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No water or ball washers to be found ANYWHERE on the course. It's bad enough that though all the snow's been gone now for 8 weeks, they've only repaired ONE of the badly-damaged greens. (And even that repair, on 16, has suffered because the new surface has completely dried out. That raging river cruising through the course doesn't suggest there's water for you to use?) Strange how the greens are all dry, dead, and mostly-bare ... but the bunkers are wet and heavy.

Summer's here, guys -- GET YOUR ACT IN GEAR!

This year, Tahoe Paradise has undertaken a policy that can best be expressed as "Super Cheapness". I'm not referring to their greens fees. I referring to the fact that, even on an EMPTY course, they won't let you start ahead of your tee time, because there MIGHT be another player who books that time, and the Course can ensure that you share a cart. God forbid two players use two carts.
In my case, I was told that, even though I booked a cart, I would have to wait until my tee time, until it's 100% certain nobody else booked for that time. Otherwise, I could start early, if I walked the course, or paid a SECOND CART FEE. Nobody else booked that time (shocker!). The course was virtually empty this day.
But that wasn't even the worst of it -- AFTER I finished playing the front 9, I was told I'd have to WALK THE BACK NINE if I wanted to play it, or I could replay the front nine (due to mud on a couple of holes, staff told me). Though I didn't come prepared to walk, as I had *booked a cart*, that didn't even matter, as they didn't have and serviceable pullcarts. But, HECK, if they had told me this at the outset, I'd have driven home, retrieved my own pullcart, played all 18 holes, and not had wait an hour until my official tee time.
This was a disaster -- and it was 100% due to the staff.

OK ... first ... what the heck is with the $1 fee to check in ?!???
I've already paid for the round and the card, so WTH?

Aside, it's a course that's got a number of differently-challenging holes. Some requiring target practice to the green. Some blind hills and curves. Some obstacles (like big trees or mid-fairway bunkers). Some holes that are in hill-created wind channels, that you might not suspect from ground-level. I'd definitely play again, even though the initial annoyance of being asked for more money upon check-in is quite distasteful, and the fairways seem to need a great deal of re-seeding in places.

I do actually like this course. But that's despite all the following:
1. Front 9 closed for the season. Play back-9 twice for 18. Course didn't disclose this on GolfNow, so there was no reasonable way to know this at time of booking.
2. Tee boxes on 5/14 and 9/18 are so hard, one cannot hammer a tee into the ground. Sparks fly as one's driver brushes the surface.
3. Cart paths need serious help -- mostly dirt, rutted, and bumpy.
4. Greens were quite variable -- some super-slow. Some reasonably fast.

Though I was really looking forward to playing a couple holes on the Front Nine, meaning that I was quite disappointed at the surprise of having only the Back Nine available or play, it was still a fun round, on a day that was surprisingly mild.
I do like this course ... mostly because it can't be beaten in the area for the price.

Oh, what this course *could* be! But it's not. Very nice layout. Lots of elevation change. But low-end-muni course management: Some fairways sopping wet mud, others bone dry hardscrabble. Pedestrians everywhere (because it's incorporated with scenic pathways). Minimal parking. Greens fee for residents is $27 -- BUT SO IS CART RENTAL!!! If you're walking, you have better be in good physical an aerobic shape. I *am*, and my knees were still worn out at the end. As with most muni courses, no marshals, and poor scheduling. (We were backed-up behind three twosomes, and had a fivesome constantly hitting into us.) Animal holes on greens (especially on #3). Weeds, too. DON'T USE A YELLOW BALL, because you'll never find it on some fairways, amidst the dandelion flowers.
Hole #9 is a killer.