Made it out to Oak Valley today to get a late morning round of golf in on Labor Day. I had a tee time at 11:20 as a single and went out just ahead of the California Baptist University Women's golf Te... Continue »

Made it out to Oak Valley today to get a late morning round of golf in on Labor Day. I had a tee time at 11:20 as a single and went out just ahead of the California Baptist University Women's golf Team.

I had the course pretty much to myself. I really didn't have anyone in front of me and I obviously had the golf team behind me, so I had time to get some practice in with my new irons (which was my goal). I hit multiple balls on most holes.

The course is in pretty good shape for the end of summer:

Greens - Very good shape. They rolled very true at medium speed to fast speed. These greens can be very difficult to read. Most of the greens have multiple level or shelves that can make putting very difficult. When they are rolling at tournament speed, these greens are brutal (in my opinion).

Bunkers: I was in a couple of bunkers today. One was a fairway bunker and one was a green side bunker. Both had very good coverage and were easy to play out of. No complaints.

Fairways and Rough: Both were in decent shape for late summer. The fairways were actually really good and much better than I expected them to be. On the shots that I had from the fairway, I did not have a bad lie all day. The rough was a bit thin in some areas and looked like it had suffered a little bit from the summer heat. As I always say, hit the ball in fairway and you wont have to deal with the issues with the rough :).

Tee Boxes: This was probably the weak spot of the course. The tee boxes on the par 3's were absolutely horrible. It was tough just to find a clump of grass to hit off of. These boxes were also really uneven. The par 4 tee boxes also needed some work from what I remember. The tee boxes on the (4) par 5's were actually in the best shape. If they do something with the tee boxes on the par 3's, I think this course could be up there with the best in IE.

Overall a fun day at Oak Valley. I am not sure why this place does not get more play than it does. It may be the location or the difficulty of the course The layout is fun but can be quite challenging. There are houses on this course but most or really out of play unless you hit a wild shot. I would highly recommend this course. It is about a 45 minute drive for me but it is well worth it. Go check it out if you are in the area. You will not be disappointed.