Bunkers are in terrible condition.
Great course but in much worse condition than previous years. We have been coming here for quite a while and the set up is great. Unfortunately, the bunkers (if th... Continue »

Bunkers are in terrible condition.
Great course but in much worse condition than previous years. We have been coming here for quite a while and the set up is great. Unfortunately, the bunkers (if they can even be called that) are nothing short of atrocious. They are made up of rocks, weeds, dirt and old bunker liner. Very disappointing, since they spoil an otherwise nice course.

I’ll make this short and sweet. Peter did a fantastic job describing the course and conditions. I would emphasize that the greens were definitely on the slow side. The subtle breaks made for a cha... Continue »

I’ll make this short and sweet. Peter did a fantastic job describing the course and conditions. I would emphasize that the greens were definitely on the slow side. The subtle breaks made for a challenge to read. It’s a fun course for sure but certainly a ways off the beaten path. If you are headed to Tahoe or Sacramento, or just taking the super car for a drive on the beautiful backroads, do yourself a favor and take a detour to this track.

Played Sunday in summer heat wave course conditions (high 98 temp) with a noon tee time.
100% sun and light breeze for a few holes on the back. I arrived early and there was more than an hour of ... Continue »

Played Sunday in summer heat wave course conditions (high 98 temp) with a noon tee time.
100% sun and light breeze for a few holes on the back. I arrived early and there was more than an hour of open tee times. POP was at our own choosing. Alex and I joined by MattP and his friend Z from Mammoth making the trek to this out of the way resort course. Set-up for dual GK cup matches for mpisarski01.
80 miles to Copperopolis from GB all on the back roads or small CA highways. No shoulders in the rural areas. Tight roads helped me keep my drives in the generous fairways today?!
Using a Golf Moose voucher with the weekend restriction after 12.
Course in summer watering condition. Fairways perfect in some areas, wet in a few low spots and brown on the bumps and crests. Couple areas marked GUR through the green.
Greens were all in good shape rolling smooth and overall a bit slow. No large tiers or undulations, and I recall three of us putted from the same general area, near the hole the balls missed the edges with different directions of break. Subtle according to style of stroke? Fun. Not fun the bunkers variable from hard pack to thin to mud. One I need to drop entangled in the exposed under layer to a mucky bottom. Need some luv.
The rough wasn't too long well kept. Landing areas on the outskirts the long dry grass was cut down. Anything with water nearby had high thick grass and was where I lost two balls.
The par 3's are interesting with some length and are from elevated tee boxes. The 4 and 5's you are playing up to a many with the approach shot. All good holes bunkers provide sight and target lines off the 5 sets of tees.
There are bungalows available for rent on property about $399 /night two bedroom. Nice course for a group outing and I think enough other outdoor recreation in the area to explore a few days not golfing.
Restaurant was open closed early. I had a beverage and Alex an burrito. Sunday heat and sparse amount of players.
The pro shop said that the prime time condition for the course is the later spring time. And the surrounding foothills would be green not golden color.
Recommend Ten hour day total at my leisure.

I decided to take the long way back from Sacramento and play Copper Valley. As mentioned before this course is a ways out there but it’s a solid track. The course sits on a hill so it has several e... Continue »

I decided to take the long way back from Sacramento and play Copper Valley. As mentioned before this course is a ways out there but it’s a solid track. The course sits on a hill so it has several elevation changes throughout. It also has a few water hazards to the place gets a thumbs up in the design/layout from me. Conditions were very nice. Not over the top great like the last few places, I’ve played but definitely well above average.

The start was a bit odd. I tee’d off at 10AM and was part of the 10B group with the 10A group going off right in front of us. Not sure if others have seen this or not in a regular start. Anyway, I was paired up with an elderly couple in their 80’s. The were locals who play 5 times a week so they helped guide me around the course.

Greens were great. I rated them right at an 8. They rolled smooth at a medium fast pace. Greens are well designed with some easy pin locations yet had some bit to them and could be set up very tough. I will say that it seemed like we had a lot more favorable pin locations than tough ones.

Fairways were a delight. Very lush for the most part with only a few tight lies here and there. Fairways were green throughout the entire course.

Tee boxes were the week point. Good lush coverage but a few were unlevel. They weren’t horrible, but I had to step back a couple paces on a few of the tee boxes in order to find a flat hitting surface.

I avoided the bunkers all day but they looked decent.

Customers service: Everyone was polite, I’ll give them that. I can tell they don’t get too many visitors here (understandable considering the drive). Everyone on the course was definitely local and knew the routine. Me being the outsider, I was lost on a couple issues. I attempted to order from the restaurant and that was a disaster. Finally after waiting 30 minutes (after ordering on the 9th hole), I left and someone brought my food out.

My playing companions quit after 9, so I became a single. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind two super slow foursomes. The marshals forced the one group to let me through, after they denied my request (I was on the tee box with them on two consecutive holes). Anyway, It seems that the locals here are like surfers at a hidden surf spot. They treat outsiders like garbage.

That aside, it was great weather and the course is in excellent shape. Carts have GPS and the cups have spacers in them that are set fairly deep so no issues with balls bouncing out due to hitting the spacer.

