Whitehawk Ranch is considered the cream of the crop in the Graeagle region. The high-end track is loaded with picturesque holes and even some that involve a bit of solid strategic design. But for every good hole there are too mediocre and even somewhat boring holes.

Numbers 1-3 and 10-12 play to the northwest of the clubhouse, away from the ponderosa pines and into a non-descript meadow that is also home to the driving range. While not blessed with the land given to the other 12 holes at Whitehawk, these 6 do nothing architectural to even attempt bridging the gap. The result is that the course fails to keep the attention of those players who cannot stand the boredom that accompanies a mediocre golf hole.

If Whitehawk were conveniently located or well-priced, I would gladly be a regular player if for no other reason than the enjoyability of the tree-line holes that finish out each side. But given the difficulty of reaching the course and the relatively expensive sticker price, Whitehawk is nothing I would be racing to return to.

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.