CARSON CITY, Nev. – On Saturday, August 17, more than 100 members of Clear Creek Tahoe gathered at the Clubhouse Lounge to celebrate the private residential community’s 15^th anniversary. To commemorate Clear Creek Tahoe’s milestone, renowned golf course designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw gave a Q&A presentation sharing stories and recollections of when they built the course that has been called one of the best places to play golf in the country by Golf Digest.  

When Coore and Crenshaw designed Clear Creek Tahoe course, they worked with the natural contours of the land, removing little earth. Undulating greens, strategically placed bunkers, and dramatic mountain views are part of their minimalist philosophy as they created a course that appeals to Clear Creek’s wide membership base while providing a bit of challenge.  

Before the Q&A began, a Clear Creek Tahoe member shared that her and her husband have lived in Glenbrook since 2005 but bought a lot in Clear Creek in 2021 so that they could have access to the course. They go to Clear Creek Tahoe pretty much every day to enjoy the fine amenities that the 2,136-acre private residential community provides.  

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Coore & Crenshaw have created about 130 original golf course designs as well as performed a handful of renovations.  

“It’s been at least five years since we’ve been here and this is maybe the prettiest golf course we ever built,” Coore and Crenshaw said.  

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“It took a lot of people and a lot of faith in us to build this. Everyone loves a green, green course but the colors here—the golden, silver, browns– on the outskirts of the course are the things that appeal to us in a natural way. We let the land speak for itself. We’re privileged to be here and work with extraordinary owners. Just going around today and looking at the visual composition and how it brings out the natural landscape…God, this place is pretty. We’ve strived for many years to build golf courses that complement the sites that they’re on,” said Coore.  

“Bill can assess holes like no other and link them together. We like it when nature bleeds into the play area,” added Crenshaw. 

“My favorite time to play is in the afternoon when the long shadows come, when those golden colors come out,” adds Clear Creek Tahoe Director of Golf Brandon Miller.  

Coore then shared his first impressions of the property where they built the course. 

“The first time I came up here with Chip [Hanly] and Jim [Taylor]…they wanted to drive me all the way to the lake. I thought, ‘This is beautiful, but where’s the golf course?’ Then we drove up Highway 50 [towards Carson City] and down a side road that had not been improved at the time and thought, ‘Why am I here?’ We turned the corned and I saw a little meadow and thought it’d be nice for a par-3 hole. They dropped me off here and when I got out and started walking, I envisioned how holes could be connected.” 

“Was Hole 3 the fumble point? With the 10-second hang time from the back tees there?” Miller asks.  

Clear Creek Tahoe’s Hole 3 takes players from the highest point on the course to the lowest point—a 200-ft. drop—with a ditch running across the fairway and a cluster of bunkers right in front of the hole.  

“Hole 1 is calm, Hole 2 is pretty, and then where do you go? We certainly weren’t going to play Hole 3 backwards. We had to go downhill from there,” Coore said.  

“Undulation is the soul of the game. That drop in 3 is the most we’ll entertain,” said Crenshaw.  

When the panel moved into a Q&A format, one member made the comment to the crowd, “When I spent a lot of time here, I thought, there’s no question, these guys are as good as they come.” 

“I’ve been working with Ben for 40 years, we’re like an old married couple,” Coore chuckled. He explained that they like to think about how the very best players play and have an influence in designing the details of a course. 

One person asked, “Golf has a steep learning curve; what were some of the hurdles building this one?” 

Crenshaw talked about playing a similar style course on the East Coast that had granite rocks and little cliffs as part of its design and saw how it “didn’t bother anyone.”  

“What about bunker on 5th green? I’m pretty sure you have a picture of me in that,” another member prodded, sharing that it was his most challenging hole.  

“Everyone can play, but you have to give them the space to play,” Crenshaw commented. After pausing a moment, he added, “And you have to give them hope.” 

Laughter erupted in the crowd.  

“But that’s a dastardly little bunker,” he said.  

“James Duncan hit his tee shot in that bunker,” Coore said.  

Miller asked Coore and Crenshaw what their favorite holes were at Clear Creek Tahoe, and Crenshaw said he likes the 14^th. “It’s a cute hole, you can play any club off the tee, it’s not overbearing. And the approach to the 18^th hole is nice, too. You cannot see views like that anywhere else, it’s spectacular.” 

One member asked if there was any green the partners would recontour, and after pausing for a moment, Coore answered, “Hole 6…9…I don’t ever say we get everything right the first time but if there was a chance to make a few [holes] more compatible and user-friendly then we would take that opportunity. “But I don’t have any recollection of anything we wanted to do that we were not allowed to.”  

“Every hole has individuality,” Crenshaw adds. The partners then raffled off two signed copies of the course design.  

After the presentation, the member who lives in Glenbrook said that her favorite hole is 13 because it’s the most picturesque, and that 3 mentally challenges her the most. Another member drove from Kings Beach with his son to attend the event and admitted, “I’m kind of a golf architect nerd and joined here a few years ago because these guys are the best of the best.”  

For more information about Clear Creek Tahoe, visit clearcreektahoe.com.