Historic Bijou muni dates to 1924

Looking to experience golf history in South Lake Tahoe, then check out the Bijou Municipal Golf Course.

It dates to 1924 in a meadow with wetlands running through it and bracketed by neighborhoods on two sides.

For mountain golf, it’s an ultimate bargain at $18 per round for nine holes with pull carts available for $5. It’s walking only and measures 1989 yards from the white tees. The course is a mixture of short par 4s (five) and par 3s (four) for a par 32.

Advance reservations are possible, but we just walked on a weekday afternoon and teed off shortly after paying the green fees. It was the first week of school in South Lake Tahoe.

Conditions are what you would expect for a muni course with a short season and inexpensive green fees. Some tees are a hodgepodge of vegetation and the fairways are spotty depending upon whether the irrigation system is working in the area. The greens were in good shape, although quite slow. A local pointed out to us, “You have to really hit it.” This was true. I came up short a number of times.

In sum, it’s a nice stroll in the mountains with some nice vistas of Heavenly Valley and the surrounding mountains.

The first five holes play west of the wetlands that then come into play on three of the next four holes. No. 6, the longest hole at 347 yards, requires a forced carry over of more than 100 yards over the wetlands—it’s more if you don’t stay left off the tee.

The tee shot on No. 8 (202 yards) again is a forced carry over the wetlands. There’s plenty of room to the left, but that’s not apparent from the tee. Go right at the pin and you better hit a solid shot. The green backs up to water, so you cannot be long with your approach.

The wetlands border No. 9 to the right so it’s another hole to favor the left. It plays 132 yards and is located right in front of the starter’s shack—it’s not a golf shop or a clubhouse. It was staffed by a city employee.

We got around in about 90 minutes and never waited for a tee shot.

For information, please see, http://www.cityofslt.us/267/Golf-Course