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3.6
289 Reviews (289)
5 Stars
67
4 Stars
100
3 Stars
58
2 Stars
36
1 Stars
28
Conditions
3.2
Value
3.4
Layout
4.2
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
4.3
Amenities
3.5
65.0%
Recommend this course
181 out of 289 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.6
22 Reviews (22)
5 Stars
6
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.0
Value
3.4
Layout
4.4
Pace
4.3
Amenities
3.4
StaffFriendliness
4.3
68.2%
Recommend this course
15 out of 22 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
23 Reviews (23)
5 Stars
7
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.1
Value
3.5
Layout
4.4
Pace
4.3
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.3
69.6%
Recommend this course
16 out of 23 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Resort
Style Links
Par 72
Length 6781 yards
Slope 139
Rating 72.4

Northstar California Golf Course has a unique layout that was seamlessly integrated with the rugged, wooded terrain of Tahoe. The front nine plays through a scenic, rolling valley while the back nine plays through the towering pines of the forest. The first nine holes have a classic links layout and the back nine demands precision with its tree-lined fairways and small greens. Native vegetation and scenic water hazards are scattered throughout the golf course. Strategically placed sand bunkers add another challenging element. The signature hole at Northstar California Golf Course is the par-3 15th, which requires a shot over a creek to a small green.

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Course Details

Year Built 1974
Fairways Blue Grass
Greens Blue Grass
Golf Season May - October
Architect Robert Muir Graves (1974)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $25
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage

Lodging

Lodging Available

Available Activities

Swimming, Billiards
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Reviews

3.6
289 Reviews (289)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Pace of play an issue

Marshal was constantly around yet refused to enforce pace-of-play issues for the foursome ahead of us. A 5 hour round is not acceptable. Staff friendly enough

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Fun & challenging course

The staff were friendly and accommodating, they exceeded expectations as they helped us by putting our clubs on our carts and saw us to the 1st tee.

The course was in good condition as all greens and tees were easily found, with the exception of one holt which we didn't notice the signage. Extremely enjoyable to play the course.

Look forward to returning again. First time playing be sure to have extra sleeve of balls just in case you get wild on tee shots.

We had a great day.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 108
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Georgia Advisor
Top 250 Contributor
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

North Star is very scenic

North Star golf resort is truly an enjoyable expirence. I had a tee time at 4 for a twighlight round. The pro shop was great my only complaint for the day was you didn't get many golf balls in the bucket for the range. The range and putting green was great. The hole front 9 was near the he highway and airport. The courses second nine was in the woods and was a little more scenic because you could see the ski lift at the resort. 18 was a buetifully hole with the creek. Nobody in my group played well but we all enjoyed are round.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Tale of 2 n8nes

Front was open and challenging Some very nice holes Good par 3s on both sides

Back nine is short and tight but fair and rewarding Aim for 150osts from the tees

Try it and you'll like it

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Split Personality - in a good way

What I like about this course is the front nine allows you to get your game together with mostly wide open fairways where you can pretty much "grip it and rip it" and then you go into a back nine that is much more technical and requires significant accuracy.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
First Time Playing
Average weather
Used cart

lots of better courses to choose from

staff was great, both on the phone and in-person.

course is ok - front 9 is in the meadow and it was soft/mushy in most places - had water coming into my shoes in a dozen shots or so, even as dry as it has been up here. Greens were pretty good and the layout of the front 9 is a good play. Yellow Jackets are everywhere and one of our group was bitten/stung - changed the round going forward as we all were hyper-aware of how many there were around us. Back 9 is tight and almost feels like the resort decided they should add 9 more holes, even through the layout wouldn't be that great. Several blind/tight shots that can cost you strokes and frustration even if you hit a good tee shot. Worth a play if you just have to play it, but bring your bug-spray, and hit a lot of irons off the tee on the back 9.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful, fun and challenging!

This was my first time playing this course and I loved it!! It was like playing 2 different courses in one round. The front nine is played in a meadow setting and the back nine is a mountain course. Both have spectacular views. The starter was very helpful in providing many tips to playing the course. The scorecard also has great tips for each hole, all of which came in very handy. The cart girl was very attentive and very pleasant. The pro shop staff were also very friendly and helpful and so were the golf cart attendants and bartender. Overall this was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to come back and play again. *****

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fun to play!

