Played on 7-16-16 My last review extoled the return to better conditions. I am sad to say that since my last round here they have gone backwards. The greens were shaggy with areas of severe ball dam... Continue »

Played on 7-16-16 My last review extoled the return to better conditions. I am sad to say that since my last round here they have gone backwards. The greens were shaggy with areas of severe ball damage, although compared to where they were in the recent past, they are playable. The tees were hit and miss with some bare areas and some that were not mown at all for IDK how long. The fairways were the biggest step backwards with anything from dead areas to soggy muddy overgrown wet areas. The bunkers, usually rock hard but at least smooth, had been fluffed but then were left to return to being rock hard and now had the added trouble of having the crusty furrows. Many had standing water in them (when it averages 100 degrees with no rain this is a big problem) I still recommend this course as the layout and price are good, but I am not sure why they can't seem to get the conditions back to previous levels. I tried several times to do a rating - not sure why it isn't appearing.

Played here this morning with a 7:00 tee time through GN. $43 reasonable for weekend prime morning with cart. Surprising to see a muni not starting play at the crack of dawn, but 7:00 was the first te... Continue »

Played here this morning with a 7:00 tee time through GN. $43 reasonable for weekend prime morning with cart. Surprising to see a muni not starting play at the crack of dawn, but 7:00 was the first tee time (or at least it should have been). The twosome I was paired with checked in a little late, so they let another foursome out ahead. They were a bit slower than us and ultimately allowed us to play through at the turn. Total pace was around 3.5 hours and worked out well. Course conditions are interesting here right now because I thought the front nine was in much better shape than the back. I was extremely impressed while playing the front nine as the conditions from tee to green would rival any high-end course in SoCal. Tee boxes, fairways and the primary areas of rough were very lush, green and nicely manicured. Deep, thick rough that was definitely penal. There has obviously been some turf reduction on the outer/non-essential areas, though. On the back nine, the tee boxes were still fine and the fairways were mostly quite good, but still felt like a slight notch down from the front. The rough was a very different story. Some sections were still great and others were spotty. It was not nearly as penal or as thick in most places and more hardpan/patchy areas came into play. It felt like a different course at times. The greens were consistently mediocre throughout. As previous reviewers have noted, they had some serious issues with the greens here in recent years and they've been working hard to redo them. Right now, they are still too firm and there are many patches of poa mixed in, so the surfaces are often bumpy. There was also a lot of debris on many of the greens (especially on the back nine) this morning. They were wet and slow, but seemed like they would speed up as they dried out more in the afternoon. I think they still have some work ahead of them to bring the greens fully back to the quality they apparently used to have, but it seems like there's still been a lot of progress since the last reviews. This is another nice traditional Central Valley kind of course. Pretty forgiving off the tee, but the greens do have some big slopes and undulations to contend with. Back nine probably a little more interesting with more water hazards in play, but overall a solid layout with enough local character. Worth a stop if driving through Madera, and their club partnership with Pheasant Run is a heck of a deal for local players.

Greens are closed for major repair. They are using mowed circles in front of the greens for makeshift "putting greens on all holes". They are scheduled to open up the regular greens next weekend but ... Continue »

Greens are closed for major repair. They are using mowed circles in front of the greens for makeshift "putting greens on all holes". They are scheduled to open up the regular greens next weekend but looking at the greens they are in very poor shape. Not sure what happened. I played here a few time in the spring and once in the summer and all was well. However, right now save your money and play elsewhere. Also greens keeper needs to report Madera as major (red) repair

Always a fun course that can produce low numbers. Overall - Average design and conditions with very good value. Pace - Good, 4:30ish on a Sunday. Course conditions - The drought is evident all in ... Continue »

Always a fun course that can produce low numbers. Overall - Average design and conditions with very good value. Pace - Good, 4:30ish on a Sunday. Course conditions - The drought is evident all in and around the course. Range is void of grass in the target area, but green on the tee ground. The course greens(some tine marks left) and tees are all in good condition. Rough is basically dirt with an occasional patch here and there. Fairways are thin but play well with some bare/brown spots. They are doing a good job of reducing water usage and keeping things playable. Staff - Good, Friendly and helpful. Value - Excellent, Even for the valley where prices are lower than Nor/So Cal this course has better pricing and deals than most. ($50 with cart 2 players on a Sunday hot deal) Food - Average, Small bar/grill with typical offerings. They can ramp up the offerings for banquets etc. Facilities - Well maintained with large areas for tourneys/events. Good patio with views of several holes and golf action. Edit--To say the accompanying rating is low due in large part to the bunkers which were poor. Concrete/hardpan/wow really firm/ were just some of the comments from the group.

