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Venture into Sierra golf

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Guests from publications like Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times and Golf Digest have had a chance to play complete rounds at nearly two dozen courses, teeing-off in the morning at Nicklaus' Old Greenwood on the edge of Truckee, Calif., and playing in the afternoon in Reno at Jones Sr.'s LakeRidge with its signature island green. Or playing Irwin's The Resort at Red Hawk in neighboring Sparks at daybreak and Fazio's Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course at South Lake Tahoe as the sun sets over the Sierra.

The recent wildfire that burned thousands of acres on the south end of Lake Tahoe was, at the end of June, several miles from the nearest golf course in the group — Edgewood-Tahoe at Stateline, Nev., just across the Nevada-California line.

Phil Weidinger, a Tahoe-area public relations man in charge of local publicity for NBC Sports' American Century Celebrity Golf Championship held annually at Edgewood, remembers approaching the Nevada Commission on Tourism with the idea of the media tour to promote the cooperatives.

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Weidinger said the tour has generated exposure to more than 48 million people.

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The approach was appealing, in part, because Tahoe-area ski resorts had enjoyed success with a similar joint effort, according to Lynn Saunders, now the president and CEO of the Donner-Truckee Chamber of Commerce, who was marketing manager of the tourism commission at the time.

"It's helped get people to realize this is a great golf destination," said Debbie Casey, general manager of Tahoe Mountain Resorts, an affiliate of the Colorado-based East West Partners, which owns the two courses.

While golfing is year-round in the valleys around Carson City and Reno, there is often snow December-May at the higher elevations. So this is peak season for playing at the courses on top of the mountain range at Lake Tahoe and Truckee - like Squaw Valley, Old Greenwood and Grays Crossing.

"We have a short season, but it's a great one," said Casey.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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