This is one nice golf course; tough, challenging, elevation changes, lots of bunkers (grass and sand), Add wild turkeys, geese and a few hawks, and it makes for one luxury class golf course that will not rape your wallet!

This use to be a private country club and now it is open to the public.

The fairways were very nice, the greens rolled fast and smooth, the traps were mostly fluffy, although I only had the privilege to find two on this day.

The pace of play was great for the fact I was playing in a tournament (foursome stroke play) and was finish in less than 4 hours.

The setting of this course is placed in a wealthy area of Roseville, which adds to the scenic surroundings of this course. Top it off with little wind, clear blue skies and a nice mid 70's temperature, and you have the perfect place to enjoy this hilly wonderland.

Fairways offer a mixture of narrow to wide, making for a variety of difficulty of the tee. A few holes open up and scream "Let it rip" ... and I did on the 15th and 17th ... However, there are a couple that require a well place shot off the tee or a troubled 2nd shot will await you.

Overall, this course is a blast to play, and I look forward to the next time I can make the trek up to this neighborhood.

The green fees are reasonable and are well worth the cost.

Well, I tried to have an open mind while playing this course for my first time yesterday.

I will not be going back anytime soon.

To be fair, the course could be made into a nice course if money was no object, and I am sure it was a great course when it first opened up.

The condition of the course ... thin, dry (except where the over-watered areas didn't drain off and were not staked off and I got the cart stuck - having to get out and push it out of the sludge to get it moving) and lots of poor drainage wet spots that were not staked off or even noticeable until you were right in them ...

I did manage to play my fastest round ever ... actually, I couldn't believe I was off the course in just under 2 hours and thirty minutes! (on a Wednesday morning teeing off shortly after 10:00)

Greens: they were the best part of the course, smooth, very few ball marks - probably due to very few golfers on this course, should have picked up on this before paying the green fee ... also they are small, medium in firmness and speed.

Sand Traps: No Rakes on any of the few traps I had found, and the condition of the traps ... thin, crusty and poor.

Fairways: hard, dry in some spots and spongy wet in others wit some grass.

Water (ponds): Stink! if you put a ball into one, you wouldn't want to stick your hand in it to get it back ... (if you could handle getting that close to it)

Rough: I didn't have any problems with it as it wasn't that thick ... nor did I find myself in it that much.

This course is the Step-child course of Stockton muni courses.


If your going to play a Stockton Muni course, Play Swenson Park. Much better condition, same prices, but the "Value" is worth it.

Van Buskirk isn't worth the green fee, I don't think I would play here again, even if it was free ...

I hate to be negative ... but I feel it's a shame a good course is allowed to get so run down.

Just a quick update on the course. Surprisingly the condition of this course has survived the heat of summer for the most part. While a few fairways are rock hard, they are still green in most places and only a few areas that are a bit thin and/or brown (expected when near the greens/fairways in the 'common' landing zones).

Maintenance has begun on a few of the fairways with the tell-tale irrigation pellets that remind me of giant moose droppings ...

The greens are still in good shape but once the final large group tourney's end for this season, they will recovery to their normally smooth speedy selves.

The Traps - there are a few that can use some added sand and the rain from about a week ago, didn't help their condition any ... but most are still playable.

The Wind - this is what makes this course so fun (for me anyway) ... it adds a lot to the course personality. When it is a dead-calm day, the course is easily manageable. but let the fury of the Delta Breeze blow, and you can expect a two club swing in distance at times ... like a 120 yard 8 iron!, instead of a PW!!! on the short Par 3, 13th hole ...

And yet, reward you with a mammoth drive on the 14th hole! (Providing you hit it in the Fairway)

I like a round that makes every shot a 'second guess' and requires good course management...

And with the amount of water that comes into play ... you would be wise to err on the side of caution ....

Haven't seen a recent write-up on Micke Grove Golf links yet, so here is my feeling on my first time playing this course.

