Pine Mountain Lake was my last round today after a couple of short courses in between (Twain Harte and Phoenix Lake). There is no easy way to get to/from Groveland because it's high up in the hills to... Continue »

Pine Mountain Lake was my last round today after a couple of short courses in between (Twain Harte and Phoenix Lake). There is no easy way to get to/from Groveland because it's high up in the hills toward Yosemite. Very isolated little town with a pretty cool golf course. I worked my way up there and was teeing off a little before 1:30 by myself. I played through a couple groups on the front and then hit a back-up at the turn. I eventually joined a threesome for most of the back nine. Total pace was still pretty good around 3:20. $42 twilight rate with cart.

The course was in solid shape, especially for this point in the season. I don't know if they stay open year-round or not. Most tee boxes were sanded pretty good as they do some work on them. The fairways were in good shape overall. Mix of brown and green colors, but good turf base to hit from. Rough pretty good, as well. Bunkers were nicely kept with soft sand. Greens here were also aerated not too long ago and seemed a week or two further along than Mountain Springs. Should be back to normal soon enough. For now, they are still a little bumpy and slow with the aeration scars showing.

This was another pleasant surprise. I don't know if it's worth going so far out of the way just for it, but definitely fun to check out if you happen to be in Groveland for whatever reason. Fun layout with some big doglegs and a good balance of uphill/downhill/sidehill shots. Plays through a resort community, so some houses will come into play. Still a very pleasant rural mountain setting with plenty of local character. Pro shop guy couldn't have been nicer getting me started. Oh, and if you like spotting deer on a golf course this is your place. No joke, I probably saw at least 100 deer on the course this afternoon. I counted 25 hanging out on just the 12th hole!