I was able to make the journey to the GK outing on a "last minute" decision thanks to my back and shoulders feeling better than they have in a while. Played in the 1:30pm tee time along with Nick, Mic... Continue »

I was able to make the journey to the GK outing on a "last minute" decision thanks to my back and shoulders feeling better than they have in a while. Played in the 1:30pm tee time along with Nick, Michael, and Ken. First look at the course and it reminded me of playing on the RTJ Trail out at Muscle Shoals (Fighting Joe course), but shorter (no joke, that course is 8,092 from the tips and 7,126 on the next tees up). The look is about where the similarities end for me as I had some issues getting around this track.

Tees: The tee boxes were pretty good, but there were some level concerns here and there. I'm not certain if it was just me being picky and the spots where I wanted to tee up being used more, but I found myself stopping a few times and walking over a couple feet either direction to find a more level spot for teeing up.

Fairways: I will say that I did enjoy the fairways a great deal. I had a couple of flat lies, but 90% of the time the ball was either slightly above or below my feet and on an uphill or downhill slope. Tight lies galore which is something I enjoy in a course. The same was found around the greens, but this was almost a negative if you short-sided yourself as many times as I did out there. 58 degree wedge skills are a must for these tight areas when you cannot find a landing spot for a bump and run of some sort.

Rough: You might as well call these hazards as you only find 10-20% of balls that enter. The grass is absurdly long and coils up on itself leaving no hope of finding the ball unless it sits on top of the grass (or you're very lucky). The native grasses are not much better. I was able to find my ball in 3 or 4 situations but not in 3 others and I just gave up on the last. I would call the rough a negative as even a minor spray from the middle of the fairway can run into this grass and be lost forever.

Bunkers: I am very happy to say I was not involved in any of the bunkers. However, I can say from looking at the lack of softer sand in the green side bunkers there is almost no easy way to escape from any of these pits. The deep grass/weed/native grass lips can make for an interesting situation as I believe we lost a ball in the lip on one. Personally, I was caught in the deep grass of one bunker lip (ball well below feet) and had to use a flipped 58 degree wedge and a left handed swing in order to extract myself. I would want to see more sand in the bunkers in order to make them a bit more fair to those who are stuck in them. Once there is sand I think some of the "shag" on the bunker lips could be cut back a bit for a better look and playability. It's just a bit too long.

Greens: The green complexes are really interesting and varied. However, something about the grass of choise kept me perplexed and frustrated all day long. I left wedges way short, watched others hit shots that ran across them like they were covered in glass, and proceeded to pull one wedge back about 20 feet and off a green early in the round. Regarding putts, I was either hitting what felt to be too hard and coming up short or hitting putts what felt to be too soft only to watch them blow past the hole all day. 37 putts through 17 holes for a 3 index confirms that I was not having a great day, but I did enjoy the contours and tough pin placements.

Overall: The course is a great layout and test of skill. However, the course rating is a joke. I don't know who were the 4 raters that were involved in rating this course but they clearly did not do an accurate rating, or the rating is outdated by the course maturation. Based on other courses I have played over the years, and from talking with raters back when I worked at a course, I would rate the blue tees closer to 73.3/130. I think 70.1/116 is nowhere near how the course actually plays.

If I get a chance to come out and play again I would love to see how much things change with different seasons and weather.

Excellently run GK Event once again. Teed off right on time at about 1:20 pm, with the weather cooperating. Hot but not too hot with enough breeze to feel nice while less than a club at most. POP w... Continue »

Excellently run GK Event once again. Teed off right on time at about 1:20 pm, with the weather cooperating. Hot but not too hot with enough breeze to feel nice while less than a club at most. POP was good also at 4:20. The facilities were first rate. Nice clubhouse, helpful staff, good restaurant. The range area was small and the targets were few, but it was grass.

Apparently, there was a NCGA Amateur net qualifier that morning. The pin positions reflected that. Some tough blue positions, such as 15 and 18. Tough greens for that matter. I agree the course should be rated higher, at least as to slope. Some unforgiving greens and rough. The ball tended to roll and many times thought might have stopped short of a hazard to find that the ball had rolled much farther than I had expected. The fairways were nice though. Tight lies but nothing bare. The primary rough was not that much of a factor. Outside the grass was generally brutal. Had a couple of unexpected good lies but losing the ball was more usual.

I liked greens even though they were tough to read and double breaking putts were regular. Tough to get the speed right too. They were definitely interesting. Also, usually rolling up, links style, was an option (note Rob's 60-yard putt for an epic up and down) but getting the ball to stop in the correct level was very difficult. The bunkers were not so great. The fairway bunkers were rock hard with some dirt clods. The greenside ones had sand but the hitting surface was hit and miss. Had one lousy lie in a depression. No footprints though, which was nice to see. Respect the game.

It was a course where local knowledge was a premium. We were lucky to have Darren to let us know where to aim on the more confusing holes. Some very intimidating views from the tees but generally there were generous landing areas. I had fun and it seemed the others did also no matter what the course threw at us. Overall, a well designed course and a fun day.

