It's Not Taco Time, it's Tahoe Time!

I could eat tacos until I am blue in the face, but if you made me choose between tacos and Tahoe, I would choose Tahoe every single time. The only problem with this particular visit to Tahoe… it wasn’t long enough. I visited only for a couple of days, but I loaded up on a heavy doses of those Tahoe blues.

First up on the agenda was a visit to South Lake Tahoe and Edgewood Tahoe. Every year, Edgewood plays host to the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship. Celebrities and athletes like Justin Timberlake, Steph Curry, Alfonso Ribeiro, and Ray Romano crowd the shores of Lake Tahoe and golf hard.

Those “Keep Tahoe Blue” bumper stickers are working.

Edgewood Tahoe is located right next to the casinos of South Lake and is an excellent place for a golfin’ and gamblin’ type trip. I wasn’t hitting the casinos on this particular visit, but I have been known to lose $5-$10 on a friendly Nassau. The best part about Edgewood is that it is a public golf course and anyone can tee it up. Just book a tee time and golf like a celebrity.

The 18th hole at Edgewood is one of the best finishers in Tahoe.

The 10th hole starts off a terrific back nine.

Beware of the bunkers on the 16th green at Edgewood

For the afternoon, I headed up to the north side of Lake Tahoe to visit another public gem called Coyote Moon. Located in the pristine forests of Lake Tahoe, there isn’t a single home spoiling the view at Coyote Moon. Numerous rock outcroppings really add to the ambience.

The golf ride at Coyote Moon is also a lot of fun. With ample landing areas off of the tee, you won’t lose too many balls and will have plenty of chances to go for broke or birdie.

With the elevation and the significantly downhill slope, you could hit 3-4 clubs less on the 13th hole.

Shadows fall on the 16th green at Coyote Moon.

The par 5 12th hole is a great eagle opportunity and a personal favorite.

The following day it was a visit to Old Greenwood. Old Greenwood is a Jack Nicklaus Signature design and always a crowd favorite with the visiting golfers. Even though the golf course is lined with trees, it’s very playable and still presents a challenge to the scratch player. I casually strolled by Anika Sorenstam as I headed into the pro shop to check in. If Old Greenwood is good enough for Anika, it’s good enough for me.

The view from behind the 18th green. This uphill finishing hole is one of the finest holes on the property.

The short par 3 3rd hole at Old Greenwood.

The public options for golf in Tahoe run pretty deep. Not only do you have a large number of courses to choose from, but you also have plenty of high end public golf courses as well. Where some destinations have a large concentration of private golf clubs, Tahoe has a great percentage of public golf that anyone can enjoy. I made a quick visit to another public course and area favorite called Schaffer’s Mill.

The 8th hole at Schaffer’s Mill.

Good bunkering, good shadows.

After a rousing good meal at “The Sawyer,” a newly renovated restaurant at Schaffer’s Mill, I retired to my quarters for the evening.

When you are bouncing from hotel room to hotel room, a lot of the accommodations tend to blend together. However, my accommodations for this trip were especially unique. The River Ranch Lodge has white water rafting, a restaurant, and rooms that you can stay in right on the Truckee river.

The Cedar House Sport Hotel in Truckee also stood out. Just look at that fancy bed. How often do you take pictures of a hotel room bed? They also have these fancy shower heads that they will explain to you when you check in. So fancy that they require an explanation.

In the morning I loaded up on a serious breakfast situation and headed out for the final round of the trip. I had managed to secure a tee time at one of the few private courses in the area called Clear Creek.

Designed by the Coore Crenshaw team of architects, Clear Creek Tahoe opened for play in 2014. It’s regarded as one of the best places to play in the Tahoe area and I had the course to myself. I was feeling pretty special.

Every golfer hits the skids every once in a while and for the past several weeks this guy had been going sideways with the golf ball. That was all going to change with my solo mission around Clear Creek. The birdies flowed like mountain fresh spring water rolling down the mountain side. Even when things got a little questionable, I would roll in a long par putt to keep the momentum going. It was one of those days that makes the golf soul smile. I tapped in for birdie on 18 and a satisfying even par 71.

The short 17th emits a strong Pine Valley vibe.

Before the sun had time to set on another blue and beautiful day in Tahoe, I was off to my next blue destination… Hawaii

Hole in One.

