All in all a good golfing experience for the middle of January...but: The deal used to be all the practice balls you could/want to hit-not any more-$4.00 for a small bag (35 to 40 balls) and the range was rather thin and muddy. Also, I played with two very nice gentlemen and we completed the front nine in two hours, playing behind a twosome which was a little slow. At the turn, a foursome waltzed onto the tenth tee in front of us and teed off. I went into the pro shop to inquire why they got to cut in and was met with the" I don't know, I just got here, I didn't clear anyone, I'll send a players' assistant to check" routine. To their credit, they did send a marshall to inquire and he came back with the lame/nonsensical explanation that "they said the twosome let them play through". This made no sense at all and we played the back nine behind them, waiting on every hole. This was an obvious breach of etiquette which was ignored or at least chosen to be overlooked by the management.

This is the second time in two years I've played Dublin Ranch and it is in fine condition for early December. This Robert Trent Jones Jr. design might look rather weak on paper (4820 yds, par 63 (63.4 rating and 107 slope) from the blues but it will test you! The greens roll better than 95% of the courses in the area (FAST and smooth) and the rough is fair but will punish a wayward shot. This is an excellent course for seniors and women. If the wind blows (which it often does in the afternoon in summer) it will play tough for anyone. It's not super long, but it is a different approach-excellent greens, fine maintenance and intelligent design for where it is situated.

I played the executive course today and was very disappointed with the condition of the greens...brown spots, very bumpy and some diseased -looking areas. This is unusual, since in the past, the course has usually been in good condition, For a short nine-holer, it can really eat your lunch! It's a shame that the greens are so lousy.

Good golf course where wind is almost always a factor in the afternoon. Lots of variety and elevation changes. Most holes are pretty straightforward and fair with the possible exception of #16 which forces you to lay up short of a lake and even if you hit the perfect shot it might catch the hill wrong and you are wet! Also on the tee shot on 16, you can hit the perfect shot from the tee and still be stuck with a rather severe downhill lie with about 160 yards left over the lake. The greens have been becoming firmer over the years but they still will hold a well-struck shot. "Below the pin" is almost a must when the greens are running fast as it's impossible to keep most of the downhill putts from running 8 to 10 feet by.

Canyon Lakes is a fair golf course. For the most part what you see is what you get-no tricks, blind shots, crazy bounces,etc
Perhaps the only exception is the tee shot on no.14 where the landing area is extremely narrow and a miss anywhere left puts you at the bottom of the hill and very close to the creek.
The senior rate Mon. to Thurs. is one of the better values in the East Bay. No driving range (sigh!) but you can loosen up by hitting into a net.