Project Overview

Forrest Richardson Golf Course Architects completed a master plan for the State of California to fully rebuild and transform the existing Lake Tahoe Golf Course. The work is necessary to alter the alignment of the Upper Truckee River to prevent silt from reaching iconic Lake Tahoe. Our work paves the way for this important environmental project to begin.

Nine holes of the municipal layout, which is part of the Lake Valley State Recreation Area, were designed by William F. Bell and built in 1961, with the course expanded to 18 holes in 1985. After extensive studies and site visits, we developed four routing plans that were considered by the state for further study. Our team assisted in selecting one plan that was then integrated to a Master Plan Study Document.

The final plan preserves an 18-hole routing, located on the existing property, and includes a 300-yard practice range and short game area. The 6,700-yard par-71 design includes five par threes, including the back-to-back fifteenth and sixteenth. The river dictated how the holes should be routed and our design took root from the way the river needs to twist and turn in order to provide the best possible erosion control outcome.

The environmental angle was a key focus of the work, as was extensive financial analysis by National Golf Foundation Consulting, who was sub-contracted by us during the project. The next steps are to continue to assist the State with updates to their Environmental Impact Report, and to eventually begin design development plans that will lead to a construction contract.