I played Laguna Seca Thursday morning with some friends on an absolutely gorgeous day. We originally were going to play Quail but changed it over to Laguna due to some logistical complications for a couple of our players. I almost backed out but glad I didn’t. This might have been the best shape I’ve ever seen this course in!!

The fairways were awesome. I’ve played here a lot over the years and this is only the second time I’ve seen the fairways in this good of shape. Fairways were nice and lush with good coverage throughout. A couple fairways were a little soggy from overwatering but that’s about it.

Greens were also in better than usual condition. For the most part the greens rolled smooth at a medium fast pace. Greens showed no signs of the recent aeration. I was in one bunker and it was a little wet but otherwise ok. Tee boxes were ok. Mainly level with adequate coverage.

It was a great day to be out with my buddies and the course is in better than usual condition. Hopefully the trend continues as this is such a fun layout.

Second stop of the day yesterday with the GK gurus was at Paradise Valley. The sister course to Rancho Solano may get second billing but remember Steve Young and Tom Brady were both backup QB’s initially as well! This course could easily be a starter in most places!! It has solid conditions tee to green and a fun layout that can easily be challenging if you get a little wild off the tee. Paradise Valley has a number of water hazards to keep the track from being a boring flat course and has a good blend of par 3’s plus a variety of par 4’s and fun Par 5’s. An island green was about all that was missing.

Greens are normal size and very manageable. They rolled smooth at a good pace that was appropriate for the course. Undulations were modest. Some just enough to confuse you, others had enough break to be predictable so it was just a matter of matching up the speed with the break. Most greens were double tiered but not so ridiculous that if you were on the wrong tier you had No chance of two putting.

Fairways weren’t quite as nice as Rancho Solano but definitely in good shape and nothing to complain about. Rough was probably perfect. It was only about 2-2.5 inches tall but thick and did just exactly what the rough is suppose to do… penalize you for missing the fairway! You could easily get a club on the ball but it was difficult to hit a great shot from the rough.

Sand traps and tee boxes were also of good quality. The one area where Paradise Valley was definitely a notch or two below was the skirt areas around the green. It was ok, but not as consistent or nice as RS.

We stopped in at the restaurant / bar afterwards to have a post round re-cap and I had the tri-tip salad and was quite pleased with it. Aside from losing the birdie chain at the end. It was a great day all around.

Went out on National Golf day and played 36 with the GK crew. First up was Rancho Solano GC. It’s been too long since I’ve last played here and can guarantee it won’t be another 4 years between rounds! This is a great course with excellent conditions. We had a 7am tee time which was perfect for the hot weather to come. In fact it was so nice that my long sleeve Ryder Cup jacket only lasted half a hole!

The course layout checks off (almost) all the boxes. It has elevation changes, water hazards, and great playing conditions. There are a variety of hole designs to make you use every club in the bag, wide fairways on some holes that beg you to grip it and rip and some narrow ones that make you use your fairway finder shot off the tee.

Greens are huge at Rancho Solano. In fact my “birdie” putt on one of the last holes was longer than my opening tee shot with a driver. Just sayin’. Greens rolled smooth at nice medium-fast pace. Obviously with greens this large there are a number of undulations to them. Stick it close and you have a relatively flat putt. But if you putt from the back 40 you will have a roller coaster of a ride. Greens were receptive to approach shots.

Fairways were excellent. In fact if I hadn’t just played Olympic Club with perfect fairways, I may have rated these higher than an 8. Still, they were lush, green and offered good roll out. Skirt area around the greens was superb. Even better than the greens and fairways. Gave you the option of putting (Texas wedge style) or chipping from a great surface.

Tee boxes were flat with good coverage. I was in a couple of bunkers and no issues with the quality of the sand. Reminded me of the higher quality sand found in the valley. A deeper brown in color but very light and playable.

We were the first group so we set the pace. We had lunch in the Restaurant which had a nice selection of food options. Not just the standard burger and fries. The pro shop had a limited selection of clothes. Sadly they didn’t have anything in my size (or anything close to my size).

About halfway through, Ko commented “I could play here every day, if I lived close by”. It’s that good of a course!

