Got in a nice pre-Vegas warm up round at Ridge Creek with RGM2525. Track is in it's usual great shape with the fairways once again stealing the show.... » More

Got in a nice pre-Vegas warm up round at Ridge Creek with RGM2525. Track is in it's usual great shape with the fairways once again stealing the show. I easily rated the fairways at an 8.5-9. And I'm proud to say that I found a lot of fairways for a complete testing for that rating.

Tee boxes weren't far behind the fairways. Lush, level and good coverage. There are a couple of short Par 3's at Ridge Creek so naturally those tee boxes during our mid afternoon round had some divots. Was still able to find plenty of clean area to hit from.

Sand traps will always be the weakness of valley courses. It's no exception here. Having said that the one greenside bunker I was in I was able to get out of clean and save par. So they can't be all that bad!

Greens.... Ridge creek has the perfect greens as far as size, undulations, softness and speed. The one down side from keeping them from a 9 or 10 is that they do often get riddled with ball marks from time to time. Today was no exception. There were a few greens where my putt was effected by a pitch mark.

POP was fine. A little bit of waiting on a couple of tees. Only because the twosome in front of us were older and not hitting it as far off the tee so we would have to wait for them to clear out. Once they were on the green they cleared out quickly.

I always enjoy Ridge Creek, not only for the good course conditions but for the off course amenities. The restaurant and clubhouse are Real buildings and make you feel like you're at a top notch course. I ate at the restaurant before and after the round! Only place in the valley I'll eat fish tacos!!
» Close

I'm happy to say course conditions are back to being very nice. Played yesterday early afternoon in some great peninsula weather. Bayonet is close... » More

I'm happy to say course conditions are back to being very nice. Played yesterday early afternoon in some great peninsula weather. Bayonet is closed for the weekend due to car week and Ferrari has rented the place. There are 75-100 Ferrari's parked on the course. Don't worry, they keep them away from the holes that come into contact with Black Horse so there's no chance of hitting any of the cars.

With that, on to course conditions. Greens were firm and fast. No issues with the greens. They rolled smooth and true. No pitch marks to worry about. Chip shots would check up nice. Long irons would tend to roll out a bit but that's usual for here.

Fairways were nice and green with only a few thin areas scattered about on a couple of the holes. The first cut of rough was patchy throughout the entire course. It was only about 1-1.5 inches tall but thin and patchy leaving it a crap shoot on the lie. Tee boxes were good for the most part. Only one was semi chewed up. The rest were all a good 7-8.5 rating.

I was in two bunkers. One was ok ( a little thin) the other was great. A 6 rating on the first and an 8+ on the second one.

Pop was a little slow for an afternoon round. I thought I timed it right to miss the morning crowd and beat the afternoon twilight group. Nope! With Bayonet closed and all the car folks around it was a busy(ish) day. Still finished in just under 4 hrs so it wasn't too bad.

Blackhorse is always a challenging track that is fun to play. Greens can be atrocious out here with all the sever undulations. Yesterday the pins were in some very friendly locations however a rusty driver from not playing in 2 weeks kept me from taking advantage of "tamed" greens on the front nine.

With views of the bay and course conditions back to normal, Blackhorse is back on the recommended list for Peninsula tracks.
» Close

Played Madera late afternoon yesterday. Course was in it’s typical average Muni-course shape with the exception of the greens having a ton of unrepai... » More

Played Madera late afternoon yesterday. Course was in it’s typical average Muni-course shape with the exception of the greens having a ton of unrepaired pitch marks. I was routinely fixing 3-5 ball marks per green. Come on people, is it that hard to bend down and fix your pitch mark? I know I’m preaching to the choir and that most GK’ers are like me and repair not only their own ball marks but others as well.

I was talking to CenCalGolfer33 after the round and he said there had been a tournament there earlier in the morning. It might be time for course to start charging organizers a fee to send out a “sweeper” after the tournament to clean up after them.

Fairways were decent for the most part with a few thin areas here and there to go along with the wet areas caused by the much needed heavy watering during the recent triple digit heat.

First cut of rough was only about 1” and very easy to hit from. After that, it’s hardpan dirt (just like the sand traps). Tee boxes were ok. Nothing glamourous but no major issues.

POP was right at about 4 hrs. We were moving along nicely until about the 14th hole then started waiting on every shot.

My biggest complaint was the golf cart. No sand, and one piece solid plexiglass windshield. With 90+ degree heat it would be nice to fold down the windshield to get some air flow through the cart while driving. Plus, it was so scratched up we could barely see through it.
» Close

After riding 20 of the last 23 days during the Tour de France, I can finally get back to playing some golf. I figured there's no better place to get ... » More

After riding 20 of the last 23 days during the Tour de France, I can finally get back to playing some golf. I figured there's no better place to get back on the horse than The Glass. Tee'd off this morning just before 9am in the traditional cool damp fog. Is there any better way to play this place?!

The pro shop forewarned us that the fairways had been punched and there is a temporary green on the 17th while they flatten out the regular green to make it more manageable for the pros. NOTE: The temp green is small but a true green with the same grass and speed as the others. The normal green should be up and running in about 10-14 days.

Course conditions remain top notch all around. Greens were spectacular. Smooth, pitch mark free and rolling at a medium-fast speed. Just the way you want them. Greens easily held a well struck approach shot.

Even with the aeration holes in the fairway, I never had a bad lie. In fact other than looking at them while walking from the tee box to my ball, I wouldn't have noticed it. Fairways were dark green in color and lush offering a great flattform to hit from.

Rough was thick. Only about 2"-3" tall but very thick. Getting a hybrid on the ball proved to be a challange at times but irons were manageable. Skirt areas around the greens were top notch. always presented a good lie. I had an amble sampling of bunkers on the front nine and can tell you that the sand was excellent everytime. I never once had an issue coming out of the traps and I'm a terrible bunker player.

Tee boxes were the low point. Last time here, the tee boxes were like manicured artificial turf they were so perfect. This time they was nice (level and lush) but nothing spectacular. A couple of the par 3's had a number of divots.

POP was just a tad over 4 hrs. Not bad considering it was busy as usual and we were backed up by the third hole. It quickly eased up (my triple bogey on #4 probably helped) and we only had minor waiting one or two other times the rest of the day.

Spyglass is always a great course that offers excellent conditions and service. As I mentioned before The Glass is all about the golf. And great golf it is!!
» Close

I finished my bike ride and had a few hours to kill. I was right around the corner from Laguna Seca and decided to play a few holes. The place can ge... » More

I finished my bike ride and had a few hours to kill. I was right around the corner from Laguna Seca and decided to play a few holes. The place can get very crowded so I wasn't sure how many holes I was going to get in. To my surprise I manage to zip around in a bit under 3.5 hrs.

I always enjoy the layout her but don't play it as often anymore due to hit & miss conditions, slow play and increased prices. I have to say that conditions are great right now. Greens are healthy with not a bare spot to be found anywhere. They were void of pitch marks and rolled at a medium- slow speed. As I've mentioned before the greens are sneaky tough here. They don't look treacherous but can reach up and bite you if you're not paying attention.

Fairways were probably the best I've ever seen them. Very lush and a pleasure to hit from. There were still a few thin/bare spots scattered here and there but overall the fairways are in great shape.

High quality sand in the traps. And good coverage on all but one tee box.

As mentioned before, Laguna Seca has a ton of elevation changes throughout the entire course that makes this place a blast to play. Add in the current conditions with a sub 3.5 HR round with the afternoon rate and it's a good choice on the peninsula.
» Close