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 In 1990, Arnold Palmer flew into a tiny airstrip less than a mile down the road from one of his newest design projects, Dayton Valley Golf & Country Club, to help christen the new course by participating in grand opening ceremonies. Palmer's personal touch was felt then and now. In his design philosophy Mr. Palmer states “I believe in traditional, straight forward design that produces courses with lasting quality and that are exciting and enjoyable for all players," and that's certainly true at Dayton Valley.
His high-desert design has been challenging players for nearly two decades, with plenty of water hazards and deceptively difficult greens, plus significant mounding and undulation throughout the layout.
Over the past 18 years, the King's creation has developed quite a reputation for itself, having hosted a PGA Tour qualifying event every year since 1995; it's the longest standing site in the U.S. to date. This fall the course will welcome its 15th first round qualifier.
The course is located in Dayton, Nevada, which is just a short drive from the state capital of Carson City. Dayton Valley is part of the Divine Nine, a collection of scenic and affordable golf courses within the Reno-Tahoe region.
 A rather ominous sky set the tone for our Monday afternoon "Shamble" tournament at Dayton Valley. We played something called a Cha-Cha Shamble (I think I have that correct), which means the group of four selects the best tee shot of the bunch, then everyone plays their own ball in from there. A different number of scores had to be recorded for each hole, meaning on No. 3 your group could select the best score, No. 4 the two best scores were logged and finally three players had to be entered into the books for No. 5. That cycle repeated itself until the round was over.
The weather here in the Reno-Tahoe area has been quite wet considering their typical annual rainfall is somewhere between 6.5 and 8 inches. Dark clouds encircled Dayton Valley throughout the afternoon and early evening, but we were able to complete 18 holes despite sporadic showers, that were heavy at times, and steady wind that began blowing midway through the round. Playing in the Tahoe area is often more difficult in the afternoon when the breeze tends to pick up significantly.
After three days of rainfall the course was still in terrific shape. Dayton Valley didn't need the additional precipitation to add an aqua element; 10 out of the 18 holes feature lakes. Maybe it was my drive that held the green that did it, but I especially took a liking to the 234-yard par-3 No. 16, which is basically all carry over a lake to a beautiful green. My shot was slightly shorter than the championship length 223 from the blue tees).
I thought the course was a daunting challenge when factoring in the wind and the water, and playing from the 6,637-yard blue tees does't compare to playing at from the much longer tournament black tees. (7,218). But if you're able to keep your ball in play by consistently hitting fairways, the hazards make for a fun risk-reward round. Overall, great greens and outstanding scenery.
If there was a drawback to the course, the proximity of the houses along either side of the fairway is too close for comfort. If you're prone to a wild hook or really awful slice from time to time, you could be endangering lives. I did get a rather nice kick off of a roof Monday, and managed not to shatter anything as far as I could tell from the post-shot sounds in the distance.
Moving on to the most miraculous occurance of the afternoon/early evening. When I arrived at the golf course around 1:25 p.m. PST, the white pants I was sporting looked like an extremely poor choice. But after 18 holes of wind, rain and a decent amount of solid shots (substantially higher than I've enjoyed over the past year and a half), my white slacks were almost spotless. A truly impressive achievement.
Before heading to Reno-Tahoe, I purchased the new TaylorMade R9 Fairway Wood and after two days I already love it. Instead of buying the new R9 driver, I opted to go with the 3 wood because it's traditionally been my best club. On a pure hit, it travels just about as far as my Nike Sumo 5900 driver, factoring in the roll due to the lower trajectory. Even at a price of $229, I would recommend it to anyone. I haven't yet experimented with the adjustable settings, but I can only assume they add an extra element of excellence to the club.
Here are some pictures of the round at Dayton Valley. Headed to Edgewood Tahoe tomorrow and the forecast doesn't sound very hosptitable; a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and a gusting wind.
Photos courtesy of Rod Hanna
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