Weather on the peninsula lately has been gorgeous. I took the opportunity to get out around Noon on Sunday. I normally don’t like playing on the weekends but it was just too nice not to play. I opted to ride (in order to rest my legs for the bike) and with having to wait on every shot it was nice to have seat available. The POP aside which was a little over 4.5 hours but felt closer to 5.5 hours, it was a great day. Conditions continue to remain steady at Laguna Seca. Fairways were excellent. They matched that of Poppy Hills from last week. Greens were smooth, but a bit on the slow side. Not sure if it’s because they are still recovering from recent aeration or it’s just the normal speed for here now. Greens at Laguna Seca are sneaky. they don’t look wicked but they can sneak up on you.

Tee boxes had good coverage yet there are a handful that need to be re-leveled. Nothing extreme but getting to the point that it needs to be addressed. Bunkers were the weak link on the course. Only 1 out of 4 that I was in had decent sand. The rest were hard packed dirt and one was mud.

It’s still a super fun layout and with prices the same (maybe even a bit lower) than they were 4 years ago, I have no problem recommending this track.

I played Coyote Creek Thursday morning teeing off at. 6:45 AM in the semi-dark. Coyote always has consistent conditions. Regardless of time of year, this place remains a rock when it comes to conditions. Greens are firm but roll true. Due to the super early morning start, the greens were a tad slower than usual but still rolled at a medium-fast pace. Fairways were pretty identical to Poppy Hills in that they were nice and lush throughout the entire course.
Tee boxes were level with good coverage and only a few divots. Sand traps were the weak link. Some were nice but a handful were in need of some sand as they had thin coverage.

The Tournament course at Coyote is pretty much cart only as there are some long transfers. The Valley course if completely flat and very walkable. I’ve mentioned it before, this is a good course to stop at during a trip up/down Hwy 101 and you need to get out and stretch your legs.

Played Poppy Hills a couple of times in the last two weeks. Both times were excellent weather with the sun shining and hardly a breeze. I first played the day after they aerated the greens. That aside, the rest of the course was in fantastic condition with everything at an 8-9 on the rating scale.

Played on 3/18 with Deepsea14 and a couple of friends. Greens were still healing which surprised me a bit. Most were rolling fairly true at a medium pace but most were still showing signs of the recent aeration. Greens at Poppy Hills are firm so, it takes a great approach shot to get it to stick.

Fairways were easily rated at an 8 and good even be considered in the 9 range. Very lush and a pleasure to hit from. Due to recent rains, the fairways were a little soft and I would occasionally get a stuck ball or minimal rollout of a foot or so. this was about the only thing keeping the ratings from being a 9-10. Tee boxes, rough and stand traps were all of high quality. Nothing to complain about. This is a fun and challenging course with a number of peaks of the ocean when it’s clear. I really need to play here more often.

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.

Played on Thursday 1/23 in the afternoon just barely finishing before it got too dark. I love the layout of Callippe Preserve and conditions are always pretty good. Customer service and price point are on point as well. The only downside to this place is the pace of play which is always slow and a guaranteed 5 hour round no matter when you tee off.

Greens are awesome at Callippe. They offer a generous landing surface without too many bunkers in the way yet the greens are not docile by any means. All have very subtle yet distinctive undulations that make you think. Greens rolled at a great medium fast pace and rolled fairly smooth even if they did get a little spongy in the late afternoon.

Fairways were green and lush for the most part. They presented a nice hitting surface but still offered some roll out. No complaints with the tee boxes. Sand traps were a bit hit and miss and that was within each trap. Half the trap had a lot of sand while other parts of the same trap were thin.

I will say that I encountered a lot of unprepared pitch marks on the greens as well as most bunkers had foot prints in them.

Course is worth playing and gets a recommendation for sure. Just as long as you’re not in a hurry.

Played Spanish Bay a couple of times in the last week or so. First joining DeepSea14 and my buddy from the Valley in what turned out to be the only 4 hours of fog in the peninsula in a 2 week stretch. Today was just the opposite, SDF, Bob and I were the first off at 8AM in chilly but bright sunny skies. Both times the course was pretty empty.

Last week the greens were slow. My guess is they hadn’t been mowed in a couple of days due to prior rains. Today they were back to normal medium fast pace. Greens roll smooth and has mentioned before they have severe undulations to them. Fairways are now starting to dry out to offer some roll. Even before, the fairways presented a fine hitting surface, just the ball would often plug upon impact. Not a problem today. Sand traps. Were hit and miss. Some were very thin and others offered plenty of fluffy sand. Rough is a bit penal and patchy in places. Tee boxes were excellent.

Course is very green and lush and always a joy to play. If this weather keeps up, I might just have to sneak back out before the PGA circus comes to town.

A quick updated from a few weeks ago. We tee’d off today at 8:30 in the bright sunshine and what a difference. Greens were fast. Much faster than before and even faster than Spanish Bay the other day. Greens still are on the firm side making it hard to hold approach shots. Fairways and tee boxes were the same as before. I was in a handful of sand traps and they were all on the thin side. Playable, but definitely in need of some fluffy sand.

What a way to start off the year! I joined Deepsea14 and Hmtgolfguy on an absolutely glorious sunny day. This is only my second time playing Cinnabar and just like Poppy Hills, I need to play it more often. This is a great course that checks all the boxes. Elevation changes, water hazards, strategic holes, grip it and rip it all to go along with very nice conditions.

