Northern California Golf Course Reviews
Northern California Golf Courses, Reviews, Aeration Alerts, Photos and Current Rates.
First I must say that Mather Golf Course is what I'd call my home course.
With that said the 10 or so public courses I have played and replayed in a 30 mile radius of Sacramento area Mather stands out as a very well maintained course. The fairways are well groomed, and old growth tree lined. Greens are medium in size, are not overly difficult to read; some may say not very challenging but they are typically medium in speed.
It is an old course once operated by the US Air Force so you will see a lot of memorabilia in the club house and the staff have always been courteous and accommodating. I like to walk the course and I rarely feel I’m being pushed while on the course; if I’m lagging I just let the speedster carts play through and always get a thank-you and a tip of the hat.
With that said the 10 or so public courses I have played and replayed in a 30 mile radius of Sacramento area Mather stands out as a very well maintained course. The fairways are well groomed, and old growth tree lined. Greens are medium in size, are not overly difficult to read; some may say not very challenging but they are typically medium in speed.
It is an old course once operated by the US Air Force so you will see a lot of memorabilia in the club house and the staff have always been courteous and accommodating. I like to walk the course and I rarely feel I’m being pushed while on the course; if I’m lagging I just let the speedster carts play through and always get a thank-you and a tip of the hat.
Wednesday 1 Sep 12:56 tee time, easy pace just under 4 hours, twosome , Golfnow.com $22.
Check in a breeze, nice staff in the house beside a modest grill with good service. Very near to the practice putting and warm up range off mats for ONLY irons and hybrids. Layout is fun and traditional on the original 9 holes and also on the other nine. Greens were good, holding and true but just a little bumpy with medium speed. Sand good, at times poor due pebbles. Fairways lush, at times thin, but targeting watering being carried out. Rough good to fair meaning lush to dry. Tees in adequate shape. No drinks cart today but enough water stations along the way (for our 90 degree day). Kind marshalers kept the pace ahead moving. This is a good little course for enough challenge/fun when you can choose your day for weather and price.
Check in a breeze, nice staff in the house beside a modest grill with good service. Very near to the practice putting and warm up range off mats for ONLY irons and hybrids. Layout is fun and traditional on the original 9 holes and also on the other nine. Greens were good, holding and true but just a little bumpy with medium speed. Sand good, at times poor due pebbles. Fairways lush, at times thin, but targeting watering being carried out. Rough good to fair meaning lush to dry. Tees in adequate shape. No drinks cart today but enough water stations along the way (for our 90 degree day). Kind marshalers kept the pace ahead moving. This is a good little course for enough challenge/fun when you can choose your day for weather and price.
This is easily the best golf course in the Sacramento region......by far the best conditioned course and the service level is over the top. I belive they are a Troon golf course and the best Troon coruse i've played, even some of the ones in Arizona. This is a must play and easily worth the $85.00....better than paying $60-65 at a decent course in Sacramento and getting crappy service and terrible grass.
Castle Oaks is a fun course. I've played it many times and it's almost always in great shape as was the case this past weekend. There are some challenging tee shots including the signature 18th hole which gives you two options. There's a lake straight away so you can shoot out to the right (safer play) which leaves a longer approach or go left to a narrow finger leaving a short approach. Truely a risk reward hole. There are many other fun holes as well. The practice area is robust with a grass driving range, a chipping area including a bunker, and a larger putting green. The clubhouse is small, but there's a decent restaraunt connected to it. Try this course and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I always do.
Easy pace at 4 hrs with noon tee time, 2 ball on Monday 30 Aug $18 golfnow.com "Hot Deal".
Check in a breeze with knowledgeable staff in an incredibly stocked pro shop, right next door to a great grill; well setup. Carts are tired with no windshield but adequate for the extremely flat golf course. The only elevation change I encountered was stepping up the curb to enter the bar & grill. ckoyne1414 below is still correct; long course in fair to good shape with most attention paid to the greens which were Good - smooth, true and soft enough. The remainder of the course dry and running with rough cut down to not present any dramas, but stay out of the trees. Challenge was average with only a few holes presenting an attraction. Huge practice putting green and very active practice range, just in front of the grill. Good instruction facility with clubfitting as well. If living closer I may play it more often.