I mentioned early in this review that it checks off “almost” all the boxes. The only real thing I would comment on is that the Par 3’s are all pretty long. Only one is under 175 yards from the white at it was in the 150 range. Certainly not a deal breaker but if this was on my weekly rotation, I’d like to see some additional tee boxes on the Par 3’s so they can move them up closer a couple days a week.

All in all this is a great course. Fun, challenging, and has solid conditions all around. Time to put in on the rotation schedule make excuses to come this way to play it.

SDF and I played Olympic Club this morning on about the best weather you can hope for in San Francisco. We arrived early and took advantage of a nice breakfast then headed off to the range and practice putting green. The range is on grass, though I will say it was fairly chewed up. seemed like the markers hadn’t been moved in a while. But no big deal. Practice green was super nice. Rolled extremely smooth and taught us to pay attention to the grain. On the practice green, downhill putts were slow and uphill putts were super fast. This helped later on out on the course.

The layout reminded me a lot of Lake Merced. Obviously being in the same general area it’s no surprise that the fairways are lined by the same cypress trees and it’s on a hill. No extreme elevation changes (except a downhill par 3) but enough to keep things interesting.

Overall course conditions were top notch as you would expect from a high end country club of this caliber. Tee boxes were fantastic and easily rated at a 9. . Fairways, were even better and rated a 10. Fairways had perfect lush dark green grass. They offered great roll out and still presented an excellent hitting surface. Only one fairways on the entire course had a couple thin areas. The rest were superb.

Greens were also in great shape. Not quite the over the top easily a perfect 10 like the practice green but definitely good enough to deserve a 10 rating. The rolled very predictable at a fast pace with the grain and a medium-fast pace against the grain. Greens had that perfect balance of size and undulations.

The layout is a parkland style track but you never really get the been there done that feeling. Fairways are modest in width but still have trouble lurking with cypress and pine trees lining all sides. Several of the holes had dog legs to really make shot placement a key for angle into the green with all the trees lining the course.

The entire course is built on hilly terrain (as is all of San Francisco) but the course is definitely walkable
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Bunkers are steep but have a nice amount of fluffy sand. Rough was only about 1.5-2 inches deep but it was thick.

Overall the conditions were top notch and the course was fun to play . My only criticism of the layout is the lack of a water hazard on the course. There are no water features on the course or any forced carries of any kind. Other than that it’s a great track. There are a number of great views of the City (Daly City) and water throughout the course. Great clubhouse and restaurant. Staff is excellent and the pro shop had a great selection of clothes.

Being that it was my turn to treat, it cost me a pretty penny but it was a fun day and enjoyable to experience a great course.

Conditions are starting to slip a bit. The greens on the Front nine rolled fairly slow. The back nine was much improved, rolling at a medium fast pace. There were 2-3 greens that had sanded areas where they had done some maintenance work.

Fairways are starting to brown up here and there with more and more thin areas developing

Rest of the course is the same. POP was slow due to an older couple holding things up a few groups ahead. Often we had 3 groups on a tee box waiting for them

It’s hard to get mad at the Elderly but frustrating when there’s only 6 groups
On the entire course and 4 of us were all stacked up behind them. Course layout is still fun and unique with a good mixture of target golf and scoring holes

Looking for some sun on the Peninsula, I headed inland and played Carmel Valley Ranch on a picture perfect day. I often forget about this great course and don’t know why. It’s a spectacular track. I played 36, once from the brown tee’s and once from the orange. The course was super quiet and I felt like I had the place to myself except for about a 4 hole stretch where I ran into a grandmother and her grandson who seemed to be oblivious that there was actually someone else on the course!

Condition wise the entire place is just short of a 10! In fact one could easily justify rating it at a 10. The greens were awesome. The rolled super smooth at a nice fast pace. It was a pleasure to play on greens that rolled fast like this. The best part was that the greens kept a consistent pace throughout the entire day/course. The only reason I didn’t rate the greens a 10 was that they were a tad firm on approach shots.