This will be my second review of Madera Muni. We in the Central Valley have been experiencing extreme dry conditioned(prior to last weeks rains) and the courses I have played have been extremely dry... Continue »

This will be my second review of Madera Muni. We in the Central Valley have been experiencing extreme dry conditioned(prior to last weeks rains) and the courses I have played have been extremely dry, and I thought Madera would be the same. But a couple weeks ago, my group went up there and played, and it was in the best shape its been in since I have been playing up there. The fairways are dry but not bone dry, there is shades of light greens all throughout the fairways. The rough is thin, but the only real trouble on this course is 1. playing from the hardpan, 2. playing from the trees 3. the water on 14,16 and 17. Locals know Madera greens always run true and a lil fast, well right now, they are running a little faster than normal being that we have not had much water lately. But that is not a bad thing!! Most all the greens are surrounded by knolls, and they have them shaved down so you can play your shots off the back of the green and get some substantial spin and roll back from them if the pins are in the back. The bunkers it seems as if they are trying to better the bunkers, and I believe in my last review of this course, I had mentioned that they were practically hardpan, but now they have actual sand in them and you can take an actual bunker-like swing in them!! Lastly, the gentleman before me mentioned about the Foot Golf, I have played 5 rounds out at Madera in the past month, and I have yet to see anyone actually playing this new game. Also, there should not be a problem with the Foot Golf course, because it is played in and around the trees, they will not ever be on the greens or even the tee boxes. They are the only ones who are trying this in the area, will it catch on? Probably not, but due to the volume of soccer being played in this area, they are trying to bring a different type of "golfer" out to a course, where they might never have been before. I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't stick and they packed up the Foot Golf course at all.

This has been one of my favorite courses for the past several years. It was disturbing to learn that they now allow "Foot Golf" on this course. Evidently, "Foot Golf" is golf played by kicking a so... Continue »

This has been one of my favorite courses for the past several years. It was disturbing to learn that they now allow "Foot Golf" on this course. Evidently, "Foot Golf" is golf played by kicking a soccer ball into a larger hole, near the golf green. These foot golfers will be using carts, the tee boxes, sand traps, etc. I am now avoiding going to Madera, as I believe in the traditional values and etiquette of the great game of golf, and I do not wish to share a course with a bunch of soccer players who cannot play golf as it was meant to be played. C'mon Madera! Knock it off.

Madera Muni has got to be one of my favorite most reasonably priced golf course in the Fresno area! Very easy to walk course, and for $22 bucks on the weekdays, you can't beat it. The front 9 is on th... Continue »

Madera Muni has got to be one of my favorite most reasonably priced golf course in the Fresno area! Very easy to walk course, and for $22 bucks on the weekdays, you can't beat it. The front 9 is on the outer parts of the course and the back 9 is tightly wound inside the front. The front has a few little quirks, starting off with Hole 2 which is a short dogleg left Par 4. There is a small gully that has occasional water in parts of it, right inside 100 yards, longer hitters that can clear it will have a wedge into the green, smart play seems to play up the right side and you will have a clean shot into the green and will avoid the bunkers left. Another hole on the front is Hole 7 which is another dogleg left, and sets up for someone to hit a nice hard draw, or hook around the corner and will again, leave you with a wedge into the green. If the tee's are back and to the right, you can potentially cut the corner off and leave yourself with a good shot in. But there is OB left. For the most part the Front 9 is pretty straight forward. The back 9 seems to be a bit longer. Starting with a bottle neck fairway into a very large green protected by trees on the left and a large bunker to the back of the green. The next few holes are holes that can be taken advantage of and a good score is very possible. The Par 4 13 is a hole where you have some options with the eucalyptus tree on the left blocking out about a quarter of the fairway. You can take a few different approaches with this hole, you can go over it, a nice draw around it or just play right of it completely, but doing this can put you into the trees, and this section of trees seems to be the worst place to play out of on the entire course. If you can manage this hole with birdie being a possibility you are setting yourself up nicely. Two of the final 3 holes have water in play, the Par 4 16 and Par 5 17 can wipe away a good score if you drop one in the water on one of these two holes. What makes it worse is the hard pan around the water. If you fade the ball hard and hope it can hold up if you get in the area, you are going into the water 9 times out of 10. The Par 5 17 is a great hole with water on both sides, so getting something down the middle is great, trying to get your drive past the tree right at the dogleg right is key. Laying up is not a bad thing, but making sure you keep it short enough to put it over the water with a draw is vital, because being blocked out and having to hit a big fade around the tree can leave you with a tough third. Couple more things about this course. One is the greens, they are probably some of the bigger greens in the area, and they run pretty good most of the year. When playing this course, playing the slope of the greens can and will help you out a ton, but also playing below the hole is vital, and most of the greens all funnel to the middle of the green. Lastly, one of the two negative about this course is, there seems to be a lot of muddy areas, and not just sporadically, but a lot of times in the landing areas, which sucks a lot of roll out of a good tee shot. I've had great drives plug and I've had them catch up in muddy areas which disappoints, especially when you think you ripped one! Second, is the bunkers, most of them are baked out and rock hard, due to the summer heat. So hitting a bunker shot more like a chip shot can save you a shot or two! All in all, I like this course a lot, you can get out of trouble fairly easy on most holes, and the pace of play is pretty good.

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.

played 5-22 on the way to stevinson ranch. medium length wide open course with not much trouble. tee boxes where level and in good shape. fairways where a little thin but you still had a good lie. rou... Continue »

played 5-22 on the way to stevinson ranch. medium length wide open course with not much trouble. tee boxes where level and in good shape. fairways where a little thin but you still had a good lie. rough not that thick about an inch more then fairways.sand trap was firm but good shape. greens rolled good with medium speed.would not go out of may way to play this course but if in the area it was worth the $21 to walk.