I finally made it out to TPC Stonebrea and it took a Golfmoose outing to do it. Like others in the area the course sits way up on the hillside east of Hayward in a very nice gated community as you wo... Continue »

I finally made it out to TPC Stonebrea and it took a Golfmoose outing to do it. Like others in the area the course sits way up on the hillside east of Hayward in a very nice gated community as you would expect for an elite CC of this nature. The views from the top of the course were awesome, and I could only imagine what dinner at night is like from the clubhouse. The pro shop is fairly small with just enough items to fill your souvenir bag/closet with an item or two.

Range (for us) was off mats with traditional yellow range balls. Carts had GPS and a cooler. What the course doesn’t have are any marking on the tees to tell you what hole you’re on. Nor where there any trash cans out on the course/ tee boxes. I imagine that was due to wildlife?

They had recently aerated the greens about 2-3 weeks ago and some had healed quicker than others. Within a week to 10 days all should be good to go. As of today, most were a bit slow (but not nearly as bad as Poppy Ridge) and then you’d find a typical medium-fast paced green. Greens are on the larger side with multiple tiers or at least all having a double tier. Because of the pronounced undulations and the slope of the hillside, most greens were easy to read, but some seemed to break against logic.

Fairways were nice and lush. Nothing spectacular but certainly above average. Fairways are fairly wide open but there are some dog legs and twists and turns to them that keep you honest. No real trees to get you into trouble but definitely some steep hillside (lateral hazards) that will steal a ball or two from you if you get wild off the tee or chose the wrong line.

Bunkers were a little thin. Playable but not the fluffy soft sand you’d expect from a course of this nature.

Overall it was a very fun and challenging course. With all of the elevation changes and some long transfers, I doubt you’d want to walk this course. Especially in the heat. It was worth the price tag and I’d play it again for sure.