Rio La Paz

Once you realize where you are ... or more importantly, where you are going ... you should be in for a fun day.

The view from the first tee of Rio La Paz is a lot like the drive to the golf course in Nicolaus. You may think you're lost, even if you're driving fine.

The 2000 Peter Jacobson design should put a smile on your face once you get over that lost feeling and start putting low scores on your card.

A chance at your target score is one of the biggest plusses on this relatively flat rural track. In addition to being a par-71, the course is a mere 6,037 yards ... from the blue tees. It may be your best chance ever to succeed from the blacks, which total just 6,505 yards with a 71.1 rating and a 128 slope.

If you must play from the whites, you'd better score well. The white yardage is an unheard of 5,401, with a 66.0 rating and a 114 slope.

But yardage isn't everything. There is plenty of variety, a good bit of water and a little deception. So have some fun.

Your start is puzzling, but once you figure out what you're doing, you'll realize you're on one of the best holes on the track. The par-4 first hole doesn't have a visible fairway, because the dogleg-right starts with a drive left over a hazard (the hazard directly in front of the tee box is right of the fairway).

Tee off over the cat-tails and then hit a short iron to a small green protected by trees on either side.

The next two holes also are strong; a dogleg-left par-4 with water off the tee and a green protected by four bunkers, followed by a long par-3 with water right and behind the green.

Your big chance to grip it and rip it follows, with the rarity of back-to-back par-5s. The fifth is another interesting hole, because water juts out from the left side just before the green.

In short, this course is all about smart golf. The par-3s are long, but the par-5s are relatively short, and there isn't a par-4 longer than 400 yards, even from the blue tees.

The teeth of the course comes at the turn, where a long par-4 to a small green at No. 9 is followed by a long, dogleg-left par-4 around trees at No. 10. Don't even try to cut the corner on the 10th hole, because a 4 can turn into a 7 easily here.

Other highlights include the 12th hole, a par-4 where big hitters can reach the green and those who try too hard can find water; the par-5 15th, where the only real hill on the course gives you a blind second shot with water hugging the left side; and the finale, a dogleg-right par-4 around water with a huge tree left and bunker right at the green.

Again, this course is all about placement, not distance.

The biggest plus at Rio La Paz is the price, which is $44 on weekends with a cart and just $32 during the week (you may even get a cool hat out of the deal if you visit the web site first).

You also should use every club in your bag, and you should get a good score if you use your noodle (your head, not the ball).

The greens are a little slow, but there are consistent and well-maintained.

Among the big challenges are confusion. There is no yardage book, and the course map on the back of the scorecard doesn't help much (like on the first hole).

This course also has an incomplete look in spots. Cart paths start and finish each hole, but most end after the first 50 yards of holes and don't start again until the last 50. This creates some troublesome dirt patches, if you wander off track.

The calm, rural setting with water near most holes also is a haven for mosquitoes, so bring some "OFF."

Remember, knowledge is power. And you need knowledge more than power here.

Directions - Take Interstate 80 east to I-5 north. Take Highway 99 to Yuba City, and take the Nicolaus exit. Turn left on Garden Highway, and left on Lee Road.