Checked off another new course in the area yesterday afternoon when I played Wente Vineyards. I’ve heard a lot about this place so I was eager to see if it lived up to its billing. First off, I’l... Continue »

Checked off another new course in the area yesterday afternoon when I played Wente Vineyards. I’ve heard a lot about this place so I was eager to see if it lived up to its billing. First off, I’ll address getting there. Plan your tee time accordingly to traffic. What should have taken me 25 minutes took just under an hour due to Friday traffic. Lessened learned on that one.

As far as the layout, this course is awesome. Plenty of grip it and rip holes with elevation changes and wide landing areas to build up the confidence, but then there are some short par 4’s that require precision off the tee with an iron. It also has a good mixture of par 3’s. As far as layout it concerned it checked all the boxes. The switch back climb from the 9th green to the 10th tee box which was reminiscent of Alpe D’Huez was fun in a cart but all but guarantees that you can’t walk this course (and still enjoy it).

Condition wise the course was fine. Somewhere between above average and top notch. Greens rolled smooth at a medium + pace. Greens were pretty docile as far as challenge goes. Most were single tier with modest slope. Or maybe my putter was just that good (27 putts total). Fairways were excellent, Nice and lush with great coverage throughout. Tee boxes and sand traps were ok. Nothing spectacular but nothing to complain about.

Customer service - Sucked. I gave it 2 stars for customer service and that was due to the bag attendant being great. The pro shop on the other hand was horrible. They were put out by the fact that I needed change (so I could tip the bag attendant) and looked down at me because I didn’t know the exact time of my tee time. I guess it’s too much trouble to look at the computer. Anyway, for that reason alone, I opted not to buy a shirt in the pro shop.

For layout and conditions, the track is worth playing. For price and customer service, I’d skip it. Not sure if I’ll ever play it again, but if I do it’ll likely be because a friend has invited me.

Played Friday as the "filling" of our three day sandwich of 60th b-day golf with my friend.
Standing out above the other two pieces of bread. (those great pieces in themselves)
Wente Vineyards a sem... Continue »

Played Friday as the "filling" of our three day sandwich of 60th b-day golf with my friend.
Standing out above the other two pieces of bread. (those great pieces in themselves)
Wente Vineyards a semi-private course in Livermore. Greg Norman design and coincidently I wore my shark shirt. Golf seems to be the focus here for the members. We played with a delightful lady, a member, who certainly added to our experience.
Course is not tight with the exception of the second hole. Elevation changes and some sidehill challenges as you can see in the photos. Otherwise many holes no visual obstructions wide open go for it feeling.
Greens the best and quickest of our three days three courses. Rolled out fast so touch was vital. Held high shots in well. Very fair and challenging.
Find your appropriate tees and bang away, and find some birdies!
Bunkers great machined and fluffy. Too nice for me, I was lost hitting it underneath most.
Rough was tricky. Went under a few attempts, popped up short, with a good looking lie you think you can whack.
Management was great and accommodated us fairly on our rate as they had a tournament booked on the day we preferred and extended us the courtesy to early out next day.
Hits all the boxes for a great experience. Fits my eye and worth the two hour drive from home. Matched with good rate, conditions and company as we did this round high ratings. 4th time for me and want to return soon.
Landslide over the winter took out the 16th tee plays short temporarily currently.
The last three par 4's will test everyone pro to senior like me. Tips 454 453 472 all of it right in front you vineyards to the right coming home. A great final test of your ball striking.

Snuck in a quick round on a Sunday afternoon. Terrific playing conditions, best greens I’ve putted on in a while. Fairway lies are good. Rough is gnarly especially around the greens. Course looks open... Continue »

Snuck in a quick round on a Sunday afternoon. Terrific playing conditions, best greens I’ve putted on in a while. Fairway lies are good. Rough is gnarly especially around the greens. Course looks open and straightforward, but rather penal after you get your drive out there. Played ion a very hot afternoon which made it tough-very little shade out there. No cart service, but a halfway hut after 9 serves drinks and basic food. Everyone is really friendly and Covid conscious.

Played 7-22-19 afternoon for $40 as a twosome and finishing in a little over 3 hours with pretty much no waiting. Tee boxes were in decent shape mostly level with good coverage. Fairways were in very ... Continue »

Played 7-22-19 afternoon for $40 as a twosome and finishing in a little over 3 hours with pretty much no waiting. Tee boxes were in decent shape mostly level with good coverage. Fairways were in very nice shape, lush with great lies and decent roll out. Rough was not to long and fairly easy to hit from. Was in two bunkers that had nice white sand and in very good condition. Greens were rolling smooth and true, semi-firm and rolling medium/fast. Fun semi-challenging course with some nice elevation changes and very scenic with the vineyards around the course.

