Played here Sunday morning. Was able to book a 5:52 tee time the day before. $55 with cart, though this would be a great walking course because it's so flat and not spread out at all. Either way, one of the more "affordable" options in the Bay Area for weekend rack. I was paired with a local couple who play here a lot and claimed to be fast players. They lived up to my own extreme definition of fast and we finished all 18 in about 2.5 hours as a threesome (with some waiting on maintenance, too)! Couldn't have worked out better.

The course was in very good overall shape. It was very lush, green and well-maintained throughout for a low-end muni. Tee boxes and fairways generally great. Rough pretty consistent and not too much challenge. Greens soft and rolling a bit slow with morning moisture, but good surfaces. Bunkers the only real weak spot. The sand was decent, but it was wet and really packed down like wet concrete. Probably just needs a good "fluffing."

The conditions were nice. The layout is pretty basic with a back and forth routing and not too many interesting points. Back nine gets a little tighter with houses/streets in play on a few holes. Pretty traditional muni kind of course, but it's somewhat reasonably priced and for whatever reasons not quite as crowded as others will be on a weekend morning.

I'll get caught up on the rest of my reviews when I'm back home, but wanted to talk about the GK Plays at Corica Park yesterday on the newly renovated South course. The course was just as enjoyable as when we played last year for the grand reopening fiesta. Only drawback this time was the slow 5.5-hour pace as others have mentioned. Otherwise, a good time on a windy afternoon with my GK friends, Alex326 and rgm2525, in the lead group behind the most frustrating and confusing (yet oddly entertaining) twosome ever!

Conditions were excellent. This course is designed to play firm and fast, and that's what you get. Tee boxes a bit too firm (hard to get tee in ground sometimes), but great fairways with generous roll-out and good lies to hit from. I'd like to see them shave down around the greens even more to allow more links-style putting options as the design dictates. Primary cut of rough good and then you want to avoid the deeper fescue and native areas. Greens super firm and rolling well at ideal speeds. Bunkers generally good with super soft sand, except one fairway bunker I was in that was a bit more firm (which I prefer anyway).

Thanks to the staff at Corica Park for having us out on a day when they clearly have no problem getting regular business. The place was packed and it will be even nicer once the North Course is fully renovated by 2021. Bathroom and parking lot renovations would certainly be nice, too : )

Played here today. Called ahead and they put me at a 10:37 tee time. It was very busy as expected on a Saturday at one of the area's most-played courses. They were running a bit late, but I was able to move up a couple tee times (paired with another single and a twosome) and we teed off around 10:40. Didn't seem as slow as it was, but right at 5 hours. Kind of what I expected. Definitely "Bay Area overpriced" at $69 with a cart.

The course was in pretty good overall condition. The rain brought in a lot of nice turf and it's been drying out enough they can start taking care of it heading into summer. Tee boxes and fairways were generally pretty good with nice roll-out on drives. Rough not deep, but good coverage throughout and just enough to make you work. Greens looked like maybe they were aerated 3-4 weeks ago and are almost fully healed. A little bumpy and slow-ish at times, but overall fine and should get better over the next few weeks.

I was happy to finally check this one off the list. I've always heard good things about the layout. It's a very hilly,old school target-style course that I enjoyed. Great scenery with no houses around. Lots of big trees and nice views of the watershed. Freeway very loud on a few holes, though. Most fairways slope hard one way or the other (and so do some greens), so aiming toward the high side is generally recommended. Notoriously crowded course and a bit expensive as a muni, but I can understand why it gets so much play. Recommended, but don't expect a quick round here most days (especially weekends).

Our final stop of the trip was at Cypress Lakes. When we mentioned playing here to other North Bay folks at other courses, we were generally greeted with blank stares. Hardly anybody knows this place even exists. It is the Travis AFB course, but it's not actually on the base and is open to the public. It is a bit off the beaten path and the layout isn't anything terribly exciting, though, so I can understand why it's not well-known. We teed off a little before 4:00 and zipped around as quickly as we could. We had to make up our own routing to avoid players lightly scattered around the course, but we finished all 18 in about 2:20. The twilight rate was $29 with cart.

