Tucked into a not so trendy pocket of east Salinas, next to the small airport and near the local state parole office, is a gem of a municipal golf course. If you know the area, you might not think su... Continue »

Tucked into a not so trendy pocket of east Salinas, next to the small airport and near the local state parole office, is a gem of a municipal golf course. If you know the area, you might not think such a playable, affordable and fun course has been here for more than 60 years. This was my first, but definitely not last visit. It's long - even without the brutal back nine wind - doesn't have many hazards, and is a blast to play. A great driving course, I also found the firm fairway grass to sit up tall and provide confidence on each fairway shot. I'm told when its dry (it was not on this August visit) the fairways run like police dogs, but today they were perfect. Rough is not penal and in fact provided more run-out on drives than the sticky fairways. Bunkers were fine; a 10-ish tee time still had slightly wet sand to the end (4 hr pace). Greens were frankly some of the best muni offerings I've ever played, though unfixed ball marks were more plentiful on the back nine than the front. I guess that's just human nature. Smooth and receptive (they must water the beejeezus out of them) but very fast. Someone in the greenskeeper shed is doing good things out there. Greens are neither large nor terribly undulated, but the par 3s noticeably have enough humps and bumps to keep your interest. It's not rated as a difficult course, but with the wind and the distances it is definitely a more than satisfying challenge. At 50 bucks or so with cart and small bucket, a great value and serious bang for your buck. Decent practice areas and a small grill bar that unfortunately closed up early on this Wednesday. If you are looking for a ball striking, smooth putting bonanza, check out Salinas Fairways.

I had to drop some money off to my contractor, who's office is 2 blocks from this course so I made him come out and play. We used the Golf Moose coupon so it was only $40 for the two of us with a car... Continue »

I had to drop some money off to my contractor, who's office is 2 blocks from this course so I made him come out and play. We used the Golf Moose coupon so it was only $40 for the two of us with a cart. I've never played here but I've heard from others it has decent greens.

First the layout. As Sixpez mentioned, it's a yawner. Front nine has one little lake in front of a par 3 green that makes things interesting otherwise the front 9 is just a parkland setting with some trees to try and keep you honest. The back nine is WIDE open with the only excitement being a long par 4 with a pond in front of the green to make things interesting. And really that was only a challenge because of a strong headwind.

Conditions wise, greens were decent. They rolled smooth at a medium pace and held approach shots very well. There's nothing to the greens as they are all single tiered with just a traditional back to front minimal slope (for drainage).

Skirt area around the greens was lush offering a good lie 90% of the time. Sand traps were surprisingly nice. I was in two and both had great soft sand. Not the pure white pristine sand found at high end courses but definitely soft fluffy sand and very playable.

Fairways were ok. Green for the most part and offered a good hitting surface with a few thin areas here and there.

Most tee boxes were lush. The par 3 tee boxes were ok with a couple of them having excessive divot damage.

No sand in the carts for divots which I thought was odd. Clubhouse is an old rectangle shoe box building with no aesthetic appeal. Check in was super quick and easy. For $20 it makes a decent little "kill some time" course. Actually, layout aside, the course conditions are definitely worth the $20

Decided to check this one out on the way back home yesterday. I found a GN hot deal at 11:37 for $34. Their regular morning rates seemed awfully expensive for what you get here, but it would be an eas... Continue »

Decided to check this one out on the way back home yesterday. I found a GN hot deal at 11:37 for $34. Their regular morning rates seemed awfully expensive for what you get here, but it would be an easy course to walk, so you can save a few bucks there. They also gave me a coupon to come back next time and play for only $25, which I thought was cool. Knowing I wasn't going to be back (ever), I gave it to one of my playing partners and hopefully he'll be able to use it. I got there early, but they had a huge tournament going on with groups having gone out on both nines to clog up the entire course. Ultimately, the pro shop guy was nice and had me join with a couple of nice elderly gents (Ed and Earl), teeing off the back nine around 11:15. They were only playing nine holes. Though it was a nice gesture, it kind of backfired (or so I thought). The back nine was really slow behind the tournament group and when I got around to the 1st tee, it was all backed up. I joined with another threesome and was pleasantly surprised that the pace moved very nice on the front. Though it felt like a 6-hour round because I wanted to get back on the road, it was only a 4-hour round in reality, so I cannot complain at all. Anyway, the course was in okay shape. This course is also a tale of two nines. The front nine is more of a traditional parkland kind of layout with lots of trees in play and gentle contours. Because of how it is laid out, it felt more green and lush throughout. Tee boxes fine, fairways mostly pretty good and rough reasonably lush. Greens a bit on the firm side, but rolling smooth and at medium speeds. I was in a couple bunkers and they had good sand. The back nine is a different story running next to the small Salinas Airport and is probably the flattest, most basic course I've ever played. It is wide open and there's a lot of room for error. The greens are pretty simple and easy to get at. One interesting feature here is some grass bunker mounds with some really thick rough. They guarded some of the greens along with some regular sand traps. They aren't super penal, but offer something a little different on an otherwise really boring course—especially the back nine.

good course for beginners

good course for beginners

We were first group off at 12 pm twilight. Well worth the $15 green fee. Course was in good shape. Some of tee boxes were slightly long. Not too difficult, easy to walk.

We were first group off at 12 pm twilight. Well worth the $15 green fee. Course was in good shape. Some of tee boxes were slightly long. Not too difficult, easy to walk.