Played 8/29/20 early out. "The Dragon" is this courses surname. This day the area was smoky from wild fires with a weather service warning until noon. The surrounding mountains obscured at times fro... Continue »

Played 8/29/20 early out. "The Dragon" is this courses surname. This day the area was smoky from wild fires with a weather service warning until noon. The surrounding mountains obscured at times from views on and otherwise cloudless warm day temps from 50's - 90's.
In it's early days the course was billed as a tough track that would attempt to plunder your golf balls and humble you with slick putting surfaces. Some of that snarl has been softened. I miss the fast greens.
Haven't visited in a few years and found it surprising I have never reviewed on GK.
I would say that the greens are the biggest difference as they are slower than prior days on purpose and they have some brown spots in most of them but are smooth and roll well. Very wet in front of most greens and shots stuck well when the surface when hit with any club with height. Fairways wet in some areas dry in others. Rough thick enough to help stop errant shots heading for the junk.
Covid restrictions in place on property. Customer service was excellent.
Interesting Franklin Lloyd Wright clubhouse design and over the years the resort has built out their other facilities. A definite destination resort with much to do besides golf too.
This and rudyclub 7/24 review you now "know before you go."
Overall recommend and it's price point is a good value IMO for the area.

Played 7-24-20 10 am Play 4.75 hrs.
Course was in over all Fair to good shape. Fairways were mostly in good and even great shape. Some very soggy mushy areas and some dry burnt areas
mixed through... Continue »

Played 7-24-20 10 am Play 4.75 hrs.
Course was in over all Fair to good shape. Fairways were mostly in good and even great shape. Some very soggy mushy areas and some dry burnt areas
mixed through out. Most of the time found good to great lies. Mountain course so rough was a mixture of tall grass or wooded areas. Most Fairways had decent landing areas, but if you strayed too far in either direction there is plenty of trouble. Bunkers decent and predictable, but sadly the greens had many issues.
The good areas were just fine, but many sick and dead areas on almost every green. The good parts were a little bumpy and looked slow, but ran quicker then they looked. The course is still playable and worth a day, but on the rough side. The layout is fun in my opinion. There are a couple of difficult hole designs that can be frustrating, but mostly just challenging and fun. I enjoy the routing as it takes you through the forest with only a few homes around at this time. Good mixture of short hole with a couple veery long mountain holes. Small driving range area but a fantastic after round drink area. Even with the less then great conditions still a fun day to be had if you can enjoy golf in beautiful mountain settings.

This was round 2 on Monday and it's been a long time coming. I've been wanting to play "The Dragon" for so many years, even though I knew it isn't now what it once was in terms of challenge and condit... Continue »

This was round 2 on Monday and it's been a long time coming. I've been wanting to play "The Dragon" for so many years, even though I knew it isn't now what it once was in terms of challenge and conditions. Still, with the great GolfMoose deal, it was finally time to get to Nakoma on this trip. We had a 10:20 tee time, but arrived closer to 9:30. There was a shotgun on the front nine at that time, but the pro shop lady was super cool about squeezing us in right away and starting us on the back. We played through a couple groups along the way and ultimately caught up with the shotgun groups for much of the back nine. Nonetheless, it was another good pace at under 3 hours. The conditions were definitely a little scruffy around the edges as this is no longer a pristine resort course. You might say The Dragon is a bit "scaly" these days. Overall, it was still fine with decent tee boxes, fairways that were usually more good than bad, and decent rough. Just some patchiness, thin spots, lumpiness and inconsistencies throughout to make it less nice than you'd like it to be given the setting. Also, they water a lot here so there were a number of super mushy spots (especially on the back nine). The greens were playing well, firm and rolling a medium speeds. Bunkers also kind of inconsistent. Some better than others. As much as I enjoyed the roller coaster of a layout here, I do wish I had played it back in they day before they removed a lot of bunkers and "softened" it up. It is still a very demanding layout with lots of hills and undulations in play. Target layout, though can also play extremely long if you play the big boy tees. Greens are on the small side and they are very undulated/tough to read, so they still provide plenty of challenge. Really fun and dramatic course with some incredible scenery. Even being softened up, it may still be too tricked out for some to enjoy. Either way, I'd love to see this place redo the turf and get back to a more high-end presentation. It could be something special again.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. It’s a little pricy at $115, but it’s worth it. The course layout is in the hills outside of portola in the sierras, a beautiful venue. They call it the dra... Continue »

The staff was very friendly and helpful. It’s a little pricy at $115, but it’s worth it. The course layout is in the hills outside of portola in the sierras, a beautiful venue. They call it the dragon and it fits. From the first tee to the 18th green it takes every bit of concentration as you use every club in your bag. There is not a level spot in any fairway. There is also an over abundance of bunkers. A high handicapper should bring plenty of ammunition, I lost 3 balls, two on the last two holes. Having said all that I must say that it’s a very fair golf course, it provides plenty of bailout areas. The greens undulating and difficult to read. They were moderately fast and tough. Even with all of that it was a very enjoyable 3.5 hr round.