I was pleasantly surprised with the conditions. It was pretty nice from tee to green—other than the bunkers. Tee boxes good. Fairways very good. Rough had just as many weeds/clovers as grass, but it was cut consistently and played fine. Bunkers were not good. One I was in had pretty soft sand (though I was in a footprint) and the other was hard as cement. The greens were good, though, rolling well at medium speeds.

The layout is about what I expected. It's a military course that's surrounded by farmland, so it's long and straightforward. There are some good holes, water hazards and decent features throughout, so it's not completely boring. I would compare it to the Navy Course in SoCal or a number of "classic" rural parkland courses I've played throughout the Central Valley. Fine layout, decent value, good conditioning and probably easy to get a round in most days. Not a destination course, but perfectly fine for what it is.

Time to backtrack a little. This was actually our first round of the trip on Monday. Thank you Johnny for adding it to the database. I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can, as well, along with the scorecard. This was the first GolfMoose private club outing I have attended and they did a nice job. They are doing a bunch of these in Norcal now, so it's another way like the NCGA/SCGA to get on private clubs and nice resort courses at reasonable "member for a day" rates. This one was $99 (and we also had $25 GK certs to make it even better). It was originally scheduled for February, but was rained out and postponed until April. We started on hole 6 in a full shotgun and we finished in right about 4.5 hours. I expected it to be much slower because it was cart path only and the rough was crazy deep (more on that later).

I wasn't sure what to expect from conditions given the super wet winter, but Sonoma was in great overall shape. There were definitely a lot of soft spots and mushy areas. However, the playability was generally quite good from tee to green. Fairways not cut too tight, so not much roll-out on drives. And as I mentioned, the rough was insanely thick, lush and deep. Our group (and I assume every group) lost a lot of balls. When you did find it, all you could do was hack it out and try to advance the ball. It was brutal, but kind of sadistically fun to play rough that might make even the USGA blush. Surprisingly it didn't seem to slow down play as much as expected (thank you new 3-minute search rule). The bunkers were good and the greens were also pretty good despite being aerated within the past couple weeks. They were fairly soft and rolling well at medium/fast speeds.

This is a pretty old school club and course in the heart of wine country, so it definitely has a special quality when you get to play it. The clubhouse is pretty awesome and the facilities are nice. The layout is fairly traditional with no changes in elevation. A creek runs throughout the course and comes into play a lot. It's a nice classic style course in a beautiful valley setting, so I would easily recommend it if you ever have a chance to play it.

This was the second round yesterday and it ended up being my favorite layout of the trip. We had a 10:06 tee time and were paired with a single. Several men's club groups were out ahead of us and they were busy all morning, so we expected a slow round. There was no marshal out and it was indeed slow at a 5-hour pace. Also slow service in the grille at the turn, despite calling ahead our orders. The price was great as another killer GolfMoose twosome deal ($69 for two players).

The conditions were very nice and this course drains extremely well. The turf was comparable to what we found over at Rooster Run the day before, with only a few soft/weak spots found anywhere and a couple fairways roped off as CPO. Otherwise, very firm and fast conditions which were a welcome surprise given the setting and recent weather. The tee boxes were good, though hard to get a tee in the ground in some and also the par-3s a bit chewed up and sandy. The fairways firm and fast, but nice lies to hit from. The rough was lush, but a more wispy type of grass than the super thick stuff we had elsewhere. The ball sat down a lot and it was still challenging in its own way. The bunkers were decent. The greens were crazy firm and fairly fast. They definitely did not aerate yet, and they could benefit from one because it's almost unfair at times because of the severe slopes here.

Hiddenbrooke is not a Bay Area course you ever hear much about despite it being a Palmer design. It is a roller coaster ride through some very scenic and steep hills and canyons. Tight fairways, sweeping doglegs, forced carries, elevated greens and lots of undulation are found. It is extremely hilly and dramatic, so it definitely caught and held my attention through all 18 holes. Some people may not like it as much because it's so dramatic (almost more of a SoCal canyon style course than what you typically find in Norcal). Good values are easy to find here. The slow pace of play was a bit of a bummer, but it was an ideal weather day and the course conditions were great other than the greens being a bit too firm. I'd recommend this course to most people looking for something unique and fun in the North Bay.

