The first course I hit on vacation was Sierra College, it turned out to be the toughest. A challenging course, it's thickly wooded and has a lot of elevation change. Dual tee pads that are nicely built and leveled boxes floored with rubber mats. The tee signs are pretty good, and a marker indicates which pin location is in play. The par I played was 58 overall, with four par 4 holes. Versatility is great between the dual tees and multiple pin location possibilities.

The lines are tough right out of the gate. Hole 1 is uphill and gives you a taste of the crowded fairways. Usually there is a line through the trees, maybe more than one, but they require a high degree of precision.
Hole 2 is downhill, and depending on where the basket is set, it can be tough to spot. Boulders also sit among the trees on this fairway. Hole 5 is the first big downhill, and probably the most open, although the basket is set in a position that is well protected by tall trees. Getting the correct angle as you hit the landing zone is a big help.

There are not really any bad holes. Birdies are earned. Pressure to make solid drives and approach shots, and a few recoveries is constant. The layout I went through didn't have a lot of easy or short pins, and if there was one, I would watch a tee shot that felt great tap out on a tree trunk at the last minute.

9 was my favorite shot of the day. It is an elevated pad, with a straight shot down the hill to the basket. My Roc 3 held the line through the thin mountain air all the way. The putt was out of my confidence range, but I did get it in the basket for a birdie. 11 is an uphill shot, with a well defined fairway that I also managed to park for another birdie. Those were the only two I bagged all day. I also really liked hole 12. This tee is also elevated, and fairly open until you drop down the hill and out of sight. The blind shot to the basket is fun, and the pin position was in a tricky spot where overshooting or taking a bad roll is very possible.

Even from the short tees, this course is pretty tough. It isn't exactly beginner friendly. There were a few blind tee shots, and even with the pin indicator and tee signs I was guessing a lot on where to place my drives. This could have been solved by walking the hole to see what I am going for, but I don't want to test the patience of my sweet lady too much.

Even the baskets that were in sight could be tough to spot sometimes. Maybe a bright flag topper here and there would be nice. Signage to get from hole to hole could be handy in a couple of spots as well, but I did have a map on the phone that helped me through it all.

This was the hardest course out of the four that I played around Lake Tahoe. My second favorite after Zephyr Cove. I will have to take another trip to get in the rest of my wishlist for that area, and revisit a course or two. Sierra would totally be worth a second visit.

It totally kicked me in the rear. I was 13 over par with 2 birdies, 6 pars, 5 bogies and 4 double bogies. I missed some drives, took some bad bounces, couldn't get out of trouble when I needed to. It is difficult for me, I'd like to see what the pros could do here. Championship level is a label I am tempted to put on Sierra College DGC. I will let you judge for yourself.

Strong elevation change on holes. Challenging course. Lots of scrub brush around holes can make finding discs a challenge. Well groomed tee to green.

Not always well marked between holes.

Thanks to Craig Getty for the tour. I enjoyed the round.

This is a destination course. Do not hesitate to stop and play...right off the interstate. Well laid out course that generally felt big for 18 holes. I like the grip mats.

A little loud on holes 14,15,16.

Don't forget to walk behind the tee box for 12, great view from rocks!

This course is a beast! Amazing layout w/out the crowd. Multiple pin positions are now clearly marked on the signs (even the big holes are viewable from the pad) w/accurate distance and the location of the next tee pad. The fairways are fair if you have the shot the hole calls for. The course can be set relatively short or incredibly long; most of the time it seems to be a mix.

Some of the newer pin placements are still a bit rough but are slowly getting beat in. Pay for parking on weekdays and walk up on weekends, I park off the road in the gated area at the bottom. None of these are a true con, just FYI. The only true bummer is having to leave the dogs at home (weekdays), because its a college campus I understand...I remember how many dog attacks I had to fight off and poop landmines I stepped in when I was in college at a "dog friendly" campus....ohh the humanity! Either way, it is what it is.

Bring water. Like all Tahoe courses, pack it in/pack it out and high fire danger so be extra careful with any spark.

Variety - pretty much every hole can test different aspects of your game
Location - right off I-80 and in the Sierras, the course itself is beautiful

Only one pin position per hole, however, this will be changed soon. Plans are underway to add other pins to the course, which would raise my review from a 4.5 to a 5.

This is one of my local courses, so I have the opportunity to play here very often. That being said, the course remains as challenging as ever and never really loses any of its draw. Being somewhere between an Advanced and Intermediate player, I find myself challenged on almost every hole, with 58 feeling like a good score for the round. I mix in a few birdies with a few bogies, but it is a great place to hone my skills. The changes in elevation are great and the course requires a lot of shot variety in order to shoot well. There are a number of par 3s that feel more like par 4s due to their difficulty. The only thing the course could benefit from is additional pin placements, but I have been told that those are coming soon. Easily one of the best courses in the Lake Tahoe area.

High quality of shots from the tee with a nice variety of left to right, right to left, up and down, short and long drives. As far as course designs go it's probably the best layout in Tahoe. Never very busy. Nice scenery and views (walk back from hole 12's tee box for a really nice vista point)

Pay to park. Possibly trouble finding the first tee (just up the hill behind the school building).

Course par is 58 (four par 4's) and it basically has only one layout. I appreciate this aspect because on such a challenging course you pretty much always want another shot at it.