I like it.

It is suffering from the heat of summer like all of the other courses in the San Joaquin valley. Face it, IT'S HOT in the VALLEY! today it was 97 ... but I digress ...

This course is challenging, but not overpowering. It offers a wide range of different looks, provides plenty of water and fairway bunkers to keep you rewarded with a great tee shot, but can punish you for that slice or hook.

A few of the fairways were a bit on the narrow side, but nothing like Elkhorn ...
The Willow trees can be a life saver around the Water holes (or, at least in my case they were - LOL)

Greens - Most were smooth and in nice shape, a couple were bumpy, but still very putt-able.
8 out of 10

Sand Traps - the few I found myself in were in very good in the sand levels - almost didn't make it out because I didn't expect to be able to dig a hole in the sand!- I got about 2 inches deep in the first trap I played, and found myself still in the trap! Most of the other courses in Stockton have packed sand - Not here, like hitting out of a sandbox. Quite a pleasure - if you like playing out of sand ...
8 out of 10

Fairways - most of them were nice, some areas were a bit thin and hard, but very playable. I would give them a 7 out of 10

Rough - thin in some spots, scary thick in others, but hey ... it's called ROUGH for a reason .... overall ... 7 out of 10

What made this course worth it for me was the price, Monday Madness is in effect ... so the course was well worth the green fees. There was even a cart girl on the course for a MONDAY ... and we tee'd off at 12:15. was off the 18th green at 4:00 and we played as a foursome.

The Pro-shop seemed like it was well stocked and reasonably priced. This course is well maintained and I rank it up there with Swenson Park, but the trees are more friendlier to escape from ... or ... maybe not ... LOL

But, I think it plays a tad harder than Swenson, due to the amount of water and bunkers on the course.

I'll add pictures later ...

Oh .... one last thing, the course has changed the old Front Nine, to the Back Nine (10-18) and vise-versa

Well, I finally had my day at Elkhorn Golf Club, I played during the Twilight time (after 2PM), teeing off around 3:00, Finished the round with my partner in a tad over 3 hours.

First, I found this a very fun course even though I had a rough start for the first 6 holes. Call it stage fright,or maybe claustrophobia.

This course is tight, with trees and plays within the confines of nice homes that seem to have a way of scarring you into submission.

Fades and draws can easily put you into another fairway, or worse.

The course is not nice, if you find yourself long on your approach shots to the greens. Especially on the 9th and 16th green.

My two favorite holes that stand out on this course in my opinion, was the 12th and the 15th. There are a few others that also stuck in my memory as well. but I am not going to give a play-by-play of the course, go out and enjoy it for yourself ...

The 12th is a nasty little 350yd (from the white), par 4, dogleg right with trees, and houses along the right hand side, forcing you to shy clear of the right, but the left side has trees that separates the 4th hole fairway. to make things interesting, you need to take into consideration the pond you have to cross over to approach the elevated green, also to make it more interesting is the two collection bunkers on the right and left side.

The 15th is a short 296yd, par 4 with trees an houses down the left side and water down the right, starting from about 150 yds from the (white) tee box. The fairway starts of narrow and opens up about 200 yds from the tee. The green is elevated (as are most of the greens) and not much space behind them as there are homes that run behind this hole. Actually, the homes can come into play on a lot of this course. So you have to be cautious. Also the streets/roads come into play along a few holes as well. But this is a fun course to play just the same. Really nice shape for the time of year. Well manicured.

The greens were a challenge. Smooth, fast and some of the nicest I have played on so far. It still is a shame the golfer etiquette of a few, still refuse to repair their ball marks from landing them on the green. If everyone repaired just one ball mark, other than their own, every course would benefit ... same goes for divots in the tee boxes and fairways (but that is another topic).

This course kicked my butt for my first time playing it, but I will be back and with a vengeance.

I only wish I had read up on the course before I played it.

