Played wed 4/23, 8am tee time, 5 hr round, mostly cuz it was the ncga qualifier 2 man best ball, and we were putting everything out. Course condition is the same as 2 weeks ago... fairways spotty wit... Continue »

Played wed 4/23, 8am tee time, 5 hr round, mostly cuz it was the ncga qualifier 2 man best ball, and we were putting everything out. Course condition is the same as 2 weeks ago... fairways spotty with dandelions, lots of unmarked gur,, rough decent and mowed, bunkers decent. Greens are the best feature.. roll true and quick, grainy: 11 down grain, 9 up grain. but lots of ball marks, so bumpy if you don't smooth them out. Looks like they are punching next week. Cold and windy, 1-3 club wind. Warmed up a little by noon, but didn't take the beanie off. A decent fun round with a lot of good shot quality shots, but in mediocre at best shape. Very walkable. Need course knowledge on a lot of holes. I hear the weekday rate walking is much more reasonable than the sunday rate I paid last time, and for under $50, I would play here a lot.

Played Sat 3/29, 12pm tee time; 5 1/2 hr round. cool and windy day, wind started mild 1 club wind, but increased up to a 3 club wind as day went on. Lots of waiting in this slow round. Never been h... Continue »

Played Sat 3/29, 12pm tee time; 5 1/2 hr round. cool and windy day, wind started mild 1 club wind, but increased up to a 3 club wind as day went on. Lots of waiting in this slow round. Never been here, and came in preparation for an ncga 2 man event. Course in poor muni shape. Fairways unkept, with dandelions littering the fairway, lots of unfilled divots, and bare spots. Greens are the best maintained feature, firm and fast, grainy, running a fast 11 downgrain, slow 10 upgrain. Tee boxes thin and uneven. Rough thick and patchy. Sand sandy. A fun layout, links style, mounds, hazards, big greens. right by the oakland airport, and apparentlly under the runway approach, and small jets are non stop landing. Fun, but not well kept, and slow on this sat afternoon. For the $100 rack rate, I'd rather go to Corica Park on the other side of the airport. If they took better care of it, I'd give it a recommend.

No reviews for five years so I thought I would write one.

First played this course many years ago. Still nice but a little rough in the fairways. Weeds etc. Greens were really nice for a muni co... Continue »

No reviews for five years so I thought I would write one.

First played this course many years ago. Still nice but a little rough in the fairways. Weeds etc. Greens were really nice for a muni course.

Considering how many problems Oakland has the course is still a must play if you are in the area.

Highly recommend even though it is not as pristine as it was 20 years ago.

Senior week day rates of $42 with a cart but it is easily walkable even for old people like me.

Played here for the first time after almost all of my Bay Area friends told me I needed to. Long story short, I will go back. Tee'd off at 8:12a and finished by 12:30, so a bit slow for me. They flood... Continue »

Played here for the first time after almost all of my Bay Area friends told me I needed to. Long story short, I will go back. Tee'd off at 8:12a and finished by 12:30, so a bit slow for me. They flooded the course last week so it was a bit soft and the fairways and rough were in OK shape. The greens will keep me coming back, rolled true and medium-fast.

Had plenty of time for more golf, so I booked a 2:24 tee time directly on the course's website ($27). I ended up teeing off around 2:00 and was paired with two other singles. It was very busy out here... Continue »

Had plenty of time for more golf, so I booked a 2:24 tee time directly on the course's website ($27). I ended up teeing off around 2:00 and was paired with two other singles. It was very busy out here and the pace was dreadfully slow. Can't believe it was this crowded on a Monday afternoon. It's just one of the most popular public courses in the area, so it gets a ton of play. We finished in 5 hours. The greens were aerated maybe a month ago. They are almost fully healed. Just a light topdressing of sand at the moment. However, they are still not cutting them down as low as normal. Apparently, the greens here are well-regarded as some of the best in the area. The surfaces rolled nice and were clearly well taken care of, just a little slower than normal I guess. Give them another couple weeks and they should be back to normal. Beyond the greens, I was disappointed in the rest of the course conditions. Tee boxes were okay. Fairways were inconsistent and spotty. Rough was very spotty with lots of big dead patches. It wasn't horrible and probably played a little better than it looked, but it just detracted from the nice layout. It's a links-inspired kind of design by Johnny Miller and Fred Bliss. Really reminded me of Ridge Creek Dinuba, but in the middle of a major metropolitan area. It is pretty noisy with strong prevailing winds, the airport next door and freeway/road traffic all around. It would really be sweet if it was kept up like Ridge Creek Dinuba. As it is, you don't get the sight lines as well and the contours, contrasting tall native grass areas, hazards, rugged bunkers, etc. don't really frame the course as well as they can. Too bad because it is a fantastic layout and would really shine if things looked nicer than they do. As I mentioned, they do get a ton of play every day here, so that kind of traffic probably makes it difficult to maintain at a high level. Still worth recommending, but look for a deal and temper your expectations for conditioning beyond the greens.