Fairways were in that 9.5-10 range and I gave them a 10. Fairways were nice and lush and emerald green throughout. There was one fairway that was damp and swallowed up tee shots preventing any rollout. Other than that, Perfect.

Tee boxes were perfect. Level, lush, very few divots (which were filled in with sand). Sand boxes had high quality sand. Rough was very manageable. Yes this is a resort course and plays like such, but it’s a gem with water hazards on the front nine and elevation changes on the back. I need to put in on my rotation more often!

I played Spring Valley yesterday with an afternoon tee time. Greens were much much faster this time around. In fact they were probably the fastest greens I’ve been on in the area. They rolled nice and smooth at a medium-fast pace. Everything else was very similar to my previous review. Fairways had some brown areas throughout but still very playable. POP started off nice for the first 8 holes then got very slow. Finished in 4.5 hours.

The course sits on a hillside like others but is still walkable (as I did yesterday) and doesn’t really have any dramatic elevation changes. Overall, it’s a decent course for a decent price.

I checked off another area course when I played The Bridges on Saturday afternoon. This is another great conditioned course set in the hillside of the East Bay just off Highway 680. I didn’t really explore the clubhouse/restaurant as there was a wedding going on but it looked sizable and very nice. Pro shop was fairly small and the attendant provided excellent customer service.

The course really winds through the hills and neighborhood, but except for crossing the occasional street during transfers, you don’t really see the houses. They are set back enough to be a non factor for the most part. Very few holes are adjoining and those that do run parallel to each other are separated by barranca, gully or a natural terrain center median that all but prevents you from reaching the opposing fairway.

As with other courses in the area, they have used the hillside to create some unique and challenging holes that are all different from each other and others in the area. Marketing has billed The Bridges as the “toughest course in Northern California”. I’m not sure about that but they definitely have their name in the conversation. I brought my “C” game and lost 5 balls in the first 12 holes. but then once I got my swing on track, made 3 pars and 2 birdies on the back nine alone. It’s definitely target golf. It didn’t help than none of us had ever played the course before so we had no prior course knowledge. There is GPS on the carts which helps with course layout.

Condition wise, the entire course was pretty much in great shape. Greens were very receptive to approach shots and pitch shots and rolled true. The practice green was lightening fast, yet the actual greens on the course were manageable. Most had moderate slope to them. They did get a little spongy in the afternoon. Fairways were excellent. Good solid lush coverage throughout. Tee boxes had amble coverage but most had some moderate unevenness to them. Enough that it was noticeable throughout the day. No issues with the sand traps. I was surprised there was no beverage cart out being that it was a weekend. Maybe because it was in the afternoon. POP was slow as is the the case with all the courses in this area. We finished right at 5 hours which seems to be the norm around here. I’m not used to the long rounds that’s for sure.

The Bridges sits between Callippe and Wente Vinyards in the price range and for the money may just be the best value. I will be back again for sure!

Played Callippe yesterday afternoon in warm weather with little wind. This is about my 3rd-4th time playing the course and the “local” knowledge certainly helps navigate this fun hilly layout. The course really puts an accuracy over distance. Especially on the back nine. There are unique hole designs that I enjoy, but I could see how others might find them gimmicky or difficult

Condition wise the course is pretty solid tee to green. The greens rolled smooth at a medium-slow pace. Most greens have moderate slope and are double tiered. Enough to challenge you but not so severe you are cursing them out

Fairways were nice. They were lush with good coverage throughout and only a few thin areas. Most tee boxes were level with lush coverage, though a couple were a bit uneven. Nothing too bad though. Sand traps were fine and the rough was decent enough. A couple spotty areas but mainly good coverage throughout

POP was painfully slow. Right at 5 hours for a late afternoon round. Customer service was great. This is tough course to walk but doable.

I finally made it out to Cinnabar Hills after all these years and being so close to it. I can tell you right away that this wont be my last time playing here. What a great course! I’ve heard so much about it with everyone always raving about how good this track is. Well, I’m here to say they were all right. It’s a gem!

Starting with the clubhouse, you think you are in a private country club setting not some public muni course. In fact the clubhouse is so nice they have TV’s in the urinal walls. There’s also a shower in case you want to hose off after the round in the hot weather.

