Monarch Dunes Golf Club - Challenge

Monarch Dunes Golf Club is a public golf facility. The facility offers 30-holes of golf. They have the championship 18-hole Old Course and the 12-hole Challenge Course.

The Challenge Course at Monarch Dunes Golf Club first opened for play in 2008. The 12 hole, par-3 (total par of 36) was designed by Damian Pascuzzo and Steve Pate.

There are three different sets of tees. The course will appeal to the novice golfer, as well as the more skilled golfer looking to sharpen their short game skills. And you can play it in under two hours."

The Challenge course has the quality greens seen on Monarch Dunes'Old Course, the fairways are fescue and the greens velvet bent grass. The Challenge course greens, average 8,000 square feet.

Banks of poppies and yellow lupin, plus more than 20 other flower varieties, line the fairways and flank the greens. Lakes come into play on five holes, requiring forced carries from the back tees. Tee shots range from 85 to 200 yards. The course stretches about 1,750 over the 56 acre site.

It's a blend of common sense and the classic risk-and-reward theme. PGA player Steve Pate consulted in building the Dunes course and the two got along so famously they decided to make it a permanent partnership. The design firm is now called Pascuzzo and Pate and operates out of an office in El Dorado Hills east of Sacramento. They will be mapping out courses in countries around the world.

Check out the closing hole, No. 12. From the rear tees it can play as a 200 yarder uphill against a stiff breeze. Some players will be hauling out their drivers in hopes of reaching that three-tiered green that measures 11,000 square feet.

Black tees: 1,858 yards

Orange tees: 1,640 yards

Yellow tees: 1,377 yards