A long-running PGA Tour event returns to Truckee’s scenic Old Greenwood Golf Course

Everybody wants to feel like a hero. And one of the places where that’s possible is Old Greenwood Golf Course, part of the Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee. Because the course is situated at nearly 6,000 feet in elevation, making it one of the highest on the PGA circuit, a typical shot with any iron or wood, whether it’s off the tee or mid-fairway, can travel 10 percent farther than a normal shot. 

As Ian Winters, head golf professional at Tahoe Mountain Club, says, “This course makes everybody feel like a hero.”

Indeed, while there are no safeguards against hitting a slice or hook, here, everyone is at least guaranteed a boost in distance. Even for those who don’t golf, simply being at Old Greenwood gives a sense of reaching a heroic destination—a sublime combination of efforts by man and Mother Nature. 

The course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and completed in 2004, is the setting for the 27^th annual Barracuda Championship, set to return July 14–20. This year marks the tournament’s sixth at Old Greenwood, with Barracuda sponsoring the event for the past 12 years (it was previously held at Montreux Golf and Country Club in Reno from 1999–2019).  

Picture-Perfect 

Not only is the Barracuda Championship the highest stop on the PGA Tour, but the Old Greenwood course—voted “Best Golf Course” on the North Shore in TQ’s 2025 Best of Tahoe Readers’ Poll—also stands out as one of the most beautiful on the circuit, with mountains scrolling across the horizon from every hole. It’s not uncommon to see golfers lost in reverie at a tee, pausing to admire the setting before driving. 

A participant tees off in last year’s Pro Am event, photo courtesy Tahoe Mountain Club

“Because this course is located in Truckee, it is considered one of the most exotic locations for the PGA Tour,” says Joe Valente, Tahoe Mountain Club’s director of grounds and agronomy. “This is a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, and it is not only challenging, but in terms of aesthetics, it’s one of the most striking. 

“And it looks incredible on TV,” he adds. “It’s photogenic.” 

When watching the Barracuda Championship on the small screen or, ideally, live and in person as a spectator, the whole of the surrounding region comes into play. 

“From hole to hole, the course is constantly distinctive,” says Chris Hoff, tournament director of the Barracuda event. “You’ve got a number of holes whose backdrop is Northstar ski resort. But everywhere you look, you’ve got beautiful mountains in the background. And one of the great things about this locale is that while it can be 100 or 105 degrees down in Reno, the moment you get up to Truckee, the temperature can drop to the low 90s, and with no humidity.”  

Given that the tournament is telecast on the Golf Channel, Hoff says more than 2 billion households worldwide have access to watching.

Prepping for Prime Time

While Old Greenwood—and Tahoe Mountain Club’s other 18-hole course in Truckee, Gray’s Crossing—are always ready for play during the season, getting in shape for an internationally televised PGA tournament requires a lot of extra mowing, pruning, rolling, watering and intense grooming.

The greens will be in top form when the Barracuda Championship returns to Old Greenwood in July, photo courtesy Tahoe Mountain Club

Valente says winter “dishes out a number of variables, including ice buildup that will lead to suffocation of the turf.” Even during winter, when people are skiing on nearby slopes, Valente and team clear the ice off the greens repeatedly, a process that involves punching holes in the ice (trying to avoid hitting the ground) before clearing it off. 

By the time Old Greenwood opens to its members and the public in mid-May, Valente and his team have a mere two months to truly prep for the Barracuda—which comes at them, metaphorically, with the speed of the namesake fish. Valente speaks about the intensity of what he calls “advance week,” which takes place just before the tournament and during which extra attention is paid to virtually every blade of grass, sand trap, patch of rough and water feature along the 7,518-yard course.  

The Sunday before the tournament, the course is closed for the day. Come Monday morning, practice rounds begin, as well as the charity tournaments. The PGA event begins Thursday and runs through Sunday.

“It’s very rewarding to see our course, a world-class course, truly shine,” says Lindsay Gwin, general manager of Tahoe Mountain Club, “especially when it’s in its PGA condition, though it looks great all season. Our agronomy team works very hard to get it to this special point. They put their heart and soul into the work. To see the course on TV, looking fantastic, gives myself and everyone who lives in this region a great sense of pride. This is where we live.” 

