Madera is a decent muni with good greens and a very good value especially if you walk. Tees and fairways are bermuda that they don't overseed so in the winter the course is pretty much brown from tee... Continue »

Madera is a decent muni with good greens and a very good value especially if you walk. Tees and fairways are bermuda that they don't overseed so in the winter the course is pretty much brown from tee to green but the greens stay in good shape the entire year. They are smooth and are definitely faster than average muni greens. The course is beautiful (for a muni) in spring and early summer but can get pretty baked out and rock hard by August. Pace of play is generally good in the mornings and even when it seems slow you end up playing in 4 hours. The pro-shop staff is generally good but the service in the bar/restaurant isn't all that great. It's owned by some guy independent of the golf course and the girls who work in there always seem really depressed.

The front is typical muni golf with 8 straight holes and one little dog-leg par 4. The back nine is much more picturesque and substantially more difficult with water coming into play on 5 of the nine holes and the two long par 4s go straight into the pevailing wind. The blue tees are MUCH more difficult than the whites and due to it's muniness, if you shoot a good score here you definitely earn it as bad bounces outnumber the good bounces 10-1. The one real problem I have with this place is the bunkers are absolutely horrible...they seem ok when you first step in them but when you make your swing your club goes through 1/4" of sand and then inevitably bounces off the granite like stuff below. You are better off trying to chip out of these bunkers than play an actual sand shot.

There is certainly no reason to make a special trip but if you happen to be in Fresno/Madera visiting family or something it is a very viable and inexpensive golf option. I'd say it is a toss up between Riverside and this place for value in the area.