After a couple of bike rides this week it was time to get some sun on the legs and go for a walk with the clubs. DeepSea14 joined me mid day at Baylands for a great afternoon of golf on the links sty... Continue »

After a couple of bike rides this week it was time to get some sun on the legs and go for a walk with the clubs. DeepSea14 joined me mid day at Baylands for a great afternoon of golf on the links style course. Unfortunately, the course was in poor shape. Greens were fine in that they rolled fairly smooth at great medium fast pace. Greens were a tad on the firm side but not too bad. Green complexes here are multi tiered and definitely offer some challenge. Fairways were pretty beat up. Just short of horrible. Very patchy grass with several thin and dirt areas throughout. Tee boxes were beyond horrible. In fact horrible would have been welcomed. Most tee boxes were 98% dirt.

The two sand traps I was in were both ok, One was half filled with a lot of fluffy sand while the other half was a bit thin. Still very playable and acceptable. POP of play was right at about 4 hrs. No one in front or behind us on the front nine then we caught the Bay Area traffic on the back nine and waited on every shot. But not too bad. Right now, I can’t recommend this course at the price range but I’ll try again in a month or so and see if it improves.

With the great stretch of weather I was itching to play some golf this past week. Made the call to Alex and we were able to play Baylands just after noon Thursday. We were a two-some following group... Continue »

With the great stretch of weather I was itching to play some golf this past week. Made the call to Alex and we were able to play Baylands just after noon Thursday. We were a two-some following group of three with the full rack rate groups out ahead so POP was a bit slow. Palo Alto airport is right next door so was entertained with a busy runway of small plane activity.
Links style course transitioning into winter play. Some brown areas both in the fairways and rough (not deep or defined) but all very playable. Very few trees and none in the areas of intended play. Had to pay attention to the group in front and use the app for some routings.
The greens and the areas around them are the highlight of the course imo. Large undulating greens, quick on the downhillers, subtle breaks and undulating surfaces with many hole locations. Overall Baylands fits my eye and my interest with second/third shot options.
Easy Friday commute into the Oakland area. Driving home was a bit of a slow drag over and hour extra drive time back to Sac. (580 Altamont pass)
A course I had in my sights as it hosted NCGA SR event I couldn't play in earlier.
The weather and the challenge of a new track with Alex = worth the drive. A scouting trip so I will know before I go play sr series event here in 2025. Recommend

Deepsea14 made the trek and joined me for a mid day round at Baylands. Neither of us had played this course before so it was a new experience for both of us. This is a links style course featurin... Continue »

Deepsea14 made the trek and joined me for a mid day round at Baylands. Neither of us had played this course before so it was a new experience for both of us. This is a links style course featuring wide(ish) fairways and little to no rough. There are some creeks that boarder a few of the holes and an occasional tree, but other than that it’s a straight forward course. In fact being we hadn’t played it before we had a couple of times we weren’t sure which green or fairway to be aiming for. It’s completely flat with modest transfers so it’s an easy course to walk which we did.

This is allegedly the premier public course in the Palo Alto area. Given I work a couple miles up the road it’s been on my play list. I’ve played Shoreline which is a couple miles down the road. In fairness, Shoreline was during prime time of the year and Baylands is in full winter mode. Given that, I won’t compare the two but can say I’d easily play both again. though, Baylands was a little on the steep side ($84 to walk) given the average conditions.

Greens are on the large side with a number of them being multi tiered and a definite challenge. They rolled faster than expected at a nice medium-fast pace. Green rolled smooth and held well struck approach shots. Fairways were mainly dormant grass but very playable. I generally had a great lie throughout the day. I was in one sand trap and it had excellent sand. Bunkers have the light brown sand that’s a little heavier but very predictable.

Tee boxes were all level with ample coverage. I know there are no water hazards on a links course but I’d like to see a “Modern Links” design and had in some water features with a forced carry. POP ended up being on the slow side. After a 2 hr front nine, we hit a 2:45 back nine.

Because it’s so close to work, I’ll play this track again. Is it worth the drive? I’ll let Peter make that call.

The course features wide open fairways and then the fun starts on the approach shots to the greens. Most of it is in front of you, but the greens are challenging, particularly in getting to the right ... Continue »

The course features wide open fairways and then the fun starts on the approach shots to the greens. Most of it is in front of you, but the greens are challenging, particularly in getting to the right level. The fairways have a thick grass base, which leads to no roll but the ball tends to sit up making the next shot somewhat easier.

Been meaning to play this course for awhile and kicking myself for not making it happen sooner. Mid-week, morning tee time is the first test, as just getting there in Bay Area traffic was a challenge... Continue »

Been meaning to play this course for awhile and kicking myself for not making it happen sooner. Mid-week, morning tee time is the first test, as just getting there in Bay Area traffic was a challenge. Customer service was great in the pro shop, got out on time with three other players. First impression is the perfect looking fairways. All of the turf is the same color making depth perception difficult. There is no rough at all on this course, which makes the visual fairly stunning. The greens were excellent, rolled smooth as glass, but were not super speedy due to what appeared to be recent sanding and generous morning water. Didn't impair the enjoyment a bit. Watching the small airplanes take off from the adjacent airport is kind of interesting too. Wind was down this day, but was told it can kick up in the afternoon (the course is basically on the bay). Fairways were a joy to hit from, ball sat up like it was on a tee, rolled out well and, like the visual, were uniform throughout the course. Hard to miss a fairway as the they are wide and level, with the requisite links style mounds and moguls throughout. Fun par 3 (two are in the 230 range from the black tees) and 5 par fives. Big difference from the black to blue tees. Black is about 6800 yards and wind will make some holes play very long. Beside the wind, the only defense this course has are the undulating greens (a lot like Blackhorse/Bayonet in Monterey). Most are well protected by bunkers. If you are going to run a ball up to the green you better be accurate or like sand shots. Pace of play was OK (about 4.25 - 4.5 hours) with our foursome (2 good players and a terrific little kid with his mom watching from a cart). Great warm-to-hot weather day with low winds made for an extremely fun and rewarding round. Playing well helps, but the wide-links style fairways makes for a great day. Rode in a cart, but it is an easily walkable course. Nice bar/restaurant/clubhouse/merch. Check it out.