Copper Valley is worth the price if you don’t mind the drive.

I had an opening in my schedule and decided to play Copper Valley Golf Club, formally known as Saddle Creek. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this place but never made the journey. And a journe... Continue »

I had an opening in my schedule and decided to play Copper Valley Golf Club, formally known as Saddle Creek. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this place but never made the journey. And a journey it is to get here. Now I remember why I always skipped the race out in Copperopilis. I was in the “area” and it was still over an hour away. Once you arrive, you check in with security at the gate and he buzzes you in.

Clubhouse is very nice and staff was excellent all around. Being that this was my first time here, everyone did a great job in helping me with my orientation. After checking in, I had breakfast in the outdoor patio then headed to the all grass range (included with green fee).

Carts are very clean with plush seats, cooler and GPS. Layout winds up and down the hillside with some houses lining the course here and there. Conditions were nice but not super. Most of that I’m sure has to do with the current extreme heat wave on top of being in the middle of summer.

Greens were nice and rolled true at medium-fast pace. Most greens had some moderate undulations throughout. The course was set up with a good mixture of pins in favorable locations and others that were in some difficult spots.

Greens held well struck high lofted shots but anything else would run off.

Fairways had a lot of thin brown areas mixed in with some soggy lush grass. Again, this can be attributed to the summer high heat conditions. They are obviously throwing a lot of water on the course to keep it as green as possible but sometimes there’s only so much you can do.

Some of the tee boxes had some patchy areas mixed in with two different types of grass. All tee boxes were level.

Bunkers were mainly firm dirt or had a thin layer of sand.

I’m glad I finally made the trek and got to experience this track. It’s definitely worth it if you are in the “area”. And by that, I mean within 2 hours of the course. They offer some stay and play packages that would help ease the drive.

First time back in a while- new course name and a new routing for the holes. Hole 10 from Saddle Creek days is now hole number 1. Also, all winter public play starts with a 10am shotgun start, no oth... Continue »

First time back in a while- new course name and a new routing for the holes. Hole 10 from Saddle Creek days is now hole number 1. Also, all winter public play starts with a 10am shotgun start, no other tee times available. Range was closed, just putt and then head out to your assigned starting hole. Cart path only all day so I walked instead. This is a long course to walk because of the spacing between holes, but overall still better than walking back and forth to a cart all day. Played the day after Thanksgiving and there were probably about 16 out of the 18 holes full at the start of the shotgun. Overall, this can lead to pretty quick gridlock if you have a slow group, pace of play was 4.5hrs for the day.

Course conditions were excellent. There had been a lot of rain the previous few days and the fairways had some puddles and soft spots. Greens were still in excellent shape, a little soft but rolling very fast. Sand was terrible due to the rain. Nothing underneath led to a lot of thin shots and extremely difficult choices for getting the ball onto the green. I don’t think they had a chance to get out and work on the bunkers yet, not their fault, but there isn’t a lot of sand in many of them. Overall, course is in great shape and a very tough challenge.

Fantastic place. Would highly recommend the course in late spring though. Tough course

Fantastic place. Would highly recommend the course in late spring though. Tough course

Played mid June and just terrific - bent greens and bermuda fairways - both perfect - a deal at $80. 5 star practice areas.

Played mid June and just terrific - bent greens and bermuda fairways - both perfect - a deal at $80. 5 star practice areas.

To complete a great double-dip, our second round today (and my last for the trip--probably) was at Saddle Creek. We were originally going to play in the afternoon to save a little on the price, but we... Continue »

To complete a great double-dip, our second round today (and my last for the trip--probably) was at Saddle Creek. We were originally going to play in the afternoon to save a little on the price, but we finished so quickly at Greenhorn that we headed right over. Plus, the late afternoon weather forecast was looking sketchy. They were able to slot us in and we teed off around 10:50. Price was $80. There was a little mens club tourney ahead of us (4 foursomes playing a shamble format), so we were stuck behind them. We did play through the fourth group on the 11th hole during a torrential 10-minute downpour when they decided to take a break in their carts. Otherwise, nothing more than a light rain and we finished in just under 4 hours. The course looked a lot better than it played. I usually say the opposite at many courses, but Saddle was looking very green and lush. However, this course simply does not drain well at all and they've had some rain lately. Tees, fairways and rough were lush but very mushy! A lot of fat shots and muddy explosions. I'm glad I had waterproof shoes on. The bunkers were in pretty good shape, though I did notice the linings exposed in a few I looked at. The greens, however, were the highlight. They were nice and rolling smooth at medium speeds. Extra receptive with the wet surfaces. Despite the wet conditions, I really loved the layout and setting here. It's a beautiful course that reminded me at times of The Preserve in Monterey and also Eagle Springs out in Friant. Scraggly old oak trees, hills, rock outcroppings and canyons lined with golden "native" grass. Many of the bunkers were lined with deep, tangled fescue. The greens are big, but not too crazy with undulation. At least I found that nothing broke nearly as much as I read. Highly recommended as one of the best courses in the eastern Sierra foothills. I've always wanted to play here, but it just never worked out on any previous trips. However, I think it worked out that I saved the best for last in this region!