Pro shop attendant in the morning was having a bad day and was a bit grumpy. Afternoon staff was fine. We played the the Lakes / Mountain combination. Both 9’s were similar in style in that they had fairly open fairways sans a couple holes that had tight landing areas or gully’s to navigate. Course is on a hillside so there are plenty of elevation changes. Sort of like Carmel Valley Ranch, Cinnabar has most of the holes playing downhill. They have you drive up the hill to the next tee box so just about 90% of the holes play downhill.

Practice green was super tricky. However we found the green complexes on the course to be great. They rolled at the perfect medium-fast pace where downhill putts were slippery but you could get aggressive on uphill putts. I will say that I think we had more than our share of generous pin locations which helped tame the greens. There were a few tough pins but most were accessible

Fairways were being treated with some fertilizer that didn’t affect play too much, more the smell and aesthetics. Still, they were lush throughout. A couple fairways were soggy which prevented roll out.

Tee boxes were mainly level with lush coverage and divot free for the most part. Bunkers had great quality sand, though a few hadn’t been properly raked. We tee’d off at 10AM so and weren’t in any hurry at all so we slipped back a hole as to not pressure the group in front and we never had anyone behind us all day. The next group was easily 3 holes back.

As I said at the beginning, this was a blast of a course and I can see why people rave about it. I too will be one of the one’s raving about Cinnabar Hills!

I’ve played here a few times now and the place is starting to grow on me. Conditions remain just ok. Nothing that is going to wow you but not a dog track by any means. The layout is unique and challenging with plenty of scoring holes mixed in with survive and move on. Having said that, it’s all about accuracy here at Bay View. Color between the lines and you are rewarded with a manageable approach shot that generally isn’t too difficult. Everting here is about being in the correct position off the tee. After that, the greens are fairly accessible.

Greens are moderate in size with modest slope with a few being double tiered. Today they rolled on the slower side. Somewhere in the medium-slow zone. the last few times they rolled faster at a medium + speed. I played in the afternoon today so pace was slow (as it was a few weeks ago on the weekend) and the greens got a little bumpy towards the end of the day. There were also plenty of un-repaired pitch marks on the greens.

Fairways were average. Pretty decent coverage throughout with a few thin areas.

Tee boxes were a bit chewed up and some had some were unlevel. The tee boxes were the definite weak link on the course.

Take the afternoon bumpy greens out of the equation along with the holiday weekend slow play and you have a winning course that gets my recommendation.

I finally made it out to TPC Stonebrea and it took a Golfmoose outing to do it. Like others in the area the course sits way up on the hillside east of Hayward in a very nice gated community as you would expect for an elite CC of this nature. The views from the top of the course were awesome, and I could only imagine what dinner at night is like from the clubhouse. The pro shop is fairly small with just enough items to fill your souvenir bag/closet with an item or two.

Range (for us) was off mats with traditional yellow range balls. Carts had GPS and a cooler. What the course doesn’t have are any marking on the tees to tell you what hole you’re on. Nor where there any trash cans out on the course/ tee boxes. I imagine that was due to wildlife?

They had recently aerated the greens about 2-3 weeks ago and some had healed quicker than others. Within a week to 10 days all should be good to go. As of today, most were a bit slow (but not nearly as bad as Poppy Ridge) and then you’d find a typical medium-fast paced green. Greens are on the larger side with multiple tiers or at least all having a double tier. Because of the pronounced undulations and the slope of the hillside, most greens were easy to read, but some seemed to break against logic.

Fairways were nice and lush. Nothing spectacular but certainly above average. Fairways are fairly wide open but there are some dog legs and twists and turns to them that keep you honest. No real trees to get you into trouble but definitely some steep hillside (lateral hazards) that will steal a ball or two from you if you get wild off the tee or chose the wrong line.

Bunkers were a little thin. Playable but not the fluffy soft sand you’d expect from a course of this nature.

Overall it was a very fun and challenging course. With all of the elevation changes and some long transfers, I doubt you’d want to walk this course. Especially in the heat. It was worth the price tag and I’d play it again for sure.