Thin Is In High altitude means monster drives from Tahoe's rarefied tees. By Vic Williams A foursome heads to the next tee at Edgewood Tahoe, named the 54th best public course in America by Golf Digest in 2005. It's one thing to watch Tiger Woods and John Daly smoke 350-yard drives. It's another to watch teen phenom Michelle Wie bash it out there to big-boy dimensions as she starts her LPGA career. But it's another concept altogether for the average Joe or Jane to go deep with impunity, and that's more than possible at Lake Tahoe's 6,225-foot elevation. In fact, given today's physics-bending equipment, it's even probable. All you need is a decent swing, flexibility, and a Tahoe tee time. The extra distance to be found at Lake Tahoe has been an urban legend for decades - ever since the first flagstick was stuck in the Sierra turf 90 years ago - but it's backed by scientific fact. The ball does go farther at higher elevations, and while it helps to have great strength and a repeatable swing, even weekenders can reap the benefits a couple times per round. How? By getting "thin," that's how. According to Mike Alger, chief meteorologist at Reno 's KTVN-TV and an avid golfer, the reasons behind the prodigious pokes are strictly atmospheric. "There are two forces that limit how far a ball can fly - gravity and air resistance," Alger says. "Since there's no practical difference on the gravitational force on a golf ball here at altitude compared to sea level, it must be air resistance. In Reno , which is at 4,498 feet above sea level, there is approximately 15 percent less air density than there is at sea level. That means there are about 15 percent fewer air molecules to get in the way of your golf ball when you hit it, and so it decelerates less up here than down there. Up at Lake Tahoe it's almost 20 percent." Need further illustration? "It's basically the same reason you can swim faster in water than Karo Syrup," Alger adds. Thus, it's smoother sailing for a well-hit orb at Incline's Championship Course or Edgewood Tahoe - the two public courses on Tahoe's Nevada side - than it is along the California coast. However, notice the pivotal phrase, "well-hit." A shank or cold-top in the Sierra's shadow is just as ugly as it would be at Pebble Beach . Just ask the celebrities who descend on Edgewood every July for a three-day tournament that draws PGA Tour-caliber crowds. Muscled-up quarterbacks like John Elway or fit hockey studs like Dan Quinn can really bring the distance, but most of the celebrity players are more like us - distance - challenged. But no matter. Long, short, or in-between, thin air or no, every shot at Tahoe is hit within heaven's reach. Vic Williams is publisher and executive editor of Reno-based Fairways + Greens magazine. He plans to watch the sports and film stars swing from their heels during the 2006 American Century Celebrity Golf Championship on July 11-16 at Edgewood Tahoe in Stateline.