Check in a breeze with knowledgeable staff in an incredibly stocked pro shop, right next door to a great grill; well setup. Carts are tired with no windshield but adequate for the extremely flat golf course. The only elevation change I encountered was stepping up the curb to enter the bar & grill. ckoyne1414 below is still correct; long course in fair to good shape with most attention paid to the greens which were Good - smooth, true and soft enough. The remainder of the course dry and running with rough cut down to not present any dramas, but stay out of the trees. Challenge was average with only a few holes presenting an attraction. Huge practice putting green and very active practice range, just in front of the grill. Good instruction facility with clubfitting as well. If living closer I may play it more often.
Played 8/27/10. Took advantage of the NCGA discount i.e. free golf on my birthday. Otherwise I don't think I'd spend $70 to play here. They think they're a resort course, but conditions are really at muni level, although I have to admit that conditions were better this year than when I played here a year ago.
Staff is brusk, and acts like they're doing you a favor by letting you play there. Started with the cashier who led of with a "what do you want?" attitude and then gave me crap about only playing there on my birthday when it was free. We teed off and as we were getting in the cart some guy (apparently the starter) came running from somewhere unseen and yelled at us for teeing off, and complaining that he was going to pair us up. He warned us it would be slow as a twosome but with no pairing in sight he let us go. There is no drink cart, but there's a snack shack at the turn, if you happen to catch the guy there on your way through.
The Poa Annua greens here have been recently replaced with bent, and they are still pretty firm. Unfortunately the Poa Annua is already invading the bent so there are a few bumpy spots. The speed is highly variable.
They advertise themselves as a links style course, which I guess is true if you consider deep fairway bunkers, and lots of humps and bumps in the fairway to ensure you never have a level lie. Being on the coast the wind requires a links style knockdown and a run-up shot on several holes. Unfortunately the run-up area short of the greens doesn't lend itself to rolling the ball onto the green. They've attempted to mow it close but its really bumpy and unpredictable.
Pace of play is always a problem here because of the layout. There are two consecutive par threes on the front, and having to walk the 16th and 17th doesn't help. Views of the ocean and bay are nice, and make the 5 hour slog more bearable.
Staff is brusk, and acts like they're doing you a favor by letting you play there. Started with the cashier who led of with a "what do you want?" attitude and then gave me crap about only playing there on my birthday when it was free. We teed off and as we were getting in the cart some guy (apparently the starter) came running from somewhere unseen and yelled at us for teeing off, and complaining that he was going to pair us up. He warned us it would be slow as a twosome but with no pairing in sight he let us go. There is no drink cart, but there's a snack shack at the turn, if you happen to catch the guy there on your way through.
The Poa Annua greens here have been recently replaced with bent, and they are still pretty firm. Unfortunately the Poa Annua is already invading the bent so there are a few bumpy spots. The speed is highly variable.
They advertise themselves as a links style course, which I guess is true if you consider deep fairway bunkers, and lots of humps and bumps in the fairway to ensure you never have a level lie. Being on the coast the wind requires a links style knockdown and a run-up shot on several holes. Unfortunately the run-up area short of the greens doesn't lend itself to rolling the ball onto the green. They've attempted to mow it close but its really bumpy and unpredictable.
Pace of play is always a problem here because of the layout. There are two consecutive par threes on the front, and having to walk the 16th and 17th doesn't help. Views of the ocean and bay are nice, and make the 5 hour slog more bearable.
played 8/27. i'm not always a fan of this course, but right now the conditions are awesome...greens are rolling fast and true, healthy without any browning. almost too fast for many of the contours - if you're in the wrong place, play several feet of break and you can still have an uphill comeback putt of 5 feet. fairways are dry/brown in spots from the recent heat, but firm/fast fairways are a good thing as far as i'm concerned. if callippe is in your usual rotation, get out there now! and if you're so inclined, the replay rate is $18, can't beat that with a bat.
Played Sunday 8/22, 7:20 tee time; played as a foursome 4 hrs. I was mildly disappointed in the conditions. Greens were consistently pockmarked with unhealed ball marks, making for bumpy putting. Fairways were a bit ratty, and soggy in many areas. Divots not filled in in the fairway. This used to be an excellent course that cost about $75 to play. Now it's a decent course for a more reasonable rate of $49 incl cart and balls. It is such a great track, but the conditions are so-so. Certainly playable, and for the price, it's a good round. But you get what you pay for I guess.
