Played 11-16 (Sunday) late afternoon.

Course is BEATEN UP... Recent work on the greens made things terrible. Bumpy, hard, dry and lots of really thin, nearly bare spots. I'm only going to walk for a while on this course as I can feel I am doing my part to get in shape since the course conditions are so poor.

I was the late addition to the 10/11 foursome and had a blast on this course! (even with the wasp sting.) From a high HC players perspective, this course is lets say... intimidating! Mountain style course with lots and lots of forced carries off the tee boxes. Once you are on the fairway, most holes don't have a second forced carry.

Conditions and people are fantastic. Great service, they really want you to enjoy your round. Wind was a major factor. Since I live out here, this is normal for us in the summer months in the afternoons - I'm kind of used to it. The course was great. Recovering from maintenance work, but still very, very playable.

Pace of play was not that bad (lost some time to first aid issue), but overall I think resort courses can be a longer round. That way you get to enjoy the scenery more!

So, unlike a lot of folks, I LOVE THIS COURSE. As challenging and difficult as any course out there. (Check out the ratings!)

This is sort of an update to the last time I played here. We were there last week when they were plugging the white tee boxes, so I played half the course from the blues and half from the greens.

My single gripe on this course is that the golfers seem to have forgotten how to fix ball marks. As immaculate at this course is (and I challenge anyone to find one that is better) there seems to be a total disregard for manners and normal golf behavior.

We were zipping along (and this course is usually really quick even with its length and difficulty) and around the 14th things bogged down because of a couple REALLY REALLY slow foursomes. One guy [known to be particularly slow] waited until a guy hit to even get his club. Then he would take his practice swings and then hit his ball.

Well, aggravations aside, it is still a great track and when you get to play at a discounted rate, even better!

The greens were particularly tricky. Slow and soft early and then REALLY REALLY fast later in the round. Smooth and green, no bare spots at all, but I fixed about 10 ball marks per green. = (

Played on Friday at 103+ degrees, so have to take some thoughts here with the heat index...

Very nice layout and for the uninitiated, this course has some surprises. I was out on a demo outing and our group (fivesome) consisted of the course record holder, a single digit HC, a couple mid teen HCs, and me pulling up the rear with a mid 20s HC.

Even with the drought, most fairways, greens and tee boxes were in really good shape. The rough areas are thin in terms of grass growth, but anything near a pond will be deep. Under trees will be grass free, but have lots of mulch/leaves, etc., that won't be fun either. Keeping in in the short grass is always a good idea.

Greens were very receptive to balls and the traps were pretty good. I luckily only hit two all day. We were the slow group going round but other groups were really good about it as we were showing off the product. Met with the Asst. Pro's, course regulars, etc. Cart Gal was always around and was a good thing because of the heat.

I will go back (and play from MY tees, not the tips what so ever!)

Played this evening (7:20) tee off. Fairways are in EXCELLENT condition. Some spots were tad wet near the cart paths. Greens were well kept, but show the normal amount of unfixed ball marks. Wind was present, but once it died down, played really good. Wide, WIDE fairways, can hit driver on quite a few holes. Really nice sand in the traps. NICE touch.

This is somewhat of an update... The course is getting killed by the drought conditions (30% manditory savings) so the rough is mostly dead now and the fairways are hard. Meaning long, long, LONG rolls and you can find your ball in the dead grass on the sides. Greens are holding up as are the tee boxes. This could be a great course if the managment took the time and $$$ to bring it back to it design potential.

Golf in Heaven...

This is by far my favorite course of all time. Since I love the Sierras, Squaw Valley in particular, and love golf, this course is pretty much a perfect day on the greens. The scenery is spectacular any time of year, the conditions are amazing, and the staff are very attentive.

The course starts off with a mountain/forest theme with large redwoods lining both sides of the fairways. A errant tee shot is lost.. just take another ball out and take your 3 off the tee. The second phase is more meadow like and has water in play. Finally, the course meanders in a wetland where missing the fairway is just plain OB because you can't find the ball.

Greens are fast, but the ball will grab, traps are spectacular, fairways are amazing (short season so they don't get killed with hackers.)

