With all the daylight this time of year it wasn’t difficult to squeeze in a replay on the Comanche Lakes course, even after starting my first round at 2:00 P.M! Things were quiet and I got out right away on the Lakes after paying the $33 replay rate.

I cruised through the 1st hole but ran into a threesome on the 2nd. They were thoughtful, letting me play through on the 3rd, and after that group I didn’t see any other golfers. My replay took only a little over two hours, which was pretty sweet!

Comanche Lakes is the newer course at Squaw Valley, opening in 2001. I believe John Colligan gets the credit for the design of the Lakes. I looked him up and it seems he has done some other work locally.

As the course’s name indicates the Lakes has plenty of water as its defining feature. The course has seven holes which border two different lakes and those holes have a wetlands feel to them. These holes circle a lake and you get some nice views across the water at the opposite holes. The parallel I drew was something that might be found on the RTJ Golf Trail in Alabama or even at Florida course.

The remaining holes (except for the 11th which is also a water hole) have a nice look as they are lined by mature trees. The 18th is probably the best of the wooded holes because the trees there allow for some strategy. I thought it was a great golf hole!

The 18th is a short par-5 (509 from the tips) that doglegs right. You can try to cut the dogleg but if you don’t hit it far enough then you’ll have to hit a low slice around a couple trees that guard the dogleg. If you play from the left side of the fairway then another tree guards the layup!

I mentioned the 11th and that is a long par-3 that is very similiar to the 14th on the Links. The 11th crosses Squaw Creek just like the 14th on the Links and has a similar angle. I’d say the right half of the green is the best target because there is a massive spine on the left that separates the front left section of the green. My tee shot ended up on that shelf and I had no way to lag my putt inside ten feet.

I played the blue tee which are 72.0/124/6633 and you’ll notice that the Lakes should be a little easier than the Links. I guess I’m the exception but I found the Lakes more difficult! The course won’t beat you up too bad as the fairways are large but the water scared me on some holes and I found the greens on the Lakes to be more challenging to putt.

The conditions on the Lakes were good as well, but seemed a step below the Links. The bunkers on the Lakes need to be redone bad! I ended up in two bunkers and one lie was in thin dirt/sand and the other was in caked mud.

The tees and fairways were nice and so were the greens. The greens on the Lakes were aerated more recently than the Links so they have a little more time still to fully recover.

My preference is the Links at Squaw Valley but the Lakes is a good course too and worth playing if you are in the area. Better yet, make it a 36 hole day here like I did and you won’t regret it!

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):