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 pa... » More

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
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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 cours... » More

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!
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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 ... » More

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.
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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 th... » More

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!
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Played Callippe yesterday afternoon in warm weather with little wind. This is about my 3rd-4th time playing the course and the “local” knowledge ce... » More

Played Callippe yesterday afternoon in warm weather with little wind. This is about my 3rd-4th time playing the course and the “local” knowledge certainly helps navigate this fun hilly layout. The course really puts an accuracy over distance. Especially on the back nine. There are unique hole designs that I enjoy, but I could see how others might find them gimmicky or difficult

Condition wise the course is pretty solid tee to green. The greens rolled smooth at a medium-slow pace. Most greens have moderate slope and are double tiered. Enough to challenge you but not so severe you are cursing them out

Fairways were nice. They were lush with good coverage throughout and only a few thin areas. Most tee boxes were level with lush coverage, though a couple were a bit uneven. Nothing too bad though. Sand traps were fine and the rough was decent enough. A couple spotty areas but mainly good coverage throughout

POP was painfully slow. Right at 5 hours for a late afternoon round. Customer service was great. This is tough course to walk but doable.
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