Editor’s Note — The Sparks Tribune is featuring a weekly golf page throughout the summer. It will appear in Thursday editions. The golf page will take a closer look at a course in the area, likely Sparks-Reno-Carson City.

Our aim is to give our readers a fun, light-hearted overview of the course from the vantage point of an ‘average’ golfer. Our ‘average’ golfer is Steve Mikkelson. Steve is the Race and Sportsbook Manager at the Atlantis Casino-Resort.

Rosewood Lakes Golf Course is located on the East side of Reno near Hidden Valley. I have played Rosewood Lakes a few times in the past and was looking forward to playing the course once again, this time paying more attention to what I was actually doing. I remember the course was a challenging course with wetlands that surround every hole. The course offers four sets of tees to accommodate all levels of playing ability (Blue, White, Gold and Red). The recommended tee box for the average golfer is White.

The course starts off with a 330-yard par 4. The fairway is fairly narrow, with water if you hit your ball long and to the left side. You will want to hit your tee shot to the center/right side of the fairway. The second shot is to a generous green, protected by a bunker guarding the left side of the green.

Hole 6 is a 506-yard par 5. It is the number three handicap hole on the course. The tee shot is a risk/reward shot as there is water at 195 yards out. The only option to get to the green in two is to carry the water on your tee shot. The safe tee shot is to hit your ball just short of the water. Your second shot is hit into a fairly open fairway, hoping to hit your shot between 100-150 yards out to set up a nice approach shot into the generous green. The green is protected by a huge bunker through the fairway from about 50 yards out, making the second shot another risk/reward shot for big hitters attempting to go for the green in two. The green also slopes back to front, and is protected by a bunker on the right side, with water long and right. To score on this hole, you will want to keep your approach shot below the pin.

Hole 8 is the signature hole on the course. It is a 366-yard par 4, and is the number one handicap hole on the course. There is water off the tee box to the left, with water running down the right side of the fairway up to the green, on this dogleg right. The fairway is narrow, so you will want to hit your tee shot out between the 150 yard markers, setting up a nice approach shot to the green. Your second shot is onto an elevated green with water running up the right side of the fairway, and more water on the far left. The fairway narrows in front of the green, so make sure on your approach shot you hit enough club, as you do not want to be short. The green is generous in size, and is protected by a bunker on the front left side.

Hole 11 is a 482-yard par 5, slight dogleg right. On this a hole, you will want to hit your driver, as the fairway is fairly open, but still requires an accurate shot. The tee shot is also over 180-200 yards of rough before you reach the fairway. Your second shot is a risk/reward shot if you attempt to go for the green. The green is protected by a long bunker that comes into play on your second shot. You will have to carry this bunker which runs from about 75 yards out up to the green. The safe second shot is to lay up to about 100 yards out, setting up a nice approach shot into the green.

Hole 16 is a 502-yard par 5, and is the number two handicap hole on the course. The tee box is surrounded by wetlands, so you need to make sure you are able to get off the tee. The fairway is fairly open, with wetlands coming into play if you hit your tee shot too far left and long. Your second shot is to a decent size fairway. If you miss on this fairway, make sure you miss to the right, as the left side is wetlands. The green is another generous green that slopes from back to front, so make sure your approach shot is below the hole. The green is protected by a bunker on the front left side. Going long can be trouble, as it slopes down off the backside of the green into wetlands.

On this day, I played from the White tees. I was informed by the staff prior to playing the course to make sure to keep the ball safe and in play, as the course has 62 acres of wetlands. Pick an aiming spot and hit your ball towards that spot. Fairways are fairly narrow, requiring accurate shots both off the tees and from the fairways. I highly recommend you keep your driver in your bag if you are not able to hit your tee shots straight. Greens are on the generous side, with very little obstacles protecting them. Due to the surrounding wetlands, the course forces you to play it safe and leave your driver in your bag, allowing you to use all of your irons in the bag.

Rosewood Lakes Golf Course is a nice course set in the wetlands. The designer did a great job in laying the course out through all of the wetlands, requiring accurate, yet rewarding shot-making. The greens were generous and in great shape. What I liked most about this course was the challenging, yet rewarding nature of the course, in addition to its beauty of the surrounding wetlands. Rosewood Lakes offers a fair but challenging course that all levels of golfers will enjoy.

Next Week’s feature course is Old Brockway, located in Kings Beach, CA

If you would like us to feature a course, please send your recommendation to smikkelson@

dailysparkstribune.com