Coyote Moon Golf Course - Truckee, CA

Coyote Moon Golf Course in Truckee, Calif. might just be the best golf course you've never heard of. This design by obscure ex-PGA Tour player Brad Bell gets overshadowed by its more famous neighbors, Edgewood Tahoe and Incline. But Coyote Moon can hold its own with any of the Reno-Tahoe corridor's big boys.

It runs through woods of towering pine - there are no houses, a state of affairs the course says will last - and its natural wonder can stop you cold. You've really never seen anything quite like this. Bell routed several holes around centuries-old granite outcroppings, to very dramatic effect. There are also several forced carries, both water and forest drops, that are as scenic as they are daunting.