Played today with my wife and kids. Really enjoyed the round.

Staff was really accommodating. Bumped my tee time back so I could get my 5 year old some food before starting. Pro shop staff were ... Continue »

Played today with my wife and kids. Really enjoyed the round.

Staff was really accommodating. Bumped my tee time back so I could get my 5 year old some food before starting. Pro shop staff were amazing with my kids. Staff was very fun and joked around with my kids.

As for the course, the place is beautiful. Redwoods everywhere. Even with all the trees, the conditions were great.

Tee boxes were the biggest disappointment. Most were not level and lots of divots on each hole.

Fairways were excellent. Grass was perfect.

I wasn't in sand but my wife and older son were in traps. Looked to be pretty good.

Greens looked great but were somewhat inconsistent for speed. Even then, greens were really well maintained and held balls well.

All told, the course is excellent. My older son and I loved playing a mackenzie course. The redwoods made for an excellent backdrop. And I only hit two trees today!

My family and I will definitely be back to play again.

Brilliant little 9 holer, designed by Alister Mackenzie, tucked away in the redwood forest. It was very very wet when I played there but most enjoyable just the same. A tad soggy under foot but the gr... Continue »

Brilliant little 9 holer, designed by Alister Mackenzie, tucked away in the redwood forest. It was very very wet when I played there but most enjoyable just the same. A tad soggy under foot but the greens were still rolling true and the whole ambience was great. Every hole had its own character with green complexes of great variety. Highlight was the par 3 8th where the small green was surrounded by grassy mounds. Busy pro shop and friendly staff. The restaurant across the parking lot was the surprise. Huge portions and a cosy atmosphere. Recommend for sure.

This is a great little course to play simply for the unique experience of having so many tall coastal redwoods lining every fairway. My course ratings are much lower than the others, but would still r... Continue »

This is a great little course to play simply for the unique experience of having so many tall coastal redwoods lining every fairway. My course ratings are much lower than the others, but would still recommend it.

This is the second time I've played the course, and both times were not mid-summer when I am certain the conditions improve. Given the tall redwoods, I suspect there are considerable parts of the course that just do not get enough sun/warmth to dry out and for grass to grow strong roots.

Chose this course to go out with a friend visiting from the UK who was on a whirlwind tour of California had not played golf in 5 years. Really was perfect for him. We teed off late in the afternoon duffed it around, and finished 9 holes in near darkness, with some wait on a 4some on the last 3 holes, POP about 90 minutes walking.

The course was very green and looked 'good/great from far'. Tees were level on about half the holes, a little damp on a few. Fairway grass was thinnish in many spots, didn't provide great roll due to moisture in the soil, but the grass that was there was very green. Rough was penal at times, about 2-3 inches and the ball tended to sit down in it. Was in one greenside bunker, was very firm and un-raked by previous golfers. The small greens held shots OK, and were mostly lush. They did have bare soil spots exposed and a fair bit of forest debris on all greens, indeed too much to remove to get a clear line for putts. So, a bumpy and veering trip for the ball after a stroke.

Jeff in the bar took good care of us after the round, and had a nice salad, but they do have a fairly large offering for heavier fare, as desired.

Glad we played, my friend even made 1 par on the day after knocking some rust off, and still highly recommend the experience in spite of conditions and price. Hopefully, they spend more of the greens fees to hire someone to provide better course upkeep going forward.

From one remote Norcal "must-play" to another, I finally made my way out to Northwood after we finished up at Bodega. As a self-proclaimed "golf nomad," raised in the much-farther-north Northern Calif... Continue »

From one remote Norcal "must-play" to another, I finally made my way out to Northwood after we finished up at Bodega. As a self-proclaimed "golf nomad," raised in the much-farther-north Northern California redwoods, short course supporter, and so on, I almost felt embarrassed that I hadn't played here yet. The monkey is finally off my back and, for the most part, the course lived up to the hype. I got out on the first tee immediately after arriving, paired with another twosome. It was very busy and slow ahead of us, so really long waits on every tee shot and approach. Good thing there's plenty of shade here. The twosome I played with started on hole 7 (some folks will do this here because of convenient routing). They stopped after 6, but then the starter put a replacement twosome with me to start their round. I played my last 3 holes with them before they continued on. My round was quite slow at 2.5 hours for the 9 holes. The conditions were good. Nice and green here, which looked great under blue skies with the tall redwoods framing every hole. Tee boxes fine. Fairways had some weak spots here and there (lots of soft areas and some bare spots), but were mostly pretty good. Rough more of a mixed bag, but decent enough around greens and in areas that mattered. I wasn't in any bunkers, but they appeared pretty nice (there aren't really too many here). Greens were in good shape, firmer than you might expect and rolling well at medium/fast speeds. Now, if I didn't know this was an Alister Mackenzie course coming in, I wouldn't have guessed it had any super special architecture pedigree. That is not knocking the layout at all. It's a solid layout in a spectacular setting. It's one where he purposely kept the design simple and let the natural terrain/surroundings do the heavy lifting. The few bunkers on the course definitely have some character to them and the small greens are tricky. A few are really unique-looking. Otherwise, what you see is what you get. Avoid the big trees (good luck) and you can post a really good score. Otherwise, a great place to enjoy a relaxed round of golf. Friendly atmosphere and rustic setting. Definitely worth going out of the way for, even if you don't want to take a 9-hole course too seriously. Get over yourself and play here if you are in the area!

