Somersett Golf and Country Club – Championship
The long journey in the creation of Somersett Golf and Country Club started with Blake Smith’s vision. As a developer, he saw that the rugged hills of the western part of Reno can be a master planned golf community where 3,300 homes will be built. This became reality as the community nestled at Sierra Nevada mountain range’s base in 1991.
Blake thought that a center piece is needed in the community which made him decide to commission Tom Kite to design a golf course. In May 2002, the architectural design team of KBR began to set up markers and outline where the tee boxes should be placed as well as the greens, fairways and hazards. The high desert landscape is above 5,000 feet which is known to be a Tom Kite Signature Championship Golf Course. KBR is a Tom Kite company with two other designers, Randy Russell and Roy Bechtol who helped in the creation of the course.
The course is 400 foot wide golf envelope which golfers can expect a plenty room to play. The greens passed the USGA guidelines that ensure a true ball roll on every putt bringing a perfect play condition. The course is well-designed despite its elevation changes as the designers of the course were hands-on in the process.
After two years from the time the course design was planned, the first nine holes course was opened as a private course. It was Tom Kite who played its inaugural round. A year after, the second nine holes opened.
The par 72 golf course has a yardage of 7, 252 from the championship tees with a course rating of 74.5 and slope rating of 142. It has 62 sand bunkers and seven lakes as its water hazards. The signature hole of the course is Hole #14, also called Figure 8. Par is the score you would want to achieve in this hole. For most, this is a three-shot Par 5. Although it is a large green, you must pay attention in its slopes. A water hazard cuts the fairway at 125 yards and playing the second shot at the 150 mark will avoid the hazard. The breathtaking view of the community is located at Hole #10, Moguls.
The course offers practice and learning facilities including a full length driving range, chipping green with multiple bankers and putting green.
