Quick note about Marin County Golf: There are 3 18-hole, public golf courses and as with the real estate around here, the prices are not commensurate to the quality of the product. You pay 30 - 35% more for arguably inferior tracks than surrounding counties (excluding San Francisco). If you are a bang-for-your-buck golfer, you might want to skip Peacock Gap & Marin County entirely and play some of the stellar courses in the neighboring counties (i.e. Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Contra Costa).

That being said, Peacock Gap has definitely stepped up its game in the past few years & has become a quality place to play. They have an all-grass range, a comprehensive practice area , and an excellent restaurant/bar. they have really improved the course, from the tee boxes, to the bunkers, and especially the greens over the past 2 years or so. It's a very short course (less than 6,300 yds from the Back Tees), with mainly wide fairways & receptive greens. Definitely a great place to shoot a low number, however it is not a cupcake. There are little tidal creeks woven throughout the course & come into play on most holes. Holes 2, 5, 9, 11, 17 & 18 all require your attention & the greens, which used to be slow & flat are medium-fast & undulating.

A note on the greens: They were originally slow, flat & a joke (pre-2000), they then tricked them up like Mini-Golf around 2005 or so (some of the older pictures on this site show the "half-pipe" or "Taco" greens), however within the last 10 years, they converted all of the weird ones back to actual ones you can putt. They also hired the greens keeper from the Meadow Club (GD top 20 Course in California) to work his magic: shaggy, slow & fungal became smooth & medium-quick & a pleasure to putt.

I played an afternoon round on 7/6. The majority of the tee boxes were lush & flat. The fairways were nice, thin in a few places (especially #14), but that was the exception rather than the rule. The rough was lush & fair, although there are a couple of areas where they let the rough grow up so much that if you hit into them, odds are you will not find your ball. I found my way into a couple of bunkers & they were acceptable. The greens were smooth & rolling medium-fast. PoP was 4 & Change, but not expecting much on a beautiful Friday Afternoon. The staff was friendly & very accommodating.

Played in a Tournament on 5/19. Tee'd off just after noon on a beautiful 85* day. Wind was down, so conditions were ideal. The pace of play was extremely slow, but not unexpected when you play a tournament in mid-day on a weekend. 5+ hour round.

This is my third time playing here & again, I was blown away by this course. The layout is wonderful & it is a challenging, interesting course without any "hokey" holes. Great scenery! Conditions are immaculate: Greens are firm, smooth & medium-fast, fairways are lush & every lie was ideal. The rough is punitive, but not brutal. Sand in the bunkers is perfect.

The service & on-course staff were friendly & helpful. Restaurant has good food & drinks. It's way out in the middle of nowhere, but well worth the trip!

Played it for the first time since the Renovation on 4/28. It's a very different & markedly better course than I remember from before. It is a tough course! I feel I would need to play several rounds before figuring it out:

First of all, the greens are diabolical. Not the fastest I've played, but certainly quick & smooth rolling. They are extremely undulating & visually deceptive. I often felt more like Ray Charles than Bob Charles with the flat stick in my hand. Everyone in my group had multiple putts that were simply flummoxing. They are very firm as well, so even if you hit the green with a short iron, it will often roll off the back. The good news is there are very few ball marks on the greens.

Second, the course features no rough at all. Like zero. It's fairway or forest (or sand trap, or waste area...etc.). Wonderful if you hit the ball in the correct area, but distance control factors in, or you just run through into some real problem areas. Also, all of the lies around the greens are tight. You can choose to putt from more areas, but chipping is definitely squirrelly.

Lastly, the waste areas. They provide a wonderful visual & they greatly reduce the water usage on the course, but you can wind up in some really funky places. The grasses in & around the Waste Areas are long & gnarly & most of the lies in them are far less than bueno. I played with a short-hitting older gentleman & he often couldn't carry the waste areas, although he could have swallowed some pride & moved up tees.

That being said, the course is absolutely beautiful & each hole is a joy to play. The look & feel of the course is a mix between Augusta National & Pine Valley. But don't get me wrong, not comparing Poppy to either of those Mount-Golf-More Courses, just similar elements of the design. They have a really detailed Yardage Book available & definitely make use of it if you are playing it for the first time.

In conclusion, as others have stated before: definitely a must play if you are in the area.

Played it on 2/24 as part of a tournament.

As for the conditions: The course is in very good shape & the greens are quick & challenging. Fairways are lush & manicured. The rough is penal, but not overly. The tee boxes are almost all sanded, but didn't make a huge difference, as they are level. The bunkers varied from very good, with nice, fluffy sand to mediocre with sand the consistency of wet cement.

