Only one redeming quality…its a great layout. With a little love it could be a great play. BUT..

-Tee boxes are squishy/muddy mid afternoon on a hot summer day, crowned on the middle so finding a f... Continue »

Only one redeming quality…its a great layout. With a little love it could be a great play. BUT..

-Tee boxes are squishy/muddy mid afternoon on a hot summer day, crowned on the middle so finding a flat lie is impossible
-Fairways are muddy in areas, with crabgrass and other weeds and grass types making up 50% of the playable area..some areas not mowed, so its a 50/50 shot of catching a flier in the middle of the fairway.
-rough is the same story..thick with encroaching clover and crabgrass, bermuda, zoysia, you name it youll find it. Areas that are just flatout muddy from lack of drainage and way too much watering.
-bunkers are just stone mixed in with a thick clay, except for a few which arent packed on the faces, so all the way to the lip of the bunker its powdery…
-greens feel like a kitchen sponge. Thick layer of poa on top, but it didnt seem like theyd been rolled in years, and the root layer underneath the grass surface is a half inch to an inch of rootbed. The result is an incredibly bumpy surface that plays relatively fast, but can result in overspin on wedge shots. A sharp wedge shot is bound to skip once and rip off the green, whereas a chunk and run tends to stop relatively quickly…kinda backwards.
-driving range…they boast a grass driving range. In reality, its mostly sand/bark, with half rooted patches of grass mixed in there. On top of that its kind of a moonscape, so finding a flatish lie is impossible. Expect to find 1/3 of the balls to be in poor condition (cracked, chunks missing/no dimples)

I played with a local who said on numerous ocassions “ooo you got windsor’d on that one” when a ball would bounce wildly from its line on the green while putting or chipping.
Normally i would just say “well its a public course”. But charging $80+ with cart….with such a lengthy list of issues…thats not acceptable

Played a texas scramble tournament on 8/18. Course was in really good condition pretty much across the board for a public course, as always, and the layout is short but challenging and requires good s... Continue »

Played a texas scramble tournament on 8/18. Course was in really good condition pretty much across the board for a public course, as always, and the layout is short but challenging and requires good shot making and a bit of course management. Handful of areas that don't drain well, but otherwise no real complaints about condition. Definitely a worthy track to check out if you're in the area.

This was my second stop yesterday and ultimately my last round of the trip before making the drive all the way home last night. I called ahead and they slotted me in at the 8:40 time, paired with a tw... Continue »

This was my second stop yesterday and ultimately my last round of the trip before making the drive all the way home last night. I called ahead and they slotted me in at the 8:40 time, paired with a twosome. When I checked in, they were waiting on one of those players to show up, so they sent me out to the first tee to join the twosome ahead. There were some groups ahead, but we never pushed and enjoyed a very relaxed 4-hour round. The price was $56 with a cart, which seemed very steep for a mid-week round.

Even though it was also very wet here and also playing cart path only, Windsor was by far the best conditioned course I played this trip. That's not saying much, but it was a clear winner. Tees, fairways and rough were lush. Things were mowed and maintained pretty well considering how wet the ground was. It was easy to see they strive to keep this place in the best shape they can. It was still quite mushy and plenty of fat shots were hit, though. Bunkers were nice. The greens were very nice. They were squishy underfoot and very receptive on approaches, but cut nicely and rolling smooth at relatively medium-fast speeds.

I would definitely call Windsor a hidden gem. It doesn't get much attention because it's a bit further north of the Bay Area, but it is a solid layout that gets more interesting and challenging as you go. I would easily recommend it, especially if you can find a decent deal. I just paid full rack because that's just how it timed out and I really wanted to finally check it out on this trip.

Windsor is one of my favorite courses in NorCal. The combination of layout, conditions & price make it worth the 40-minute (at best) drive from my house. The layout is spectacular: Not a long cours... Continue »

Windsor is one of my favorite courses in NorCal. The combination of layout, conditions & price make it worth the 40-minute (at best) drive from my house. The layout is spectacular: Not a long course, but extremely strategic. The definition of Target Golf. The par 3's are challenging, especially 7 and 13. You use a variety of clubs off the tees on the par 4s, which I like. Hole #2 is one of the toughest holes I've played in Marin/Sonoma (Adobe Creek #7 was a close 2nd, but no longer exists). The conditions are generally very good, with the exception of the winter months, as it doesn't drain well. Not manicured like a private course, but the fairways, bunkers & greens are usually in above average shape. For a prime-time, weekend walking rate of $59, I'm a fan. It has a full range of practice facilities including a grass driving range, separate chipping/short game area & a couple of putting greens. The staff are pretty laid back & friendly. Charlie's Grill is a nice spot to eat after the round. The Chilaquiles with a Racer 5 from Bear Republic is a pretty epic combo. You can sit out on the patio & watch people tee off on 10. Played 8/19 & 2nd group off at 6:20. Foggy morning & the course was very wet from the dew. PoP was 3:15 & could easily been under 3, but had to wait on the group ahead late in the back nine. Greens - Were soft, smooth & rolling at medium speed. Firmed as the course dried over the round. Definitely not as fast as I'm used to seeing up there, but putts rolled true & there were no ball marks. Fairways - Nice. Lush. Never had a bad lie in the short stuff. Bunkers - Was in a few: No complaints. All seemed raked & cared for. Rough - Thick & gnarly in some places, bare in others. Tee Boxes - Most were fine, some could use some leveling & others had divot damage. It's definitely a drive from SF/Marin/East Bay, but well worth it, especially if you're a craft beer lover, as there are a number of amazing breweries close, including Bear Republic in Healdsburg & Russian River Brew Co. in Santa Rosa & they will be opening a new location in Windsor, Fall of this year.

