By Terra Breeden
MEYERS – The Tahoe Paradise Golf Course in Meyers is the first 18-hole golf course in the Lake Tahoe Basin and now, the historic property is up for sale.
The property is listed for an asking price of $8 million. If sold, the golf course will close, ending its legacy, and the 50-acres of pristine land and forest may be appropriated for a different use.
Bruce Beeman opened the Tahoe Paradise Golf Course in 1960. At that time the town of Meyers was little more than an outpost and the only other businesses in the vicinity were an old gas station and a dusty horse stable across the street on Highway 50.
Beeman, a farmer from Woodland, wanted to get out of agriculture and do something different. His passion was golfing and even though there was little evidence to suggest that Tahoe would become a popular golfing destination, Beeman decided to invest in the 50 acres of untouched land in Meyers.
“There was nothing here, it was barren,” Beeman’s granddaughter Dawn Steimer told Lake Tahoe News. “Everyone thought he was crazy to open a golf course here but he just did it.”
Tahoe Paradise Golf Course is on the market after being in the same family since 1960. Photo/Terra Breeden
Tahoe Paradise Golf Course is a family-owned business and Steimer grew up in the family golfing tradition. One of her earliest memories is learning to golf in the junior golf program at the course. Over the years, the sport changed, evolving from a leisure pastime for the wealthy to a popular summer activity for people from all walks of life.
“This is where I spent my summers as a kid,” Steimer says. “But it wasn’t until Tiger Woods came out that it became cool to golf.”
Tahoe Paradise Golf Course enjoyed several decades of success. Famous figures like Clint Eastwood played there and the sprawling course became the first location of an informal celebrity golf championship.
“There weren’t any other golf courses in Tahoe, so celebrities would come here and have tournaments,” Cinda Beeman, daughter of Bruce Beeman and co-owner of Tahoe Paradise Golf Course, said.
The Beemans planned to keep the business in the family and pass down the property to the younger generation. However, when the recession hit in 2006, the bustling golf course became a ghost town.
Since then, Tahoe Paradise Golf Course has regained some momentum, but still, the golfing business has been slow to recover.
“Golf has changed. The economy isn’t great and people don’t spend money on golf when they don’t have extra money,” Steimer says. “Now there are all these big golf courses right off the hill for less money so people go there instead and it hurts us.”
The property has been on the market now for two years. Potential buyers can use the land for golf or for other recreational activities. A snowmobiling operation leases the property from the Beemans in the winter.
However, those thinking to purchase the property will have to look at zoning for land use. Currently, the property is listed under forest resource Zoning, but when the new Meyers Area Plan goes into effect, the Tahoe Paradise land will be changed to recreational zoning.
The Meyers Area Plan, according to El Dorado County principle planner Brendan Ferry, will rezone 137 acres of wild areas in Meyers like Lake Baron, the Truckee River area and the Tahoe Paradise Golf Course to become strictly recreational. This means there will be no housing development or commercial building allowed on the property, but the land will be open to all sorts of recreational opportunities.
“The zoning will change, but there’s a lot of things that can be done with this land,” Ferry told Lake Tahoe News. “The district allows for many different types of uses under recreational zoning. I’d like to see the Meyers community drive what goes on the property, but my job is to set the framework for the site.”
In the meantime, Tahoe Paradise Golf Course is closed for the season but those interested in the property may contact Coldwell Banker McKinney and Associates at 530.542.5555.