Played 7/18/16 9:am POP 4 hrs. $100 Course was in over all very good condition. Fairway's mostly green & lush. Some areas a little too lush ( very wet) and a few areas a little dry. Good lies & good ... Continue »

Played 7/18/16 9:am POP 4 hrs. $100 Course was in over all very good condition. Fairway's mostly green & lush. Some areas a little too lush ( very wet) and a few areas a little dry. Good lies & good roll. With the tilt of some of the fairway's the roll can be an issue. Greens were in over all fair shape. Receptive and pretty fast. Problem was many had some disease or fungus issues that caused patchy areas mixed in on many of the greens. Mostly did not cause too many putting issues unless you were unfortunate to have them between your ball and the hole. The good parts of greens were in pretty good shape ! Many bunkers in play and were in good shape along with the T boxs. A fun & typical mountain course to play. Knowledge of where NOT to hit shots can be very helpful. There are some undulations on a couple of the greens, but most have a strong tilt in one direction and putting down hill in those directions was tricky. Had one 15' down hill put that I hit as if it was a 3 footer and it just trickled past the cup on the high side and then rolled another 15' off the green. Almost impossible to get it to stop anywhere near the hole. Lots of elevated T shots and a very beautiful course with some tricky holes. The wind can really blow out here and was told it often does in the afternoon. Which can REALLY make this course a challenge to play Very unique club house with very good food. We pretty much had the course to ourselves on this Monday Morning.

What a great golf experience. Lush fairways and rough. Love the layout which was challenging enough but not overwhelming. Quiet and peaceful and the way golf should be. My only complaint are the gr... Continue »

What a great golf experience. Lush fairways and rough. Love the layout which was challenging enough but not overwhelming. Quiet and peaceful and the way golf should be. My only complaint are the greens way to firm fast and roll off like a PGA Tour course. Would help to at least soften them up to make it fair with the impossible speed and roll off.

Nakoma is one of those courses that annoys anyone with a sense of what golf course design should be about. The course is blessed with a site that is unparalleled in terms of views and sweeping elevati... Continue »

Nakoma is one of those courses that annoys anyone with a sense of what golf course design should be about. The course is blessed with a site that is unparalleled in terms of views and sweeping elevation changes. But while the routing is solid enough, the design goes too far in attempting to be a "championship" course. Designed to frustrate even the best of players, Nakoma is filled with uneven lies, fairways that are impossible to hold, greens too firm to hit in regulation, and greens that break so severely that even the most prudent of putts can end up some 40 feet beyond the hole.

With a (second) renovation of Robin Nelson's design, Nakoma could be a true destination course in the remote Northern California region that is trying desperately to brand itself as a golf destination. Just as is the case with the Graeagle region as a whole, Nakoma is so close to being good and yet so far from enjoyable at the same time.

Course itself is in fantastic shape. Fairways and tee boxes are immaculate. Course layout is way too punitive for the average golfer. With a 20 handicap, I feel like I was beat up for 4 hours. Fai... Continue »

Course itself is in fantastic shape. Fairways and tee boxes are immaculate. Course layout is way too punitive for the average golfer. With a 20 handicap, I feel like I was beat up for 4 hours. Fairways are severely sloped with anything rolling off unplayable or lost.

Greens hold no shots at all as they are either very small, firm, or sloped like crazy. Two putting on every green is a challenge with the many undulations. I hit shots long down the middle of the fairway that were lost as they rolled to "who knows where" when they went over a hill (too many blind shots).

Customer service was fantastic and the clubhouse is first rate. Unfortunately, I won't be back in less the ease up on the difficulty a bit. They need to do a few things: (A) lose a few sand traps- the course is hard enough as it is with the elevation changes. (B) Slope the edges of the fairways so as many shots don't run into no man's land as they do. (C) Re-grade some of the greens (or slow them a little) so they aren't so punitive.

Just my $.02!

Nakoma Golf Resort Review
Northern California Golf Course Reviews

golf course was shut down for 2 years.worth the $60. to play
not a grip & rip course lots of lay ups with trouble... fun to play

golf course was shut down for 2 years.worth the $60. to play
not a grip & rip course lots of lay ups with trouble... fun to play