Golf course in works at Red Hawk Resort and Casino; 50 Oaks to open in 2027
Construction of a new 12-hole golf course at Red Hawk Resort and Casino near Shingle Springs is expected to begin in mid-2026, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians officials said.
The working name for the unusual 12-hole layout is 50 Oaks, so named for the highway that runs alongside the project and the heritage oaks that surround the future course, say tribal officials. The news was first reported by the Sacramento Business Journal.
Set across two parcels on 42 acres of trust land just south of the resort off Shingle Springs Drive, 50 Oaks is expected to open in late summer 2027. It will be the latest in a growing entertainment portfolio at the El Dorado County gaming resort, joining the 85,000-square-foot The Apex at Red Hawk entertainment center, and a 156-room Red Hawk Resort and Casino Hotel, both which opened in 2023.
The El Dorado County tribe is also continuing with plans for a 5,000-seat arena near the resort along with tribal housing and commercial buildings, the Sacramento Business Journal reported. The tribe has been mulling the planned center since at least 2023 when The Apex and hotel opened.
“The chair (Shingle Springs tribal chairwoman Regina Cuellar) and the council want to make Red Hawk a location for families. With Apex and the hotel, it’s easier for families to stay and play,” said Nick Bryson, an attorney for the tribe. “We’ve had this land since about 2007. We were looking for the right project. This is something that’s very synergistic with The Apex at Red Hawk. It all kind of goes together.”
The project will also include an 18-hole miniature golf course and a double-deck driving range. The two-level range blends a traditional driving range with what Bryson described as a technology and entertainment side similar to what fans of Topgolf might see.
Bryson said 50 Oaks was originally planned for nine holes. Golfers can retrace the 1,200-yard course to complete 18 holes. Holes will range from 75 yards to 160 yards.
“Based on the size of the land, we saw the opportunity to add three holes. It was kind of cool to have three ‘hit-in’ holes,” he said. With the par-3 layout and the bonus holes, Bryson said the course would be both “an easy entryway for new golfers — a golf course anybody can do — and a little bit of a challenge for experienced golfers as well.”
The project designed by golf course architect Forrest Richardson to be built by course developers Landscapes Unlimited will be built with technological advancements and ease of playability in mind for new and recreational golfers.
The 42-acre project sits on tribal land and does not need approval from El Dorado County planning officials. Instead, the project was approved by the Shingle Springs Band’s land commission. The body functions as the tribe’s planning commission, Bryson said.
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians will apply to the county for encroachment permits to dig and install utilities for the course project, Bryson said.
“We’re no longer designing only for the game we grew up playing, but for a whole new generation of golfers, many simply wanting to have fun versus keeping score,” Richardson told the golf business news site the Golf Wire. “The game’s playing board is changing; today it’s often smaller, technologically connected more interactive than any of us previously envisioned.”
.JPG)