Ended the year with a round at Pebble Beach. After last week’s dismal performance at Spyglass Hill, I wasn’t expecting much. Somehow I managed to find an 8 hole stretch of 3 over which included a double bogey. With recent rains the course was wet and the fairways offered little rollout. Fairways were super lush without a brown spot to be found anywhere on the entries course. As mentioned before the fairways were wet thus offered little rollout

Rough was thick and penal. First cut was manageable but the second cut swallowed up a few balls from our group. I somehow managed to finish with the same ball I started with but others in our group weren’t as fortunate.

Greens were nice and smooth at a medium fast pace. I will say that the greens last week even in the rain were faster at Spyglass than at Pebble. Greens held well struck approach shots.

Bunkers and tee boxes were all flawless. We were the third group out and finished in a blistering (For PB) pace of about 4 hr 20 mins. I had a near Ace on #7 for a tap in birdie to go along with 6 pars that was a great way to end the year.

It’s always a treat to play Pebble Beach and with little wind and huge crashing waves to set the background, this outing was just as memorable as the first time.

I played Tehama yesterday morning with SDF and some family members. With the threat of rain we weren’t sure how much golf we would get in but in the end it was great weather (short sleeves half the round and no wind).

I only get to play here a couple times a year (none during Covid) and it’s always a treat to play
“The Clint” The place screams Uber lush CC from the moment you enter through the gated entrance and drive up the hill then park underground in the tiled floor parking garage. The Course is set on a hilltop with some views of the Monterey Bay and various canyons. It is either perfectly situated in the hillside or I have just been extremely lucky as I have never played here with any hint of wind.

Course conditions are awesome as you would expect from a high end private country club. Greens at Tehama are the fastest I’ve played anywhere. Yesterday they were a tad bit better with at least uphill putts being very fast while downhill putts remained wickedly fast. Greens have multiple tiers and undulations making them super tricky and challenging. But once you get the hang of the speed they are a lot of fun. Most greens have a false front and it’s quite common to have a ball roll off the front.

Fairways are excellent. Lush and a nice emerald green. Perfect combination of offering some roll out (if downhill) and presenting a great hitting surface. Tee boxes were perfect. Level, lush, and void of any divots.

Sand traps were good to great. The course also has a great balance between fun, scenic, challenging and scoreable. The restaurant is just as fantastic as the golf course. Anytime you can order halibut and octopus at a golf course restaurant you know you are in a good place.

Customer service is excellent as you would expect at a place like this.

Played Spanish Bay Saturday morning with the Nor Cal Birdie Chain on the line. We were first group out on what turned out to be an absolutely glorious morning and day. We had actually canceled Spyglass for the previous day due to pending weather. Once we saw it was going to be clear, quickly booked us at Spanish. In short, the course is in phenomenal shape tee to green.

Greens were rolling nice and fast (probably more like medium-fast but I’ve been playing slower greens lately). Greens held approach shots if they were decently struck. If not, the ball would roll out a ton. As I’ve mentioned before, the greens have multiple tiers and breaks.

Fairways were phenomenal. I rated the fairways at a 9 but they could easily have been rated a 10. Tee boxes were a 10. Perfectly manicured. Bunkers were also in excellent condition.

We set the pace and at one point were 2 holes ahead of the group behind us. Then I sucked it up bad on the back nine and our pace slowed a bit. We finished in about 4.25 hours and a full hole ahead of the group behind us. I may have had a horrible back nine but certainly didn’t have horrible time. I’ll get in as many rounds here as possible before the remodel starts.

I played early this morning as a single and was the 3rd group out. Conditions are trending in the right direction. About 3/4 of the greens had tiny aeration holes that only occasionally affected the ball. Give the greens a week or two and they will probably be better than ever. Meanwhile the fairways have definitely show improvements the last couple
Times out compared to August and September

Tee boxes were the week link of the course. Some were thin and the par 3’s were heavily riddled with divots. Finally had a decent POP finishing in 2.5 hours. Fun layout when you’re in the area

I played Laguna Seca Thursday morning with some friends on an absolutely gorgeous day. We originally were going to play Quail but changed it over to Laguna due to some logistical complications for a couple of our players. I almost backed out but glad I didn’t. This might have been the best shape I’ve ever seen this course in!!

The fairways were awesome. I’ve played here a lot over the years and this is only the second time I’ve seen the fairways in this good of shape. Fairways were nice and lush with good coverage throughout. A couple fairways were a little soggy from overwatering but that’s about it.

Greens were also in better than usual condition. For the most part the greens rolled smooth at a medium fast pace. Greens showed no signs of the recent aeration. I was in one bunker and it was a little wet but otherwise ok. Tee boxes were ok. Mainly level with adequate coverage.

It was a great day to be out with my buddies and the course is in better than usual condition. Hopefully the trend continues as this is such a fun layout.