This was the morning round yesterday with ppark81, as we had another 3-course day in the North Bay before heading home. Due to the way everything timed out to piece the trip together, our only option was to book a regular 6:54 tee time and pay the rack rate of $54 with cart (this would be an easy walking course, but we like to play fast). We went off first and zipped around, trying to play through and avoid maintenance the best we could.

The course was in good overall condition. Everything was lush and soft as expected with this wet winter, but pretty good playability all things considered. Not cart path only, so that's a good sign that things are drying out a little. Still soft throughout with some extra mushy areas to avoid or play as GUR here and there. Lots of grass clippings in the semi-deep rough sometimes made it hard to find balls. They are in the midst of a bunker renovation right now. Some are done with nice soft sand, others are being worked on and some are just pretty much hardpan until they get to them. Will be nice when they are all done. The greens were soft and rolling smooth at medium speeds. I don't think they actually aerated as was noted on GK, so I will follow up on that.

Peacock Gap is one of the flatter courses you will find in the Bay Area. It's a pretty traditional layout with most of its character found on and around the greens. They are big and undulated, and the bunkering also plays a key role in the design. From tee to green, however, it's all pretty straightforward for the most part. A couple of nice water par-3s. Solid, but not spectacular layout and a bit expensive because of its location, so nothing to go out of your way for.

This was our last stop today and a welcome relief after the trudge through Bennett Valley. As we booked tee times at other courses struggling with so much rain this year, many of them recommended we check out Rooster Run. We were already planning to, but it is common knowledge in the North Bay that this is the best-draining course around and it has stood up to this crazy wet winter. We teed off around 1:45. It was busy out and we waited on every shot, but still finished in 4 hours. $42 rate with cart. This would be a good walking course, if that's your preference.

Course conditions were as hyped. It was very good here and, for the most part, you'd think it was summer/fall. The tee boxes, fairways and rough were all in great shape and played well. Nice to get some roll-out on drives and have firm lies to hit from. There were some minor wet/mushy spots throughout, but nothing problematic like other courses around here right now. Bunkers were good and greens were excellent. They were somewhat firm (but receptive) and rolling true at medium speeds.

This is a good overall course. The playing conditions might outshine the layout a bit, but it's a solid design. The greens are big and there are some nice water hazards in play (signature hole is the island green par-3 15th). Most anyone should enjoy this layout. The back tees really stretch out and add some challenge for top players, while others will find it somewhat forgiving from the forward tees. The challenge today was that it was really, really windy. The front nine went out straight downwind and then back into the crazy strong headwind. Most holes on the back nine also headwind/downwind, so that really added a major dynamic. With some links qualities, I get the sense wind is almost always a factor here. Good course and a great place to play during a super wet North Bay winter!

This was our second round, and it was an adventure. They were very honest about course conditions when our tee time was booked and also when I called ahead on our way over. They let us know it was in very rough shape right now because it has rained so much and they have barely been able to mow anything this year. We still gave it a shot and kind of played the course the best we could. There was hardly anyone there, so we zipped around. It was another good GolfMoose deal, too.

Things look lush and green here, but it's barely playable because the ground is so wet and the grass/clovers are so deep right now. They had some temp forward tees out on a few of the worst holes and otherwise many shots in the fairways were lost balls (rough almost always would eat the ball up forever). We kind of had to make our own rules and play a very loose attempt at this course the way it is. Most everyone but us will want to heed their advice and avoid it until things dry up and they are able to mow again. They were out doing some mowing today and hopefully the weather cooperates in the next couple months so they can recover for the summer.

On a positive note, they have been maintaining the greens and the areas around the greens the best they can (other than the bunkers, which were all pretty firm-packed). The greens were really nice! I did not rate the course because the greens would probably be an 8 while everything else would be 0-1 because it's mostly unplayable in its current state. I hope to come back again to play it again during a better time of year, so I can give it a proper play. It is a nice traditional parkland layout and pretty setting, so there is a lot to like about it when it's back to normal. For now, avoid.