Don't get me wrong, this is a TOUGH resort course. It is target golf and errant shots are long gone. BUT the setting is amazing. I say, play to enjoy the round, and unless you are in a tourney, don't attempt a good score your first time out. This course will bite you hard.

If I could only play one course for the rest of my days, this might be it.

We headed to Monarch on a couple free passes (paid only the cart fee) and had a blast. Of course, nearly free golf pretty much guarantees a good time = ) Very nice links style course with exceptional quality bunkers, lush fairways and excellent greens. Ver few trees on most holes with some at tee boxes or strategically placed along fairways. Overall a very pleasant route and the view is to Die for! Right accross the bay from San Francisco. Yes, the jets can be a bit distracting, but you could always use them to think that it could be you in one of those planes flying to some stupid training meeting. Uh lets see, flying next to someone with Bird Flu or stepping in goose poop. I will take tha latter.

As an NCGA member, I get to play a world-class course in fantastic conditions at a DEEP, DEEP discount. Any questions? Poppy Ridge has three nines and if this was a private equity course, memberships would be in the 100K range. Quite simply an immaculate course that uses every square inch of the property they purchased. As mentioned before, the course handles weather perfectly, and in the summer this course gets more difficult. Wind moves your ball, and speeds up the fairways and greens to Agusta speeds. The rough is wild animal territory, so looking for a lost Titleist is an invite to meet with a rattlesnake. On cart GPS units are cool, but ours locked up for about half an hour.

Weekends are quite busy and distances between holes is long in some cases, so plan accordingly. It is just a matter of time before Poppy Ridge hosts a pro event and I can't wait!

Dublin Ranch is a little jewel among lots of competition in the East Bay. The operative word is 'little' as it isn't a par 3 executive course, nor is it a full par 70 course. It is a "tweener" that will challenge your short game for the entire round.

The conditions (greens, fairways, tee boxes, traps, carts, clubhouse, etc.) are fantastic! Pricing includes carts and complimentary bottles of water.

The course plays much like The Bridges at Gayle Ranch as it is built on similar topography. Level lies are a luxury and fairways are generally narrow and sloped. There are VERY few trees, so bring sunblock when it is hot, and be prepared for an afternoon wind.

Dublin Ranch also runs an active email marketing campaign, so discounted rounds abound. Pace of play is good since the course is short.

Lake Chabot is an OLD course and needs to be judged based on its ability to have lasted this many years and still provide challenges. I admire this course as the architect tried to maximize based on what he had. The holed down and up the middle of the canyon are fairly similar, but it is not often you get to blast balls over the main road in/out of the course. Several holes are spectacular on their own. The 9th is a short but VERY steep downhill 3 that is like trying to hit a ball into a tea cup. On a windy day, you have to consider distance, drop and wind conditions. Makes you think! The back nine has several holes that view over Oakland to SF and beyond. Amazing view and I can't think of many better ones in the entire SF Bay Area. The fininshing hole is one of the last par 6's out there and it is a monster.

Adding to this - the course allows and pretty much encourages young golfers. So, we brought a fivesome out and everyone was all smiles and glad to see you here. Not that we were two-headed freaks. Any course that allows and encourages five somes gets a BIG thumbs up in my books. (and YES, my kids keep up, know how to fix a ball mark, and my 8 year old drives a cart better than most 40 year olds I know.) He's been on the course since he was 6.

This is an A-Game course - target golf on the most amazing grass you will step foot on. Quites simply there is nothing you can say bad about the conditions, the people, the golf shop, etc. The course is well do c&me nted as being TOUGH, and for good reason. Built on the sides of several canyons, the design carved out a fantastic course from what would have been waste. There are few (if any) flat lies on many holes and you have to bring out the long drives to make par on some of the holes. Others can be quite short, but present challenges with strategic uses of bunkers, forced carries, closed approaches, etc.

Due to the pretty steep price and difficulty, this course is not very busy on weekdays at all. I have played the entire 18 with an 8 year old in tow in about two hours. Never had to wait for a sole. AND shot a good score, so was double happy!

Ammenities include bag drop, great food (no on course beverage cart though), very good staff, driving range, putting green(s), etc. The driving range is another great place. Buy a range card for $100, and get $150 worth of balls.