Over 5 hours! two foursomes holding up the entire course no matter what anyone said. 5 hours and 5 minutes!

greens were very good and tee boxes very good - fairways really bad, spotty, not much gra... Continue »

Over 5 hours! two foursomes holding up the entire course no matter what anyone said. 5 hours and 5 minutes!

greens were very good and tee boxes very good - fairways really bad, spotty, not much grass - two years trying to grow fairways and they get worse. Worse fairways I've played in many years.

Staff must know as they are top notch and nice as can be. Seem embarrassed for pace of play and course condition.

Metropolitan is a great municipal course with affordable green fees. The course is in great condition except some dry areas on the fairways. Greens are fast and well maintained. Many greens have mul... Continue »

Metropolitan is a great municipal course with affordable green fees. The course is in great condition except some dry areas on the fairways. Greens are fast and well maintained. Many greens have multi-tiers. The course is short but it has water and other hazards. If you don't hit straight, it could be a tough course for you. No. 10, a par-5 hole is the most challenging hole. You have to hit three perfect shots just to make par! A few water tanks on the course and a plus for a hot day. It is easier to play early in the morning before the wind blows wildly in the afternoon. It has a real grass driving range and the practice area is also very nice.
Very friendly staff. A great venue for golf in the Bay Area.

Played Friday, March 28 on a pleasant calm day. Fairly crowded but pace was ok, a little wait here and there but only on par 3's. Range is grass, pro shop small but efficient with friendly staff. The ... Continue »

Played Friday, March 28 on a pleasant calm day. Fairly crowded but pace was ok, a little wait here and there but only on par 3's. Range is grass, pro shop small but efficient with friendly staff. The first few holes had some patchy fairways but conditions were good on the boxes and greens. From the middle of the front nine, the fairways were in nice shape for the most part. No muddy lies, previous rains notwithstanding. Cart girl came around at least two times. Water jugs here and there were full and cold.

It's a short ride from San Francisco and yet Oakland has much better weather. Before the round, we go to Ronaker's for breakfast which is cheap and good. Can't beat it for $34.00 walking (senior rate). Oh, great course to walk. Some consider it a hard course and some consider it too easy. All in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

There aren't many trees, some water and forced carries, some bad rough and yes, you will need some course knowledge as there are some holes with long bending dogs that can be cut at certain angles. I like the risk/reward stuff so this course does have some appeal to me. Location is next to Oakland International so you get some nice views of approaching Lear jets overhead and commercial lines off to the side over the bay. You are honored with views of the storage tanks at the airport and smelly views of the sewage treatment plant. There are Mudhens in some of the ponds on one par 3 green and some ducks in the sloughs and other than that a ton of seagulls squawking high above the treatment plant. So the atmosphere is not idyllic and teeming with exotic wildlife but it is unique.

A few of the groundskeepers had big dogs with them so I asked them if they are there to chase the geese away. Originally that was the plan but many golfers were spooked by the dogs so now they just hang with the owners while they work. There was a Border Collie, Chocolate lab and a beautiful white Akita.

This is a good value for golf. Represents Oaktown very well.

Played the Metropolitan for the first time on Monday, March 3rd. Enjoyed the opportunity to golf, the course design was interesting and challenging, but the course conditions were not just Winter cond... Continue »

Played the Metropolitan for the first time on Monday, March 3rd. Enjoyed the opportunity to golf, the course design was interesting and challenging, but the course conditions were not just Winter conditions. Had a good deal, $27.00 through GolfNow, but would not pay full price until the conditions improved. The course was covered with non repaired divots in the fairways (8 - 9 great drives, middle of the fairway about 260 yards and found my ball in 3 deep unrepaired divots, :o, was not happy). There were ball marks and ball mark damage on many of the greens, the tee boxes were mainly level, though a few were difficult to find a level locations to tee from, and many had extensive divot damage, the sand traps were fairly hard, Very wet with standing water of at least 2 - 4 inches deep in at least ten traps. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and the food and service were great. The speed of the greens were inconsistent, some were very slick / fast and others only moderately fast and a few were slow, partially due to the rain the past few days prior to playing. The pace of play was good, finished in just over 4 hours with a few waits at 3 - 4 holes. Overall, I enjoyed the round, did not play my best but had a very good time and met some very nice players I was paired with.