Played here last month during my B-day trip to SF. This course is another gem. I am amazed that my two favorite courses from my SF trip were 9-hole courses (Aetna Springs being the other one). Built... Continue »

Played here last month during my B-day trip to SF. This course is another gem. I am amazed that my two favorite courses from my SF trip were 9-hole courses (Aetna Springs being the other one). Built in 1928 by Allister MacKenzie, this course has all the expected aspects of a MacKenzie course.

He even built his own "Little Amen Corner", an homage to Augusta National. The final three holes start with a long par-4 with a fairway that becomes more narrow as it approaches the green. You are advised to aim for the bears behind the green to safely make it on the green. The next hole is a short par 3 to a multi-tiered green that requires pinpoint accuracy or else you are looking at a multi-break putt up/down a tier trying to save par. The final hole is a brutally long par 5 that is rated one of the hardest par 5's on NorCal.

The course was busy that afternoon, but the pace of play was still quick. the man in the Pro Shop was very friendly and offered a yardage book for anyone that was new to the course. I would like a rematch with MacKenzie's green complexes. The course is a little off the beaten trail, but definitely worth the journey. A definite must play!

After reading the prior reviews, was excited to play here. It was everything I hoped for. I was surprised how challenging this somewhat short nine holes course played, not just because of the narrow ... Continue »

After reading the prior reviews, was excited to play here. It was everything I hoped for. I was surprised how challenging this somewhat short nine holes course played, not just because of the narrow fairways, but the greens themselves. This course is a little gem. What a wonderful experience to play between the redwoods on this old style classic course. Conditions were good, not great, but who cares. The setting was magical. A little pricey for what you get, but sure glad I made the stop on my way to Bogeda to play here.

Step back in time. This course was built in 1928. It was designed Alistair Mackenzie. Yes, that Alistair Mackenzie. Designed a few other courses you might have heard of. Like Augusta National and Cypr... Continue »

Step back in time. This course was built in 1928. It was designed Alistair Mackenzie. Yes, that Alistair Mackenzie. Designed a few other courses you might have heard of. Like Augusta National and Cypress Point.
There are other courses that have redwood trees. This course is played through a redwood forest. It is only nine holes, unfortunately. But the nine holes are majestic. It's short, par 36, but most of the par 4's are pretty short. Only the ninth hole has any kind of length to it at over 500 yards from the white tees. (No blue or black tees. The whites are the tips.)The fairways tend to narrow as you approach the green. Other than #8, there aren't many sand traps. And no water. But the trees will force you to hit the ball fairly straight. The greens are fair but challenging. Some are on the small size, at least compared to contemporary courses.

This course is in Monte Rio on the Russian River. As you drive down Hwy 116, you'd better keep your eyes peeled or you may miss it.

It only takes about 2 hours to play the nine holes, so if you visiting the area on a wine tasting trip, you can easily get in nine holes in the morning or early afternoon. You'll enjoy the sight of your ball sailing against the backdrop of the redwood trees

You get the sense that you are playing golf the way Alistair Mackenzie, a Scot, wanted it played.

I love this course! 9 holes but the fairways are great, I'm a 18 and it is a fair course neat hole not the hardest place I play but being in the Redwoods and the friendlyness of everyone makes it so w... Continue »

I love this course! 9 holes but the fairways are great, I'm a 18 and it is a fair course neat hole not the hardest place I play but being in the Redwoods and the friendlyness of everyone makes it so wonderful. The sound of your ball hitting one of the Redwoods is amazing! Hopefully you wont experience that, but I do. They keep the ground under the trees pretty clean so while it is not impossible to losse a ball, it's not as hard as one would think. Both par 5's are a tad narrow from the tee box for me, but opens up... number 9 is a great closing par 5.... Go there.

Wow what a beauty! What a great representation of Sonoma County with the Russian River near and redwoods surrounding you. Conditions were perfect in all aspects except for the sand which was a little ... Continue »

Wow what a beauty! What a great representation of Sonoma County with the Russian River near and redwoods surrounding you. Conditions were perfect in all aspects except for the sand which was a little hard (no big deal) from morning irrigation and light mist in between the beautiful redwoods. Fairly easy and straightforward course. My only complaint was that it was only 9 holes... I wanted more! A great course to check out if you're in the area.