First round of three today. They don't open until 7:00, but we were first off and we cruised around with nothing to slow us down (other than a failed attempt to ride the little elevator/funicular on the back nine that apparently wasn't turned on yet by the time we were there). This was another GolfMoose twosome voucher with a GK gift card, so a sweet deal.

The course was in pretty nice shape considering the wet winter and the super hilly/difficult terrain here. It was cart path only and a lot of walking. Things were wet, but plenty playable for the most part. Tee boxes good. Fairways lush and soft with a lot of grass clippings. Rough pretty challenging. Bunkers decent. The greens were also in pretty solid shape, rolling well at medium speeds. If they did punch less than a month ago, they are completely healed. It makes me think they didn't aerate (yet), so I'll have to follow up.

I really enjoyed the layout. This is a fun, funky and unique course. It's extremely hilly, but plenty of regulars seem to walk it. Beautiful secluded setting through the canyons and overlooking the watershed which is basically a huge lake right now. Big greens with plenty of undulation. Lots of old trees in play. Probably not for everyone, but the kind of layout I like because it's interesting all the way through.

ppark81 and I played here as our second stop on a North Bay trip this week. First was a GolfMoose outing at Sonoma GC, which I will review later if it's added to the database (thanks Johnny). Speaking of GolfMoose and Mr. GK, we used the awesome two player deal for Blue Rock Springs plus a $25 gift voucher from GK, so it ended up being $12 each. We got there around 3:30 and a couple high school team groups had just gone out, but they let us jump ahead to the 3rd hole and it was wide open after that. We eventually caught a group for the last couple holes, but still a great pace under 2.5 hours.

The course was in decent shape. Pretty lush and green out here with so much rain this winter. Lots of little white flowers and clovers growing in fairways and rough and some areas maintained better than others. The softest/wettest spots tended to be a little unkempt because I'm sure they are hard to mow right now. Though it was soft throughout, it wasn't too bad and the course plays decently. It's advised to really watch your ball if it goes in the rough because you will have a hard time finding it sometimes. I was in one bunker and it was decent. Noticed some weeds popping through the surface in a few others. The greens were receptive and rolling fairly well at slow-ish speeds. They are closing tomorrow and Wednesday to aerate the West Course (East done last week), so that's why we made sure to play here today. Obviously give them a few weeks to heal up.

I had played the East Course a few years back and enjoyed it. Then, I could see parts of the West Course and thought it also looked fun. That was the case. The two courses have different characters. West is very hilly and at times quirky, but it's a fun and entertaining layout in a nice setting. I'm sure most people will prefer one course over the other, but I enjoyed both and that GolfMoose deal is fantastic.

This was the last stop on my 2-day trip with a noon tee time on Saguaro. I had hopes of maybe trying to squeeze in Cholla afterward, but this place was packed all day and I knew there was no chance I'd finish all 18 before dark. Will save that for another time when I can play and enjoy it properly. There was a big group out ahead of us and they slowed things down for our group. I was paired with another single and a twosome and we went of a few minutes late and then finished in about 4 hours, 40 minutes.

The course, as one would expect this time of year, was in great shape. The tee boxes and fairways were fantastic. The rough wasn't overseeded, so it was more semi-dormant and dappled in color. Not quite as "pretty" as full dormancy or full overseed, but played fine. It was cut down super tight and easy to hit from. The only drawback is that many of the fairways here fall off on the edges toward the desert or nasty bunkers, so gravity and no rough to stop your rolling were a recipe for some unfortunate breaks. It puts an extra premium on landing in the middle, though the fairways here are generally fairly wide and generous on all but a few holes. The bunkers were great and the greens were the best on this trip. They were firm and pretty fast, with beautifully kept surfaces. Being below the hole is recommended, but not always easily accomplished!

This one has been at the top of my AZ bucket list for awhile, so I was excited to finally play Saguaro. The facilities here are fantastic and the setting is stunning, as you are basically out in the middle of nowhere. I really liked the layout, but I personally wouldn't put it at the very top of my list. Still, there is a lot to like and it's definitely a must-play in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area. You will pay a pretty penny to play here in season, but deals can be found during other times of year.