Squeezed in one more round on the NorCal trip teeing it up around 3:00pm at Corica Park Golf Complex South Course on Thursday. This was my second time playing the course and I enjoyed the layout even ... Continue »

Squeezed in one more round on the NorCal trip teeing it up around 3:00pm at Corica Park Golf Complex South Course on Thursday. This was my second time playing the course and I enjoyed the layout even more. Great variety of fun holes with not one letdown. Last time teed it up for a shotgun start on the 13th hole during its grand opening. This time starting on hole 1 playing as it was designed felt better. The front nine is pretty open allowing you to grip and rip. The back nine quickly contrasts the front with tighter layout bringing many trees and at times OB in play. The closing stretch 15-18 is fantastic. Two signature Par 5’s (15 & 17) reachable in two with a tough final hole Par 4.

As for the conditions, it’s in great shape.

Greens, bent, were smooth, fast and firm. The only bumps you run into are not properly repaired ball marks but due to how firm the greens are the ball marks are not deep. These are huge greens with many undulations and very challenging. They were a blast to play.

Fairways, santa ana bermuda (does not go dormant) mostly lush, full coverage, except some spots in front the greens that are being worked on, firm and tight. Exactly how they should be for this Australian links design.

Rough, just adjacent to the fairway, santa ana bermuda as well, lush and tight like the fairways. Secondary rough is either 4 inches to foot tall fescue or California wild bent grass. Looks beautiful and is very challenging to escape from. Was in great shape. Although many of the California wild bent grass around the green complexes since I first played it have been cut down a little or been trampled down. This is actually a good thing from a pace of play standpoint. The times I hit my ball into the wild bent grass during my first round it was very difficult to find.

Bunkers, great shape with quality sand. Better quality sand on the back nine than front nine.

Tee boxes, cut tight, mostly lush and firm.

POP, finished in 4 hours.

Customer Service: Friendly & Professional

Love this place. I’m going to see about doing a GK Plays here in 2019. Check it out!

Played on Sunday 9/2. Really cool layout. Totally different look than the majority of courses I play around here & I very much enjoyed it. Visually deceptive & challenging from the tee and pretty st... Continue »

Played on Sunday 9/2. Really cool layout. Totally different look than the majority of courses I play around here & I very much enjoyed it. Visually deceptive & challenging from the tee and pretty straightforward on the approach shots. Great mix of long & short holes and a variety of ways to play each one. Course knowledge goes a long way here.

The greens were mostly large & undulating and in fantastic shape: Smooth, fast & just a pleasure to putt. The fairways were very nice & the ball sat up. There were a few bare areas, especially on the front nine. The rough was interesting: The primary rough was consistent & not overly difficult, however, lurking just beyond the primary rough on many holes is long fescue that is very penal. Made for some real interesting attempts to get out of there. Bunkers were great, as were the tee boxes. The service at check-in was very good & the starter/marshalls were friendly. Not sure about the food, but the restaurant was packed. The only downside was the Pace of Play: Slow. Took us nearly 5 hours to finish & we tee'd off fairly early.

Overall, a great course & and highly recommended. It should mature into something really special, if they can keep the conditions up. This place gets a ton of play, so time will tell if they can get the PoP under control. Like EYE2016 stated: A great up & coming venue.

Recently played the newly renovated South Course. It was well done as far as grass, playing surfaces and well manicured greens. The wind will play a factor on most holes. Lots of sand traps near the... Continue »

Recently played the newly renovated South Course. It was well done as far as grass, playing surfaces and well manicured greens. The wind will play a factor on most holes. Lots of sand traps near the green and in the fairways to create stimulating challenges. tee box areas are hard . Cart paths take a little time to get use to. Looks like they were still working on them. The only recommendation was the direction from each hole. Need more signs to point you to the correct hole. Overall a great and upcoming venue.

Joined JohnnyGK for the VIP grand opening event here on Wednesday before the course officially reopens to the public this weekend. Course designer Rees Jones came out to hit the ceremonial opening sho... Continue »

Joined JohnnyGK for the VIP grand opening event here on Wednesday before the course officially reopens to the public this weekend. Course designer Rees Jones came out to hit the ceremonial opening shot and meet and greet afterwards. We started on the 13th hole of the 1:00 shotgun and it was a decent pace around 5 hours.

As Johnny mentioned, the course is in great shape as it has barely been played yet. I personally wouldn't say "immaculate" as some areas need some maturing. Tee boxes were great. I thought the fairways closest to the clubhouse were more dry and a tad thin while the majority as you got further out on the course were much more lush and nice. Everything meant to play tight here for roll-out and ground play options. Plenty of bunkering with brand new sand. I like how they use the Aussie style with the sides being packed flatter/firmer and the soft sand fluffed up in the middle/bottom. The primary cut of rough was fantastic and then you have the outer "native" fescue/bent areas that are currently super knee-to-waist deep in some areas. Looks fantastic and I'm glad they had it this way for our first impression grand opening, but it could be a challenge for slow play once the muni crowd gets out here. It's basically a lost ball or impossible to hit out of if you do find it, but it sounds like they will be monitoring stuff like that very closely over these first few weeks of public play and making adjustments as needed.

The greens were great and ballmarks were tough to make on the new surfaces. They kind of have a gray-ish look at the moment because of the agronomy treatment they are doing to the new turf that is mostly meant to keep the poa from invading. Ultimately, they said they will look more normal light green like typical bent greens. Either way, they played very nicely rolling super smooth at medium speeds.

I had never played the original South/Clark Course and it looks like I won't get to play the North/Fry Course before it closes 9 holes for its own renovation on Monday 6/25. From what I know, the old South was pretty basic and by all accounts the new one is something much more special. One of the guys in our group was a local who has been playing Corica all his life and also spent many years working here. His eyes were lit up all round as he saw the new course for the first time. He just kept murmuring "this is awesome" on every tee box. It is an excellent course that offers a good balance between challenge and forgiveness. Flat and open for the most part with big greens, strategically placed bunkers and the aforementioned native grass areas to provide some obstacles. Olivas, Rustic and Dinuba would all be good comps. I will be curious to see how the course stands up to high amounts of public play. Hopefully the locals take care of their new great course.