Second stop of the day yesterday with the GK gurus was at Paradise Valley. The sister course to Rancho Solano may get second billing but remember Steve Young and Tom Brady were both backup QB’s initially as well! This course could easily be a starter in most places!! It has solid conditions tee to green and a fun layout that can easily be challenging if you get a little wild off the tee. Paradise Valley has a number of water hazards to keep the track from being a boring flat course and has a good blend of par 3’s plus a variety of par 4’s and fun Par 5’s. An island green was about all that was missing.

Greens are normal size and very manageable. They rolled smooth at a good pace that was appropriate for the course. Undulations were modest. Some just enough to confuse you, others had enough break to be predictable so it was just a matter of matching up the speed with the break. Most greens were double tiered but not so ridiculous that if you were on the wrong tier you had No chance of two putting.

Fairways weren’t quite as nice as Rancho Solano but definitely in good shape and nothing to complain about. Rough was probably perfect. It was only about 2-2.5 inches tall but thick and did just exactly what the rough is suppose to do… penalize you for missing the fairway! You could easily get a club on the ball but it was difficult to hit a great shot from the rough.

Sand traps and tee boxes were also of good quality. The one area where Paradise Valley was definitely a notch or two below was the skirt areas around the green. It was ok, but not as consistent or nice as RS.

We stopped in at the restaurant / bar afterwards to have a post round re-cap and I had the tri-tip salad and was quite pleased with it. Aside from losing the birdie chain at the end. It was a great day all around.

Went out on National Golf day and played 36 with the GK crew. First up was Rancho Solano GC. It’s been too long since I’ve last played here and can guarantee it won’t be another 4 years between rounds! This is a great course with excellent conditions. We had a 7am tee time which was perfect for the hot weather to come. In fact it was so nice that my long sleeve Ryder Cup jacket only lasted half a hole!

The course layout checks off (almost) all the boxes. It has elevation changes, water hazards, and great playing conditions. There are a variety of hole designs to make you use every club in the bag, wide fairways on some holes that beg you to grip it and rip and some narrow ones that make you use your fairway finder shot off the tee.

Greens are huge at Rancho Solano. In fact my “birdie” putt on one of the last holes was longer than my opening tee shot with a driver. Just sayin’. Greens rolled smooth at nice medium-fast pace. Obviously with greens this large there are a number of undulations to them. Stick it close and you have a relatively flat putt. But if you putt from the back 40 you will have a roller coaster of a ride. Greens were receptive to approach shots.

Fairways were excellent. In fact if I hadn’t just played Olympic Club with perfect fairways, I may have rated these higher than an 8. Still, they were lush, green and offered good roll out. Skirt area around the greens was superb. Even better than the greens and fairways. Gave you the option of putting (Texas wedge style) or chipping from a great surface.

Tee boxes were flat with good coverage. I was in a couple of bunkers and no issues with the quality of the sand. Reminded me of the higher quality sand found in the valley. A deeper brown in color but very light and playable.

We were the first group so we set the pace. We had lunch in the Restaurant which had a nice selection of food options. Not just the standard burger and fries. The pro shop had a limited selection of clothes. Sadly they didn’t have anything in my size (or anything close to my size).

About halfway through, Ko commented “I could play here every day, if I lived close by”. It’s that good of a course!

I mentioned early in this review that it checks off “almost” all the boxes. The only real thing I would comment on is that the Par 3’s are all pretty long. Only one is under 175 yards from the white at it was in the 150 range. Certainly not a deal breaker but if this was on my weekly rotation, I’d like to see some additional tee boxes on the Par 3’s so they can move them up closer a couple days a week.

All in all this is a great course. Fun, challenging, and has solid conditions all around. Time to put in on the rotation schedule make excuses to come this way to play it.

SDF and I played Olympic Club this morning on about the best weather you can hope for in San Francisco. We arrived early and took advantage of a nice breakfast then headed off to the range and practice putting green. The range is on grass, though I will say it was fairly chewed up. seemed like the markers hadn’t been moved in a while. But no big deal. Practice green was super nice. Rolled extremely smooth and taught us to pay attention to the grain. On the practice green, downhill putts were slow and uphill putts were super fast. This helped later on out on the course.

The layout reminded me a lot of Lake Merced. Obviously being in the same general area it’s no surprise that the fairways are lined by the same cypress trees and it’s on a hill. No extreme elevation changes (except a downhill par 3) but enough to keep things interesting.

Overall course conditions were top notch as you would expect from a high end country club of this caliber. Tee boxes were fantastic and easily rated at a 9. . Fairways, were even better and rated a 10. Fairways had perfect lush dark green grass. They offered great roll out and still presented an excellent hitting surface. Only one fairways on the entire course had a couple thin areas. The rest were superb.

Greens were also in great shape. Not quite the over the top easily a perfect 10 like the practice green but definitely good enough to deserve a 10 rating. The rolled very predictable at a fast pace with the grain and a medium-fast pace against the grain. Greens had that perfect balance of size and undulations.

The layout is a parkland style track but you never really get the been there done that feeling. Fairways are modest in width but still have trouble lurking with cypress and pine trees lining all sides. Several of the holes had dog legs to really make shot placement a key for angle into the green with all the trees lining the course.