Approximately 150,000 hole-in-ones are made each year.  0 hole-in-ones have been made by this golfer. Let’s do some quick math.  The unofficial estimated odds for a low handicapper making a hole are 5,000:1.  I have played an estimated 2,000 rounds of golf with approximately 4 par 3’s per round of golf.  That put’s my total at 8,000 or so hole-in-one attempts.  Mathematically, I am overdue.

Within the past 10 years or so, I have started the Ace Cam campaign, which is my personal attempt to capture my very first hole in one on amateur video.  So far, the only good ones, are the really bad ones.  Here I will recap some of my closest and most interesting calls.

• June 1991 Arlington Park Golf Course, 5th hole, 130 yards:  My 7 iron was struck pure and true.  However, my Pinnacle Gold came to rest overhanging the edge of the cup.  I got down on my hands and knees, stared at the ball, and blew it into the hole.  I recorded an unofficial score of 1.5.  I was only 11, but the ace hunt was on!!
• Sometime in 1994, Swan Lake Golf Club, 5th hole, 172 yards:  I hit a high floater into a stiff wind.  The ball was on a string to the hole, this one was going in.  When the golf ball hit the green it bounced very high, like it had hit a cart path, and settled a couple feet from the hole.  That was odd, we thought.  When we arrived on the green, we realized that the ball had landed directly into the hole and bounced out.  Shattered parts of the cup were all over the green.  I remember hanging onto one of those pieces of the broken cup as some sort of memento to my sorrows.
• 2000, Indiana University Golf Club, 4th hole, 216 yards:  One fine fall college evening, I strolled over to the University course with a couple of buddies and a couple of six packs.  This half-drunk 3 iron had its eyes on making history and as it landed, it disappeared.  Perhaps over the green, perhaps in the hole.  Moments later several raccoons would make their way across the green.  Raccoons!!!  We never found that golf ball...  It cannot be ruled out that the raccoons did not pluck my ball from the hole in some sort of raccoon golf prank.

• 2010, The LInks at Bodega Harbour, 7th hole, 215 yards:  With a serious backup in play on the 8th hole, there were about 8 witnesses to this one.  On a foggy afternoon, I ripped my tee shot right at the hole.  It was an absolute laser beam and I knew it was going to be close.  As my ball struck the green, I heard loud screams and yells up by the green, and for one glorious half of a second, I had finally done it, a hole in one.  I was the greatest golfer to ever live!!  Then I heard the sounds, “Awwwhhhhhh” and my dreams had been dashed.  Upon arriving at the green to find my ball less than a foot from the hole, a kind gentleman informed me that my golf ball had horseshoed back at me, a 180 degree lip-out.  I fought the urge to punch his face, as he was only the messenger.  I made the 1 foot putt.
• 2012, We-Ko-Pa Cholla Course, 3rd hole, 164 yards:  After convincing myself that this was the shot that finally drops, I shanked my tee shot into the desert.  Not a close call, but perhaps the farthest I have ever been from an ace.  Video exists, but I “lost it.”
• 2014, Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, 12th hole, 187 yards:  My buddy Xan was getting married and this was his Bachelor Party, it was the Xanvitational.  Like so many balls before, my Taylor Made would peak into the cup and just say “ehh, not today.”  This one happened in extra slow agonizing torture.
• 2014 Lincoln Park Golf Course, 2nd hole, 256 yards, par 4:  For a while, I had actually given up on attempting to make an ace on a par 3 and was focusing exclusively on par 4’s.  This of course, was bullshit, but it sounded like a pretty bad ass thing to say and do.   To this day, I have no clue how my perfectly struck 3 wood did not find the bottom of the cup.  The Pitch mark was 2 feet in front of the hole with the ball resting 3-4 inches directly behind the cup.  Golf Magic!!
• In my latest sob story, I give you this video.  I had recently told a new group of golf friends about the Ace Cam.  This was my initial attempt on Sahalee's 9th hole.

Scene of the latest heartbreak at Sahalee

No matter how many cruel bounces I receive, I shall doggedly hunt down my ace.  It is out there waiting for me and I will find it, video tape it on the Ace Cam, and then celebrate it unnecessarily and excessively.

Feel free to share any of your Hole-in-One stories in the comments below.  Successful or not, I want to hear them all.