Played Windsor 1/18, first out walking. Saw one other foursome and a twosome playing nine on the back. POP was 2 1/4 hours. Course had flooded was closed 1/15 and was WET and muddy. Greens drained ... Continue »

Played Windsor 1/18, first out walking. Saw one other foursome and a twosome playing nine on the back. POP was 2 1/4 hours. Course had flooded was closed 1/15 and was WET and muddy. Greens drained well, though, were smooth and medium speed, holding anything you hit into them. Fairways were soaked, lucky to get a hop, but no roll. Rough was only possible to play out of if you were on a hill. Sand traps were a mess, but was in plenty of them and surprisingly only had to move out of a rivulet or water twice. This layout is fun and interesting to me. Plenty of oak trees with many a factor as you plunk it around. Plenty of risk-reward shots, but those risk shots are tough. You can't just blast away here, take a look at the hole first. Drive placement is crucial, as your score will depend on a good second shot into mostly narrow greens. Water is in play on half the holes and the traps are well placed. I played the whites and with no roll it was plenty. From the blacks this baby would be tough, even with a roll. I'm not sure this place will dry out until April. I've played here before and the grounds crew does an excellent job of putting the place back in shape if they get a chance. For the $30 senior weekday rate, it's a great deal.

Great practice areas including a chipping/pitching, putting and a grass driving range. MAJOR complaint is the balls at the driving range. I'm not expecting V1's but holy $h!* can we get something bett... Continue »

Great practice areas including a chipping/pitching, putting and a grass driving range. MAJOR complaint is the balls at the driving range. I'm not expecting V1's but holy $h!* can we get something better than 20 year old water logged rocks please. For a course of this level its shameful and totally unacceptable. Anyways course is challenging and in generally good condition which makes it very attractive. It has a good balance of incline/decline, water hazards and sand (the 9th is like an asteroid strike). Negatives are annoying planes flying over at times. Outlay is a little confusing and new people could get lost to the next hole. Overall I believe it to be a good course and since I live in town like to play there. Just look out for the 20 something, never had a real job, just spent all my parents money at Golfsmith making myself look pretty brats; and you will be ok. ;)

Played twice during the week of 7/14 in the afternoon both days.
It is a solid resort course with a lot of variety in hole design. It felt like I was playing two different courses at once with some ... Continue »

Played twice during the week of 7/14 in the afternoon both days.
It is a solid resort course with a lot of variety in hole design. It felt like I was playing two different courses at once with some holes being very forgiving off the tee and others being extremely tight with an emphasis of positioning. You really need to think your way around this course or you'll be in trouble.
Conditioning was solid with the fairways, rough, and bunkers being very good with only a few burned out patches. A few tee boxes needed a bit of love (some thin, others a bit crowned) but were playable. The greens were much slower than I was expecting but rolled true with limiting ball mark damage. Their twilight rates are a ridiculous deal from what I'm used to in Southern California and I recommend it for anyone traveling to the area.

In Healdsburg for a wedding and a long weekend, I played Windsor Friday, 6/6 along with my wife, sister, and brother, who had back surgery recently but rode along and played caddie. My brother had to ... Continue »

In Healdsburg for a wedding and a long weekend, I played Windsor Friday, 6/6 along with my wife, sister, and brother, who had back surgery recently but rode along and played caddie. My brother had to arrive a little later and catch up to us out on the course and the crew were good about accommodating us. Additionally, they only charged me for his cart vs. a full green fee for him. I'll do the negatives first because they were few. It wasn't until they announced us to the tee that we found out we were starting on #10. So we had to scurry over from #1 and felt a little pressure initially to start out on time and keep the pace going. The bunkers varied from very firm with the ball sitting on top, to more of an average firm that allowed you to splash some sand. I didn't consider either negative, just varying conditions that required some adjustment. If you like soft and fluffy, I didn't see much of that here. The actual negative in the bunkers was the amount of gravel-size stones distributed through much of the softer sand. On more than one occasion, I carefully removed pebbles from behind my ball before playing because i just wasn't going to risk dinging he face of my clubs. With that caveat, the course overall was in great shape and we all really enjoyed it. Greens were on the quick side, with good roll and challenging contours. Tee boxes were fine, fairways nice and consistent. Rough was everything from open and playable, to water hazards to deep foliage. It's an attractive facility and the course has an interesting and balanced mix of fairly straight forward holes and more challenging holes that sometimes require local knowledge to know where you are going. Four sets of tee boxes make the course appropriately playable for a variety of levels. I never understood course where the different tee markers are only paces apart and this course avoids this with well spaced options. First off for 2:00 twilight, we got around in under four hours. I'm very rarely up in this area and having only played the course a couple of times, I appreciate it more each time. My wife and sister were first timers here and enjoyed it—my sister, in particular, raving about how much she enjoyed the day.

Excellent challenge. Luck to play with a regular player, without his advice it would have been very difficult. This was following some heavy rains, only one bad soggy area, however. Bunkers need more... Continue »

Excellent challenge. Luck to play with a regular player, without his advice it would have been very difficult. This was following some heavy rains, only one bad soggy area, however. Bunkers need more sand, probably related to heavy rains.

Good value, front desk staff were friendly. Range is good with many targets, bring dollars for the ball machine.