I played Madera Municipal on Saturday afternoon. Walked the course as it is completely flat and super easy to walk. Only one semi-long transfer (between 10th green and 11th tee). The rest is a walk... Continue »

I played Madera Municipal on Saturday afternoon. Walked the course as it is completely flat and super easy to walk. Only one semi-long transfer (between 10th green and 11th tee). The rest is a walk in the park! Again social distancing orders in place. Single player per cart for those not walking, and raised cups along with no rakes in the bunkers.

Being a weekend with limited courses open it was packed. POP was a bit under 5 hrs. We waited on every shot. Such is life, during weekend golf.

Course was in slightly below average Muni condition. Tee boxes were about average and fairways are starting to recover from winter thin. Recent rains had fairways greening up but still some thin spots throughout.

Greens were very slow. They obviously have not recovered from the mid march aeration. Bunkers were hard pan dirt. No need for a rake as footsteps and club didn’t leave a single impact mark!

Overall, conditions were ok for a valley muni course. The only real drawback were the super slow greens.

Grabbed an early morning Hot Deal this past weekend for a round with a few buddies. My previous review(s) for this course won't change much for the most part. Greens are typical Madera speed, quick, b... Continue »

Grabbed an early morning Hot Deal this past weekend for a round with a few buddies. My previous review(s) for this course won't change much for the most part. Greens are typical Madera speed, quick, but not fast, and all bowl out to the middle. Whomever placed these pins on Sunday(11/17) must not have been in a good mood! They were just off slopes and I've played here so many times, and there were placements that I had never seen before and they were tough!
But my biggest problem at Madera is the tee boxes, the tee markers seem to rarely be on a flat surface, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Blue tees. I don't know if they just throw them down knowing that it won't get a ton of play, but for the few of us that do play "the tips" here, we seem to be looking for a good flat spot to peg one down. Why is it such a hard thing to find on many of these tee boxes?
Next, I am very understanding of the hardpan bunker in the valley, have dealt with my fair share. But when you lay sand,er, dirt down in the bunkers to give a semi-good looking lie, its really bad when the dirt is less than a 1/4 thick, and the hard pan is right under to bounce your club hard and typically blade the ball. Madera has visible drains in the bunkers, which helps drain them but do yourself a favor and actually give golfers who happen to be bunkered a chance and not fool them with a little coverage.
All in all, this is one of my favorite courses in the Fresno area, always affordable, and rarely do we have to wait on shots. You can rip it around this place, and not have to worry too much about being in certain spots because trees are well groomed and the rough isn't too damaging to a score.

Played Madera late afternoon yesterday. Course was in it’s typical average Muni-course shape with the exception of the greens having a ton of unrepaired pitch marks. I was routinely fixing 3-5 ball ... Continue »

Played Madera late afternoon yesterday. Course was in it’s typical average Muni-course shape with the exception of the greens having a ton of unrepaired pitch marks. I was routinely fixing 3-5 ball marks per green. Come on people, is it that hard to bend down and fix your pitch mark? I know I’m preaching to the choir and that most GK’ers are like me and repair not only their own ball marks but others as well.

I was talking to CenCalGolfer33 after the round and he said there had been a tournament there earlier in the morning. It might be time for course to start charging organizers a fee to send out a “sweeper” after the tournament to clean up after them.

Fairways were decent for the most part with a few thin areas here and there to go along with the wet areas caused by the much needed heavy watering during the recent triple digit heat.

First cut of rough was only about 1” and very easy to hit from. After that, it’s hardpan dirt (just like the sand traps). Tee boxes were ok. Nothing glamourous but no major issues.

POP was right at about 4 hrs. We were moving along nicely until about the 14th hole then started waiting on every shot.

My biggest complaint was the golf cart. No sand, and one piece solid plexiglass windshield. With 90+ degree heat it would be nice to fold down the windshield to get some air flow through the cart while driving. Plus, it was so scratched up we could barely see through it.

Played a day earlier than Alex did, and won’t go into great detail because it’s obviously very similar to Alex review on Madera. The greens seemed slower than the typical Madera green speeds but also ... Continue »

Played a day earlier than Alex did, and won’t go into great detail because it’s obviously very similar to Alex review on Madera. The greens seemed slower than the typical Madera green speeds but also they were in good shape! I still have a problem when the tee boxes are not flat. We play from the Blue tees but the white tee box on 1 is by far one of the worst around. It literally sits on a hump and your feet are either above the ball or below the ball and it runs the length of two or three clubs and not sure why they never level it or move the tee box to a flatter area. Got a Hot Deal so it was worth the price on my end. Still one that is an easy walk!

déjà vu - Exactly the same as my last review. Skipped my ride so wanted a course to walk. Started as a single, joined one other and course conditions are the same. A little less than what I woul... Continue »

déjà vu - Exactly the same as my last review. Skipped my ride so wanted a course to walk. Started as a single, joined one other and course conditions are the same. A little less than what I would expect given the wet winter and spring conditions we are having. Fairways had several thin spots throughout. Greens were decent but rolling slower than normal. Tee boxes were OK, I suppose. I was in several traps throughout the day. All are just hard pan with a very very thin layer of loose dirt on top. I normally don't mind getting out to Madera a few times a year, but I think I've hit my quota on this course for a while until conditions improve a bit.