Played 8/24/10-Tuesday-for great rate. Hardly anyone was there early in the am. Warm, beautiful day to play golf. I played here right after it was refurbished and boy was it a carnival ride! This is the first time since then and to my delight, much of the unfair fescue around the bunkers and in the rough is gone. The big donut green at the 10th has been changed from a fun house to a normal green. There was only one goofy green on the back nine. The conditions were great from tee box to green throughout the whole course. We thoroughly enjoyed our round. Driving range is all grass and very private club-like conditions. Carts are peppy and fun to drive. Didn't try the restaurant and bar. Bathrooms could use a facelift though.
Played Monday. Slightly windy. Very Friendly staff. Good driving range-flat. Grass and mats. Fairly slow that day even with Men's group. I was a single starting a 1/2 hr after them and caught up with the groups. They let me play through with a smile.
Played round in 3.5 hrs.
Tee boxes were green and most of them flat. Fairways were green and no brown areas. They were wide on most holes. Need to know course for some not so obvious hazards and water. Rough was layered and fair.
Greens were firm and without divots! The ball rolled true. Sand was clean. Landed in only one but was without stones or gravel- very nice.
You have to know the tee for #2 is up a path that is not marked. Took me 5 minutes to find it. They should put up a sign.
Nice mix of holes between flat and mountain. Outstanding scenery with clean fresh pine scent air.
Excellent course that is scenic drive 1 hr northwest of Reno. Take Rt. 395 to 70, not Rt. 89. Well worth the effort.
Played round in 3.5 hrs.
Tee boxes were green and most of them flat. Fairways were green and no brown areas. They were wide on most holes. Need to know course for some not so obvious hazards and water. Rough was layered and fair.
Greens were firm and without divots! The ball rolled true. Sand was clean. Landed in only one but was without stones or gravel- very nice.
You have to know the tee for #2 is up a path that is not marked. Took me 5 minutes to find it. They should put up a sign.
Nice mix of holes between flat and mountain. Outstanding scenery with clean fresh pine scent air.
Excellent course that is scenic drive 1 hr northwest of Reno. Take Rt. 395 to 70, not Rt. 89. Well worth the effort.
Played the course on Sunday morning 8/22/2010. To start, the pro shop register was down so we were told they would only accept cash. If you didn't have cash go to the restaurant and use the ATM. Of course there's a $1.50 fee for that. While I can understand this may be a frustrating situation, customer service was the last thing on their agenda. I assume this is a rare occurance. Once we got going we discovered that none of the GPS systems on the carts work. Would have been nice if that was posted somewhere or if they offered a discount. All in all the course is in decent shape. It's a fun layout that offers lots of scoring opportunities. The signature par 5, 10th hole requires a tee shot over the lake and and hill beyond. If you can run it down the hill you've got a good shot at getting home in two. The course runs through the trees and some houses in Roseville and provides some slight elevation changes. The greens were the slowest I've played in some time and had quite a bit of divot damage. Not enough to make it a bad experience, but more than I would expect. The rough is thick and grabby while the bunkers were perfect. As for warm up they have a decent range with mats only and a large putting area. The chipping green is very small and severly sloped. Once you're done there is a Legends and Hero's sports bar. Don't kid yourself. It's more like a cafe with some TV's. Decent food but Sports bar is not an accurate description. It's a nice course, fun layout, but I was a little dissapointed this time.
Monday 1300 tee 4 ball following a tournament = 5 hours round. Check in easy with EZ Links on line booking, $25 riding. All maintenance aspects to a high standard, with tees, fairways, rough in lush condition. Sand generally in good shape. Good practice facility for chipping/putting. Good food in grille and lots of drinks cart passes and drink stations on course. The layout/design is the best part. Lots of fun and challenge from any tee you choose. Pick your day as the winds can get nasty from the SW. Today 90 degrees and light breeze. Solid Arnold Palmer Signature design.
Northern California Golf Courses, Reviews, Aeration Alerts, Photos and Current Rates.
More Regional Links
Featured Golf Course
Paiute Golf Resort
A Greenskeeper.org 2009 Most Worth The Green Fee and 2006 Best Playing Conditions Winner Southern Nevada
- Video Tour
- Book Tee Times
- E-Mail Club
- Group Outings
- Weddings
- Video Tour
- Book Tee Times
- E-Mail Club
- Group Outings
- Weddings