Two different Nines. Front 9 is open with great scoring opportunities, back is target golf in the pines. Played to rounds, had a lot of fun. Great staff!

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Beautiful Scenery

Front 9 was pretty open with wide fairways. Back 9 was more challenging with more narrow fairways and more target golf shots. Course was in good shape with very fast greens.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

The Tale of 2 Nines

The front nine is in the valley and relatively straightforward. The back nine on the other hand is in the mountains. It is very beautiful, but quite difficult. If you have not played here, pay attention to the scorecard which gives a nice description of each hole's layout. It is a shot makers paradise and a lot of fun.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 12
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course and great staff

Staff was super friendly. Had issue with my GolfNow reservation being not acknowledged by the course, so I showed up with no tee time, but they squeezed me in anyway and gave me a discount to boot. As far as the course, the second 9 was very difficult compared to the first due to much more rugged terrain. I played terribly, but not because of course conditions. I would recommend this course and hope to get a chance to play it again.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Back 9 is great

Back 9 is beautiful and fun to play, but, local knowledge is required.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Disappointed

Unfortunately we were treated like Interlopers. Booking on GolfNow tagged us has something other than Preferred Guests. We were told for an additional fee we could go out at a more 'preferred' time, so the Tee Box at the beginning stood open for about an hour --- a completely ridiculous response by the golf course to the good deal we got through golf now. Back nine is a very cool layout while front is barely average, so, overall a worthwhile round in spite of the silly management trick thet tried to pull on us.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/20/2016

Golf rates change depending on time of day. The customer purchased a discounted round, then wanted to go out earlier, in a more expensive tee time period. They were given the option of paying $10 more to tee off early. The real price difference should have been much more. Hardly a trick, as we tried to give the customer a chance to tee off well before their "deal" tee time.

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a year
I Recommend This Course
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Very challenging, but enjoyable

Staff was friendly & helpful. A tale of two courses. Front nine was wide open & rather warm; back nine narrow had to lay up but was cooler. Good thing we had a 89 year old man who play the course 3 xs a week , was a great help to how the holes played

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Poor
Pace Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/29/2016

I didn't rate the course, layout, or anything else but excellent. There was not a place for s response like "did I apply". I gave those course an excellent rating

Played On
Reviews 12
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Greatcourse

Beautiful views easier front 9 and challenging back 9 holes. It helps to read the tips when you play.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 34
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Wonderful!

This is the second time we've played Northstar. We really enjoy this course. The facilities are immaculate. The carts are top-notch electric carts. They have an extremely friendly starter (Jim) who makes sure that golfers know the layout of the course and that pace of play is strictly enforced. We saw several rangers during the course of the day who were making sure that golfers were keeping pace. This was great as we played as a twosome and didn't have to worry about slow play holding us up. There were quite a few comfort stations on the course, so that wasn't an issue. Also, they had a beverage cart on the course and we saw her frequently. This is a a great course to play and we highly recommend it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Great setting, okay course.

This course is like two different 9 hole courses, which I didn't care for. Some course design issues in my opinion. You should have a well struck and well placed tee shot bounding out of bounds off mounds and strangely angled fairways. This happened on several occasions. Greens were very slow and course was maintained to the level you would expect to find on the local muni. The staff was nice.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 06/18/2016

The course has a unique layout, which many people enjoy. A well placed tee shot by a 5 handicapper will not go out of bounds. In fact, the course has no out of bounds, just laterals. We give specific guidelines to playing the course, so players can choose the correct line and distance off of the tee. Best value in Tahoe.

Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Fantastic course

It is such a amazing and beautiful course. It was the first time, but I could play well because the direction on the score card was very detail. I wanted to go play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Great time, but slow!

This is the second time playing the Northstar Course for me, and I found it better this time around. It is in surprisingly good condition considering how early it is in the season, and the rough made you pay for errant tee shots! It stacked up quite a bit on the back nine, which is the only complaint I have.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Northstar Sep 25, 2015 golf

enjoyable afternoon of golf for my wife and myself. Played as a twosome and had a great time. Very friendly staff. A good, challenging golf course that is very playable and designed well to be fun, scenic and a memorable experience worth the value.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
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