I skipped my ride yesterday so I needed a course that was easily walkable. Madera Muni fits that bill as it is completely flat with most transfers being short. The gentleman in the pro shop said i... Continue »

I skipped my ride yesterday so I needed a course that was easily walkable. Madera Muni fits that bill as it is completely flat with most transfers being short. The gentleman in the pro shop said it was wide open. Well it was until the third hole when I caught a single in a cart in front of me. We joined up as a twosome and by the seventh hole we were waiting 2+ minutes on every shot. I have no idea why, but Madera is always slow going.

Greens still remain in decent shape with only a few pitch marks. They offer good challenge with moderate slope and some being two tiered. Speed was medium.

Fairways were 40% decent with the rest being thin with some brown dirt areas throughout.
Skirt areas around the green ranged from thick deep lush to patchy and thin. Sand traps are always thin. I will say they are improved in that before, they were solid hardpan. At least now there is a thin layer of sand.

Tee boxes were average. Overall conditions are definitely "Winter". Madera is always average muni conditions with above average greens. Right now the greens are still slightly above average but the fairways have fallen a few notches down.

For $21 it's a good course to get out and stretch your legs while working on your putting. I would expect conditions to improve in the next month or two.

Conditions continue to remain decent at Madera. Everything from tee to green is your typical average muni course. Greens were a bit slower than usual but rolled true with only a few unrepaired pi... Continue »

Conditions continue to remain decent at Madera. Everything from tee to green is your typical average muni course. Greens were a bit slower than usual but rolled true with only a few unrepaired pitch marks here and there. It rained during the night (and for a few minutes while on course) so there were a few fairways that were soggy. Other than that most lies were decent. A few thin areas here and there exist throughout the fairways.

POP is always on the slow side at Madera, even when the course isn't too busy. This course seems to be the gathering spot for older retired golfers who take their time and are in no rush whatsoever. Most are friendly, just slow is all.

Needed an AM tee time and Madera fit the bill. Hadn't played here in a number of months and conditions are right on track as usual. Greens are the highlight with above average greens for a muni cour... Continue »

Needed an AM tee time and Madera fit the bill. Hadn't played here in a number of months and conditions are right on track as usual. Greens are the highlight with above average greens for a muni course. They slope back to front with several being two tiered. Being behind the pin on the wrong section of the green can up the degree of difficulty for this course quite a bit. Greens roll true at a medium pace.

Fairways are a decent overall but do have a few thin spots throughout. Tee boxes were in much better shape sans one par 3 that was pretty chewed up. Sand boxes.....let's just say you don't want to be in the sand traps and leave it at that.

The one odd design flaw of the completely flat track (other than the placement of some of the tee boxes) is the placement of the water hazards. Madera has several lakes throughout the course but most of them don't really come into play. They are off (sometimes way off) to the side and mid way down the fairway so any decent and semi straight drive stays way clear of the water. There are no forced carries or water at the end of a dog leg making club selection critical. I'm a huge fan of water features on a course but these seem to be there just for logistical purposes of watering the course.

Anyway, Madera is what I call a standard Muni course. It's $23 to walk rack rate and often you can find deals at that price with a cart. For the price combined with decent conditions, it gets a thumbs up.

Just a quick update from the other reviews. Have played Madera the last couple weekends. First weekend greens were still a little slow with sand and needed a mower. Last weekend, the course was were i... Continue »

Just a quick update from the other reviews. Have played Madera the last couple weekends. First weekend greens were still a little slow with sand and needed a mower. Last weekend, the course was were it usually is!! Two things to be aware of, first thing is the rough! The rough is thick in places and makes for fairways to be hit! It's not a bad thing about the rough but most courses have thin rough and can be easily played out of, but Madera you've gotta be in the fairway on most of the holes and not just rip it and not worry about where it goes. Second, bunkers, which are always a hot button topic it seems. Too many hard pan lies. But also you think you have a good solid layer under the ball but it's not what you may think. Too often than not, its a thin layer and then hard pan.
All in all, Madera is a good solid course. Golf Moose and GolfNow, always have deals. I walk, and it's a simple and easy walk.