Thanks everyone for coming out to GK Plays Ridge Creek Dinuba outing. Just a great day. I posted the outing results, some photos and also golf course photos here.

I thought the golf course and sta... Continue »

Thanks everyone for coming out to GK Plays Ridge Creek Dinuba outing. Just a great day. I posted the outing results, some photos and also golf course photos here.

I thought the golf course and staff did an outstanding job with our outing. Carts ready to go with correct names, markers and signage all customized, super friendly professional staff and great service/food after play. As an organizer this place is perfect for an outing. Excellent driving range/practice areas. Both hole 1 and hole 9 next to clubhouse/practice putting to stage properly. Tent area for large outing and excellent restaurant for small outing. I really liked that the restaurant Three Finger Jack's is open to 8:00pm on a Sunday. I definitely want to do another outing here next year.

Regarding the golf course conditions, great but not as great as some of my prior visits. As Alex326 stated in his review we’ve become accustomed to their very high standards. I normally play here annually in late July so maybe in June the course is not as lush due to less watering. It’s a bermunda turf course so the hotter it gets, the more they water and the more lush it gets. Greens in great shape as usual holding shots, putting smooth and moderately fast. Lots of repaired ball marks but keyword, repaired, so they did not impact putting. Rough, oh boy, don’t miss the fairway because this time around it may have been the longest I’ve seen. I lost 4 balls in the rough yesterday. Bunkers, they need to clean-up better and the sand turned more often to elevate the compaction. There are a lot of bunkers so I think this would be great improvement. Tee boxes, in great shape, lush and tight.

The layout is a super fun design with large undulating greens. It’s mostly a links style course and plays long. Ball striking is very important to score. The fairways are wide but miss big and pay a huge price in the super long rough or in a brutal deep faced bunker. There are some monster long holes and some short holes. The golf course is grossly underrated from a rating & slope standpoint. It will eat you up if you are not striking the ball well, period.

Love this track and can’t wait to get back out there.

Went out yesterday as part of the GK plays event a Ridge Creek. Not sure what I enjoyed more: The golf/course; hanging out with some of my favorite GK'ers, or the food afterwards! I can say this, ... Continue »

Went out yesterday as part of the GK plays event a Ridge Creek. Not sure what I enjoyed more: The golf/course; hanging out with some of my favorite GK'ers, or the food afterwards! I can say this, ALL are worth it. Course condition wise, Ridge Creek was probably slightly below it's usual standard. Don't confuse that with "bad conditions". They always keep the greens soft (but rolling fast) so naturally the trade off is more pitch marks than usual. I didn't have any affect my putts but a couple of others in the group did get victimized by some pitch mark bumps. All in all the greens are have a great balance between large landing surface, tough (but not too tough) undulations and fast smooth rolling surface.

Fairways as mentioned before are a cut tight so they are more advantage to those who compress the ball. Having said that, even with my "Tom Watson pick the ball clean" style of iron swing, I was still able to get decent contact. It is easy to hit wedges thin though.

No issues with the tee boxes and the others nailed the sand traps perfectly. In need of some re-work. Course design puts a premium on accuracy over length by all means. Get off the fairway and just take your drop and move on. Even when I found a stray shot, I opted to drop and take the penalty stroke. Others had good luck with taking a wedge and getting it back in play. That's the best you can hope for.

As far as the restaurant goes.... It's the only place not on the ocean that I'll order the fish tacos. 'Nuff said!

Part of the GK plays group. Please read in conjunction with any of these for this review.

No trees to speak of in play. The back nine is named "orchards". The course can play links style in the pr... Continue »

Part of the GK plays group. Please read in conjunction with any of these for this review.

No trees to speak of in play. The back nine is named "orchards". The course can play links style in the present condition. Flat and fast the low running shot must be shaped and struck properly to use the contours. Many greens dome shaped and ball will run off he edges. High ball approaches held and spun back in most cases. Repaired ball marks left dark spots on surface that putted true med/fast. Bunkers not very good. Machined with a dry crumbly surface and hard pan under the ones I tried out. Walking through to your ball didn't need racking. A light roto-til of and inch would help imo. Steep faces with long fescue grass surrounds can hold your ball from rolling in but hard to find there often easier to escape from bunker.

Today course played as designed I believe; customer service and facility great. And the Tioga Sequoia brewery stout tasty.

Check out and sign-up for a GK plays event and be prepared for a fun time.

