Bass Lake Golf Course

Small greens ... small fairways ... use your small clubs, or you have a small chance of success.

Think little when you head to Bass Lake Golf Course in Rescue, near El Dorado Hills. And think short and straight when you hit the ball, or you are in for a suprisingly long day on a short course.

Bass Lake measures just 6,028 yards from the blue (back) tees. But the more important distances are the widths of most fairways (dinky) and the depth of most greens (dinkier).

As a result, your day will be very challenging, even though you may never take the driver out of the bag. In fact, you'll be better off just leaving the big dog at home.

Your day begins with a narrow, dogleg-left par-5. Forget lazy introductions. This is the longest hole on the course ... by almost 50 yards ... and the narrow opening off the tee gives just an indication of what's to come.

The second hole is another dogleg left and one of the best holes. A drive in the right-center of the fairway opens up the approach, which must cross a hazard.

The third hole is the only par-3 on the front side.

Five par-4s follow in succession, with their own individual challenges but one common theme ... narrow fairways, small greens and a lot of hardpan if you get off-track. There also are long carries required off the tees, over a ravine on No. 5 and over the length of a lake on No. 8.

No. 9 is a rare birdie opportunity, a short, downhill par-5.

The back nine was built in 1999, three years after the front, and is much different. The greens are larger, and the holes are away from the lake that much of the front side is built around.

But hazards remain, the fairways are still narrow, and only a few holes have rough, per se. One of those holes is No. 12, a 282-yard (from the blues) par-4 that has a fairway less than 20 yards in width and out of bounds along the left side. If you bail out to the right, there are trees and bunkers to contend with, but the rough may be a welcome sight.

There are three par-3s on the back side, but No. 14 is one of the hardest you'll find anywhere, a 187-yarder (from the blues) over a hazard to an elevated, three-tiered green.

Get some strokes back at the finish, a pair of short par-5s sandwiched around the shortest par-3 on the course. No. 18 provides one of the few chances all day to grip it and rip it, and you may have enough pent-up frustration to reach the green in two.

There are plenty of positives at Bass Lake. The 65-mile drive is easy, and the price is about the best you'll find anywhere - $34 with a cart during the week, and just $40 on the weekend. You can even walk this course, and the $22 weekday walking rate is awesome.

Bass Lake also just finished a $1 million upgrade, which improved clubhouse and 19th hole facilities.

If you stay in the fairway ... and that's a big if ... you may hit your target score.

The holes have lots of character, and the maintenance is fine on track.

The flip side is apparent ... if you miss the fairway (and you will miss at least some of these small fairways) you are on hardpan, roots and rocks instead of in rough. And if you are a play-it-where-it-stops person, your irons may take a beating. If not, you may be adding several unplayable-lie penalty strokes to your score.

You also may lose a ton of balls, and the thorns in some of the hazards are nasty if you try to go in and retrieve wayward shots.

The greens are solid, although there are some slopes that create the potential for unfair pin placements.

A yardage book would benefit this course greatly. The map on the back of the scorecard is almost too small to be of use.

But the replay rate is just $17 during the week, and with your increased knowledge the second time around your score should drop quite a bit.

Just go to your car between rounds and drop off your driver.

Directions - Take Interstate 80 east to Sacramento. Take Highway 50 east to El Dorado Hills. Take the Bass Lake Road exit north. After Green Valley Road, Bass Lake Road turns into Alexandrite Drive. The course is on the right.