Happy to be the first to review the brand new Baylands Golf Links, which is indeed a new course atop the footprint of what used to be Palo Alto muni. It was an executive layout before, but the new cou... Continue »

Happy to be the first to review the brand new Baylands Golf Links, which is indeed a new course atop the footprint of what used to be Palo Alto muni. It was an executive layout before, but the new course is par-72 and was redesigned by Forrest Richardson. Very similar story to what they did over at Corica Park (completely wiping out what was there and building something new with a noted architect), so kind of cool both courses reopened within a couple weeks of one another.

Had a 3:09 tee time and it was right about a 4.5 hour pace on a busy afternoon. The course was in nice condition and still feeling very fresh after 5-6 weeks of public play thus far. The tee boxes and fairways are all cut at one length with what I believe is a paspalum-based turf. There is no primary/secondary cut of rough here. It is all one length from edge to edge, with several fairways connecting in a links style, and then you have the outer native areas which are a bit of everything from bare dirt to clumps of dry fescue. Generally could find your ball, but not always be able to play it. Bunkers had super soft (too soft) beach sand. Ball would plug easily and a lot of footprints from careless players. The greens were excellent. Still on the firm side and hard to hold. Hardly any ballmarks to deal with. Great bentgrass surfaces rolling smooth. Not very fast at the moment, but that will change as they continue to mature.

When I first looked at the course, I was immediately reminded of Olivas Links (speaking of renovated courses designed by Forrest Richardson). Everything about this course has a similar vibe with the cool breezes coming off the bay (actually rather strong winds today, which I'm sure is common most afternoons), terrain, the small smattering of trees, the way the native areas look, etc. Similar design approach with very wide open fairways and things getting tougher as you get around the greens. Greens here have plenty of undulation and there's a lot of mounding, so you get some tough links-style semi-blind shots and deceptive angles. Like Olivas, you can post a really good score here, but bad shots will haunt you and you need to have your short game dialed in. Also like Olivas, the layout gets more interesting as you go. Baylands starts with some pretty plain holes and then things perk up. It's probably not a destination course and their prices are kind of high like everything else in the Silicon Valley area, but it's a solid track and by all accounts a massive improvement over the course that used to be there. Nice new clubhouse, cafe and practice facilities. Good stuff all around and should be a real popular place for local players.

I played it on 1/31/13 afternoon around 3PM. They were nice enough to let me start from the back side because first tee all of sudden got really crowded due to influx of high school students. He tol... Continue »

I played it on 1/31/13 afternoon around 3PM. They were nice enough to let me start from the back side because first tee all of sudden got really crowded due to influx of high school students. He told me it was pretty packed so I ended up walking instead of taking a cart. This is very walker friendly course with little to no elevation changes. Bad misses are going to be penalized to areas where you cannot go in but overall its fairly forgiving off the tee. Nothing really special but nothing too particularly bad either. Bunkers do need re-tilling but quality of sand isn't that bad. There are frequent areas that are bare in both fairways and rough that could easily be classified as ground under repair but I didn't hit it there so it did not affect my game. Best part of the course was their green. Even though it looked slightly shaggy, it rolled medium fast and stayed mostly true. Every now and then there were some bumpy spots but mostly it was in great shape. Bottom line is that I wouldn't make a separate trip to come play this course but with limited time I had and cost of the twilight rate when walking made it an easy choice for me to come out here and use this course as a warm up. Sorry I left my camera in the car and forgot to take some photos.

I played this course as a kid almost 50 years ago. This time I brought my grown son. We had a great time. Improvements are fantastic. Very friendly pro shop and cafe staff. The fairways were in excell... Continue »

I played this course as a kid almost 50 years ago. This time I brought my grown son. We had a great time. Improvements are fantastic. Very friendly pro shop and cafe staff. The fairways were in excellent condition. The greens were in very good shape too. The slight wind made it more challenging throughout the day. Generous openings to the large greens and relatively wide fairways make this a very user friendly track. Even the roughs were playable. (No more chips and ice plant like in the old days...) And, the Canada Geese were cooperative - more or less... Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone.

Played 3 ball with a 12year old girl 4th on Sunday yesterday. Beautiful day but we're non-residents so it was $49 to walk, $60 with buggy. Nothing special about this course as the layout is just so-... Continue »

Played 3 ball with a 12year old girl 4th on Sunday yesterday. Beautiful day but we're non-residents so it was $49 to walk, $60 with buggy. Nothing special about this course as the layout is just so-so. Pretty straight and flat but the greens were good and pretty true. Have to b**** about the sprinklers though. Had to time hitting off 3 different tees between the sprinklers. Also had to play through the sprinklers on the 9th green and at least one other. There was no one to complain to on the course. No marshals, no cart girls. At the turn, I ran into the cafe to buy a drink. There's a big sign that says Express lane for golfers except that it is the ONLY line and there was a guy in front of me ordering his Thanksgiving menu or something to the only girl there. Had to flag down the cook from the kitchen finally. Btw, that 12year old played from the whites and just about par'd every hole on the front 9. She left after that. Maybe if I was a resident I'd play here but since I ain't, FORGET IT!