Played 10/28 early with the golf moose voucher I mentioned in previous review. This is the middle day of a three day in the area (Hiddenbrooke, Wente, Poppy Ridge)
Weather and course conditions abo... Continue »

Played 10/28 early with the golf moose voucher I mentioned in previous review. This is the middle day of a three day in the area (Hiddenbrooke, Wente, Poppy Ridge)
Weather and course conditions about as good as it gets. This course is kept up nicely and just as good or better than last time I reviewed.
My partner playing Wente for first time mentioned the greens are "stiff". Meaning they hold a well struck shot but those without height or spin will run out. Even a high shot coming in doesn't make a large ball mark.
It's all you'd expect of a $$$ course and a lot of fun. Not many forced carries. and wide landing areas. Play the right tees for your index and enjoy.
Not a walkers course and the 9th to 10th quite a drive uphill. Note the 9th / 10th not at clubhouse and snack shack was closed and no beverage cart out. Prepared for that and it was a great round.
Highly recommend.

Played 7/29 mid morning 65 degrees at 8am start low 90's finish (4 3/4) tournament NCGA WNT event.
Score crossed over and then exceeded the temperature somewhere on the back 9 if graphed.
Was looki... Continue »

Played 7/29 mid morning 65 degrees at 8am start low 90's finish (4 3/4) tournament NCGA WNT event.
Score crossed over and then exceeded the temperature somewhere on the back 9 if graphed.
Was looking forward to playing this course for awhile and finally able to do so. If I had used my golf moose deal for a practice round prior to Sundays, I may have save some strokes.
The practice range is a long drive from proshop and the first tee is a bit of a drive in the opposite direction. I'd say that adds 5 minutes travel time driving range to 1st tee.
Agree with previous reviews as to conditions of the bunkers sand is very good. Most balls rolled to bottom one up to the edge did fried egg but not me!
Greens very nice rolling medium then faster as they dried out. Marine layer early kept them moist for 1/3 of round. Held well not deep or large ball marks made when balls landed on.
Fairways in great shape rough not overly long and playable.
Layout is challenging and comparing to Poppy Ridge over the next foothills the design is tougher. Much more elevation changes and not walking friendly unless in great shape. Some holes you need to pay attention to the layout and the GPS provided does a good job of that.
Fun day recommend you give it a try when in Livermore area.

While visiting Pleasanton, CA, I got a chance to play here with local fellow GKers Big O and S_Smith. Big thanks to Octavio for hooking us up with his GN discount, saving us $25. Great vistas from man... Continue »

While visiting Pleasanton, CA, I got a chance to play here with local fellow GKers Big O and S_Smith. Big thanks to Octavio for hooking us up with his GN discount, saving us $25. Great vistas from many tee boxes and nearly perfect conditions throughout the course. I was having some difficulty with some of my bunker shots, but I think it was me. The sand was pristine, sparkly, and white; just like you would see at Pebble Beach. Nice lies throughout the course, whether you were in the fairway or in the rough. Sometimes you could find some deep stuff, but mostly the ball just sat up nicely. The greens rolled great. They were fast; probably around 10.5. I am sure they could speed it up if they wanted. POP was around 4:15; very leisurely with no one pushing us as we played within a shot of the group ahead. I was impressed with the customer service. A cart attendant came out to the parking lot to pick me up. He loaded my clubs and gave me the cart. Good times seeing my old buddy, Scott and his pal, Octavio.

Had a great day at Wente with BigO and Kviser! Sure glad it came together and I appreciate the golfnow vip rate we got from BigO. The course looks fine as usual, but will get better. They had some dam... Continue »

Had a great day at Wente with BigO and Kviser! Sure glad it came together and I appreciate the golfnow vip rate we got from BigO. The course looks fine as usual, but will get better. They had some damage from earlier rain on #6 and it temporarily plays as a par 3. Greens are rolling true and smooth, though a little slow for typical Wente. Traps are excellent. The first tee starter is super helpful and supplied great info on the gps, as well as course updates. It was a really relaxed pace for Sunday at prime time. We teed off 9:50 and never had to wait anywhere. The course is always a good test, in good shape and very scenic from all holes. It's definitely worth sticking around for a cold one on the patio overlooking the 18th if you have time.

Played in late March in a small group outing. Check in was fast and the pro shop staff were very friendly.

Course is in amazing shape after our unusually wet winter. Fairways are lush, rough is... Continue »

Played in late March in a small group outing. Check in was fast and the pro shop staff were very friendly.

Course is in amazing shape after our unusually wet winter. Fairways are lush, rough is distinctive (and difficult), and the greens are in great, smooth shape.

The layout is very tricky, with several target golf holes thrown into the mix, as well as dramatic elevation changes and a few blind shots. It was a bit frustrating to hit a couple of balls that I thought were in good shape and then get over a hill to find out is wasn't.

Nice course that is pretty unique in the East Bay. Worth a play in the rotation.