Now that I'm back to playing golf regularly, I can't afford a regular diet of some of the fancy Monterey and other nice Northern California courses...... » More

Now that I'm back to playing golf regularly, I can't afford a regular diet of some of the fancy Monterey and other nice Northern California courses... so I've been exploring the local munis. Today's offering was "Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park". It was in surprisingly good shape. The greens were very firm and putted very true. The coverage on the fairway was quite nice. Not lush, but better than average. Typical Northern California "Muni rough"... Usually just a bunch of weeds and sparse coverage.

Bunkers had plenty of sand... if only the local golfers would bother to rake them!

Napa GC is now in my regular rotation, along with Peacock Gap in San Rafael, and Fox Tail in Rohnert Park. It's actually in better shape than either of the other two!
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I really wasn't very impressed with this golf course. The conditions were very much muni-like. I understand that they just reopened. The restaurant wa... » More

I really wasn't very impressed with this golf course. The conditions were very much muni-like. I understand that they just reopened. The restaurant was closed. Although it was walking distance from the hotel where we stayed, that's the only saving grace. The greens were small and super super fast. The fairways were full of unfilled divots because well, they didn't put any sand bottles on the carts. I don't even know what to say about the rough. There was no grass .... only tuftsof weeds growing up from sandy soil. Not impressed at all. I would never play this course again unless they spent about 5 million dollars fixing it.
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I also played the Bayonet/ Black Horse golf course back in 2017. I recall it was not in great condition
... but this year for our yearly tournamen... » More

I also played the Bayonet/ Black Horse golf course back in 2017. I recall it was not in great condition
... but this year for our yearly tournament, it was really nice.

I think perhaps it was even nicer than I remembered it because I played particularly well on Saturday the 14th... and I hit every drive down the middle.

I shot 49-50=99 while the other three guys in my foursome shot 111, 112, and 113, respectively!

The greens were ultra fast. That must be a Pebble Beach Resort hallmark... lightning fast putting surfaces!

A few scattered un-filled divots in what was otherwise a perfect set of fairways...

Really a fun track. The windy conditions made it crazy and fun!
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I played Poppy Hills in 2017 and as I recall it was just OK. What a difference this time! We played on Friday the 13th "Lucky" for us, the course was... » More

I played Poppy Hills in 2017 and as I recall it was just OK. What a difference this time! We played on Friday the 13th "Lucky" for us, the course was "stone....immaculate"...

Let's call it: "Near perfection"... The rough was not as punishing as I remembered it and the fairways were mowed to perfection and were as green and like a carpet as any I have ever played. Yeah the rough was something you wanted to avoid, but it wasn't punishing. The greens were lightning fast. Took a while until I learned not to putt my ball 10-15' by the hole! Loved the staff. Pace of play was great... never pressed from behind.

I will be back.
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What a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play the storied Olympic Club Lake Course, Home to the 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012 U.S. Open Champ... » More

What a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play the storied Olympic Club Lake Course, Home to the 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998 and 2012 U.S. Open Championship! I guess it's not what you know, it's who you know. We were guests of a member. The grounds, the range, the clubhouse... all old school classic California... just oozing with class and style... but NOT snooty in the attitude department. A lot of care goes in to keeping this gem in tip-top condition!

Now The course itself. The fairways were as green and perfectly mowed as any I have ever played in my lifetime, anywhere in the world. The rough was plenty long and juicy and difficult to get out of so staying in the fairway was important. But the fairways were amply wide so hopefully you can score well on the beautifully maintained greens. They were receptive to all shots and they putted true. Very enjoyable. They had subtle breaks but nothing too severe.

A beautiful variety of holes made a challenge from any tee box.... but we quite enjoyed the white tees. Looking at the TIPS, makes you realize that the PGA pros are in a different universe.

I'll be on Cloud-9 for a while! Perhaps "perfection" is not too strong a word for this gem!!
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