The entire course is built on hilly terrain (as is all of San Francisco) but the course is definitely walkable
.
Bunkers are steep but have a nice amount of fluffy sand. Rough was only about 1.5-2 inches deep but it was thick.

Overall the conditions were top notch and the course was fun to play . My only criticism of the layout is the lack of a water hazard on the course. There are no water features on the course or any forced carries of any kind. Other than that it’s a great track. There are a number of great views of the City (Daly City) and water throughout the course. Great clubhouse and restaurant. Staff is excellent and the pro shop had a great selection of clothes.

Being that it was my turn to treat, it cost me a pretty penny but it was a fun day and enjoyable to experience a great course.

Conditions are starting to slip a bit. The greens on the Front nine rolled fairly slow. The back nine was much improved, rolling at a medium fast pace. There were 2-3 greens that had sanded areas where they had done some maintenance work.

Fairways are starting to brown up here and there with more and more thin areas developing

Rest of the course is the same. POP was slow due to an older couple holding things up a few groups ahead. Often we had 3 groups on a tee box waiting for them

It’s hard to get mad at the Elderly but frustrating when there’s only 6 groups
On the entire course and 4 of us were all stacked up behind them. Course layout is still fun and unique with a good mixture of target golf and scoring holes

Looking for some sun on the Peninsula, I headed inland and played Carmel Valley Ranch on a picture perfect day. I often forget about this great course and don’t know why. It’s a spectacular track. I played 36, once from the brown tee’s and once from the orange. The course was super quiet and I felt like I had the place to myself except for about a 4 hole stretch where I ran into a grandmother and her grandson who seemed to be oblivious that there was actually someone else on the course!

Condition wise the entire place is just short of a 10! In fact one could easily justify rating it at a 10. The greens were awesome. The rolled super smooth at a nice fast pace. It was a pleasure to play on greens that rolled fast like this. The best part was that the greens kept a consistent pace throughout the entire day/course. The only reason I didn’t rate the greens a 10 was that they were a tad firm on approach shots.

Fairways were in that 9.5-10 range and I gave them a 10. Fairways were nice and lush and emerald green throughout. There was one fairway that was damp and swallowed up tee shots preventing any rollout. Other than that, Perfect.

Tee boxes were perfect. Level, lush, very few divots (which were filled in with sand). Sand boxes had high quality sand. Rough was very manageable. Yes this is a resort course and plays like such, but it’s a gem with water hazards on the front nine and elevation changes on the back. I need to put in on my rotation more often!

I played Spring Valley yesterday with an afternoon tee time. Greens were much much faster this time around. In fact they were probably the fastest greens I’ve been on in the area. They rolled nice and smooth at a medium-fast pace. Everything else was very similar to my previous review. Fairways had some brown areas throughout but still very playable. POP started off nice for the first 8 holes then got very slow. Finished in 4.5 hours.

The course sits on a hillside like others but is still walkable (as I did yesterday) and doesn’t really have any dramatic elevation changes. Overall, it’s a decent course for a decent price.

I checked off another area course when I played The Bridges on Saturday afternoon. This is another great conditioned course set in the hillside of the East Bay just off Highway 680. I didn’t really explore the clubhouse/restaurant as there was a wedding going on but it looked sizable and very nice. Pro shop was fairly small and the attendant provided excellent customer service.

The course really winds through the hills and neighborhood, but except for crossing the occasional street during transfers, you don’t really see the houses. They are set back enough to be a non factor for the most part. Very few holes are adjoining and those that do run parallel to each other are separated by barranca, gully or a natural terrain center median that all but prevents you from reaching the opposing fairway.

As with other courses in the area, they have used the hillside to create some unique and challenging holes that are all different from each other and others in the area. Marketing has billed The Bridges as the “toughest course in Northern California”. I’m not sure about that but they definitely have their name in the conversation. I brought my “C” game and lost 5 balls in the first 12 holes. but then once I got my swing on track, made 3 pars and 2 birdies on the back nine alone. It’s definitely target golf. It didn’t help than none of us had ever played the course before so we had no prior course knowledge. There is GPS on the carts which helps with course layout.

Condition wise, the entire course was pretty much in great shape. Greens were very receptive to approach shots and pitch shots and rolled true. The practice green was lightening fast, yet the actual greens on the course were manageable. Most had moderate slope to them. They did get a little spongy in the afternoon. Fairways were excellent. Good solid lush coverage throughout. Tee boxes had amble coverage but most had some moderate unevenness to them. Enough that it was noticeable throughout the day. No issues with the sand traps. I was surprised there was no beverage cart out being that it was a weekend. Maybe because it was in the afternoon. POP was slow as is the the case with all the courses in this area. We finished right at 5 hours which seems to be the norm around here. I’m not used to the long rounds that’s for sure.

The Bridges sits between Callippe and Wente Vinyards in the price range and for the money may just be the best value. I will be back again for sure!