Championship Course came in with a solid four-star rating. Overall, this was a beautiful track, challenging the accuracy and poise of your game. It was definitely a unique alpine experience, but a few things would bring this place from good to great. Although it would be tougher to do due to the winter cold, replacing the range mats with grass would have boosted the rating significantly. There is something about hitting off grass before a round that gives me confidence, and especially accurate results. The greens and bunkers were in “just ok” condition, which I’m sure had something to do with significant tree shadows for most of the daylight. I am definitely being picky here, as I would recommend this course to anyone who visits Lake Tahoe and looking for top tier golf.