Quality Competition

Apart from the distinctive locale of the tournament, the event is also notable because it often serves as a springboard event for promising young PGA players, many of whom are just beginning their professional careers. 

Nick Dunlap shows off some of his winnings after becoming the youngest player in Barracuda Championship history, at age 20, photo courtesy Tahoe Mountain Club

“The Barracuda gives these players a sense of confidence and proof that they are climbing the rankings,” says Winters. 

The event is co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour—the European equivalent of the American PGA—and last year some 50 players from the DP participated in the Barracuda among a field of 156 players. 

Another unique aspect of the Barracuda is that the tournament uses the Modified Stableford scoring format, whereby players earn points based on whether they make par, hit bogeys or double bogeys or eagles. While the format is used in the annual American Century Championship celebrity tournament at Edgewood Tahoe, the Barracuda is the only stop on the PGA Tour that employs the scoring system. 

“It makes for a heightened attention, certainly on the part of the players, but also on the spectators,” says Winters. “Players are willing to take greater risks. They become more aggressive in securing points. That makes it fun for the players and those watching, either on the fairway or on television.” 

No matter what the scoring system, all players envision their wallets filling with part of the $4 million purse, as well as the chance to rack up much-coveted FedEx Cup points.  

In last year’s Barracuda Championship, 20-year-old Nick Dunlap staged an impressive late comeback to become the youngest winner in tournament history. The University of Alabama product climbed 27 spots on the leaderboard in the final round, highlighted by a 55-foot eagle putt on the 15^th hole, to finish 2 points ahead of runner-up Vince Whaley. Dunlap earned $720,000 for his win, after which he transitioned from amateur to professional status.  

Community Support

In addition to the competition, the Barracuda Championship has a special appeal because of its extensive and generous charitable dimensions.  

Proceeds have benefited over 150 local nonprofit organizations to date, says Hoff, who works for the Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation, which operates the tournament. That money has gone to a variety of causes, from Truckee High School groups to First Tee to the science-centric Discovery Museum in Reno. In total, roughly $6 million has reached such organizations over the years—all due to the largess of Barracuda, a Campbell, California-based cyber security company with some 200,000 customers worldwide.

“Barracuda has been a fantastic partner in the sponsorship of the event for the 12^th year in a row now,” says Hoff. “We couldn’t be happier with this sponsorship.”

Annika Sorenstam speaks to a group of young golfers during the 2024 Annika Foundation Share My Passion Junior Clinic, photo courtesy Tahoe Mountain Club

While most of the featured courses on the PGA Tour are at private country clubs, Old Greenwood is unique in that, while it has a dedicated membership, it also has a public component that keeps the course open to anyone. Just days prior to the Barracuda Championship and immediately after the tournament-play divots have been filled in, members of the public are welcome to the fairways.

“I think it is an honor for any club to host a PGA tournament, but the Barracuda really brings our team together in a very special way,” Gwin says. “Our members and the general public can play this course immediately before and after, and it gets them fired up about the experience. They are experiencing the exact course conditions that the PGA players do.”

While players—pros and amateurs alike—do, indeed, feel like heroes in their ability to propel balls farther at elevation, there is also the heroic aspect of the Barracuda in its commitment to local support. Hoff also highlights the 700 or so volunteers who work the event, a peaceful, dedicated army of people whom Valente and his team help marshal. 

As Hoff adds, “Joe (Valente) and his team make the golf course—make all of us look really, really good. So much good happens at the event, both inside and outside the ropes.” 

David Masello is the New York–based executive editor of Milieu, a national print magazine about interior design and architecture. He also enjoys golf, and would one day enjoy attending the Barracuda Championship.

Barracuda Championship

Old Greenwood

• Tuesday, July 15: First Tee Junior Day with Free Junior Clinic

• Thursday, Friday, July 17, 18: First & Second rounds with cut to lowest 65 and ties after Friday

• Saturday, July 19: Annika Foundation Share My Passion Junior Clinic Hosted by Annika Sorenstam

• Sunday, July 20: Final Round

For information about tickets, volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, and details about events throughout the week, visit barracudachampionship.com