Recommend

Rode the Blues (6493/70.1/116) with Alex, Ken and Michael in 4H, 40M in the GK Plays. Teeing off around 1:30, the weather was breezy, sunny and in the high 80's. Excellent golf weather. I have yet to... Continue »

Rode the Blues (6493/70.1/116) with Alex, Ken and Michael in 4H, 40M in the GK Plays. Teeing off around 1:30, the weather was breezy, sunny and in the high 80's. Excellent golf weather. I have yet to play a John Fought design that I did not really like. No water hazards and few trees, but plenty of sand and large undulating greens provide challenge. That challenge is magnified with thick, deep native rough that will catch any overly crooked shots. Probable lost ball, and even if you find it, likely an unplayable lie. VERY penal. The tees had decent coverage and were mostly level. However, many were pretty chewed up and needed divot repair. The fairways have good coverage and are mowed close. They play firm with lots of roll. However, unless you hit down on the ball it would be easy to hit the ball thin with little cushion underneath. The rough close to the fairway is mowed down nearly as low as fairways on some courses. Tough to chip off tight lies around the greens and anything missing the green will run down hills into the deep stuff. The unmaintained native rough is very thick, deep and penal in most areas. The sand traps were nicely maintained but are way too firm around the greens on a course with deep faced bunkers. The firmness was an asset in the fairway traps. In spite of WAY too many ball marks, the large undulating greens putted nice. Firm and medium fast. I like the layout, it would definitely be in my rotation if not approximately 150 miiles from home. With the firmness of the course, shots offline rolling into bunkers or even the deep rough has to be factored into club selection. The course/slope ratings are way too low for a course with lost ball rough lurking barely off every fairway IMO. Throw in the wind, and this course is deceptively tough in my mind. Excellent restaurant on site, good food and service. All grass driving range that was adequate. Definitely recommended.

Played 5-7-19 early morning as a single walking the the course in 2 1/2 hours for $36. Tee boxes were in good shape, mostly level with good coverage. Fairways were in nice shape, they had good roll ou... Continue »

Played 5-7-19 early morning as a single walking the the course in 2 1/2 hours for $36. Tee boxes were in good shape, mostly level with good coverage. Fairways were in nice shape, they had good roll out with semi- tight lies with good cushioning underneath. Rough here is about the same height as the fairways and in good shape, get outside the primary and you are in knee high lost ball territory. Bunkers are probably the weakest part of the course, semi-firm and a little thin and a little rugged along the faces and edges. Greens were in very nice shape at medium pace and holding shots nicely, they are mostly smooth with an occasional bump that is mostly from un-repaired or poorly repaired pitch marks. This is a course that can feel visually intimidating were everything feels big probably because it is, stretching out at 7482 from the tips with wide fairways and big greens and a lot of big deep bunkers but there are plenty of other tee options down to 5432 which can make the course a little more manageable.

Went out this weekend on a GolfNow Hot Deal. Course was starting to get its green. It's still not 100% green, with a few yellow areas, but for the most part, this course is getting to its summer green... Continue »

Went out this weekend on a GolfNow Hot Deal. Course was starting to get its green. It's still not 100% green, with a few yellow areas, but for the most part, this course is getting to its summer green. The greens were rolling nicely, with a few pins in places that were fairly tough if you came in from the wrong spots.
Tee boxes were in really good shape, especially with the tournament that was in front of us.
One cause for concern, is the bunkering, and I get it with the recent heavy rains we had. But there is a lot of bunkers that have a very thin layer, and had no consistency. Also a lot of rocks in the bunkers as well.
Overall, still one of my top favorite courses in Fresno area. The food is really good too! Can't wait for the GK Plays event in June!

I took a friend out to Ridge Creek for his first Links style course experience and his first time playing Ridge Creek. Overall conditions aren't bad at all but they are a bit under the normal RC hig... Continue »

I took a friend out to Ridge Creek for his first Links style course experience and his first time playing Ridge Creek. Overall conditions aren't bad at all but they are a bit under the normal RC high standards. Greens were somewhere between a low 7 and high 8 depending on the pin placement. Greens at Ridge Creek are usually soft and receptive to well struck shots (as was the case today). The down side of this is the greens can quickly get riddled with pitch marks.

Some of the greens where the pin was placed in a valley were starting to show some heavy use and in need of aeration and sanding. Others that had the hole on a high peak of the green had little in the way of pitch marks. If Ridge Creek as already done their greens then it might be a long summer. If the maintenance is still to come then the greens will be in phenomenal shape soon as they weren't in that bad of condition today.

Fairways are a mixture of brown dormant grass and nice lush(ish) green grass. Some areas were a little thin but overall still a nice area to hit from if in the fairway.

The two sand traps I was in today both had fairly nice dirt. Predictable to hit out of for sure. Tee boxes were the weak link of the course. Several were torn up bad and just full of divots. Others were a bit lumpy. Still it was one of the best driving days off the tee in a month or two so obviously the tee boxes weren't that bad!

No cart service out but they did have water coolers out every couple of holes. POP was right at 4 hours. We were in the middle of the prime time tee times so we did have to wait here in there as well as have people pushing us.

Here's the thing about Ridge Creek. It's all about keeping it out of the tall nasty rough. get a couple of lost balls in the rough and you can fall behind pace real quick. Conversely if the group in front has a few bad tee shots and you keep it straight then you're the one pushing the pace. Basically you have to accept that at Ridge Creek POP is going to have the accordion effect. You'll be behind pace at some point and standing around waiting on the group in front at some point.

Overall, Ridge Creek is a solid track worth playing when in the Central Valley. I'm sure I'll play it once or twice more before the official GK outing there in June.