Played Winchester, as a guest, a few times now...this is more of a review for all of the rounds. The course is immaculate and probably in my Top 3, in regard to conditions and beauty, with Indian Wells and SilverRock.

However, this course is much tougher than both of those tracks. Pretty much every hole has OB on both sides (although they call it a hazard, probably for the sake of play-ability and speed). However, if you can hit the ball well off the tee, the par 5's are pretty much reachable with two good shots. The greens are very tricky to read, sloped well, and are fast but true. They are bent grass and the grain/reflection off of the sun depending on which way you look at the putt, screws with you. Tip: keep the ball below the hole at all costs as you will quickly pile up 3 putts.

With all that being said, this is one of the best courses (and probably the best kept secret) in Northern CA. If you ever get a chance to play the course, even if you have to pay the $100+ guest fee...it's worth the drive and money.

I grew up on this golf course. We used to sneak off the back nine of the west side during the evenings for a handful of holes. Despite having played many prestigious courses over the years, this course still might be my favorite--but that may be a biased opinion.

The course is in great shape right now and the layout is always fun. While not offering as much challenge as it used to before new ownership, due to very slow greens that limit the drastic slopes and breaks on the green, it is a fun course that will reward good shots and penalize wayward ones in the trees.

Played the back nine on 6/18. Beautiful morning to fly solo and play in under 1.5 hours. Course is in great shape, as the greens are quick but soft and the rest of the course is green enough for a summer drought. The back tee boxes were basically perfect. This is always a good test of golf that will penalize wayward shots and reward good shots.

Empire Ranch is a nice golf course located within the neighborhood of Folsom. The course is in great shape and offers a fair layout for all skill levels. I was playing this course for the first time and there are some blind dog legs that cause trouble if you don't know how far to it the tee shot. Otherwise, the course is pretty easy with little trouble off of the tees. The greens vary in size with #10 being massive. #18 is a cool finishing hole as a 200-yard par 3 with over a 100' of elevation change.

Played Whitney Oaks on July 12, 2012, for the first time. While it is definitely not a first-timers course with all the blind shots and optical illusions, I enjoyed the round nonetheless. Teed off around 3:30, it was $25 and included cart. The greens were in excellent condition and rolled fast and true. The fairways and rough did have some rough patches but what would one expect when it's been over 105 degrees outside lately. This course is worth the cheap twilight rate but be sure to bring someone who's played the course before.

Whitney Oaks Golf Club Review
Rocklin California Golf Course Reviews

Course was in decent shape and for $14 twilight rate....you can't beat that. Played the blue tees which are about 6200 yards. If you're a long hitter this is a very easy course. Definitely worth the short drive out there.

Wildhawk Golf Club Course Review
Sacramento California Golf Course Reviews

Played on July 4th in the afternoon. They have a $25 twilight rate after 4pm that is hard to beat. The course was in great condition all-around. I played from the back tees as it's around 6800-yards and definitely plays to all of that yardage or probably more with the elevation changes. The greens were hard but still receptive to good shots; however this my first time on the course, and if that's the case--you can definitely be left with some funky putts if you hit the wrong tier/side of the green. #2 and #9 are two monster par-5's that both play well over 550 yards.

The only critique I have of the course design is that there aren't too many good birdie opportunities on the course unless you knock one close on accident. I'm a decent golfer and shot 79, but couldn't find a birdie on the course. The par-5's are unreachable and tough to even get pars on and the "short" par-4's (under 400 yards) are very tough with little room to hit a big drive on.

For the value, this is a must play if you don't mind spending $10 on gas getting out and back to Auburn.

The Ridge Golf Course Review
Auburn California Golf Course Reviews