Being that Kern River was one of the few courses open during the pandemic, I wanted to show some support and played here during the weekend on my Bakersfield trip. It was also a good course for my b... Continue »

Being that Kern River was one of the few courses open during the pandemic, I wanted to show some support and played here during the weekend on my Bakersfield trip. It was also a good course for my buddy who hadn’t played since September as Kern River is forgiving off the tee with its parkland setting. Aesthetically, the track is set on a gentle hillside so it’s not completely flat and it offers several views of the Kern River reservoir lake which was busy during the perfect low 70’s weekend day.

Course is in decent muni like condition. Pretty much what you would expect from a course at this price point. Greens rolled true albeit at a medium-slow pace. Most greens are two tiered so they are manageable (2 birdies on the day) if on the correct tier but difficult (three, 3 putts) if on the wrong level. Also, they had a “masters” tournament in the morning and had some nasty pin locations

Fairways were average. Decent enough but nothing to brag about. The pleasant surprise were the sand traps. They were in excellent condition with nice light fluffy sand. Bunkers are where most courses in the price point fail but Kern River excels.

My main issue with this place is the par 70 rating for a course that plays 6350 yards from the whites. There are 4 par fours that are around or over 450 yards and three par 3’s over 200 yards including one that was 225 uphill playing into the wind. That’s PGA stuff not double digit handicap (or worse beginner) yardage

Other than that it’s an enjoyable experience.