The 52nd Western States golf team championship took place in Reno, Nevada last month. The two man best ball championship was contested over three courses. This year the tournament was held at Lakeridge, Wolf Run, and Red Hawk golf courses.
My partner was Mark Dunn, an avid golfer, and long time friend and co-worker. We headed out Labor Day which is usually a travel day for this west coast tournament. After a pleasant 3 1/2 hour drive, we arrived in Reno, Nevada, checked in at Harrah's Hotel & Casino and proceeded to find a late night meal. We quickly found the hotel's restaurant, scarfed down a fast dinner and turned in for the night.
Like many Reno Hotels, Harrah's is a good place to stay especially at affordable rates that are seemingly ubiquitous around town. If playing golf, the hotel is centrally located to courses and walking about town is a breeze, and in addition to decent sized rooms; the pool area is generous in size and workout facilities well appointed.
Lakeridge golf course is noted for its signature Par 3, an island green where the tee is perched high up on a hill. The tee shot is seemingly a shot into the heavens and a drop down to the island green. I hit a 4 wood, an easy one, and my shot landed over the pin but up against the bunker seen in the background. Unfortunately, my ball landed against the first cut of rough and with an awkward lie; I ran my ball ten feet past the cup and missed the Par putt. A slight disappointment given the pleasing tee shot: a smooth, floating arch of white circumference headed out over the blue sky background sinking towards its destiny.
The rest of the day was a paradox of good play intertwined with some missed opportunities! Overall, I was really pleased with Lakeridge; the greens were excellent; fairways generous and difficult. We shot a net 63 that had us tied for 4th after the 1st round.
After returning to the Hotel, we decided to head over to dinner at The Silver Legacy's Sterling Steakhouse, but prior to that we stopped at the Hospitality Suite for marvelous views and spirits as a pre-dinner warm up. The tournament had reserved a Hospitality Suite at The Legacy in order for the players to engage in the day's game conversation, or commiserate over the round's missed opportunities. The views and the camaraderie were as expected--excellent! The dinner at Sterling's was just spectacular. Mark & I had rib-eye steaks that were cooked to perfection, generous in size, and the accompaniments perfect!
Day two saw us head to Wolf Run Golf Course, an easier course in my opinion, and this showed as I got off to a quick start. Mark, my partner, saved us at times where my Driver failed my instruction, and after basically letting the round get away from us we ended with a net 62. Still a pretty decent day but not enough to put us anywhere near the lead. In best ball tournaments, it's days like this day, that either puts a team in the hunt or the team falls further behind. In our case, the latter ensued, making the final day critical to our outcome.
The final day had us playing at Red Hawk Golf Course, a sprawling two course golf complex located in Sparks, Nevada. The practice area, clubhouse, and restaurant are impressive. The overall feeling of this place is fantastic!
As I stood looking at the wide open 1st fairway, I thought nothing of the out of bounds all along the left side of the hole; however, as soon as I launched my tee shot I knew it was out of bounds. Fortunately, Mark made Par and saved us and also saved us on the next Par 5 hole. It wasn't until the 3rd Hole (No.1 Handicap) that I launched a crushing tee shot that left a short sand wedge to the green. I promptly made Par and we took off from there shooting 31 on the front nine. After a Par on 10, Mark and I each bogeyed holes 11 thru 15, ending any comeback or thoughts of coming in the money for this tournament; alas there is always another tournament to look towards.
Chagrined somewhat from seeing our efforts go awry on the final 8 holes; nonetheless, we had an excellent time. The tournament host put on a great event worthy of their long tenured legacy and we eagerly look forward to a return to next year's tournament.
It had been some time since I've been up in Reno but I particularly enjoyed the ride to and from the Bay Area and to Reno. Once past the mundane ride to Sacramento; the scenic towns of Auburn, Emigrant Gap, and Truckee ensue along with elevation and stunning California Redwoods.
While I was somewhat familiar with the Donner Party's travails through the region, I didn't know much about the significance of Emigrant Gap. "Emigrant Gap is a gap in a ridge on the California Trail as it crosses the Sierra Nevada, to the west of what is now known as Donner Pass. Here the cliffs are so steep that, back in the 1840s, the pioneers on their way to California had to lower their wagons on ropes in order to continue.
The Emigrant Gap was so named because it was a low gap on a ridge where the emigrants' wagons crossed from the American River drainage to the Bear River drainage. It was part of the Truckee Route, a portion of the California Trail by which pioneers, heading west, emigrated from the United States to California, which was part of Mexico until it was captured by the United States in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848)."
So, even as I put a bit of my golf history in the past, I grabbed a piece of California's, United States', and Mexico's history. This history along with Reno golf courses, affordable accommodations and an excellent steakhouse made this short trip very worthwhile. Moreover, rekindling my interest in exploring my own backyard is always a special treat!