My buddy Bob joined us to help us navigate our way around the course. This was especially helpful on the Canyon 9 as I had never played that set of holes before.

Other than a few fairways that were a bit wet and offered no rollout (nothing too wild mind you) the course was in excellent winter condition. Heck, the conditions were worthy of prime spring golf at a high end course. Greens seemed a bit on the slower than expected side but they rolled smooth at a medium pace. Downhill putts naturally were very fast. All of the greens have multiple tiers and/or undulations to make you work hard for your (putt for) dough. But somehow the greens didn’t seem overly tricked up like Say Spanish Bay for example.

Fairways were pretty lush throughout with only a few thin and soggy areas. I was only in one sand trap and it had a good amount of sand. tee boxes were the lone spot in need of improvement. All were level but they were littered with divots. Especially the par 3’s.

Customer service was excellent. We had 3 separate reservations under two different names and once I explained to the guy at the pro shop he quickly understood and got us all taken care of with a big smile.

Carts have GPS in them and the beverage cart was out early but I didn’t see her after the first few holes. POP was slow. It was the group in front of us that was an entire hole behind all day long. A bit of a bummer because I had to skip the last hole in order to get to work.

Definitely on the recommend list.

It’s been 7-9 months since I’ve played Coyote Creek and apparently even longer since I last wrote a review. The course conditions here always remain constantly good and today was no exception. My Buddy and I teed off in near dark to ensure we had a quick round. In fact the only reason it took us nearly 3 hours to finish is we often waited for the grounds crew to finish mowing the greens.

Even though it was cold, dark and we just had rain two days ago, the course played very well. Greens were smooth at a decent pace (some were a bit slower due to us being in front of the mower and the greens being damp). Greens at Coyote are on the firm side and don’t often hold approach shots as well as you’d like. It didn’t help that I was playing a second tier ball today and that my iron game went to complete garbage 1/3 of the way through the round. Greens at Coyote have the perfect amount of undulations to them. enough to keep it from being boring but nothing that enters the 3 ring circus world.

Fairways were nice and lush. Very green throughout and dry. Tee boxes were just short of immaculate. Very level and perfectly mowed with only a few divots here and there. I was not in any greenside bunkers but was in a couple of fairway traps and they too were great. Coyote Creek is a well maintained fun course that’s worthy of a stop if traveling on Highway 101 which splits the course.

I finally made it out to Discovery Bay. This course had been on my play list a few years back but it dropped off the radar due to some logistical reasons. DeepSea14 made the suggestion a couple weeks ago and we were able to make it happen on Wednesday. The course is set within a housing community and you pretty much have houses on each side of the fairway and water in the middle or boarding the edges. The layout reminds me a lot of Pheasant Run in Chowchilla It wouldn’t surprise me if the course and community designer were the same for both. Discovery Bay is flat and would easily be walkable.

I arrived early and headed to the range which was on mats that day. No worries, It was very foggy for the hour or so when I was warming up. To the point that my range finder wouldn’t shoot through the fog to get me a distance.

Once Peter arrived we headed off and like he said we started on hole 2. Course is in full winter mode condition wise. Some brown and thin areas on the fairways but overall very playable.

Greens rolled smooth at a medium pace. Greens were modest in size with just enough undulations to keep things interesting but not overwhelming or ridiculous. Greens held approach shots well.

Fairways were decent enough. Thin in a few areas, but overall acceptable and what you’d expect from a nice “muni” type course. Sand traps were a bit thin. Tee boxes were flat and perfectly groomed.

Overall it was a fun track and I’d play it again for sure.

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.

Back in Vegas for a few days and managed to get in a couple days of golf. After playing Souther Highlands on Wednesday which is in identical condition as before, we opted to head out to Cascata again as my buddy absolutely loved the course. Customer service is the absolutely the best as they take care of everything short of changing your shoes for you! After breakfast in the clubhouse we headed to the range. And it was COLD!. The wind was up and the temps were down!

I tried to request our last caddie Jerry but since we booked it on short notice and it was a holiday, he was unavailable. We got Doug who’s a seasoned veteran being in the business for 35+ years and 8 years at Cascata. Doug’s reads were spot on all day long.

As for course conditions and the basis for the review, the greens were disappointing this go around. there were a few that had some patch work repairs done that oddly enough, the greens keeper decided to put the pin within a few feet of. Usually, when a green has som bad areas, the grounds crew does a good job keeping the pin away from it so as to not effect the players putt. On top of that there were a couple different grasses popping up on the greens and then some bumpy areas. Overall I rated the greens at a 7 and that may have been a bit generous. Certainly for a course of this caliber, I expect better.

Fairways were similar to last time as were the tee’s and rough. I was in a few sand traps today and the bunkers were excellent!! Easily rated at a 10. Cascata is still a great layout with all of the elevation changes and water hazards. Is it worth the full price? Right now, I’d have to say no. Do the double down and play both Cascata and Arroyo Seco and that helps reduce the cost which would make it a bit easier to swallow.

I’m sure I’ll play Cascata again (The near hole in one guarantees that) but, it’ll be down the road when hopefully the greens are in pristine shape.