Reno sits at roughly 4,400 feet in the high desert of northern Nevada, where the air is thin, the light sharp, and golf balls fly noticeably farther than they do at sea level. The Sierra Nevada rises to the west, Lake Tahoe country begins just over the ridge, and the valley itself stretches out in that wide, arid way that defines the Great Basin. It's a genuine golf town — the Reno-Tahoe area supports a surprisingly deep collection of courses, from mountain layouts carved through pine forests to open desert tracks baked by 300-plus days of sunshine annually.
The name "Alternate Course" suggests a secondary or companion layout, likely one that shares a property or club with a primary 18 — a common arrangement at larger facilities that want to offer variety without sending members or guests down the road.
Beyond that, the specifics of this course's design, history, and character aren't something I can speak to with confidence. If you can share the club or facility name, the description can be considerably more useful.
