Likely Links

Likely is one of those California place names that makes outsiders do a double-take — a tiny ranching community in the Modoc County highlands of the state's remote northeastern corner, sitting at the foot of the South Warner Mountains near the Nevada border. This is high desert country, open and unhurried, where cattle outnumber golfers by a considerable margin and the sky tends to run on for miles. Golf this far off the beaten path has a character all its own.

An 18-hole, par-72 layout bearing the town's name suggests a course built to serve the community and the surrounding region rather than destination tourists. Courses in settings like this are often the social anchors of their towns — the kind of place where regulars know every bounce and break, where the fairways reflect the honest, unadorned landscape around them, and where golf is played for the simple pleasure of being outside in genuinely striking country.

The Warner Mountains and the high plateau of Modoc County offer a dramatic backdrop for any round, with elevation, clean air, and the unhurried pace that comes from being a long way from everywhere.