Oh, be sure to pick up a hole-by-hole guide book in the pro-shop. It's free and helpful (if you read it before you play each hole) ... I did this too late ... it saved me a few strokes on the back nine and allowed me to enjoy my round for at least 12 holes ...

I'll post some pictures later.

I love this course, a little pricey, but worth every bit of the cost. The value for the dollar is worth the fun. Pace of play can be slow for some, but the pace was never more than 15 minutes for the play on any one hole ... the round still was less than 4 hours, which is fine for a Saturday afternoon.

The course was in really nice shape compared to most of the other courses I have seen this time of year (for Stockton area).

The course has plenty of water and sand to keep you from going too wild. It is a Links style course and the Delta breeze can be counted on to make club selection interesting. It is easier to name the holes that doesn't have water in play.

They are as follows: #1, #4, #5, #6, #8, #12 (providing you don't fly the green LONG!), and #15.

The last 3 holes are my favorite, the 16th is a 490yd par 5, the tee shot demands you place a good shot in the fairway or you find "beach front property" on the right and the left. The approach shot to the green, demands that you keep it straight, or to the right, else your can guarantee a lost ball.

The 17th, water is in play all along the right (not good for those of us that fade the ball that direction as a norm). The same goes for the 18th hole. Water is in play, all the way to the green along the right hand side, and bunkers to protect the left side of the green. This makes coming out of the trap, a scary ordeal to stick the green or risk losing the ball in the "Long Pond" which is shared with the 9th hole ...

This same scenario exists on the par 3, 13th ... the bunker on the left side of the green, is not one you want to hit the ball thin, or come out HOT! ...

The course is also home to several species of wildlife ... Hawks, Coyotes and Geese ... and I saw a snake the other day ... so keep an open eye when looking for your ball in some of the "OB" areas ...

I would not hesitate to play this course again!

I recently got back into the "game" after a 20 year layoff due to back injury from too much golf ...

Having said that, I spent the last month chipping, putting, and hitting about 500 balls off the driving range over at another "nearby" course.

This last Week, I finally broke down and headed over to this course due to their great "Tuesday and Thursday Summer Special Rates" ... $10.00 Green fee (walking) after 11:00AM. The first time out I was pleased that I was a lot lower than I expected and not as good as I wanted ... but considering a 20 year hiatus, I have no remorse. The greens were in fine shape but a tad slow on Tuesday, Thursday they played totally different as they was prepping the course for a city-wide tournament for the week-end. Both days I had played the c18 holes in just over 3.5 hours, Tuesday I walked while two others rode in a cart ... Thursday I played as a twosome with one of the gentlemen I golfed with on Tuesday - We have became golfing buds - and he was quite surprised I played as well as I did for not golfing for as long as I have been off the links.

This Sunday, he would have been totally surprised on how well I played the little Par 3 executive 9-Hole course, Heck, I surprise myself ... starting off with a birdie on the 1st 125yd par 3. (hit a 9-iron 3 foot to the pin) and having 3 pars and 5 regulation greens ... the greens on the par 3 course are not as nice, or fast as the 18 hole course, and the course is a "landmine" for goose poop ... The par 3 course also has more water to contend with than the "18-hole Course" with the 6th hole playing at 210 yds, water on the left side and trees that close of the left side of the green making for a narrow approach to the green from the tee. Best to play this to the right side of the green or, to lay up short with an long iron and chip to the green ... This is the # one handicap hole for the 9-hole par 3 course. Next time I will take my own advise ( this was the only hole I triple boogied - due to finding the water, when my tee shot found the trees on the left and kicked my "NEW" ProV1 Titleist in for a swim.

Other than that , I ended up 7 over for a round of 34 ... thanks to a double on the 5th and triple on the 6th ...

The Par 3 is a fun little course, but for the money ... play the 18 hole ... better value for your dollars. Unless you only have 90 minutes to play ... Wink, wink ...