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Charles Barkley's sweeter than sweet swing shows Lake Tahoe's golf charmCharles Barkley has one of the most beautiful swings in golf. It's much nicer than Sergio Garcia's, Adam Scott's or any other would-be major winner you'll watch this weekend in the British Open at Royal Birkdale. It's more important to the growth of the game than even the legendary swing of Barkley's recuperating buddy Tiger Woods. Why? Because Barkley lets everyone know it's okay to be bad at golf and to still love it. By unleashing his hitch-stop-backwards-elephant combo deal in public without bothering to act all embarrassed about it, Barkley strikes a continuous blow against the forces that truly hold back golf. Namely, old stuck up stuffy attitudes about how the game should be played and who should be allowed to play it. It's no coincidence that Barkley annually puts on one of his best shows on the joys of being a naturally awkward, inept golfer in Lake Tahoe either. This mountain region on one of the most beautiful lakes in the world doesn't just have gambling and outdoor adventure sports galore (as if that's not enough). It also boasts some of the most laid-back, welcoming golf courses in the entire country. And we're not talking some backwoods mom-and-pops where Cousin Jeb cooks the hot dogs on a homemade grill. No, these are courses that can compete with the best in the world. Everyone knows Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course by now, the longtime host of Barkley and other celebs in the American Century Championship. Edgewood's an even better course than it looks like on TV, a much better experience at its price than Pebble Beach is at its price. Now there are plans to build a new high-end resort right at Edgewood, which will only make it easier to plan a trip around it. Think The Lodge at Torrey Pines for reference (hopefully Edgewood's resort will not be as overpriced and overrated as Torrey's Lodge while matching its convenience). Still as good as Edgewood is, you can argue it's not even the best course in the region. That's how good the area's golf is. Coyote Moon - a design from obscure former PGA Tour player Brad Bell that uses big hulking ancient Stonehenge-worthy rocks in its holes - ends the argument on whether it's possible to do anything original in golf anymore. South Lake Tahoe itself isn't Las Vegas and it isn't trying to be. It's still largely one main street with basically four main casinos you'd want to visit (trying to claim there are 15 casinos in "the area," as some tourist publications do, stretches the limits of both the term casino and area). This isn't The Strip where you can walk for an hour and still not reach the end of it, or ever come close to running out of things to do. But that's part of Tahoe's charm too - along with welcoming swings like Barkley's. As always, TravelGolf.com welcomes your comments.
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Want to take on Birkdale and other Open courses? Try Royal Links in Las Vegas
It doesn't take a great deal of imagination at Royal Links Golf Club to get a feel for the history of British Open golf. Each hole at this Las Vegas favorite was inspired by an Open host course, Mike Bailey writes at LasVegasGolf.com. There are even two inspired by Royal Birkdale, host of this week's Open.
Also: Hot Vegas golf vacation deals
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