Played Spanish Bay this morning after a bit of schedule change due to heavy rain the last few days and a tournament at Spyglass today. Soooo, off to ... » More

Played Spanish Bay this morning after a bit of schedule change due to heavy rain the last few days and a tournament at Spyglass today. Soooo, off to Spanish I go. used the range up at Pebble (Spanish Bay doesn't have it's own range but you can use either Pebble's or The Glass). Range was on mats and will be until after the US Open. They do offer choice of TP5's or Project (a) balls for the range.

On to Spanish Bay on a sunny and delightful morning. Wind free for the first 8-10 holes then a bit of wind on the finishing holes. Tee boxes were excellent. An easy 9+ and that includes the par 3 tees. Fairways were also in great shape ranging between 8-9. I was in two greenside bunkers and both had excellent white semi-fluffy sand. A bit damp from all the recent rain but still excellent to hit out of.

The greens..... After the first semi easy green the rest have severe undulations. They are in the process of doing a light sanding of the greens. We had the front nine clear and they rolled smooth at a medium fast pace. The back nine had already been hit with the sand but still rolled at a medium slow speed. They were in the process of dusting the front greens as we were finishing. It probably won't take more than a week or two for them to fully recover.

I walked but for May and June they are allowing carts out on the fairways for the first time. Just not this week (due to rain).

All in all the course is in great shape and worth playing. With all the great views it's easy to forget about all (4) three putts.
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déjà vu - Exactly the same as my last review. Skipped my ride so wanted a course to walk. Started as a single, joined one other and course condit... » More

déjà vu - Exactly the same as my last review. Skipped my ride so wanted a course to walk. Started as a single, joined one other and course conditions are the same. A little less than what I would expect given the wet winter and spring conditions we are having. Fairways had several thin spots throughout. Greens were decent but rolling slower than normal. Tee boxes were OK, I suppose. I was in several traps throughout the day. All are just hard pan with a very very thin layer of loose dirt on top.

I normally don't mind getting out to Madera a few times a year, but I think I've hit my quota on this course for a while until conditions improve a bit.
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Copper River CC is one of the new private country clubs in Fresno. I have a couple of connections here and have played it a few times now. As with m... » More

Copper River CC is one of the new private country clubs in Fresno. I have a couple of connections here and have played it a few times now. As with most nice country clubs, customer service and pro shop/ clubhouse amenities are excellent.

The course layout is basically flat in a heart shape in that each nine is in a oval shape so that no two holes are right next to each other. There are a number of lakes on the course to add to the aesthetics of the track but most are lateral hazards with no forced carries sans one of the par 3's.

Copper River is under new management and there is some serious maintenance occurring right now. Right now only fairway bunkers are GUR with other maintenance being on the side of the fairways. The did just aerate their greens so they were still heavily sanded.

Fairways were in nice shape. Green and lush. Not quite as nice as dragonfly but close to it. The two bunkers I was in had very nice soft white fluffy sand.

Overall it's a nice track with a decent layout and solid conditions. I'll make sure to take some pictures next time to add it to review.
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After a couple of days of playing courses with some great ocean views, it was back to the valley today. Outside of the Palm Springs area, Dragonfly ... » More

After a couple of days of playing courses with some great ocean views, it was back to the valley today. Outside of the Palm Springs area, Dragonfly is probably my favorite "flat" course. Yes, the track is flat but they keep things interesting with a mix of left and right dog legs, a handful of water hazards that all come into play, some "waste" areas that divide the fairways and some strategic tree placement that require specific shot shapes.

Add in solid conditions all around, and you have the making of a good course. Greens were in their usual top condition. Easily holding approach shots and rolling smooth at a medium fast pace. Compared to Sandpiper and Bodega, the greens were very modest in slope.

Whereas the fairways aren't the greenest in color they are definitely very lush and a pleasure to hit from. Tee boxes are level with only the par 3's having some divots (but plenty of nice areas to hit from). I was in two greenside bunkers and one had nice brown soft dirt and the other was excellent with great soft white sand.

Dragonfly has a few different price point tiers and I timed it perfectly opting to pay the higher price instead of waiting 10 minutes and going off with the afternoon masses. I jumped out in front of a few people getting ready to head to the first tee. I never had anyone in front of me until my second shot on the 17th!!! That was so worth the extra $10
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After a couple days up north, it was time to make the trek down south for one last great day of golf with some fellow GK'ers. I've been dying to g... » More

After a couple days up north, it was time to make the trek down south for one last great day of golf with some fellow GK'ers. I've been dying to get back to Sandpiper so there was no twisting my arm to join the others when asked if I wanted to join. I'm not sure how the folks managed to get a golf course right on the ocean without any hotels or houses surrounding it but it's just wonderful. You get out and there is nothing but a great golf course and the pacific ocean. Oh and a Hawk that buzzed us a couple of times! very peaceful and easy to just get lost in the moment.

As the others mentioned the course was in excellent shape tee to green. I met my monthly quota of bunkers yesterday so I was only in one greenside trap today and it had great sand. Fairways were near perfect, an easy 9 and greens weren't far behind. Greens are tricky no doubt. Have a downhill putt and you may actually be better off putting up the hill to let it roll back down towards the hole. I'm not joking. Challenging yet still fun.

The layout is a good mix of holes with long and short holes to keep you challenged yet present some scoring opportunities. The course finishes with a par 3 over a pond that somehow adds to the enjoyment. Yes a finishing par 3 is odd but this one doesn't seem that way. The only layout change I would have done was to reverse the tee and green on the 18th so you are hitting over the pond looking onto the ocean instead of having the ocean at your back. But with all the great ocean views throughout the day it's not that big of a deal. Plus with the green next to the restaurant, it gives people the opportunity to watch golfers finish out.

I have to disagree with the others about missing the GPS in the carts. Most of us have range finders or apps on our phones that display the course. Sandpiper even has their own app if you want to bring the layout up on your phone. Not having GPS on the carts helps keep the green fees down, and I'm good with that. Besides, with views this great we should be looking out at the ocean anyway.

I've already planned a trip to come back down next month and play it again with the wife. It helped that I blew up her phone with gorgeous pictures of the course all day long. Marketing is a wonderful tool!! :)
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