As for the Layout: I had forgotten what a great course this is. Lots of elevation changes & doglegs, but not hokey at all. It's not a "wow" course, except for the last 2 holes & perhaps #9, but it is a great, challenging park land layout. Most locals actually prefer this to the Ocean course. PoP was horrible, but I was playing in a tournament on a busy Saturday with a Frost Delay to boot.

A Couple of things to consider: It's expensive to play there, especially on the weekend. Also, the pace of play can be brutal during prime time, due to the "Resort" nature of the courses there. If you are looking for the "wow" experience with multiple holes on the ocean, give the Ocean Course a try.

Played Saturday 8/19/17. I have played out here a couple of times over the past 15 years & it's a short, fun layout. The course is in the best condition I've ever played it (granted I haven't played it very much), however I would call it average overall. The greens were receptive, and rolling well, however the fairways and areas around the greens had numerous bare patches. Bunkers were fine, with decent amounts of sand. Most of the tee boxes were fine, however #2 from the Blue tee was one of worst I've seen in a while. Overall, the conditions & layout were great & the guy at the proshop was courteous & provided excellent service.

Now for the downside of the experience: We were first Chair at 6:00am. We played the front 9 in about 1:15. Everything Was great going through to 10 & then BAM! A group on the 10th Green, a group in the fairway & a group getting ready to tee off. What??? Turns out it was packed like this on every hole on the back nine. Took us about 2:45 to play the 2nd nine. I understand that many courses send people off the back in the mornings, generally to play 9 holes, or split some of the tee times, but this was a total sh-t show. I get up early specifically to avoid having to play 4+ hour rounds & this was quite a shock. Keep this in mind if you are looking to get a fast round in early in the morning.

Played an early round on 5/7. First trip up there. As stated numerous times, the course is just amazing & I'm bummed it took me so long to play it. Reminds me of a hybrid between Rancho San Marcos & San Juan Oaks, embodying the best of both courses. Great layout, with a wonderful mix of fun & challenging holes, without any circus elements. Lush fairways & some of the best greens I've putted. POP was almost 4-hours, a little longer than I'm used to, but didn't feel slow as it was super windy, with a steady 20-25 & gusting higher. The course actually played very fair even in those extreme conditions. Service was top-notch. Definitely should be on your have-to-play list & I will certainly be heading back there for more.

Played Saturday 5/14. 1st off, so PoP was just over 3.5 hours. It would have been easily under 3, but we caught up with a shotgun tourney that went off the back on 15, so we played the last 3 holes at a crawl. The staff was great & played with a couple of locals who made for great company.

Short course at +/-6,300 from the tips, but the real defense is the narrow fairways & large, undulating, fast greens. Most of the pin placements were very tricky, with a few being downright diabolical. I've read some reviews that say this course is easy. It is most certainly not.

The course is in fantastic shape. Immaculate conditions for all of the fairways, greens & tee boxes. The fairways overall are very narrow & there are plenty of lakes, streams & bunkers to make life interesting. I was very impressed with the layout: lots of interesting hole designs which promote using strategy from the tee. I used a variety of clubs off the tee from Driver to 7 iron on the par 4s, rather than just hit driver. I'm a huge fan of that.

I have played a few courses in Vegas over the years & this was the best one to date, hands down. I pre-paid for the round on the Desert Pines Website & the price of the round was $68. Great deal for a great round of golf.

Played here again on 5/1. A beautiful spring day. The course is in really fantastic shape. It was my playing partner's first time & he was extremely impressed by the layout, conditions & price. Fairways are lush and the greens are smooth and quick. Teed off just after 7am - PoP was 3.5, with no waiting ahead of us & the next group several holes behind. Just a great experience.

Very fun track. Beautiful views of the surrounding mountains & a lot of wildlife on the course. Short in terms of length, at under 6400 from the backs, but the small, elevated greens provide plenty of defense. Used a variety of clubs off the tee, which I prefer over just banging the driver all day. Played it early in the morning, so it was pretty soft on the fairways & the rough was very punitive. This part of the country is in a severe drought, however the course was surprisingly lush & green. The greens were small, undulating & quick. To balance it off, they were very soft & receptive and the ball rolled true off the putter. The tee boxes were in decent shape & level. Played early, so the pace of play was quick, didn't run into any delays & we weren't pushed from behind. The staff were polite & friendly. Enjoyed it & will play here again.