Last but not least on this trip was historic Orinda CC. Napa Valley CC pretty well blew me away, but Orinda might have taken it another step further. This is an incredible course that is very unique, ... Continue »

Last but not least on this trip was historic Orinda CC. Napa Valley CC pretty well blew me away, but Orinda might have taken it another step further. This is an incredible course that is very unique, beautiful, fun and challenging. We had purchased this round in a charity auction. We played as a threesome and were joined by a member who really told us everything about the course and made sure to point out all the trouble on every single hole! : ) It was pretty busy out here when we teed off around 2:20 and we enjoyed a relaxed pace of around 4 hours.

Conditions here were also fantastic on every level. Everything was lush, green and beautifully maintained. Only minor issue was that the fairways were maybe a tad bit fluffy and didn't provide much roll-out. That said, you wouldn't want this course to play too firm (other than a few holes) because it would hurt you more than it would help you in most places. Greens were firm and fast. Bunkers were absolutely perfect with white sand.

This is such a cool course and you know you are playing something special the moment you arrive and see the 4-story clubhouse built into the hillside. The course goes out and back, only returning to the clubhouse after 18. It's very hilly. At times it is very tight and target oriented. At other times, it's surprisingly wide open. However, your approach angles to the greens are very important and you really have to play the slopes a lot here. A lot of fairways connect with one another and the rugged bunkering is so cool looking. I was reminded of great courses like Pasatiempo, Hacienda and Cal Club at various times throughout the round. The layout definitely has some quirks as you can expect with any older Bay Area course, but that just adds to the charm of Orinda. I highly, highly recommend playing here if you ever have a chance (hint: they do NCGA member outings here pretty much every year).