RENO, Nev. — Tourism officials trying to lure more outdoor enthusiasts to northern Nevada are sponsoring an unusual golf tournament for dozens of competitors who will play 18 holes on Monday — two each on nine different courses within a 27 mile radius of each other just east of Lake Tahoe.

"They'll get to experience nine courses in one day. It should be a ton of fun," said Tom Brooks, director of golf at the Carson Valley Golf Course in Gardnerville, one of the courses hosting the event.

Dubbed the "Divine 9 Road Trip," the event mirrors a promotional effort a cooperative of area courses and local hotels formed several years ago to introduce sports reporters and travel writers to the numerous golfing opportunities in the Reno-Lake Tahoe area.

This is the first year the public has been invited to make the trip on the shuttle buses that carry golfers and their equipment from one stop to the next.

"The event is designed to reflect golf in the area — great value and variety of courses. And most of all, friends having fun," said Bill Henderson, marketing director for the Carson Valley Inn. "I just hope we end with the same number that started."

Jim Kepler, director of golf at Eagle Valley East and West courses in Carson City, said eight players in two foursomes will play each hole at a time.

"Experience proves that as the shadows stretch and the sun drops down, the camaraderie grows," he said.

Coolers full of a variety of soft drinks and adult beverages have been known to empty out near the end of the day on past media tours.

"It's good we have drivers getting folks around safely," said Candace Duncan, executive director of the Carson City Convention & Visitors Bureau. "That way we know no one will be lost or stranded."

The courses feature a wide variety of high desert and open valley golf, with rivers and creeks, sagebrush-lined fairways and numerous elevation changes. Golfers and architects affiliated with the courses include Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller and Peter Jacobsen.

Brooks promotes the Carson Valley course along the Carson River as the one with the most trees in the area and welcomes family play.

"We have the 18-hole jackrabbits who get out first thing in the morning and play a whole round in two hours or a bit more. Then about 3 p.m., twilight golfers come out and then by 5 p.m. we start to get families — moms, dads, grandparents, everyone playing together. That's our niche in the market," he said.

Don "Snowshu" Thompson, a local businessman and golf writer who is among those competing on Monday, knows a little bit about promoting the area's courses.

Ten years ago this month he hit 40 tee shots at 40 different courses in the Reno-Tahoe area in less than 12 hours.

"I've played golf in five continents and 12 countries. I hit a golf ball off the Great Wall in China. But I don't think you could do this anywhere else in the world," he said at the time.

In 1999, he pulled off another stunt to promote the fact visitors can ski in the morning and play a round of golf in the afternoon during much of the spring on the edge of the Sierra Nevada. He successfully hit tee shots at 27 golf courses and made runs at 13 ski resorts in less than 12 hours that April 1.

Thompson said he's looking forward to Monday's outing.

"It really has nothing to do with golf. It's strictly fun," he said. "Frankly, I think golf needs more events like this that people can enjoy."

Other links in the lineup are Genoa Lakes Golf Club Lakes and Resort courses, Dayton Valley, Empire Ranch, Silver Oak and Sunridge.

Phil Weidinger, a promoter of the event, said he had 42 golfers registered as of Friday but had room in the tourney for as many as 100 who could register at the cooperative's Web site.

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On the Net:

Divine Nine: www.divine9.com