Nakoma Golf Resort - Dragon Course

This is one of the better public courses in all of California. If you are in the area it is worth the trip, and by area I mean anywhere from Tahoe to Reno. It's a beautiful drive from those places, so you won't notice the time. The green fees are a little steep, but they have some golfnow deals every day. So the story goes it was originally designed to be as hard as possible, and has since been tamed a bit to be more playable. I'm a scratch golfer and played from the tips, and certainly didn't find it impossible. Mainly you need to be straight off the tee, or bring a lot of balls. There are a handful of holes they haven't made "more playable" yet, and I actually found those the most interesting. They tend to have humped greens so your approach, or even your putt, could roll right off if not hit exactly right. No matter the difficulty level, it's just a beautiful place - as nice or better than any of those expensive Tahoe-area courses. The clubhouse is a work of art (a Frank Lloyd Wright design). It has a nice range (balls included). It's just the quintessential mountain course, well worth an hour-plus drive. I bet conditions vary based on weather, Spring recovery from snows, etc., but when I was there in mid-July it was excellent. Your pace of play will be whatever speed you want to go, as the place is uncrowded to the extreme. There were 5 players on the entire course in the early morning when I teed off.

Absolutely FANTASTIC!!! Every hole is just simply AMAZING. Not like any other course in the whole Northern State..... Better bring your A game because the dragon isn't forgiving. Bought a hot deal and was the only one on my card with NOBODY in front of me. Needless to say the pace of play was no issue. Finished in less than 3 hours. Will DEFINITELY be back playing early here again!!! Do YOURSELF A FAVOR and go check out the Dragon!!!! You will NOT regret it.

Great course, greens need a couple weeks to get really good. Mountain golf at it's finest. Tips for play on the scorecard were very helpful as some tee shots are deceiving. Not easy to get to, but well worth the effort.

First time , but young lady who check us in was not have friendly service. Actually lousy service.

First time at the Dragon since COVID.

Overall, course is in pretty good shape.

Greens were slow and a bit spongey, but for a mountain course in May, you have to expect some of that.

If you are playing the Dragon for the first time, buy the guidebook, and use a GPS system like Swing U or similar. Playing this course without those aids is just asking for trouble.

Views and tee shots are spectacular. Course is in pretty solid condition for the value. Very hard course…+15 on top of my handicap.

IMHO hands down the best kept secret in the area. best conditoned course as well i hope to be back for a third time soon.

Only issue I had was a couple of holes needed better

Directional signage. That is it. Awesome course extremely friendly staff....

Had not played here in a year and half. Course was in pretty good shape. Bunkers were manicured, greens were decent however a tad slow, but overall pretty good. Course was very wet in some areas and a few times had to move ball where there was water in the fairway. I am glad this course is making its way back. As always the views are spectacular. Playing as a single other foursomes were very courteous and let me play through.

I’ve played grizzly ranch and now the dragon at Nakoma. Both of these courses are immaculate pro level courses and just gorgeous. Everything is perfectly groomed, and every hole is breathtaking. Definetly a must play. The staff was excellent as well, will try to come back whenever im in the area.

A buddy and I played the Dragon and we walked away perplexed. The fee was $100, but it played more like $45. The carts were old and damaged. Our battery ran out on the 16 tee box. The seats were worn and flat. The tee boxes and greens need maintenance. Lots of sand on the greens due to wear/tear. Fairways were in decent shape. The clubhouse/bar area was nice but I’ll equipped. No cart girl. All the said, the scenery was fantastic. Plenty of elevation changes. Could use more markers for first time players. I would go back if it were less expensive and maintenance was kept up.

This course offers a great challenge to even the lowest handicappers.

Beautiful and challenging course, not for the casual player who's just out to hit some balls. It is still recovering from some disease and\or winter kill problems but is getting pretty far along in that recovery.

Great time.